fish not taking jig 2024
fishblitzer reply :
Hey everyone,
I was able to spend some time on the water this weekend. I had a great day out on Saturday and caught around 25 bass on a 3/4 oz. jig. They were hammering it and even had one or two swallow it. The next day was a different story. The jig bite was still full on, but the bass were grabbing the trailer claws and not taking the entire jig. I missed close to 15 and boated maybe 4. I know they were biting the trailer claws because I would get a hit, set the hook, and reel up to a clawless trailer. I even had one hang on until it was half way to the boat and then it let go.
From my understanding this means they were less aggressive that day, but is there anything I can do to get them to take it when they are less aggressive? Should I downsize? Just looking for some pointers so next time I am not stumped in this situation.
Not sure if it matters but the jig was a Strike King DB structure jig with a rage tail lobster on as a trailer. I was already cutting the trailers in half to downsize my presentation but it didn't help.
Water was muddy and water temp was 56-58 degrees. Sunny skies and lots of wind.
Thanks,
Fishblitzer
the reel ess reply :
I probably would have gone to a T-rigged craw. But then, I would have already been using one since that's my go-to. It just seems they didn't want the whole BIG JIG presentation, just the trailer.
BTW, isn't that Lobster a big ol' bait? I usually don't go bigger than 4" T-rigged. In winter, bass will crush craws with their lips before eating them, thus the red lips in cold water. For that, a T-rig might work better. May I suggest Berkley Chigger Craw? They'll hold that thing all day long and fight you for it.
BIGDFISHERMAN reply :
If you are running a good sized trailer then try running a trailer hook if you aren't fishing areas with lots of stuff to get snagged on. May not help with how aggressive the fish are but should help your hookup rate.
Siebert Outdoors reply :
I would start with downsizing that trailer.
scaleface reply :
I would shorten the trailer up a lot maybe forego it all together .
Catch 22 reply :
You didn`t mention the wx from one day to next. Did something change.
Also if you fished the same area, fish that got stung may be just checking it out, without total commitment.
As mentioned smaller baits may help.
C22
fishblitzer reply :
On 1/6/2016 at 10:32 PM, Catch 22 said:You didn`t mention the wx from one day to next. Did something change.
Also if you fished the same area, fish that got stung may be just checking it out, without total commitment.
As mentioned smaller baits may help.
C22
Apologize for leaving that detail out.
The first day was cloudy with light winds, and the second(when they weren't taking it) was sunny with strong winds.
imagine29028 reply :
Downsize for sure.....
A-Jay reply :
You still have neglected to say if on the second day you were fishing the same spot ? ? ?
If that's the case, unless it's a big area or one that is a bit of a bass highway (where it reloads often, not usually the case this time of year) you may have sore lipped a good portion of the resident bass population the day before which may explain the fishes apprehension or lack of commitment to your bait.
On a day to day basis, every day is different. Often every 1/2 day or even every hour can be different where changing it up keeps a bite going. Occasionally a bait change in the same spot will do it. (switching from a crank to a jig for example) Other times, the same bait presented in the opposite or at least a different direction - from shallow to deep or deep to shallow) can keep the fish interested enough to get a few more bites.
Also If the bait moved, there's at least a decent chance that most of the bass did as well. A Change in wind & air temp can have the same effect.
Getting bit in the same place, with the same bait, technique or presentation in the same spot a couple of days in a row does happen. Past that it starts getting a little tricky - just ask KVD.
A-Jay
CarlF reply :
Im not as good as some of the other guys on here, but I would ditch the jig and fish the same trailer (cut down like you mentioned) on the smallest swing jig. No weed guard, no skirt, overall smaller profile.
gulfcaptain reply :
Fish a more compact jig and trailer. I fish the trailers on my jigs just long enough to where the claws are coming out behind the skirt of the jig. That way if they pick it up they get the whole jig. So I'd have one rigged like you have it, have another of the same jig with a smaller trailer(using the Lobster, go down a size.) If that doesn't work downsize the jig and find a compact bait (I fish a lot of Bass Patrol jigs) and put a 3" trailer on them. I've had to drop all the way down to a 1/4oz jig and a Tiny Paca Chunk at times to get bit. If you have too much claw, just need to feed them more jig.
Paul Roberts reply :
Downsize. Did you have to use a 3/4oz jig? How deep were they?
"Occasionally a bait change in the same spot will do it." Agree with A-Jay on this. If the jig isn't making it happen, switch. You've got fish, now you have to make them commit -if you can.
fishblitzer reply :
Sorry for not clarifying, it was the same spot the second day. The fish were on a ledge between 20-30ft and we had a strong wind so I used a 3/4oz to get down deep and feel the bottom. I will try a smaller profile next time I run into this problem, thanks everyone for your help! It makes all the sense in the world now!
The ledge we were on was stacked, and I mean stacked, with fish. The side imaging picked up around 30 or more when we left it after the second day. I've never seem anything like it!
Bankbeater reply :
I would downsize the jig and trailer first. Sometimes I have seen the bass hit the jig to kill it and then back off. When they hit like that I usually just let the bait sit for a few seconds. When the bass sees no movement they come back and take the bait. Thishappens a lot in cold water.
Catt reply :
Of course your hook set timing couldn't have been off!
They were hitting the jig which tells me they were aggressive!
when I miss its usually operator error!
fishblitzer reply :
On 1/7/2016 at 12:06 AM, Catt said:Of course your hook set timing couldn't have been off!
They were hitting the jig which tells me they were aggressive!
when I miss its usually operator error!
Of course not! 
A-Jay reply :
On 1/6/2016 at 11:43 PM, fishblitzer said:Sorry for not clarifying, it was the same spot the second day. The fish were on a ledge between 20-30ft and we had a strong wind so I used a 3/4oz to get down deep and feel the bottom. I will try a smaller profile next time I run into this problem, thanks everyone for your help! It makes all the sense in the world now!
The ledge we were on was stacked, and I mean stacked, with fish. The side imaging picked up around 30 or more when we left it after the second day. I've never seem anything like it!
Thanks for straightening that out.
Well, sounds like you were on them. I'm betting you know this but the bass don't eat 24/7 so unless you can get a reaction strike some how or manage to "turn on the school" (which for me is usually easier said than done) then fishing neutral or even negative bass is pretty frustration.
The Very Good News is you've located some good ones and unless something mandates a relocation, they may stay there a while. Now it's just a matter of returning to the spot a few times a day and checking if their mood has changed to something closer to one that includes striking your bait.
In the mean time I'd be looking for other spots that include much of the same parameters (including a school of bait & bass) and see what's what.
Good Luck
A-Jay
WRB reply :
The changed possibly do to the cold front passing through. At 30' that may not have been the reason, with wind it can be difficult to detect strikes and you late in hook sitting. The bass were very active and changed to being less active, you need to make the adjustments or change lures to a structure of these bass were stacked up.
What type and size of trailer were you using?
What type of bass; LMB, Spotted or Smallmouth?
Tom
fishblitzer reply :
On 1/7/2016 at 1:47 AM, WRB said:The changed possibly do to the cold front passing through. At 30' that may not have been the reason, with wind it can be difficult to detect strikes and you late in hook sitting. The bass were very active and changed to being less active, you need to make the adjustments or change lures to a structure of these bass were stacked up.
What type and size of trailer were you using?
What type of bass; LMB, Spotted or Smallmouth?
Tom
It was a rage tail lobster cut in half and we were targeting spotted bass.
Paul Roberts reply :
Hair jig and lighter line might be a good change-up?
Catt reply :
Ok y'all let's examine the facts!
fishblitzer said he missed 15 fish
i know I'm a dumb Cajun but that tells me
The jig weight, color, trailer & overall profile was correct.
The presentation was correct
Had they not been ya wouldn't have gotten bite!
He missed the fish due to not getting hook penetration!
When? On The Hook Set
ogbfishing reply :
On 1/7/2016 at 2:24 AM, Catt said:Ok y'all let's examine the facts!
fishblitzer said he missed 15 fish
i know I'm a dumb Cajun but that tells me
The jig weight, color, trailer & overall profile was correct.
The presentation was correct
Had they not been ya wouldn't have gotten bite!
He missed the fish due to not getting hook penetration!
When? On The Hook Set
i agree, sounds like he was a bit jumpy on the hookset
fishblitzer reply :
Your both forgetting that after the hooksets I would pull my jig up with no claws left on the trailer. I didn't miss a fish the first day, that is what leaves me to believe it wasn't user error but to each their own! I'm not ruling it out, but I think between me and my co-angler one of us would have connected if indeed they were taking the whole jig. We didn't have any problems the first day 
Catt reply :
Yelp it was the tackle.
WRB reply :
On 1/7/2016 at 1:55 AM, fishblitzer said:It was a rage tail lobster cut in half and we were targeting spotted bass.
Spotted bass often grab a crawdad by the claws to declaw them before engulfing then crunching the craw in the back of their mouth crunchers. It becomes a timing thing when to hook set. You might want to consider a 3" Chigger craw, smaller claws or just hesitate a few counts before hook setting with Spots.
Tom
Brayberry reply :
I'd try a few things:
1) Downsize my Jig
2) Downsize my Trailer
3) Change my bait color
long island basser reply :
Sometimes bass will try to rip the claws off before eating them as tom mentioned.
you were reeling up your jig with no claws on the tralior.
i have experience this and had to be more patient with my hook sets.
it felt like they were throwing it around down there ( like pecking at it) trying to declaw them then I would get a larger thump and then procede to set the hook, it worked.
bigbill reply :
Color on the first day?
What was the water conditions on the first day?
Second day water conditions muddy, right?
muddy conditions brighter colors.
I use the double rattles on my jigs. Ring that dinner bell.
i purchased the rattles frm Seiberts Outdoors.
A-Jay reply :
Maybe they weren't bass. Or perhaps smaller bass than the previous outing.
Since SI doesn't ID species you could have been fishing something else with a few bass mixed in.
A-Jay
Paul Roberts reply :
Hmmmm... 15 misses is an awful lot of "short strikes", and one actually being towed to the boat still holdin' on. It could well be that strike detection was hampered in that wind, rather than hooksets exactly, as Catt suggested.
senile1 reply :
On 1/7/2016 at 2:24 AM, Catt said:Ok y'all let's examine the facts!
fishblitzer said he missed 15 fish
i know I'm a dumb Cajun but that tells me
The jig weight, color, trailer & overall profile was correct.
The presentation was correct
Had they not been ya wouldn't have gotten bite!
He missed the fish due to not getting hook penetration!
When? On The Hook Set
I'll add to the facts that Catt provided. The OP stated the following in an additional post: "The first day was cloudy with light winds, and the second(when they weren't taking it) was sunny with strong winds." Is it possible as Tom suggested in another post that a cold front came through, or maybe, as A-Jay suggested, the bass were sore-lipped? If so, did the OP change his presentation in any way to adjust for the new conditions? One could infer that the bass, while attracted to the presentation, weren't as committed as the day before and only bit the tails. And, perhaps, if the bass weren't as committed on day two, maybe the OP was setting the hook at the wrong time and missing the fish as suggested by Catt, or the bait needed to be downsized as proposed by a number of others. I assume the OP's presentation was the same, and he needed to change it to accommodate the bass on day two. But, maybe it is as Catt stated, and the presentation was close enough on day two but he just needed to give the bass more, or less, time with the jig in their mouths before setting the hook. Only experimenting on the water can provide the answer.
And while typing this, A-Jay has suggested that maybe some of these fish weren't bass . . . . perhaps the old bluegill tug.
Catt reply :
On 1/7/2016 at 2:55 AM, fishblitzer said:Your both forgetting that after the hooksets I would pull my jig up with no claws left on the trailer. I didn't miss a fish the first day, that is what leaves me to believe it wasn't user error but to each their own! I'm not ruling it out, but I think between me and my co-angler one of us would have connected if indeed they were taking the whole jig. We didn't have any problems the first day
Dude don't feel bad or get angry it happens to the best of us!
if someone tells me it doesn't happen to me I look at kinda funny!
i remember prefishing a tournament & I was sticking everything; the night of the tournament I missed 17 in a row luckily it was a team tournament & my partner boated 30 lbs.
Paul Roberts reply :
I'm thinking they were the same bunch of bass stacked up on that ledge -a common winter spot pattern.
I'm thinking that the important element is the wind, which will greatly affect detection. The same jig will not fish the same in a light breeze and a strong wind.
Suggestions: Go to a finer diameter line. Use FC as its weight cuts wind a bit better. Fish more vertical, with rod tip closer to the surface. Pick a calmer day to fish that spot.
gulfcaptain reply :
Might also look into some tungsten jigs just incase you find yourself in this situation again. You can go to a smaller profile with the same weight as well as get a heavier jig in the same size. I'm thinking the wind probably had a lot to do with it. The bait may have been moving more then the day before causing the fish to grab the claws which you felt but with the boat moving you could have been unknowinly pulling the bait away causing them to only get the claws instead of the whole jig.
fishblitzer reply :
On 1/7/2016 at 3:34 AM, WRB said:Spotted bass often grab a crawdad by the claws to declaw them before engulfing then crunching the craw in the back of their mouth crunchers. It becomes a timing thing when to hook set. You might want to consider a 3" Chigger craw, smaller claws or just hesitate a few counts before hook setting with Spots.
Tom
Thanks for the advice, that would definitely explain the missing craws! The next time out when I feel a thump thump I will reel down, wait for the thump and tug and then set the hook. That should fix my problem! I am also going to downsize to a smaller chigger chunk.
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