Blackfish Jigging
 

Over the years I’ve seen it all…. Rigs out fishing jigs and jigs out fishing rigs. “Riggers” offended by “Jiggers” and “Jiggers” offended by “Riggers”. While I’m no expert on either subject, my philosophy on this is you can’t argue with success. I’m always up for trying new things and if “Jigging” or “Rigging” is working on any given day, that’s what I’m going with. That and it’s fun to mix things up every once and a while too…..

All that being said, I’m going to focus on Jigging here with 2 big caveats
- Your actual mileage might vary.. Conditions, how the fish are biting, time of year, skills, methods etc will all play in your success or failure.
- With rig fishing as we all know, it’s more about the Indian then the arrow. I’ve seen people fishing old Penn Squider reels and broomstick poles out fish guys with the latest and greatest outfits. With jig fishing it’s about both. The Indian and his skills make a difference but the gear or arrow he uses plays an equally important role… Unless you have the right gear, I don’t care how good a Blackfishermen you are, using the wrong gear is a big handicap.

So, let’s start out with the gear you’ll need…. This is a finesse type of fishing so think light and sensitive…. You need to be able to feel the jig make contact with the bottom and the tick bites. If not, you’ll be reeling up empty hooks all day long…
- First of all you need to fish braid in order to feel the subtle bites… Braid is followed by a minimum of a 30 pound top shot of leader….
- The pole and reel also make a difference in the feel… A light weight pole with a sensitive tip and a strong backbone paired with a light weight reel with at least 15 pounds of drag is a must…. You are not going to have any success jigging with a broom stick and a heavy bulky reel PERIOD……
- You also need jigs with just enough weight to hold bottom in the conditions you’re fishing. Sizes from 1 ounce up to 4 usually covers it and IMHO, if you need more than 4 ounce jigs, you should be rig fishing.
- While some people do fish with light weight conventional poles and reels most “Jiggers” are using spinning set ups. I’ve fished both and I prefer spinning gear….

Now that you got the right gear, let’s talk methods:
- Cut your crab of choice in half and remove the legs…. Don’t cut the legs too close since the leg sockets help keep the crab on the hook better and that’s important… Run the hook through one leg socket and out another.
- You can cast around to find some structure but your best feel is going to be straight up and down… In heavier seas casting out is preferred since the scope and angle of the line will help absorb the seas and keep your jig still and on the bottom.
- You want just enough tension on your line to feel your jig hit bottom and detect strikes when you get one.
- If you don’t get a bite. Every few minutes, lift your rod tip and let the jig settle on the bottom…. I’m talking small moves here not like you’re jigging for Fluke and constantly jigging….
- The bite is different every day…. Occasionally you’ll have a suicide bite where they pick it up the jig and run with it but most days all you’ll feel is a slight tap.
- Setting the hook by fast whip high sticking or just lifting your rod tip to set the hook is up for debate…. See what works for you and others on that day but don’t get married to it, every day is different.

Warning…. If you are new to jigging there’s a pretty steep learning curve. Stick with it, watch others and once you get good at it you’ll have another trick in your bag and another thing to try when rigs aren’t working as effectively….

OK “Jiggers” and “Riggers” feel free to pile on here :)

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Awesome post Gerry! I went out for Blackfish for the first time earlier this week and wish I had this to go off of, but now that i have it it just means that I have to go out and try again!

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Thanks for the post Gerry! I've rigged fish for blackfish for 40 years now and tomorrow will be my first jigging trip. Borrowed an outfit from Mark at Jigging World (big thanks Mark) so if jigging doesn't produce it will clearly be a user error!

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Jigging blacks , or anything , is more fun and more guy's are doing it , but I think most are still sinker bouncing . I'll take the jigs .

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

IMO the exact same blank has more sensitivity as a bait caster than it does a spinning rod.
Fished a few different rods built both ways, and I think that the eyes deaden some if the hit on a spinning rod.

Some of the new lighter fluke set ups are ideal.
Blackhole 701 L with a Revo on it is hard to beat, and you will never cut your finger on a hook set like you can using your finger on a spinning reel.

Bite most times is WAY lighter than fishing rigs, and for guys used to waiting on a tug, get cleaned pretty quick

.

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Thanks for all the info. Any idea as to why so many jiggers seem to use spinning gear?

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Think it's better to feed out the line that conventional

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Excellent post! in my opinion jig fishing is a fad... early season you can enjoy the excitement however as we beat into colder months I'm a huge fan of the Belmar rig... I don't spent much time blackfishing on boats because i rather surf fish over everything... however I have 6 double digit fish fishing the belmar rig with white leggers being incredibly lazy but patient.. my first time on a head boat black fishing I caught a 10 and 15lber, both released using this rig and being super chill and patient... I noticed that many guys fishing blackfish are way to tigger happy and miss a ton of fish while I just chill and wait for that right "bump"

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Jig fishing is no fad , I was personally introduced to it as a shallow water technique over 30 years ago & it was dynamite then & still is today !
What I missed was that u could use basically same technique in deeper water .
I like many others I'm sure didn't complete the dots until now !
I prefer spin since ur jigs are lighter many times under 3oz's so why cart around heavy outfits which limit feel & can be hvy to hold all day.
Everything about heavier outfits really don't agree with jig n bait technique so lighter faster spin outfits perform these tasks well .
Also u now have spinning reels that stand up well to this fishery , using lighter line gets u deep w/o requiring heavier lures its in my opinion the way to,go,if u choose ur outfit wisely. I

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

I hate swinging at little ticks. Give me a super hard crab on a rig and let me wait for the right bite. The jigging fight is fun, but the bite is crap most of the time. I like rig fishing with my 12-20lb sea bass rod at times. Still a good fight but with a harder bite.

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

all it is is a painted sinker with an attached hook... In no way does it resemble traditional jigging.... I saw a guy last year on an AH boat catching nothing, switch to a yellow sinker on a plain old blackfish rig, and limit out in short order..
I bet if more guys tried yellow, red, orange, or white sinkers, you would find little difference in hookup rate from the jigs. Tog have always liked color for some reason. Fished without a hunk of crab on the hook that "jig" becomes totally useless. Its plain old bait fishing IMHO... no magic involved.... bob

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Nice post. My only comment is I don't think people should get caught up with drag capacity. People get hung up on that way too often! If you suggest 30lb top shot then why do you need 20lb of drag? If you use the 1/3 method you only need 10lb drag haha. I think it's more important to use a light setup. 7ft ML spinning rod with a 3k-4k matching reel is ideal. I use 10lb-20lb braid with 3-5ft of 50lb topshot and my goto jig in NJ is 1.5oz.

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Using light spinner with 1.0-2.0 oz , jigs with 30lb leader
In moderate current, 60feet or less. To each his own.

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Been on the jigging bad wagon for some time now after reading several articles and being exposed to some long time jig users who were willing to share technique. This ultimately led to fabrication thereof in various styles for me. It is a different challenge catching on the jig but very rewarding. I also agree spinning outfits are better but I personally also use conventional set up with lighter line, etc, It's really a personal preference. And YES, I have been busted or sheered off with lighter set up on jigs, it is the risk that I accept fishing this method. I'll liken it to tuna. Chunking and bait dropping is always/usually a productive method, BUT, nothing like dropping a STINGO jig down and feeling the bump and then the hit to fight the fish on a jig.....

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

No magic, but there is a difference esp with light jigs in shallow water. Namely there is no "disconnect" between the weight and the crab/hook. A tog picks up the crab on a jig and thinks he has the entire package in his mouth. A tog picks up a crab on a rig, turns and encounters resistance from the sinker.

I'm sure it makes no difference most days, but under certain conditions jigs will outfish rigs by a wide margin, again, in shallow water with 1/4 - 1/2oz jigs. But you're correct, it has almost nothing in common with what most people think of as "jigging."

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Picking up what you're laying down here Reason. Seems to me when the bite is a bit more finicky and conditions permit, a jig gives you an extra sensitive feel because of the lighter weight and being directly connected. You also need to match it with a lighter more sensitive rod. The extra feel can sometimes be the difference betweem fishing and catching.

tautog - yeah a lot more swinging when fishing with jigs. You swing at practically everything and when you miss your bait is usually gone so lots of re baiting. Not for everyone and if you're fishing for that one fish, waiting for the right bite is the way to go but for people like me, easier said then done :)

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

I'm still confused as to the jigging part. It's nothing more than putting bait on a lead head. Correct? If you put bait on it your simply bait fishing. Just s different way of presenting a crab. :confused:

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Exactly. There is no jigging involved, just the term used since the rig is called a black fish "jig"

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

You mean...I'm....NOT....supposed.....to bounce them.....like a bucktail?? Keep them still instead?:eek::D

That is a misconception when people ask me about jigging.....It's ok to lift and drop occassionally, /bouncing to find the "holes" in the bottom structure, which I might add also seem easier to find and tell when you're "in" with a jig on. To Gerry's point, the lighter set ups give you more sensitivity and feeling....Less snags I find with jigs too......Side note if using sinker/hooks, flat sinkers better for same reasons....less snags...my .02

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Good article Gerr! I tried the jig recently and was pleasantly surprised. There is a learning curve, but I got to novice level fairly quickly on borrowed gear. Gotta go buy my own set up now because I'm sold on this early season technique

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Let me try to explain the difference between rig fishing and jig fishing, from a blackfish's perspective :)

First, understand how a blackfish feeds (there are plenty of youtube videos showing both captive and wild blackfish attacking crabs): they will grab the crab in their grasping teeth (those are the teeth you can see), hang onto a claw/leg/half the crab and shake it like a dog's chew toy. Often they will spit it out, then pick it up again, breaking off a claw or leg in the process. Eventually they suck it down to their pharyngeal crushing teeth (located in the throat!) and then either swallow, or if the crab is large, spit out a cloud of crabby bits and then proceed to actually eat the crushed crab piece by piece.

The "right bite" is when a big tog sucks your crab into their crushing teeth...that's when you're supposed to swing for the fences, NOT when they are doing the tentative pecking with their grasping teeth.

(The above is paraphrased from another forum's excellent post on the subject)

So what's the difference between a rig and a jig as far as a feeding blackfish is concerned? We've discussed how much food manipulation a blackfish goes through before finally inhaling your crab. A sinker rig has 2 components --- a weight, and a hooked crab --- that is SEPARATED by a length of leader. When a blackfish picks up a crab that is tied to a rig, he will initially only experience the weight of the crab and hook, NOT the sinker. Only when he starts to shake/peck/wrestle with the crab, will he detect the weight of the sinker as a secondary (and inexplicable, to the tog's brain) tug.

A jig, on the other hand, is a weight and hook that is DIRECTLY CONNECTED. When a blackfish picks up a crab pinned to a jig, he is experiencing the entire mass of your offering from the initial contact. When he starts to shake and peck and suck in/spit out your crab, the weight of the jig and crab remains constant; there is no secondary tug of a disconnected sinker.

For a blackfish, especially one that is big and old and wary, these are two very different dining experiences! One crabby meal goes as expected...the other contains an element of surprise in the form of an unseen, unfelt weight, somehow tied to the crab he's munching on.

Does this always make a difference? No! But I am convinced that the weight dynamic outlined is THE reason sometimes, not always, light jigs will outfish rigs by wide margins, especially shallow, especially in fisheries where small asian crabs are the primary forage. It's not that a blackfish will ignore a crab on a rig vs. a crab on a jig: it's that under certain conditions a blackfish will be spooked by the disconnected weight of a sinker rig and never commit to eating a crab presented that way, he'll peck at your crab and drop it once he feels the sinker.

I hope that makes sense. It's a question I've mulled on for some time, and I believe that is the essential difference between rig and jig for tog. But...I could be wrong!

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Very informative! Thanks to Gerry and all the contributors

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

That is y I fish a fishfinder rig for blackfish!!!!!

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

That's interesting...... Never saw anyone using a fish finder rig for blackfish :confused:

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

i started using the jig for blackfish last year and i was totally sold almost immediately on it. like anything else in fishing there is a time and place for each tactic, but i personally always use the jig if i can! Being able to slowly walk that jig/crab around the boat to different areas every minute or so is a huge advantage over a bait rig imo and having a direct line contact to the hooked lure/bait is always an advantage as well.

If i do use a bait rig, i'll always use a break away so the weight will snap off if it's snagged and a nice fish hits it.

i've only been blackfishing about 4 years, but that's my two cents. Great post Gerry. I do believe it was a similar post from you that i read to get me started on tog jigs last year :)

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

My perspective is the jigs are usually very light so harder to cast with a conventional reel... I also like to put my pointer finger under the line to feel the bite... I can do this with one hand with a spinner, with conventionals you need 2 hands to do this...

One other important thing to remember if you choose to go with a spinner. Most come with a short fore-grip, you want a long for-grip. This really comes in handy when you want to lift the rod to put extra pressure on a fish that is digging to take you back into the rocks....You lift the rod with one hand and reel with the other.... This is a lot easier to do with a longer fore-grip.

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Great Chrisper, glad to hear it. It's a lot of fun fishing the jigs if the conditions are right...

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

meh,, use a 3 ounce sinker thats been painted, and keep the leader VERY short like 3 inches right above the sinker,, Did that for decades and hammered tog with it, way before people used $4 "blackfish jigs".. I see guys using 18 inch leaders for blackfish these days...Never understood that...
Also, try a 2-3 oz egg sinker , again painted, and simply let it butt against a long shank hook of appropriate size.. Cost- maybe a buck.. If anyone can explain how a jig would have better "feel for the hit" than that, I would love to hear it... bob

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

You don't need to use "blackfish jigs," any jig will work. Doesn't even have to be painted...they don't care about the jig. All they care about is the crab.

Curious: have you ever fished for tog with a jig? Perhaps more relevant: have you ever fished on a boat with a mix of jigger and riggers?

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Yes many times I have been around guys fishing tog with jigs... Typically in deeper water over 50 feet, wind, current, etc in late Nov intoDec.. Jigs caught some here and there, most were caught on rigs.. Never saw this killer bite on jigs personally, but by the time I usually go, the shallow water bite is dead or close to it.
I bought a few of the tog jigs, tried them last year, but the day i used them was dead for everyone.. Most guys got no keepers, and I was among that group.. I would certainly try it on a calm day in shallow water, and I am sure it would work fine. Guys fishing on LIS started using light jigs 20 years ago, in the shallow rocky, low current areas in the Sound

. I have yet to see them work very well in heavy seas, deep water, or strong currents.. I have caught tog on jigs, but that was on real jigs- Upperman bucktail type- years ago while fishing for other species, and I even caught a nice one many years ago on an AVA.... Look, I know the jigs will catch fish, but again, its simply a different way of presenting a crab.. As I said, a plain old hook with a painted 2 oz. egg sinker will do the exact same thing much cheaper.. bob

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

I've been thinking of using a low profile bait caster on a bass flipping rod. basically what i'd use to punch thick weeds and winch bass through lbs of weeds....it'd be sensitive (not as much as a light spinner, but i could easily hold the line with my finger and let out line with one hand) it'd have more backbone than a light spinner and the reel would have a lot more cranking power than a spinner.

Anyone ever tried this? I just need to make sure one of my good baitcasters can handle saltwater well and i'm going to give it a try this year.

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

My main SW setups are baitcasting combos, caught all my bigger tog last year on a Curado/Scorpion 70: https://www.instagram.com/p/BMWOEY2g...kingandfishing

Any quality BC will perform in the salt provided you rinse with freshwater after each trip. One tip: load the main drive shaft bearing with grease. That's one area where salt works its way in and can't be flushed out with a simple rinse.

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

thanks. there are some metals that reel companies use though that don't do well with salt, even with rinsing, that's my understanding at least. I just want to confirm with companies that salt water use won't void the warranty, you know what i mean? good call on the main shaft bearing with grease, will def do that!

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

My Revo NACL is holding up well but it's designed for Saltwater use.

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

The newer magnesium alloy framed reels (usually only flagship models) are treated with a coating that supposedly could withstand salt. If you scratch that coating, however, all bets are off.

I was going to buy the 2017 Shimano Chronarch MGL, until I read that it was not saltwater approved bc of a spool corrosion issue...then they released the Chronarch G which is the exact same reel w/o the MGL spool. Anyway, the Curado K was released shortly thereafter, and that's what I went with. Still haven't decided on a rod...

If you're shopping for a new reel, the new Curado K looks pretty bullet proof...at least on paper!

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

One more thing to add here.... I've been using this as my loop knot to connect the jig to my leader... Not sure you need a loop since I've seen a lot of people not use one and still catch fish...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv1aNhz7btU

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Almost that time of year!!!

Going to jig more often this year. How much drag should I set for 10 or 20 lb setup?

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Wish they hadn't discontinued those reels.
Reels that have kind of taken their place are the Revo Toro beast, and the Toro S.

There is a new reel in the line up called the Beast low profile 40 .
Havent got to fish it yet but guys who have really liked it

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

Well said... Again, as a few have already said to each his own. Personally, give me a nice juicey green crab with an egg sac on a standard single hook tog rig or a white legger with a snafu rig. Tog are in the nasty more often than not. To use a spinning outfit with a 30lb leader might be fun, but the odds of getting broken off when the fish digs to the bottom are high. Even though using a jig may not be new, in my personal opinion it is not what it is cracked up to be.

Re: Blackfish Jigging
 

It works, I have seen guys catch on jigs, but no better than rig fishermen.. However, this was typically later in the season when the water is cold, and the fish are deeper and slower.. I would imagine in shallower water with active fish, it is a very effective method. bob