Well my fishing partner (my Dad) recently got a new boat, a 32' Fountain. Before our offshore fishing was limited to snapper, ling, aj's etc. But now we have the fuel capicity and speed to reach farther out. Its all been a big learning process. Its a whole new world fishing for tuna. But we still have alot to learn. One of our new favorite things to do is jigging black fins at night. We do good but theres alot of room to get better and hone this skill. Rod and reel set up we are changing, thanks to the post here. The wealth of info here is second to none I've seen. But my question is .....what are ya'll top 5 favorite jigs brand, color, size, shape, flavor. Thanks guys and I cant wait to hear and trythese jigs.
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check out verticaljigging.com vast info on jigs.
my top five are.
hooker 1
fisherman long ijg
shimano butterfly long
shimano butteryly regular
smith side winder
any and all sizes. usually smaller for tuna(120-200grm)
pink is the most productive color for me.
just my 2 cents
my top five are.
hooker 1
fisherman long ijg
shimano butterfly long
shimano butteryly regular
smith side winder
any and all sizes. usually smaller for tuna(120-200grm)
pink is the most productive color for me.
just my 2 cents
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665 Posts
Jigging for Blackfins is just practice for AJ and Grouper jigging! Blackfin seem to bite any jig you throw, but try jigging over wrecks for AJs, that's awesome fishing. Jigging for Yellowfin is a big challenge!
Tom - DBG
Tom - DBG
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178 Posts
You can throw anything to catch blackfin.
I wish that were the case this past week.
The Blackies only wanted long silver jigs.....they would not touch a short pink or orange jig.
Also only one blowup on top, for an hour and a half of popping
I wish that were the case this past week.
The Blackies only wanted long silver jigs.....they would not touch a short pink or orange jig.
Also only one blowup on top, for an hour and a half of popping
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1,097 Posts
When bft are scarce they can be very selective of jig.
I too have experienced the ( only long silver jig)
or preference for lumo jigs. at these times I believe they are keying on a particular bait. (color or shape)
when they are thick they will hit anything. (sillouete or motion) as in jigs that are dull metal with no reflection or color
I too have experienced the ( only long silver jig)
or preference for lumo jigs. at these times I believe they are keying on a particular bait. (color or shape)
when they are thick they will hit anything. (sillouete or motion) as in jigs that are dull metal with no reflection or color
G
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·thanks guys for the info. with all that was said what are good jigs for yft!!!
the ones that you can get past the blackfins. once you get past them then working a jig with a little slower movement seems to work for me. jigs in the 200 to 450 gram size seem to work well. sometimes there are no blackfins in the area and then it is fairly easy to catch the yellowfins on jigs. the blackfins are smaller and faster and tend to beat the yellowfins to the bait....rick
the ones that you can get past the blackfins. once you get past them then working a jig with a little slower movement seems to work for me. jigs in the 200 to 450 gram size seem to work well. sometimes there are no blackfins in the area and then it is fairly easy to catch the yellowfins on jigs. the blackfins are smaller and faster and tend to beat the yellowfins to the bait....rick
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1,021 Posts
IME, BFT like longer, thin FAST moving jigs. For BFT, I have had best success with green/silver and blue/silver.
I have only hooked one nice YFT with a jig. I was slowly jigging a 14 ounce knife jig when I hooked it. It was about a 70 pound YFT lost at the boat.
I have hooked plenty of snapper with the brighter colored "turkey slider" 6-9 ounce River2Sea jigs.
I have landed plenty of AJs and a grouper on the large 14ounce thin (not knife) River2Sea jigs. BFT will slam these as well.
My biggest surprise catch on a jig was about a 180 pound class shark behind a shrimp boat caught with a crippled herring.
Vary your speed, presentation, and jigs until you find out what jig and presentation the fish want. When you discover the correct presentation and jig, the fish will start slamming you on every drop.
Success with jigs dramaticly decreases if you use wire. Stick to mono or flouro. I prefer being rigged with 80-100 pound solid spectra and a wind on of 60-80 pounds.
Good luck. I love jigging. Set the hook HARD when you get hit or feel the line go slack.
I have only hooked one nice YFT with a jig. I was slowly jigging a 14 ounce knife jig when I hooked it. It was about a 70 pound YFT lost at the boat.
I have hooked plenty of snapper with the brighter colored "turkey slider" 6-9 ounce River2Sea jigs.
I have landed plenty of AJs and a grouper on the large 14ounce thin (not knife) River2Sea jigs. BFT will slam these as well.
My biggest surprise catch on a jig was about a 180 pound class shark behind a shrimp boat caught with a crippled herring.
Vary your speed, presentation, and jigs until you find out what jig and presentation the fish want. When you discover the correct presentation and jig, the fish will start slamming you on every drop.
Success with jigs dramaticly decreases if you use wire. Stick to mono or flouro. I prefer being rigged with 80-100 pound solid spectra and a wind on of 60-80 pounds.
Good luck. I love jigging. Set the hook HARD when you get hit or feel the line go slack.
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3,586 Posts
Before the new style of jigs became popular the Tady 4/0 in blue&white or glow was the iron of choice for yft. Now Roy's in Corpus has quit carrying them.
He has a boat load of the OTI jigs. I stopped by Friday afternoon and took this pic. All the jigs on the bottom shelf are OTI. Around 12 feet long and triple stacked. Roy's is a great place. Once again, it's impossible not to walk in and not buy anything. I made the shelf a little lighter along with more tackle I don't need. We fisherman are real suckers when entering a tackle store.
He has a boat load of the OTI jigs. I stopped by Friday afternoon and took this pic. All the jigs on the bottom shelf are OTI. Around 12 feet long and triple stacked. Roy's is a great place. Once again, it's impossible not to walk in and not buy anything. I made the shelf a little lighter along with more tackle I don't need. We fisherman are real suckers when entering a tackle store.
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Guys, please let me know which jigs blackfin don't like.
Then I can figure out which jigs I use for yft on next trip.
The best yft jigs we found on the East Coast are short jigs in 6-8 inches though we caught them on long jigs too.
blackfin like all jigs.
Then I can figure out which jigs I use for yft on next trip.
The best yft jigs we found on the East Coast are short jigs in 6-8 inches though we caught them on long jigs too.
blackfin like all jigs.
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3,586 Posts
September is the worst of all scenarios. You get up early, head around 20-40 miles offshore to find a shrimper culling his last nightly catch. The first thing that comes to the surface is hundreds of bonito's. Then come the blackfins. If you want blackfins, it is a battle to keep your jig or bait from the bonito's.
It's virtually impossible to send a bait or jig down deep to the awaiting YF's. With all those footballs darting around you get very frustrated. The only thing to do is find another shrimp boat on the horizon and start the whole process over again. Normally, you get the same results until mid day when things settle down. That's when you actually have a chance at the YF's that may or may not be present.
Fighting away bonito's is a lot more frustrating than fighting away blackfins.
It's virtually impossible to send a bait or jig down deep to the awaiting YF's. With all those footballs darting around you get very frustrated. The only thing to do is find another shrimp boat on the horizon and start the whole process over again. Normally, you get the same results until mid day when things settle down. That's when you actually have a chance at the YF's that may or may not be present.
Fighting away bonito's is a lot more frustrating than fighting away blackfins.
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859 Posts
Hey mikeo! Welcome to the board!
Great advice above and hard to add to it all!
When it's tough to get through BFT's -straight down jigging- try casting the jig as far as your set-up will allow you (like throwing poppers, up current) on a slack line, and see if the jig can get down to the YFT's by the time the boat catches the jig (and you're again straight up and down).
Might work.
Great advice above and hard to add to it all!
When it's tough to get through BFT's -straight down jigging- try casting the jig as far as your set-up will allow you (like throwing poppers, up current) on a slack line, and see if the jig can get down to the YFT's by the time the boat catches the jig (and you're again straight up and down).
Might work.
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