[AJ hunter]

I'd like to get a jigging thread going. We've been drumming up quite a few fish using jigs especially using hammered diamond jigs (10-12 oz) and butterly jigs (8-10"). I am really impressed how both of the assist hooks always hook the fish. We also use white 6" Kalin Scampy with 4-6 oz heads and a great white nylure skirt jig made by Fairwaters. Our standard rigs aren't fancy, a Penn 4/0 H spooled with Yozuri hybrid line and a Penn Longbeach rod. However, it is highly effective and gives us enough finese to clean up.

Does anyone here use irons to fish yellowtail jack or AJs? How is the best way to do it?

 

[gman]

what rod was being used in the video I saw you posted? It seemed to have alot of movement. This fish busted my son up alittle but he got it in the boat. The hook up was the worste part. I wish they had these fish in the northeast as they are fun to catch

 

[gman]

Just my 2 cents...

Im fairly new to jigging as I have been a life long bait angler but the techniques used seem to vary based on region and type. I have been watching and listening to the techniques of some prolific jiggers up here in the NE

1.The butterfly system used and the Japenese type vertical jigging seems to be using the whole water column. Raising the rod tip and reeling, raising the jig the whole time. I get tired just watching these guys. Knife jig's or butterfly jigs

2. The more east coast style sems to be casting the jig away from the boat and dropping it to the strike zone and keeping the jig there working it in long sweeping motions. Hammered jig

I am intrigued with technique 1, and plan to use knife/butterfly jigs this season instead of hammered jigs. This whole jigging movement is addictive but I still love dropping down a runner and feeling it get slammed LOL

 

[Drifter]

gman, that's one heck of an AJ your son caught!!!!

 

[gman]

all by himself from hook up to gaff, he is an awesome angler ... has 3 different species of billfish to his name at 11. Going for number four next weekend in miami...sword time

 

[ksong]

Glenn,
I am watching closely your kind and this young lady in the picture below.
When you see their smiling faces offshore, you know they love fishing.

I heard this young lady had 19 tuna hookup while working lines in different depth on an overnight tuna trip.
She hooked up with a nice tuna in 300 ft down while nobody on the boat had a bite. Capt. suggested that she would get free trip if she could land the fish and she did !

I don't doubt your kid and the young lady are going to be famous fishermen in 10 years.

 

[gman]

thanks Kilsong, that means alot comming from you. You are the tuna King, Anthony has asked me several times about going on overnighters on party boats with me. I have been hesitant becuase i know tempers flare when people are on but I may take him on a limited load trip on either the Big E, Jamaica, Voyager or Helen H. He has a hot hand.

We have several overnighters already planned with Dom at Coatsal charters in Rhode Island along with atenative one with Canyon Runner. I cannot wait for the season to start.

 

[MrBill]

gman,

I think that AJ will out weigh your son. Nice catch for him. He's lucky to have a Father that enjoys the great outdoors. He will follow in your footsteps. I see it all the time. It happened to me. I'm even more of a fanatic than my Father.

 

[TightenUp]

i was just down in the keys and the jigging they did was very different from new jersey where we fish.

in florida we were fishing 100-200 ft of water. for the AJ's we were using big bucktails. we would drop the bucktail down to bottom and then the jigging would being. 4 or 5 quick jerks then reel 2 or 3 times and repeat. after doing this about 8-10 times you would reel in line and start all over again.

in new jersey i use hammerheads for tuna. i am fishing in about 600-1000 ft of water. most of the fish are somewhere above the 200 ft mark. i get my jig down deep enough to be under the fish. my jigging consists of slow pumping action trying to keep the line somewhat tight. i strictly use braid for the senstivity.

i find with the hammerhead, if i jig fast with big pumps i will get the hook wrapped around my line. with the bucktails this does not happen. i am thinking of giving the butterfly jigs a try but they are expensive. i have one for the upcoming season
im not sure if this helps you or not but its just my 2 cents

 

[tattoo]

There is no set way to retrieve a jig: fast,slow,or number of jerks before reeling. Work the lure at all levels in the water and try different retrieves and find out what is working for that day or fish you are trying to catch. If you are concerned about the cost of butterfly jigs try the williamson jig they work just as good. Several tackel shops in the Houston/Galveston area have their own brand of knock off jigs.

 

[ksong]

When I fished at Baltimore Canyon one night, I jigged relentlessly by changing jigs, jigging styles and trying different depth for nothing. I put my jigging rod on the rod holder and went to the bathroom. When I came back I found my rod tip bent down with a tuna. That was the only tuna we caught on the trip.

 

[SkeeterRonnie]

get your butterfly style jigs from www.oceantackle.com ... price is VERY right.

 

[SkeeterRonnie]

i will give yall my freshwater experience with crappie.... I know.... different fish- but there are similarities in their bite...

Sometimes I find the fish want the jig straight up and down and jigged with a lot of motion.... sometimes they want the jig thrown out and hit it on the fall....and sometimes they want the jig in front of them perfectly still (even have to adapt my movement to counteract the boat's movement).. a fish, is a fish, is a fish....

I always try to adapt my presentation based on my past experiences... it doesnt seem to matter much on what species- the tactics are similar (jigging, draggin the bottom, resting bait on bottom while compensating for boat movement).... I got on a grouper bite on one of the TFF tuna trips at our day stop.. I found the grouper(yellowmouth) wanted the bait sitting on the bottom perfectly still without any movement from the boat.... so I would go to the bottom- and let enough line out I could keep tension on it, and still move the rod up and down to keep the weight from stirring up the bottom while bouncing... I cant remember how many 5-7 I caught, but "Pee Wee- Deep Sea Headquarters" told me he was impressed... that meant a lot to this rookie. ANd on the night time YFT I found that If I threw the jig out past the lights and let it fall on a tight line while popping it avery 5 seconds- I could hook up. I had to switch to a spinning rig to get the jig out that far. On another trip I found that the chunk bite became REEEEEEEAAALLLYY boring so I asked Jamie to pin on a piggieperch... he set me up with a egg sinker carolina rig... freelined it out to my topshot connection and that resulted in hookups almost everytime(until the rest of the boat caught wind of what I was doing... LOL)

Adaptation is one of the most important factors in a successful trip.... have it in the back of your mind to fish each tactic 30 minutes until you find what they start hitting, then key in on the slight differences (color, style, size).... I have learned this through constantly being on the water -whether it be salt or fresh.(with 99% of my time being on freshwater- but the tactics carry over)

 

[Backlash Scott]

AJ HUnter,you asked about jigging for yellowtail jack. I have done a good bit of jigging for yellowtail & its probably my favorite style of fishing.The jigging that I've done is usually in roughly 150 to 200 feet of water.Although there are numerous types of jigs, I have had the most success with a 6 ounce Tady or similar jig.If you're not familiar with this type of jig, take a look at Charkbait's website.
You want to use a high speed reel, at least a 4:1 ratio but preferably a 6:1 ratio.Most people use either 40 or 50 pound line.
The lure is dropped to the bottom and then you put your reel in gear & crank as fast as you possibly can. This is not subtle fishing, but very effective.
Bites aren't subtle either.When a yellowtail hits it feels like you snagged a volkswagon.These fish are a lot of fun & a twenty pound yellowtail is a workout because they fight all the way to the boat.
Are you planning a trip to the west coast? If you are give yellowtail jigging a shot if you get a chance.Good luck,
Backlash Scott

 

[TightenUp]

tattoo, i agree. if one thing is not working i will try another...this includes jigs, jigging motion, depth and anything else i can think of at the time.

i am in New Jersey so i don't think i am going to be able to make it down to those shops. i have picked up other jigs similar to the butterfly but i have not used them yet, i do look forward to using them this year

 

[TightenUp]

ksong i know you from another site, bassbarn. i fished with stu on the pez machine and he had a rod with a jig in the rodholder the whole time we were chunking. we were in 3-5 and the waves did the work. i never thought of doing it but i will this season

 

[ksong]

Yes, I fished with Stu. He is very nice guy and an excelllent fisherman.
Jigging using outriggers has been around for a long time.

I had an opportunity to experiment different jigging speeds and jigging methods when hundreds of small yellowtail swimming around the mothership at night in Sea of Cortez, Baja.
It was apparent that they responded more when I made erratic motions on the jigs than steady cranking.
The our traditional method of jigging for bluefish, AJ or yellowtail is to crank as fast as we can. But based on my observation, Japanese style jerk/crank method can outfish as it gives more erratic motions on jigs.

 

[Ragman]

get your butterfly style jigs from www.oceantackle.com ... price is VERY right.

You can view the jigs Ronnie mentions at OTI, but you can buy them at

www.360tackle.com

Good luck and let us know if you have any questions.

 

[Ragman]

Does anyone here use irons to fish yellowtail jack or AJs? How is the best way to do it?


Hey AJ!

Backlash's technique works for me! I don't think you can burn it too fast! LOL

When you get tired -which you will if you're doing it right- I like the yoyo technique by casting out long and reel/pop it back, in between letting the jig flutter on a slightly loose line to a 10 count.

 

[AJ hunter]

Backlash Scott and Ragman. Thanks for the insight. I'd like to apply these Yellowtail techniques for AJ. I've been experimenting using a 330 GTI Penn Reel (my fastest medium duty baitcasting reel) with some Tady irons and Hopkins Jigs but I think it isn't fast enough. Fortunately I have a Newell Conversion Jigmaster 500 converted to an albicore special with a 5:1 retrieve. I am hoping this will be fast enough for the retrieve.