Jig-rig - spinning equipment, consisting of an elongated weight and a hook with silicone bait, placed on a carabiner.
The system was invented in the USA to catch bass and allowed fishing in dense thickets of bottom grass and in flooded tree tops.
This system is used in our country perch, pike, starlings for fishing on a heavily silted bottom, on sandstone and shells. When fishing in such places, the jig-rig system allows you to reduce the number of hooks and disconnections. Also increase the number of baits.
Advantages of the Jig-Rig system
The system has many advantages compared to other types of devices:
- Casting - due to the low aerodynamic resistance during the throw, it has excellent flight characteristics.
- Fewer snags on obstacles - when fishing in reservoirs covered with small vegetation or a muddy bottom, they have better "passability" and reduce the probability of placing the bait in the trap.
- A large number of possible passes – allows you to use various methods of passing the bait when fishing: stop'n'go, smooth, dragging with the bottom, with a jerk, possible animation of the bait on the spot, etc.
- Easy installation - differs from many others due to its easy installation, which even a novice fisherman can easily do.
Disadvantages of the Jig-Rig
With all its advantages, it also has some disadvantages:
- Unfixed hook – the bait is not fixed in the system and moves freely on the carabiner, which leads to an increase in empty baits.
- It is more difficult to pass – the weight and shape of the weight strongly influence the performance of the system. During a pause, an improperly selected weight can fall on the bait or tip the bait to its side and it will not work properly.
Installation of the Jig-Rig system
On the carabiner
The weight with the bait is attached directly to the carabiner, without the use of starting rings.
The attachment on the carabiner is carried out directly on the pond and allows you to quickly change the weight or the hook with the bait. This installation method is very simple and is mostly used in Jig-Rig fishing.
On the starter ring
With this setup, a weight and a baited hook are attached to the ring, and a carabiner is attached to the same ring
When attached to the ring, the hook with the bait has more freedom, which ensures a better game of the bait, but at the same time, the ring is an additional element of equipment that weakens its strength. Installation on the ring requires the use of an auxiliary tool and is best done in advance at home.
Jig-Rig weights
Weights of various shapes are used: drop, cone, banana or polygonal. Sticks, drop and banana shaped weights are most commonly used. The tip of the weight must have a built-in spinner.
Lead or in some cases tungsten weights are mostly used. Tungsten weights provide greater casting distance due to their smaller size for the same weight.
The weight of the weight is selected according to the size and weight of the bait. The bigger the bait, the bigger the weight and size should be. Sticks are used for narrow-bodied baits, and drop-shaped weights for wide baits.
Jig-Rig hooks
In most cases, offset hooks are used, because this equipment fishing usually carried out in reservoirs heavily covered with underwater vegetation.
Jig-Rig Lures
Both active and passive silicone baits are used in fishing.
Passive silicone baits (worms, slugs, octopuses, crustaceans) are more often used, which allow you to catch even a passive predator. When fishing with passive baits, active casting is used: in the form of jerking, pulling the bait along the bottom.
Active silicone lures allow you to catch an active predator, also on smooth or stop'n'go casting.
Good results in fishing are shown by floating silicone baits. During the pause, such baits imitate a feeding fish and thus attract the attention of predators.
Conducting
- stop'n'go - after casting, the angler lets the bait sink to the bottom, then starts turning the reel handle, making 2-3 revolutions, then pauses for 2-5 seconds.
- Uniform conduction - after casting, the angler continuously turns the reel handle at medium or high speed, and the bait moves evenly in the water density or near the bottom.
- Bottom drag - after casting, the angler lets the bait sink to the bottom, lowers the tip of the rod to the bottom of the water and starts slowly turning the reel handle. This way, the bait drags along the bottom, raising the mud. Dragging the bait along the bottom can provoke even a passive predator.
- Game on the spot – is effective in catching a predator hiding between traps, in holes and in thick underwater vegetation. The angler forces the bait to move short distances with the tip of the rod.