Jigging Keuka 4/13

[Guppy35]

Going to try jigging on keuka lake for the first time today after work. Probably be launching in Hammondsport. Just wondering what depth would be a good starting point, and also I've heard some people say you should drop your jig to the bottom then just reel it back up as you drift, and others have said jig it right on the bottom. Any suggestions?? Any advice would be great, like i said its my first time jigging

Thanks!

Sean

[Clarkie]

I'd start around 100 feet and work out to 140 until you find fish.

We have been catching most of our fish within 20 feet of the bottom. I use metal lures on Keuka, such as diamond jigs, Buckshot spoons and Kastmasters, from 3/4 oz. to 1.5 ounces. One ounce is a good starting point..My go-to lure is a one ounce silver diamond jig with a treble hook.

Unless it is unusally calm, you need an electric motor to maintain a near vertical presentation. You want to be fishing as close to straight down as possible.

I generally drop the lure to the bottom, reel up a crank or two and then snap the jig upward and let it flutter back down. Most strikes come when the lure is dropping.

Dropping the lure to the bottom and then reeling it up fairly fast works, but it is a lot of reeling and I think it is more effective after the water warms and the fish are more spread out in the water column. Last time I fished Keuka my partner caught two that way..However, we caught 38 by keeping the lure near bottom and snap jigging.

[Guppy35]

Clarkie,

Thanks for the info, that should definately be enough to get us started! I do not have an electric trolling motor, so we will just have to do what we can without.

The forecast is calling for 6-9 mph winds this evening, so without an electric trolling motor would you suggest going with 1 1/2 ounce or 1 ounce?

Thanks Again,

Sean

[smaltcody]

Well I'm a troller not a jigger but a little tip I trolled last night and rods went crazy didn't count the fish we caught so many but launch out of the motel and run north untill you hit 90 fow (about 200 ft) on the west side in front of the marina we pounded lakers everything tripped all different lures fish were stacked and at about an hour.before dark bait fish everywhere good luck and tight.lines

Cody

[ Post made via Android ]

[Clarkie]

Without an electric, I would go with the 1.5 ounce lures and hope for calm water...

Vertical jigging becomes problematic with a drift...At depths of 100 feet or more, the line angles out away from the boat quite quickly...You might manage, but you'll need to reel in and reset often to come close to holding bottom... You'll probably catch some fish, but if you intend to do a lot of jigging, you need to consider installing an electric.

Good luck and keep us posted.. ....

[Fish Junkie]

Don't neglect shallower water. We typically catch them as shallow as 40-50' fow. this time of year through May off Branchport. It is not uncommon to see 'wolf packs' busting bait right on the surface, If you see this activity, a simple cleo or crocodile will do. Kastmasters are as good casted and retrieved as they are for verical jigging

[troutman10]

A trolling motor is great if you have one but a good drift sock or even a couple 5 gallon buckets with holes in the bottom will slow your drift down and make your presentation a little more vertical compared to nothing. I don't leave home without my drift sock if I'm gonna be jigging. We all know how that wind can whip up and down these lakes. Good luck out there!

[guff]

Hi all - First post so not sure how this will go. On the subject of jigging vertically. I exclusively jig (boated 501 LT in 2011). An alternative I use to drift socks, etc. is standing in the back of my boat and casting downwind far enough such that the jig actually hits bottom at the back of the drifting boat. Works great. Can also do at front of boat. With this system you can watch your jig drop on the fish finder (because it is under the transducer) and a lot of times I will let the jig fall until it is just above a rising LT then start reeling in. If he keeps following your jig (can see on ff) hold on tight because he is likely to stop your jig like you just snagged a 10lb anchor and then the fight is on. Dang, do love this kind of fishing! -Al

[Guppy35]

Well we got out on the lake around 4:30 at the hammondsport end and started jigging. Seems like my brother was the only one that knew what he was doing, he caught 3 lakers in 80-100 fow. Since we really weren't marking many concentrated fish, we decided to do a little trolling too and managed 4 or 5 more lakers on the downriggers @ 70 feet and 90 feet. Would like to try jigging again sometime in the near future. I've heard a lot of people talking about the branchport end of the lake when it comes to jigging, but never tried that before. Any suggestions?

Sean

[guff]

Guppy- You probably already know this but because you do not see marks on your ff does not mean the LT are not there. I can not read the bottom 2 feet off water on my ff so can miss LT that are hugging the bottom. If you use the method I decribed you often will see LT come up off the bottom as they see your jig drop. Usually where there is one there is more.

[Guppy35]

Thanks guff, i'll give that a try next time i go.

[guff]

Guppy - Got to admit I have not tried Branchport end of Keuka this spring but have probably jigged it at least a hundred times in the past. It is a good area this time of year. As fish junkie said anywhere from 50 fow at very north end to 170 fow say a 1/4 mile south of launch can hold lots of LT. Think best plan is to spend time on first trip checking various depths to find fish then next trip really go after them. Best if do not have south winds over 10 mph. The west arm acts as a funnel and even a mild south wind can result in a very fast moving drift. I hit east side of the tip of the bluff if wind too much near boat launch. About a 6 mile boat trip and south wind is usually about half what it is by launch.