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Jigging for trout


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Was wondering if anyone can tell me a few different ways to rig up for jigging for trout. Or at least some advice. Always trolled but have small boat now of my own and I really want,to get into some jigging. Anyone ever use like a spoon or wobbler above jig leader. I was just wondering if that would be something worth trying. [emoji41] thanks for any and all advice. I hope I posted in the right place if not my apologies ahead of time.

Everyone have a fun and safe season [emoji106]

 

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Three way swivel, main line to swivel, fluorocarbon leader to bait/lure, and a pencil weight appropriate to depth and currents.


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I have tried this 4x now. Last year I watch a few YouTube videos of a guy off of Sodus jigging for lakers (I setup the same way). He did well. My problem, even with 1oz ocean jigs I can't get to the bottom with 8lb line. The current in the lake is moving fast. I drop the jig in 50 - 100 feet of water, only after I locate fish on the bottom, on the graph. Drop the jig and I watch it drop on the graph. At about 60 feet, it just takes off and never hits the bottom near your boat. If you don't let out enough line it will never touch the bottom. That makes it impossible to jig for them. The current catches the jig and it just moves horizontal. Does anyone have a fix for that.

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It seems to me that you are drifting too fast. Get a minn kota and spot lock or if you don’t have spot lock, I used to keep a smaller minn kota in reverse heading up current.  As far as jigging goes, 1 oz. round jig, white plastic, braided line, fleurocarbon leader.  

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There's certainly drift out there, but the main issue is that there are top and bottom currents in the lake, and they make it hard to get a jig down as you've seen. There's no simple solution. You have to hit a day when the current's not running strong and the wind and current are working together instead of against each other. It helps too when the fish are in shallower, of course. Use braid not mono with a fluorocarbon leader, as thin as you're comfortable with. A 1 oz jig is as small as I'd go, but 1 1/2 or even 2 oz are necessary sometimes, and something that's designed for current will help. You need a stout rod to drive the jig home when it's that heavy, but you can sacrifice sensitivity, particularly in the heavy currents. It's tough but achievable. Sometimes. Spring jigging for lakers at the Niagara bar can be nothing short of phenomenal and you're generally in shallower water so it's not tough. There are lots of guides to help you learn the ropes out that way too.

 

Of course, that's Lady O. The Finger Lakes are a different story, and much easier to manage technically.

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I am going to keep trying for sure. I actually have dropped anchor in 100 feet of water to "mess" around jigging. It got so hot that day and the water was gin clear, the girls wanted to jump in and swim. We all did and to my amazement, it is a good thing I tied 2 fenders to 25 feet of dock line and sent them out back. The top current was "invisible" till you jumped in and looked at the propeller in the water. It looked like the boat was in gear. The prop was spinning like crazy and the current drifted us all away from the boat as soon as we jumped in. We had to grab the fenders tied out back and pull ourselves back to the boat. If the boat was not attached to the bottom with the anchor we never would have noticed that current. But it was amazing how fast it was moving.

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Is that a 1/4 oz jig head?

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I use 1/2 to 1 1/4 oz jig heads depending on how deep the fish are. Same on Lake O. 20 to 30lb braided line is a must also for better hook sets in deeper water. Also use trolling motor to stay on top of schools of fish when ya find them.


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One of the best guide's I have ever found on how to get started lake trout Jigging on Cayuga is here - http://cayugafisher.net/pages/resdex.php

It has almost everything you need to know from what gear to use to how to do it. Rods, Reels, Line Recommendations ect... 

 

You can get Jig heads here http://billysmtolures.com/ as the guy who runs the first site isn't producing them at the moment. 

 

Another good resource for info regarding where to Jig (generally) and what depth to look for the fish at is here on John's website - http://fingerlakesanglingzone.com/reports.asp

 

I also highly suggest searching through older threads about Jigging. Some very valuable info in them including what to look for on your fishfinder. 

 

-Pete 

 

 

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just as a suggestion. If fishing deeper than 75 - 100 feet go to a 1.5 jig and when drifting fling your jig out in the direction that you are drifting and let it free fall and your jig will catch up to your boat about the same time and you will be able to see it on your graph.Good luck.

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One of the best guide's I have ever found on how to get started lake trout Jigging on Cayuga is here - http://cayugafisher.net/pages/resdex.php

It has almost everything you need to know from what gear to use to how to do it. Rods, Reels, Line Recommendations ect... 
 
You can get Jig heads here http://billysmtolures.com/ as the guy who runs the first site isn't producing them at the moment. 
 
Another good resource for info regarding where to Jig (generally) and what depth to look for the fish at is here on John's website - http://fingerlakesanglingzone.com/reports.asp
 
I also highly suggest searching through older threads about Jigging. Some very valuable info in them including what to look for on your fishfinder. 
 
-Pete 
 
 

Thanks for this excellent post[emoji106] A lot of good bedtime reading material available through those links. Now to get out there with some time in the boat!


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I almost always jig.  Ten pound test crystal fireline(so you can see it with 10ish feet of leader and 1 1/2 ounce jig.  Some days the metal lure jigs works best other it is the tube jigs, most people say white but we use all colors.  You need a depth finder that you can see your jigs in 130 feet of water and a good electric motor to hold you over the fish.  For us most of our fish we see reacting to the lure.  A lot of the fish want the jig sitting on the bottom, just a slight movement , I like to think I am just rolling it over side.  they will pick it up off the bottom at times.   Then jig it a bit and then retrive it, if you see one coming in pull it up faster and faster  DO NOT SLOW down.  You can occasionally see them hit it, that makes it more fun. I use my mitchell with 150 yards of line and with the big jig you have to try to horse them up.  If they turn and get any slack line the wieght of the jig, you will loose them.  Good luck, they hit great......jk    Read gators post again!!!

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I almost always jig.  Ten pound test crystal fireline(so you can see it with 10ish feet of leader and 1 1/2 ounce jig.  Some days the metal lure jigs works best other it is the tube jigs, most people say white but we use all colors.  You need a depth finder that you can see your jigs in 130 feet of water and a good electric motor to hold you over the fish.  For us most of our fish we see reacting to the lure.  A lot of the fish want the jig sitting on the bottom, just a slight movement , I like to think I am just rolling it over side.  they will pick it up off the bottom at times.   Then jig it a bit and then retrive it, if you see one coming in pull it up faster and faster  DO NOT SLOW down.  You can occasionally see them hit it, that makes it more fun. I use my mitchell with 150 yards of line and with the big jig you have to try to horse them up.  If they turn and get any slack line the wieght of the jig, you will loose them.  Good luck, they hit great......jk    Read gators post again!!!
Thanks very much I will deffinetly try that out.

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A couple of years ago I did a tutorial on lake trout jigging.  It was filmed on Lake Ontario but the technique is the same.   The only difference is that a fast crank works on the finger lakes, rarely does on LO.

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Nice vid. I was wondering about using a dodger or wobbler of some sort. So cool. Thanks for the help

 

 

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