4X4-ing A Jig
February 23, 2009
There are a number of reasons why I’m addicted to bass fishing: I love the competition, I love the outdoors and, like all of us, I love to catch fish. But the real driver for this passion is I love to figure out the puzzle. Bass fishing is a very complex sport with a large number of variables. Leaving any of those variables unsolved can mean the difference between catching fish and going home empty-handed.
That’s exactly what happened to me late last winter when I was fishing the FLW Stren event on Shasta. I was on a deep jig pattern catching spots in practice, but what had been a solid pattern during practice changed in the course of a day and I was missing a pertinent piece of the puzzle. That’s when, by chance, I figured out the key puzzle piece and went on to have a good tournament.
The key, as I later confirmed on waters throughout the rest of the year, was an interesting jig technique that the fish really reacted to. Some may call what I am about to explain swimming a jig but it’s far from that.
Swimming a jig is primarily done with a medium to fast retrieve, keeping the jig near to but off the bottom. My freshly-acquired technique is done with a slow retrieve, the jig in constant contact with the bottom, while trying to bang every rock, stump or piece of vegetation throughout the entire cast. Essentially the jig has become a 4-wheel-drive vehicle.
The Genesis
Going into the Shasta Stren event I was on a good jig bite in 30 to 40 feet of water and I felt confident that this bite would last for the entire tournament. Unfortunately the fish didn’t pay much attention to what they were supposed to do and the next thing I knew, on tournament day, my fish had evaporated. At this point I was forced to make a move and figure out the missing piece of the puzzle.
Dejected, I made a cast up into two feet of water and began a slow retrieve of the jig down the rocky bank – thinking about what I needed to do to get back on fish. That first cast resulted in a healthy 2-1/2 pound spotted bass and keyed me onto a bite I’d never been on before – one that resulted in a 40-fish day and eventually gave me a 20th-place finish in the tournament. That cast changed my thoughts on how to fish a jig
Since that tournament, the technique has proven itself not only on deep spotted bass impoundments like Shasta but on smallmouth fisheries like Lake Havasu along with lakes that have trees and vegetation. Here’s how it works:
The Retrieve
The basis of the technique rests solely on the retrieve. With this approach you want the jig to hit every obstacle in the path of your cast – therefore, your cast needs to be placed in order to give you the most bang for your buck.
When working a steep bank or point, position the boat so you can make 45-degree casts towards the bank. This is important because it allows the jig to stay in the strike zone for the majority of the cast.
Once the jig has hit the bottom, slowly begin to retrieve the bait, making sure not to lose bottom contact at any time. It’s important to feel and hit every obstruction on the bottom. What this does is disturb mud and debris from the bottom and mimics a crawdad in panic mode.
This was a key for me at Havasu last year except I wasn’t fishing long steep points there – the fish were on shallow rock flats. Through the clear water I could see smallmouths cruising amongst the shallow rocks. The problem was they wouldn’t eat any of my offerings of jerkbaits, cranks, or blades. That all changed, when I 4X4’d the jig through the rock bottom. The fish went from avoiding my bait to crushing it.
But rock isn’t the only place this technique works. It’s also been stellar in standing timber and vegetation. When I’m fishing timber, I try to make a cast so I can hit every piece of wood I can with the jig. It’s almost as if I’m slow-rolling a spinnerbait through the trees. On the other hand, in weeds, I fish it primarily like a Rattle Trap. When the bait gets hung, I rip it out of the cover and that’s when the strikes come.
The Gear
Over the last year of developing this technique I have come up with the basic gear needed to put the odds in my favor. Because the technique can be used on rock, timber and vegetation, the main tackle used depends on what type of cover I’m fishing. For example, 
if I’m fishing rock I’ll stick primarily with a standard football head anywhere from 1/4 to 1 ounce in size depending on the depth. But if I’m fishing grass I’ll use a 1/4-ounce GYCB Swim Jig head. That head allows me to Texas rig the jig making it weedless, and its shape comes through the grass a lot better. For wood, I’ll use the Swim Jig head too but will vary the weight between 1/4 and 3/8 ounce depending on how deep the fish are in the wood.
Because this is what I would consider a power fishing technique, you need sturdy tackle that can take the abuse. The rods I use are Powell 734CF for the lighter jigs and the 764 for the heavier applications.
On those rods I use the Shimano Curado E7s. I prefer these high-speed reels because with this technique, the fish have a tendency to throw slack into the line after they attack the jig and the high-speed reel allows me to catch up to them quickly.
For most of my applications I use 12- to 15-pound fluorocarbon line. It’s very sensitive and abrasion resistant – something you need while fishing this technique. I have gone as high as 20-pound test and as low as 10-pound test for some scenarios, though.
As for the business end of the package, my favorite bait overall is the old standby GYCB Series 93 and 97 Double Tail Hula Grubs. For a jig, these are hard to beat. But I’ve also 
caught fish using the Swimming Senko, grubs and the Flappin’ Hog II so use your imagination.
This new technique has really produced for me and I know it will for you if you give it a chance. Just remember to keep in contact with the bottom and be ready when that fish comes out of nowhere and tries to pull the your rod right out of your your hand!