Jig Fishing by Mitch Looper

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=150 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id45.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Articles"><U><B>Back to Articles  </B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.trophybassonly.com"><U><B>Back to Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#C0DCC0" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="5d7d0a53.jpg"> <div>  </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="506" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 75 WIDTH="89"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="75" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="89" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <B>Night Time Jig Fishing </B></div> <div> <B>for Big Bass</B><B> </B></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="89"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="20" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="89" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="406"><div> <B>by Mitch Looper</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <B>                                  </B></div> <div> <B>       I must say from the beginning, I only night fish during the cool months here in Arkansas, as during the hot months the water is too crowded for me. I start night fishing as early in the year as I can, sometimes in January if the overnight lows are not below about 36 degrees. I usually finish my night fishing by May. This is about the time the lakes start getting crowded at night. </B></div> <div> <B>   </B></div> <div> <B>   As far as moon phases go, I have proved, at least to myself, that moon phase has a lot to do with how the big bass bite at night. I have done very well on the full moon and quarter (half) moon phases. My 2 biggest night bass have come on the full moon, but I catch a lot more 7 to 10 lb'ers on the quarter moon phases. After many years of night fishing, I have come to the conclusion that most nights, there will be a major feed from about 3:30 a.m. to a little after daylight. So that is when I fish. I can night fish 2 or 3 nights in a row this way, and it has been much more productive than when I used to fish all night. I have never done well at night on the new moon phase, but I may have figured out why. After reading about Dee Cowgill's experiences, and the times he fishes, I tried a new moon night trip with my wife. We started just before dark and fished until about 1:00 a.m. I didn't get any big bites, but my wife hung 2 giant bass that stripped line easily, then came unbuttoned. So I will be experimenting with the different time frame on the new moon nights. </B></div> <div> <B>   </B></div> <div> <B>   I do not use any lights at night, except for netting fish or taking care of problems that may develop (like if I have caught several big bass and need to retie or sharpen hooks). None of the guys who use lights on the lake I fish have caught really big fish. The fish in my favorite night lake are just too spooky when they get up in less than 15 feet of water. </B></div> <div> <B>   </B></div> <div> <B>   I also fish very very slowly, using my trolling motor on the slowest possible speed, and when I am in a particularly good big bass spot, I will try not to use it at all. I rarely anchor at night anymore. It has not proven to be a productive solution to these spooky fish, for some reason. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>   Now for the jig. I use a 3/8 oz Riverside Flippin jig. It is just what I need for the depth I am fishing, and the hook is not so big as to prevent good hooksets at a distance. I always use rattles at night. I use 17 to 25 lb Excalibur Silver Thread line. I use heavy Daiwa rods, and Daiwa PT33SH reels. These reels will pull in 33 inches of line per crank, with a full spool. This is important to my night fishing, as I make a lot of long casts, and with a lot of line out, it is important to get a lot of the stretch out of your line on the hookset (there is a lot of stretch in 30 yards of mono or copolymer line). The reel takes care of some of the stretch, so I can hammer the hook home with the rod. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>   I find most of my big night bass in 6 to 20 feet of water, with 6 to 12 feet the most productive. I usually make a long cast up into 2 or 3 feet of water so as to not spook the fish (the fish in the lake I night fish the most are VERY pressured and VERY spooky). After the lure hits bottom, I reel slowly until I feel the jig. Keeping my rod barely above the horizontal position, I move the jig 2 inches to a foot with my reel, while shaking the rod. I keep constant contact with the jig, even as it falls (which is one reason I use a jig rather than soft plastics, soft plastics seem to get a lot more strikes if allowed to fall on more of a slack line, which means you can't feel them). And every time my jig hits bottom, I carefully feel to see if a fish has taken it without me knowing. Of course I know my lake intimately, so I know when I am on a shelf or drop-off and need to handle my rod differently. When I come to the edge of a drop-off, I raise my rod a little higher, and follow the jig down as it falls, so it will not swing too far away from the base of the drop-off. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>   When I feel a strike, I reel quickly till I feel the pressure from the fish, then set with the rod while continuing to reel. Many of these big bass swim straight to me on the hookset, so the hookset and the reeling fast is very important if I want to land many of them. From strike to hookset is a blur, because my rod is already in a hooksetting position. Probably takes a fraction of a second. Takes way longer to say "there's one." </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>   Now for the part that will blow most of your minds. I have done the best with a brown and orange jig with a brown trailer at night, and black and blue is WAY back in second place. I usually night fish with another good jig fisherman, and we each use a different color jig until the fish show a clear preference. And 90% or more of the time, it is the brown/orange that does the trick. The water I am fishing is quite clear, and in shallow water the human eye can see the difference in the color on a bright night. It seems apparent to me after all these years that the bass can tell the difference too. Still, I start out with 2 rods with brown/orange jigs, and one rod with black/blue. This way if I have a problem with one of my rigs, I can just pick up another without having to stop and retie, or sharpen hooks, or whatever. The darkest nights are the only times that black/blue has out produced the brown/orange. Also, in the early part of the year in my area, a crawfish attractant seems to work the best, so I keep my jig saturated with Yum crawfish scent. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>   My favorite lake to night fish has very little cover (another reason why the big fish are so spooky), so I mainly focus on the drops and funnel areas that have a well defined feeder creek. Most of the drops are places where the main channel of the lake swings against a bank. The place where the channel first hits the bank (underwater point), and where it swings back away (another underwater point) are the prime spots. In the funnel areas, my best spots have been where the feeder creek makes a sharp bend, and where the feeder creek has some cover. I also only fish areas of the lake that have immediate access to the main portion of the lake. I have never, in years of trying, caught a really big bass in the upper end of a reservoir at night. I believe for the most part, that the biggest bass in the lakes I fish are going to be in the middle and lower portions, where there is lots of deep water and access to shad, and closer to the banks, crawfish. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>   I have left out a lot of details to save space. If anything needs further clarification, I visit the Forum here on a daily basis, so post your query there and I will try to answer it. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="5" CELLPADDING="5" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="414" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#A6CAF0 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#C0DCC0 HEIGHT= 228 WIDTH="390"><div> <B>                             </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#009900" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>A note from the web master:</B></I></FONT></div> <div> <B>   I have known Mitch Looper for some time now and I must say, I am always amazed at how consistently he scores on big bass. Mitch talks of 7's and 8's as if they are not that big of a deal........and these are </B><I><B>Northern Strain Bass !!!</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>  </B></I><B>Mitch has caught several bass over 10 lbs, which can be seen on this site, including a 14.41 lb'er which is in fact, one of the largest Northern strain bass ever caught in the history of bass fishing ! And he catches most of these fish using the methods that he describes here.</B></div> <div>   </div> <div> <B>Your help on the site is greatly appreciated Mitch,</B></div> <div> <B>Continued success to you buddy !</B></div> <div> <B>Fish Chris</B>  </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>