Hey guys,
A few people over time have asked me to detail how I jig for salmon. By no means am I the authority on salmon jigging but my success at times speaks for itself and I think for some that by reading this it'll help you bypass some of the mistakes that I made (not that I'm not still screwing up from time to time). For me, jigging the way I do is more technical than what I see most others doing and once you get the hang of it is extremely addicting. I’m going to break it down into my gear/setup and then techniques.
For gear, again I have non-traditional setups. Most people that I see are using either 10’6” mooching rods with single action reels or BIG reels with pool cues. There are problems with each of these setups. First a long 10’6” rod/reel has an action that bends from the handle. When you are lucky enough to get a salmon to strike, the rod has absolutely no backbone to set the hook properly. On top of that the rod will not impart the proper action on a jig to really make it ‘flick’ (more on that later). Single action reels when stationary jigging haven’t a hope in keeping up with a running salmon. Don’t forget that you aren’t trolling where the boat is helping play the fish and keep your line tight. Higher speed reels can take up slack quickly and will help to avoid them spitting the hook. You'll be able to see in the videos that I've attached the action on the rods. Tons of bend...tons of backbone.
The pool cue setups are problematic for several reasons. They lack the sensitivity to properly feel your jig. Stiff rods also don’t have enough bend to play the fish properly so you are relying solely on the drag of the reel and that is problematic. You lose that elastic band effect of a rod that has a more parabolic action. If you look closely at the specs on a quality jigging rod it’ll usually have a lure rating ie: 168 gram (6oz) etc. This means that the rod will effectively jig a lure up to and including that weight. When you use jigs over that rating they will weigh the tip down and you will lose that ‘flick’ that is so effective at creating those reaction bites. Oh and this setup is exhausting. There is no way you can jig all day properly with this setup.
I have the following setups which range quite a bit in price. What I’ve found is that they all work beautifully but the difference in rods anyway is that the more expensive a rod gets, the more sensitive the blank is and the lighter it gets. I have 1 spinning setup, 1 levelwind and 2 conventional setups. These rods impart a ton of ‘snap’ on a lure when jigging. It’s hard to describe until you get one in your hands how light they are. When you first feel them you’ll be skeptical and think that there is no way that they’ll handle anything more than a trout but trust me, I’ve watched videos where they are landing Bluefin tuna on these setups.
1 – Shimano Trevala S – TVSC63MH – Lure Rating 168g rod with Shimano Calcutta 400 Levelwind
2 – Shimano Trevala F – TFC63M – Lure Rating 75 – 200g with Shimano Trinidad 16NA
3 – Shimano Game Type J – GTYPJS603 – Lure Rating 180g with Shimano Stella 5000
4 – Shimano Game Type J – GTYPJB605 – Lure Rating 300g with Shimano Trinidad 12A
On my trip to Esperanza in May, I caught my first ever halibut on a butterfly jig with #4 rod and #2 reel (I mix and match my setups). My guide had just been teasing me about trying to catch a hali with a ‘Trout Rod’. We had Octopus on one side (care of Rayvon) and salmon belly on the other. I fished off the back and within a few minutes WHAM and my rod folded over. That setup made quick work of a 65lb hali. The further the rod bends the more backbone it shows. It actually shocked my guide how fast the rod pulled the hali to the surface. You noticed that I said rod and not me. The rod does most of the work. With a pool cue, you are either relying on the gearing in the reel or to heave and reel. In a very short time, I made a believer out of him and soon the rod was in his hands lol. I’ve landed multiple salmon in the 20-26lb range on these (unfortunately no Tyee jigging…yet!). As for the reels, they all have a decent retrieve rate. This to me is critical to keep the line tight throughout the fight, especially jigging shallow where the fish are totally green when they get near the boat and start going crazy. The Trinidad 16NA for example has a 6.2:1 ratio and pulls in 46” of line per crank. I have yet to have a salmon outrun that setup. It’s also the reel that took down that hali without breaking a sweat. The drag system is second to none that I’ve ever seen anyway. I’m not the only one on the forum that has that reel so I’m sure I’ll get some backup on that.
I use nothing but PowerPro Depth Hunter line on all of my jigging reels in either 30 or 40lb test (I have yet to have a breakoff). If you aren’t familiar with the line it is metered line whereby it changes color every 25’ (four colors in total – Blue, Yellow, Green and Orange). It also has tiny black marks every 5 feet. This allows you to accurately fine tune the depth that you fish. When you see a bait ball that starts at 125’ and goes to 175’ you know that when dropping your jig, you let out 5 colors to be at the top of the ball or 7 colors if you want to jig below it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve marked a good arch on the finder and was able to put the jig right in front of its nose and get that fish. It takes the guesswork out of depth. I’ve tried line counters before but they are terribly inaccurate. I watch the finder and tell my mates “Up one color or down two colors” based on what I am seeing on the screen. Highly successful way to target salmon. To my Depth Hunter I place a red bead (to protect my rod tip) and a Sampo swivel (tied with a Palomar Knot). I then attach 50 or 60lb fluorocarbon typically Seaguar STS or Blue Label. If you skip this step and tie direct to the braid you will more often that not, foul your lure on your line. The fluorocarbon is stiff and for lack for better terms ‘pushes’ the lure away from the line. Fluorocarbon is also incredibly tough and can withstand crazy punishment from teeth. I then tie direct to the lure. Using a snap will also lead to fouling jig.
As for locating fish, I can only speak to the Campbell River and Grant’s Reef area which are my two main areas that I fish salmon. Typically, at first light and in the evenings on the Wilby Shoals, I’ll target the shallows and look for birds. Rarely will I even waste my time dropping a jig if I’m not on bait. All you’ll end up with is bycatch. I tend to fish the top of the bait more often than the bottom, especially if you can mark the arches with a good sounder. I tend to try and stay out of the middle of the ball. I like the idea of salmon cleaning up stragglers and not having my lure compete with thousands of herring. The key to staying on target with your lures is to back troll with either an electric or a kicker etc. to keep your line below the boat. If there is too much angle on your line the jigs won’t have the action that is needed. That is best way to allow this system to work. If I can’t find bait, I’ll either cruse with rod in hand or if I’m desperate I’ll troll to get a feel for what the bait is doing.
As for jigs, I now almost exclusively use Shimano Flat Fall Butterfly Jigs. Once you use them you'll know why. There is nothing on the market that compares in my opinion anyway. I've attached some video of them in action. They have a keel on the backside that allows the lure to flutter, fall, flutter, fall. It creates unreal reaction strikes. Many of my fish are caught on the fall. With that said, you need to monitor your line as it falls. With Levelwinds or conventional reels you can thumb the spool on the drop. The second there is a change in pace you know that you have a fish on. Sometimes it’ll literally just start peeling line off and you have only a second or so to react before they realize it isn’t what they were looking for. As for scent, I never jig without it. My feeling is that yes, these jigs create reaction strikes but when you get a hit that doesn’t stick, the scent will increase your odds that they’ll return. For me scent adds to my confidence as well. I truly believe that if you are confident in your approach that you’ll be more attentive and catch more fish. For me Smelly Jelly has done great but bases on NOG’s recommendation I’m going to get me some X-10.
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