Jig fishing

[robbie]

Bought myself 6 new "silver ninja" 7.5 oz jigs last week, they look perfect for cod fishing up here in Newfoundland.
They came with the hook on a snood at the head of the jig, in fact all the jigs I've seen since arriving in North America are rigged the same, is this a successful way to hook fish jigging on the bottom?.

I ask because, as you can see from the pic, I've only ever fished with the hook mounted on the jig tail, that's just the way we do in the UK, I've modified one as you can see, will try it out when the season opens in...July...anyway I've got cabin fever so I'm trying to keep busy. is there a reason the jigs have a loop at the tail?, would you guys attach another hook i.e. a stinger, maybe with some bait?.

Normally you would see a big treble on the Norwegian jigs, but the stupid rules up here state that if the jig is over 6 oz it has to be modified to a single hook.

Strange how methods vary country to country!!
Thanks for any advise guys.

 

[robbie]

OOPS pic went missing

 

[El Mar]

Either way works.

The "assist" hook is a Japanese thing that came into style over the last 5-6 years.

 

[ChipTam]

Hey Robbie,

Since I've been fishing in Nfld. (about 12 years) I've always used a Norwegian jigger as shown at the bottom of your three lures. I usually put a bit of squid on the hook. Most of my friends do as well but they will sometimes experiment with other lures. Funny but my first cod was my largest (30 pounds) and was caught with a light weight spinning outfit and a red devil lure. By the way, where are you on the rock?

ChipTam

 

[robbie]

Thanks El mar.

Hi Chip Tam,
My fishing experience stems from the UK, we fished for cod, ling and haddock from wrecks as far out as 50 miles, the only Norwegian jiggers we saw on the boat were used by rich guys lol, I used to make all mine from old chrome handle bars, it was expected that you would lose 4 or 5 on a trip!!.

I'm at the end of White bay, Jacksons arm, it used to be a fishing port with it's own fish and shrimp processing plants, all that's gone now, the village is like a ghost town, with this ridiculously short fishing season, 32 days this year, there's not even chance to charter to the tourists!!.

But as for the cod fishing up here, wow!!, as you know the limit is 5 fish a day, 15 per boat max, we left dock at 08:30 and returned at 09:15 with our limit!!, so many cod that you couldn't get the jig to the bottom.
This year I'm planning to target other species, call me strange but, I like fishing for flat fish!!.

Where do you fish?.

 

[Brakeforhake]

bottom jig

hey Robbie I wouldn't trust the snap on the bottom jig in the picture. Those things are flimsy and im sure a halibut or big groundfish would straighten it easily

 

[robbie]

hey Robbie I wouldn't trust the snap on the bottom jig in the picture. Those things are flimsy and im sure a halibut or big groundfish would straighten it easily

Yeh you're right Brake, I'm waiting for some bigger split rings to arrive then I'll lose the snap altogether I think, cheers for the tip.

 

[ChipTam]

Thanks El mar.

Hi Chip Tam,
My fishing experience stems from the UK, we fished for cod, ling and haddock from wrecks as far out as 50 miles, the only Norwegian jiggers we saw on the boat were used by rich guys lol, I used to make all mine from old chrome handle bars, it was expected that you would lose 4 or 5 on a trip!!.

I'm at the end of White bay, Jacksons arm, it used to be a fishing port with it's own fish and shrimp processing plants, all that's gone now, the village is like a ghost town, with this ridiculously short fishing season, 32 days this year, there's not even chance to charter to the tourists!!.

But as for the cod fishing up here, wow!!, as you know the limit is 5 fish a day, 15 per boat max, we left dock at 08:30 and returned at 09:15 with our limit!!, so many cod that you couldn't get the jig to the bottom.
This year I'm planning to target other species, call me strange but, I like fishing for flat fish!!.

Where do you fish?.

Robbie,

We're on the Bonavista Peninsula not far from the town of Bonavista and we fish Trinity Bay. Fishing is good and generally we get our limit in about an hour. Most of us use hand lines and a Norwegian jigger but there's usually someone on board with a rod and reel and some other type of lure. Cod don't seem all that particular regarding lures. By the way, I've never lost a Norwegian jigger but that may have to do with bottom conditions in Trinity Bay. Not much else to catch around us. I've tried my hand at mackerel in September but they haven't been around in any numbers recently.

ChipTam

 

[robbie]

Robbie,

We're on the Bonavista Peninsula not far from the town of Bonavista and we fish Trinity Bay. Fishing is good and generally we get our limit in about an hour. Most of us use hand lines and a Norwegian jigger but there's usually someone on board with a rod and reel and some other type of lure. Cod don't seem all that particular regarding lures. By the way, I've never lost a Norwegian jigger but that may have to do with bottom conditions in Trinity Bay. Not much else to catch around us. I've tried my hand at mackerel in September but they haven't been around in any numbers recently.

ChipTam

Very nice area you're in, I intend to come down that way eventually, I only arrived on the rock last July, I retired in April and decided to get away from the stress of living in a heavily populated area (Montreal), I've had a couple of heart attacks already, the last one only a month ago, so hopefully this new life style, fresh food etc will improve things in the long run.

My boat is with her last owner in New Brunswick for the winter, I've got a couple of lobster fishermen set up to steam her over for me in the spring, last season I fished with some of the locals.

Very upset locals last fall, NO mackerel landed at all, no herring either, it was a strange season.

Looking forward to spring on the boat with my first officer, umm he's off watch in this pic!!

 

[Spence]

My theory about the hook at the head is that rigging appeared as part of the "butterfly" technique-a high speed reel and drop, reel and drop style of jigging that is supposed to trigger "reaction" strikes. Hooks rigged at the tail might tend to foul too often when fished with this technique, so maybe that's the origin of the hook at the head?

 

[petrel]

Theoretically there should be less pulled hooks w/ the Japanese rigging b/c the hook is tied to the line and the jig swings from it, whereas in the old school rigging the jig itself can work to pry the hook loose in some situations.

 

[Spence]

Good point, probably more important than reduced fouling

 

[robbie]

For sure there will be less bottom snags with the Japanese setup, that's a real bonus up here where the bottom can be very hard to fish, I always use braid when fishing rocky ground It makes it easy to feel bottom and requires minimum rod movement to work the jig.

My main concern is that the hook will "fly" away from the jig as it is free falling using the butterfly method, I can't ever remember hooking a cod that hadn't taken the jig from the tail, they all come to the boat hooked in the lips.

We shall see how they perform this year, that's one reason I like to experiment with new ideas, I'm not very interested in filling the freezer, in fact I would be happy to fish barbless hooks and release most of the fish, but that's not allowed up here either..damned idiot government!!.
Cod in the Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (3Pn4RS)

 

[petrel]

Down here it's just the opposite. We have these retarded minimum size limits for sea bass and closed seasons on snappers that means a lot of bent fish have to be released.

 

[offshore31]

Robbie, I used to only use the norwegian jigs with a treble. a couple of years ago i tried the japanese setup. worked awesome, and usually (but not always) out fishes the norwegian jigs down here. they work nice, don't get snagged as often, and less fish foul hooked.

 

[robbie]

Robbie, I used to only use the norwegian jigs with a treble. a couple of years ago i tried the japanese setup. worked awesome, and usually (but not always) out fishes the norwegian jigs down here. they work nice, don't get snagged as often, and less fish foul hooked.

"I used to only use the norwegian jigs with a treble"

Offshore31,
Yes I've never had to adapt a jig to a single hook..until I came here!! as I mentioned in post #1 any jig over 6oz MUST be fitted with a single hook, stupid rule?, what purpose does that serve, unless some desk jockey who's never fished in his/her life, thinks that you're 66% less likely to hook a fish using a single hook!!!

Petrel,
We don't have a minimum size limit, in fact you HAVE to retain all caught fish regardless of size!1, now how crazy is that?.

BTW guys, according to the "experts" cod might have to go on the endangered list!!!

"Tons Of Cod Fish" - "Newfoundland And Labrador" - YouTube