When you mark fish stacked deep, or you know they are holding on a hump or a wreck, vertical jigging puts a lure right in their faces and works it through the whole column. It is fast, efficient, and a genuine big-fish tactic, a heavy metal jig ripped through a school of bass or sea bass draws vicious reaction strikes.
Why jig vertically
Vertical jigging keeps your lure in the strike zone the entire drop and retrieve, unlike a cast that only crosses it briefly. It is the answer when fish are deep and will not come up, and it lets you fish precisely over a small piece of structure the boat is sitting on.
How to do it
- Drop to the fish. Free-spool to the bottom, or to the depth you are marking fish, and engage.
- Work the jig. The two classic cadences are a fast, rhythmic pump-and-reel (speed jigging) that rips the jig up through the school, and a slower lift-and-flutter. Let the fish tell you which they want.
- Mind the fall. As with all jigging, many strikes come as the jig drops back, so stay in contact and be ready.
- Re-drop over the fish. Vertical means vertical, if the boat drifts off the marks, reset so you are jigging straight down over fish.
Tip Braid is essential for jigging, its lack of stretch lets you feel the jig, feel the bottom, and drive the hook home at depth. Add a fluorocarbon leader for abrasion resistance and a little stealth.
Gear
A dedicated jigging rod with backbone and a fast tip, paired with a high-capacity Daiwa conventional or spinning reel (Saltist MQ class and up for the salt), handles everything from harbor bass to sea bass over a wreck. Carry metal and butterfly-style jigs in a range of weights to match depth and current.