Pearl Perch caught on Seven Seas Hooker 1 Jigging Lure
Deepwater Jigging
One of the hottest techniques to emerge in offshore fishing over the last few years is deepwater jigging. Of course jigging itself is nothing new, but the highly refined Japanese style deepwater jigs have revolutionized the sport of catching amberjacks, kingfish and a host of other species on metal lures. Jigging is an energetic activity that encourages ferocious strikes for big predators: one moment you are jerking and ripping a lure up from the depths and then next you are being dragged to the gunnels by a critter hell bent on burying you in the bottom. Fights are won or lost in the first few seconds as the fish searches for anything to rub you off on. Jigging can be done in water from 20m-200m (only that deep if you are really keen) but the most popular depths in SEQ are from 30m to 100m. Amberjacks and kingfish are the most popular targets here, but many people are also chasing snapper, pearlies, spangled emperors and cobia.
The technique in essence is pretty simple: drift over a reef or pinnacle, drop a jig to where fish are showing on the sounder and then work the lure erratically to attract a strike. Naturally there is more to it than that, the first thing being the positioning of the boat. It is important for the boat to drift right over any fish on the sounder so the lure can be dropped directly to them as most fish won’t travel too far out of their way to find the jig. The more accurate you can be with this the far greater the likelihood of getting a strike. Many skippers keep the motor running or use a sea anchor so they can adjust for wind and current to help keep the lures running straight down.
Another aspect is the retrieve. Some days the fish really respond to a fast jerk and wind retrieve, other times long strokes with little pauses to let the lure slide back a little can work great and still others a mixture of the two gets results. The best action to use for a particular jig varies as well. Lures that have the weight biased to the tail will generally sink straight down with little lateral movement. These respond well to a quick paced jerk and wind, which has the jig shooting up and off to the side with each pump of the rod. Tail weighted jigs are great when you are fighting strong currents and wind as they have the fastest sink rates for a given weight. Lures with the weight either centered or biased toward the top will tend to slide sideways and zig-zag a great deal on the way to the bottom. This can result in a lot of hits happening on the drop, so be ready if your line stops or takes off during the descent. On the retrieve, a centre or forward balanced lure can really be made to ‘dance’ with a combination of long stroke retrieves, short jerks and pauses.
Rods built for jigging are generally around 5-6 feet long, have a long butt for tucking under your arm and a reasonably flexible tip designed to work with a particular range of jig weights. When loaded, most jig rods flex right through to the reel seat allowing the angler to put maximum pressure on the fish for the minimum angler effort. The parabolic action of the rod also helps to protect the braid line from sudden shocks and headshakes of the fish. Braid is universally used for jigging as the fine diameter and low stretch allows sensitivity and line strength that can’t be matched by mono line in deep water. Jigging braid with the multi coloured bands that mark depth are really helpful for knowing when you are approaching a depth that fish are holding at and for knowing when you have worked the lure past the fish and need to drop the lure back down.
Any reel can be used for jigging, but most regular reels won’t take the punishment for long. Strong, compact reels with powerful gears and drags make life easier for the angler in both winching power and comfort over a long days fishing. Both overheads and spin reels can be used: overheads are popular because of their size and because they have less chance of belting the gunnels on a high sided boat. Spin reels find favour because of their high drag capacity (up to 30kg in top of the line Saltigas and Stellas!) and the fact that they can be used with longer spinning rods for a variety of other purposes.
This is just a short overview of deep jigging. For some more information or to look at some of the tackle involved with this exciting style of fishing, come on over and see Duncan or Gordon at Fish Head, Victoria Point, or alternatively call us on 3207 9965or email: Duncan@fishhead.com.au