how to determine what size slow pitch jig to use
Jigging for Bluefin Tuna
4 Ways To Feed A Jig To Tuna
While jig styles and methods vary, jigging can be broken downwardly into iv basic types: yo-yo, butterfly, speed-jigging, and boring pitch.
Yo-yo jigging is the traditional manner that has been around forever and is also referred to as snap jigging. With this mode, the angler drops the jig downward to the bottom or a depth where he marked fish, so repeatedly lifts or snaps the rod tip upward. The tip is and so lowered while keeping a tight line to the jig on the drop since this is when most hits occur.
Information technology'south wise to occasionally let the jig elevate and ship puffs of sand off the lesser. This tactic resembles a sand eel fleeing back into the sand, and the disturbed sediment gets the attention of nearby tuna. Many of our biggest bluefin came right off the lesser like this.
Butterfly jigging gets its proper noun from the butterfly-like fluttering activeness imparted to a specialized type of jig. The jig is dropped down to the target depth and the rod is raised and lowered with a tight circular motion of about ten-20 inches while the reel handle is turned one crank on the upswing. The rod is and so lowered on the downstoke. Shimano popularized this method with their butterfly jigging system.
Speed-jigging involves dropping the jig to the bottom and then bringing information technology back to the surface with a high-speed call up. This style works best when a slight suspension is imparted to the retrieve about every 10 cranks or then.
Slow-pitch jigging was developed by Norihiro Sato in Nihon and is beginning to catch on along our coast. When fished with a boring-pitch rod, the jig'south design allows information technology to swim side to side in a horizontal plane on the drop, keeping it in the strike zone longer. This imitates a crippled bait making random movements every bit it helplessly falls to the bottom, and it is particularly effective if fish are suspended. Nigh tuna strikes come on the drop, and then it makes sense for a jig to have more action on the fall rather than the retrieve. While other jigging methods imitate a fleeing baitfish, wearisome-pitch jigs resemble an injured, helpless baitfish.
Varying your jigging styles can brand a large difference. Matching the style the allurement is moving may exist key in triggering a strike.
This by flavour was certainly i of experimentation because different jigging styles or motions worked on some days and not on others. There was i solar day when we were in a massive feed of finbacks and two-tone dolphins, and I had the tuna right under the boat. I was reading big, red meatballs fifty feet downward on my Raymarine fishfinder, and I call up maxim to the guys, "C'mon, they're right under the gunkhole!"
All three clients were snap-jigging just couldn't get a bite. A boat next to me, about 50 yards away, was hooking up, and information technology wasn't until I watched what they were doing that I got the respond.
Their jigging style was quite different from what my clients were doing—I would describe it as a modified butterfly-speed jig technique. It wasn't the traditional moderate-speed, butterfly-jigging manner because their reel speeds and cadences were slightly faster, nor was information technology a pure speed-jig – their motions fell somewhere in between. Once I showed my clients what to do and they changed their retrieves, we also started to claw upward.
Afterwards that night, I couldn't stop thinking about why our snap jigging didn't work since I have caught bluefin loftier in the water column with this method. I practise think noticing that the sand eels were up in the water column and spraying all over in an erratic way. I figured what was happening was that the finbacks and dolphins were heading down deep and bravado the sand eels upwardly to the surface, scattering them in every direction. So, it made sense that when nosotros imparted that same type of activeness with our jigs, the tuna thought they were the existent things. This was a feeding frenzy where matching how the bait was moving was important. We had the right size jigs but not just the right motion.
Draggers and Whales
1 of my almost epic jig trips of 2019 found me drifting behind a dragger. We were on our way to a spot about 50 miles out but ran across a dragger at 35 miles out. My son and mate, Tommy, saw him in the altitude and suggested we look behind him to run across if any bluefin were down deep on the feed. Tommy's hunch was correct. I pulled tight to the vessel and started to marker red meatballs near the bottom. All four clients dropped down, and iii of them immediately came tight. From this indicate on, nosotros connected to get double hook-ups or singles on each drift equally long as we stayed in the dragger's rear lane. After a few hours, our clients were exhausted. We had our limit and released 23 more than "under" and "overs".
I always expect for draggers, whales, and two-tone dolphins on the style to the tuna grounds. Feeding whales and dolphins are especially strong indications to stop the boat and go to work with the jig. Finback whales fabricated upwardly the bulk of the big feeds we saw in 2019. These massive mammals consume nigh two tons of sand eels a 24-hour interval, so if they are present, you can exist certain that a food concatenation is well established in the area. After spotting them, motion in slowly (for safety reasons) and so shut your engines down. Sentry your fishfinder, and you lot should see the tuna nether the boat at a certain depth. Driblet the jigs and vary your recall until you lot figure out what they want.
Sand Eels and Jig Selection
A adept jig bite e'er takes identify when sand eels are the main nutrient source. When these eels take upward residence on a lump, y'all can bet bluefin volition be on them each day. They are not going to leave and go somewhere else to look for food.
Sand eel length can vary. On the tuna grounds, I accept seen them from four inches up to 9 inches. When a feed is going on at the surface, the sand eels go blown out of the water, meaning you will be able to get an eyeball on them. Otherwise, bank check the showtime bluefin caught equally it should be spitting them upwardly – match the jig to the size of the sand eels. For smaller ones, utilise threescore- to eighty-gram jigs; then crash-land upwards to 120- to 150-gram when the sand eels are larger.
Many different jigs piece of work, but 2 that couldn't stay on tackle shop shelves last year were the Nomad Design Streaker jig and the CB One F1 jig. The colors that worked the best were the pink and bluish sardine and all-silver. The new sand eel color that just came out from Nomad this fall is sure to be a killer.
Jigging Tips and Tricks
When y'all're on a spot, the more jigs you can get into the water the ameliorate, since information technology's more likely that a tuna will spot your offerings.
If yous are running with a coiffure of just two or three, a mode to get more jigs in the water is to put them off the tips of your outriggers and let them lift upward and down every bit the boat slowly rocks. However, since I don't like to deal with my outriggers when jigging, I just deadstick a pair of jig rods out of my rod holders. To do this, starting time attach a 60- to 80-gram jig to a Tactical Anglers Ability Clip. Next, cast the jig out as far away from the gunkhole every bit you can and let it sink to the lesser. Once it hits, allow out approximately 50 yards of line, then place the rod in a holder.
For this method to work properly, there needs to be some wind so the boat gets moved forth. Days that are gently white-capping are best since your gunkhole will become pushed on the swell so stop momentarily in the trough, causing the jig to ascension and drop. The small 60- to fourscore-gram jigs work best for this awarding; any heavier and you will not get the correct activity.
I figure that if I am in 120 feet of water and getting pushed moderately past the nifty, when my line scope is tight my jig is working from fifty to sixty anxiety downwardly. One of these rods almost e'er gets bit, and information technology's heady to watch it double over in the gunnel and drag first screaming without doing anything.
Tuna Jigging Tackle
I prefer to have my clients jig with spinning gear just conventional gear can also be used. The quick retrieve cadence that we utilize is easier with spinning gear, especially for beginners. Traditional snap-jigging favors using conventional gear.
The tendency in jigging is to go with shorter, lighter, parabolic-action rods ranging in size from 5'half-dozen" to 6'6". These shorter rods tremendously reduce the corporeality of energy expended, allowing anglers to jig for longer periods of fourth dimension. My favorite rod to use is the St Croix Mojo Jig 6'6" medium ability. This is a great rod to subdue bluefin from footballs upward to 125 pounds and information technology also has an angler-friendly toll signal. For the bluefin nosotros near often see off New Jersey, spooling reels with 65-pound-test braided line with a 60-pound-test fluorocarbon leader will get the job washed.
Jigging a bluefin tuna on lite tackle is one of the ultimate angling experiences. Information technology requires strength, stamina, skill, and (of course) some luck. Be prepare for it this season.
Source: https://www.onthewater.com/jigging-for-bluefin-tuna
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