We thought we'd post this one a little different.... So far most of our reports have been about groups of visiting anglers and the fish they'd caught, basically trip reports. We felt we also had to post more about how we caught fish. We often get inquiries asking about the techniques we use and what tackle one should buy before planning a trip here. This post is basically about light jigging as the title suggests.
Most anglers visiting us like the guy above are quite evidently after only one thing...... Big GT! In fact most guys except a few unfortunate souls get what they come looking for. The guys who don't basically have been lacking somehow..... either their tackle's not up for the job, their reels are spooled with braid from God knows when, have little baby sized trebles or they're just out of shape for the job at hand. However the lucky guys who do tend to get their big fish early on in the trip tend to chill out a bit. This makes our lives much easier and then we can have a bit of serious fun between our heavy popping and jigging sessions.
So now we can put aside our heavy tackle for a bit and bring out the light jigging gear! Again, for some strange reason as soon as we venture off the heavy popping and jigging path guys get a bit lost.... some of them do at least tackle wise. We just put together a list of tackle that is ideal for dropping light jigs. It's an indicative list and the equivalent in any brand should do just as well....
Light jigging SPINNING :
REEL : Daïwa CERTATE 3500HD loaded with PE2 or Daïwa CERTATE HYPER CUSTOM 4000 loaded with PE3.
Rod : SMITH AMJ-S56M.
Leader : 5m to 8m of 60lb to 80lb.
Light jigging CASTING :
REEL : Daïwa RYOGA Bay Jigging loaded with PE2.
Rod : AMJ-SF510.
Leader : 5m to 8m of 60lb.
Jig WEIGHT: 30gms to 90gms.
Hooks must be thin for a better penetration. Assist line soft but strong due to toothy fishes and changed frequently.
The ideal depths we jig in are anywhere from 15m to 60m, largely dependent on where we are. If we're close to our popping marks and have to wait for a current to start moving we'll jig anywhere between 15m and 30m. If we're out in deeper water we'll head back or move to an area between 30m and 60m. The great part with the light jigging is that it opens up so many areas and possibilities. It also helps if you know how to work your fish-finder right!
Above, Dilip with a Barracuda caught while light jigging off a sea mount we fish quite frequently. Again he got lucky with this great looking fish and had a struggle trying to get it to the boat. The fish on that particular day were hitting short and semi long jigs. It turned out to be quite a session as it was a one drop one fish day on light jigs but. We put it down to the size of bait the bigger fish in that area were probably feeding on.
Of course with jigging one never knows what they'll catch like Bob above. A record of sorts but not something he'd write home about!
Or you'd get a fish like the one above... we don't see those very often!
Dilip carefully getting a jigging hook out of a Coral Trout. While jigging light it helps in using thin/light wired assist hooks. They're great for hooking fish but one has to be careful getting hooks out. They're sticky sharp and have a knack of getting into one's finger!
The series of pictures above have Alban Regnoult showing how its done. Every drop literally produced a fish of a different species. Jigging off the bottom had the coral trout chasing after jigs and higher up in the water column had the pelagics going crazy after the little jigs.
Red Bass on a SMITH Metal Forecast Jig.
One drop 3 species of the same side of the boat! With three of us jigging shoulder to shoulder we though we were into a school of jacks or snapper. Boy were we in for a surprise!
For guys who like grouper..... one can catch them in every shape size and colour. They're awesome fish to catch on light jigs and provide a lot of the action. It's pretty easy to make them out after landing a couple of fish and it makes a lot of sense to bring them up slowly for the last 10 meters rater than cranking them straight up to the surface.
Dog Tooth Tuna will also take small jigs, they're small..... but both these fish were jigged up from between 15 to 20 meters! The rest of the guys were popping off the other end of the boat!
A major misconception that's often associated with light jigging is that one only catches small fish. That's another one of those modern urban myths by guys who haven't tried it. Light jigging and small jigs catch BIG FISH. Above Alban needing help to keep balanced on the bow of the boat as line screamed off his toy reel... We had to get the boat turned and after the fish or he'd have been spooled... a nerve wracking 20 mins later Alban was the proud owner of an 18kilo GT. We've had many bigger fish hooked and have chased after them with the boat only to be spooled or broken off on the treacherous reef under us.
Again like we've said before light jigging is a great supplement on a fishing trip. This technique catches many species of fish and is a perfect way to add variety on a fishing trip. One often travels miles and miles to get to where the fishing is and is keen on maximizing time and catch... light jigging is another easy way to do just that!
Darran & Akshay.
