Unusual Jig-N-Pig Methods

Today, the jig, fished plain or with a pork rind or soft-plastic trailer, is a standard bait for casting, vertical jigging, flipping and pitching.
Each of these techniques requires its own special methods and tackle. Most jig fishing requires a stiff rod to move and twitch the jig, and fine line for it to sink rapidly so that one can fish the bottom, where jigs are at their best. With their grater strength and thinner diameters, the braided lines of Kevlar (Stren) and Spectra (SpiderWire, Silver Thread and others) are ideal for such fishing.
In each of these standard techniques, the basic method is to use the stiff rod and a snug (not tight) line to maintain contact with the lure. These low-stretch lines increase sensitivity and feel of the lure, and make detecting strikes and pickups easier. The stiff rod helps to move the lure when twitched (rather than just bending the rod tip).

• Most anglers use long rods for flipping and pitching, and the standard lengths for casting. Most are stiff with a stiff butt and soft tip for detecting strikes. An exception is when one is fishing a jig in shallow rivers for smallmouth. In this method, the jig is cast using a lighter, more parabolic rods. The jig is not fished slowly along the bottom or vertical jigged in shallow water. Instead, many skillful anglers cast across a stream, allowing the jig to drift in an arc downstream, where it is retrieved for another cast. The jig, after landing in the water, drifts with the current, but gradually gains speed as the line bellies and the lure swings across the current. One way to reduce the rapid downstream swing (which usually produces fewer hits) is to use a longer-than-normal rod and a high-rod technique to keep as much of the line out of the water as possible and to minimize bellying.
This technique can also be modified. Make the cross-stream cast as previously described. Let the jig drift in the current. Alternate with sideways movements — made by lifting the rod and reeling as the rod drops to swing the lure sideways. The action is not unlike pulling the jig through the water like a swimming fish, and it provokes strikes.
A follow-up to this method is when the jig finally swings around in the current to a position straight downstream. The current keeps the jig suspended rather than sitting on the bottom, as in still water. To provoke strikes, work the lure in short twitches upstream, then let it drop down again before repeating. This method is ideal for fishing the tails or pools. Fish the water almost at the lip of the next pool where smallmouth hide among the rocks.
It is also possible to cause the jig to twitch back and forth in the current, almost like a slow-motion version of cracking the whip. Allow the jig to suspend straight downstream in the current, then twitch the rod back and forth at right angles to the flow so that different currents catch the line, ultimately twitching the jig back and forth.

• Another effective river method requires closer control, though you risk losing more lures. Cast the jig straight upstream, allowing the lure to tumble back with the current. Reel fast enough to keep the jig-and-pig moving slightly faster than the current. This keeps it from sinking and getting hung. The result is a drifting, tumbling lure that looks like an injured baitfish. As with any river cast, this is best when made upstream alongside a rocky area, bridge piling, deep pool, backwater eddy, or in some riffles just below rocks and rapids.
A ball head jig is often ideal for this technique. Choose one that is just heavy enough to cast, and tied with a marabou tail or fitted with a shad-type grub with a knobbed or curved tail. Motor oil and smoke colors work well in my mid-Atlantic area; other colors work better elsewhere, including white in areas with shad, root beer in areas with heavy populations of crawfish, black where hellgrammites are prevalent, and tan, gray or silver to imitate local populations of minnows.

• Another way to fish a jig-and-pig differently is around pilings, piers, and any vertical structure where you can fire the jig into surface structure and let it sink like a rock. When the jig "thumps" into the structure, the noise will alert fish in the area the way running a crankbait into a stump wakes up a bass.
The secret here is to aim accurately and to not fire a cast so hard as to ruin the paint job on the jighead, or to bury a hook into soft wood. Instead, stop the jig and allow it to fall naturally into the water. As the lure drops along a piling or pier (ideal for such tactics) bass will often pick up or inhale the bait. Set the hook immediately if you suspect the lure has stopped or if it no longer "pulls" on the line as the jig drops.

• Special modifications for jigs and pork-rind trailers that increase their effectiveness can also be made. Many jigs come with brush weedguards that you can easily improve by spreading them out like a fan. First, separate the brush guard into right and left segments with your thumb or forefinger. Pull the individual fibers to the side, spreading them out. The result is a fan-shaped weedguard that will protect the jig hook from rolling sideways into a snag or being caught by lacy weeds.

• It's also possible to make jigs heavier for those situations where you want to try vertical jigging, get down deep, or to use a smaller jighead with enough weight for casting and reaching the depths. One way is to fish tandem rigs so the weight of both jigs will help pull the line down. Lightweight line (including the braided lines previously mentioned) is good to reduce water resistance on the line and hasten a jig's fall.
Heavy split shot or the jig equivalent of a Carolina rig (egg sinker on the line above the lure; the sinker stopped by a swivel) will also work. To add weight to the jig itself without changing its size, add a pinch-on or rubber center sinker, or a large split-shot type of sinker to the hook shank. The skirt will hide the weight. Also, skirts will tend to slow the fall of any lure, so thinning the skirt or going to less water-resistant materials will also help.

• Pork rind will help slow a jig's descent, making it ideal for fishing shallow waters. Pork also serves as an attractant to any jig. Modifications for pork chunks and strips are legion in number. Pork chunk modifications include: splitting the legs farther up the body for more leg action; tapering the front where it's stuck on the hook for more body action; threading the body (using a large needle) with colored yarn (red is popular) for more color; tapering the body by removing material from the sides; or partially cutting the chunk through at several points along the body for more action. Rattles in jigs and pork rind are other possibilities for modifying these lures. Some jigs come with rattles. But there are options for adding rattles to any jig or jig-and-pig combination. Rattles of different materials are available with the rattle chambers made of plastic, glass or aluminum. You can insert rattles into the head of a pork chunk, tape them to the hook shank of the jig under the, skirt, or 
slip them into a short length of rubber tubing. The tubing is then hooked to the jig along with the pork.

• Trailer hooks can also be used plain, threaded onto a jig as when using a spinnerbait. Or rig them weedless by threading a worm or grub onto the trailer hook before adding it to the jig hook. Trailer hooks with wire weedguards are commonly used with pork-rind strips or chunks.

The jig and jig-and-pig are among the most versatile lures in your tackle box. By learning to fish them in a variety of unusual ways, these lures become even more productive. Keep an open mind, and put these methods and modifications to good use!