Bass Digest/April, 2014
Presentation
When presenting a bait the aim is to match the Jig type with the cover or structure you fish so when you pitching or flipping cover like lilies or timber opt for a Flippin Jig when targeting rocky points opt for a Football Jig or Spider Jig when flipping, get the Jig tight to the cover and into the water as softly as possible rather than with a big splash.
Decide on what you are imitating. Are you imitating a crab or a baitfish? Then set up your trailer accordingly. Next, you need to impart the appropriate action to the Jig according to your imitation. What do I mean by this? Well let’s look at this from a logical point of view, do crabs hop or crawl? Yes, you will get bit hopping a jig but you will get bit more by crawling a crab imitation, baitfish dart and dive erratically and feed with their heads buried in the sand, so action your bait fish imitation accordingly, keeping in mind the type of cover you fishing. You can’t exactly crawl a Jig through timber or lilies; rather hop it through the cover.
Rod action and angle are also important when flipping. The angle of entry and exit should be the same to avoid snags. When crawling a Jig you have to be in touch with what’s happening on the bottom and work your jig slowly but lightly across the bottom keeping your rod tip up so the Jig basically just scuttles slowly across the rock like a crab.