TAKEOFF
TECHNIQUES
CASTING A JIG
I
THIS SEEMINGLY SIMPLE TECHNIQUE REQUIRES CAREFUL TIMING AND CONTROL TO MASTER
n the hills of central and eastern
Kentucky and Tennessee, casting a com-
pact, wire-weedguard jig and slowly
crawling it down sloping rocky banks is a
timeless technique that works pretty much
year-round. FLW’s own Bill Taylor, senior
director of tournament operations, was
among the pioneers of the technique, and
FLW Tour pro John Devere of Berea, Ky., con-
tinues to cash checks with it on the national
tournament trail.
Casting a jig is a simple-enough tech-
nique to try, but it requires some time and
skill to perfect. Devere offers his best advice.
The Jig
By Curtis Niedermier
Stan Sloan’s Zorro Bait Co. Casting Booza Bug
Devere prefers
3/8 ounce for
most scenarios
but upsizes to 1/2
ounce when the
fish are really
aggressive.
Dual wire
weedguard
A black and blue
skirt gets the call for
largemouths, but
Devere prefers green
pumpkin or brown for
smallmouths.
“Nose-hooked” green pumpkin
Zoom Super Chunk
The Cast
On flat and slowly sloping banks, or banks that slope as much as 45 degrees, cast at a 45-degree angle out in front of the
boat. If he’s searching, Devere casts as far as he can and spaces his casts a good distance apart. Once he finds fish, however,
he’ll space his casts no more than 10 feet apart.
On sheer bluff-type banks, cast straight toward the shoreline and nearly to the bank.
“Just let it fall. Let the pole down, and let it have line – but not slack – until it hits,” Devere says. “Most of the time those
straight-down banks will have a little ledge at 8 or 10 feet deep. The fish will get around that little ledge.”
sloping bank
45˚
near-vertical bank
90˚
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FLWFISHING.COM I APRIL 2017