Fishing with a Jig
 

Hello all, I am new to this fishing addiction and I am wondering if I am suppose to tie my line directly to the jig or can I have a leader tied to my line then the jig. I have been fishing the South Saskatchewan River with a pickerel rig last few days but want to try jigging as I have yet to catch anything (damn kid gets something everytime out and i cant take the ribbing he is giving me much more):sHa_sarcasticlol:

I would tie directly onto the jig. No reason for a steel leader unless your going for pike, and if its pike your after, there's better lures than a jig.

Steel leaders can spook walleye/goldeye. They also can effect the action of the jig because the jig will slide around on the snap-swivel.

For rivers I like to use a strong braid like 15 lb Powerpro. And for river fishing I also like to use the cheap bulk jigs sold at many tackle shops as if you snag them up , the powerpro will be strong enough to straighten the hook free unless its snagged by the actual jig head.

Smacker jigheads will usually float over the rocks and less chance of snagging. I use them most of the time when im fishing Pembina river.

The river you are fishing in is home to lots of different fish, pike included. I fish the north Saskatchewan river and never had a problem catching walleye with a leader on. As for the pickerel rig a couple tips. First try worms on the bottom hook and minnow on the top. Keep your rod tip up and keep you line tight. Also dont cast out so far, 20 ft is lots. A lot of the time down here you have to hold you rob because the walleye bite so light the you can hardly tell buy looking. Good luck, hope this helps. Tight lines.

Or like big bore said use power pro and you won't have anything to worry about. Lol

I think thats one of the 10 commandments.
Thou shalt not use a leader with a jig.

Been a while since I've pitched a jig in the NSR, but when I do I'll still usually use a 20lb or 30lb fluorocarbon leader as you never know just what you're going to pull out of that river, and I've been surprised by pike on many occasions.

If the fish are really sensitive/spooky you can tie on a flourocarbon leader, which is more abrasion resistant than any braid and it wont spook the fish. Plus it will stand up to most pike teeth (but tie on a new leader if you get a pike because they do knick the line).

If your targeting jack then fine. If I'm after pike then a jig is pretty low on my list of hooks.
For anything else a leader destroys the action of the jig IMO

i don't use a leader with a jig, i use 8lb fluorocarbon as mainline, i have had times when fish won't bite with 12 pound fireline, and with the a flouro leader the fish were almost none stop. i got sick of tying up a leader so just switched to fluoro as mainline, it is fairly accepted to sacrifice the odd jig to a pike for a few more walleye

Thanks for the advise, finally caught a little Walleye last night. My fish/hours ratio is pretty messed up but will have to find some better spots here in Medicine Hat to try out and keep plugging along.

A small snap swivel works well with jigs,easy to change the hooks.All I use is the jig head tipped with a minnow and held on the barbles hook with a piece of the jig tail.Vertical jigging out of a boat works the best.Wait for any change of the jigs action and set the hook.The time of day is a big factor this time of year.Figure out the time there bitting and it will be the same everyday. Good luck.

no leader or swivel for me....

This summer I had some success with throwing the jig as far as I could
cast .... into a deep hole and slooowllly bringing it back in .
I expect that I was hitting the bottom or getting very close
and then I'd tug it back a bit , give it a few cranks ....and repeat.

Worked well for me ......

Other than that.... straight down the Hole in the winter......