Page 77 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2021

JIGGING FOR LUNKER BASS
Mike Iaconelli
A former Bassmaster Classic champion, shows o a bass he caught on a jig.
An angler lands a bass he caught out of a thick weedy patch with a jig.
Kevin VanDam
A four-time Bassmaster Classic champion, looks for deep holes.
attention of a bass. To imitate a craw sh, I hop a jig o the bottom with a series of quick pops and let it fall back.”
Toss a jig as close to a tree trunk, cypress knee or other cover as possible. Let the jig fall on a slack line. Bass often strike as baits sink. When the line stops falling, either the jig hit bottom or something grabbed it. When it hits bottom, slowly drag it out to deeper
water. Bumped along the bottom, the jig stirs up a telltale mud
trail like a craw sh foraging for food. Work a jig
completely around any trees, knees or stumps
standing in the water. Fish might hang on one side of cover or another for whatever reason, so always hit
the cover from as many di erent angles
as possible.
Don’t expect shoulder-jarring strikes when shing a jig in frigid water. Sometimes, a bass simply slurps in a jig and may spit it out without the angler even realizing a strike occurred. Also watch the line to see if it moves in an odd direction. Raise the rod to feel the bait. If it feels heavy, set the hook! In the winter, anglers might not load a boat with bass, but they tend to catch larger sh. Just keep the bait on the bottom or around cover and moving as slowly as possible. One strike could produce the lunker of a lifetime. When in doubt,
set the hook! SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living | www.smliving.net
January 2021 | 77