Vertical jigging Master

[jiggerjohn]

A few days ago ,on big flatland Pymatuning reservoir which straddles the Ohio/Pennsylvania border, I lucked into seeing an absolute jigging master at work! Ole" Red" was the essence of concentration as he barely nodded his 5 1/2' ultralight rod just a few slow inches, working directly over a brushpile 16' below him. He was awaiting the subtle take of his favorite crappie, his usual daily take of 35,50, or 100+ SLABS,that have earned him the title of "the LEGEND of Pymatuning" by respectful local anglers. His handtied 1/32 and 1/16 oz jigs also boast a huge following, the limber little swimmers being unique in that they are fashioned from FABRIC material, tied inexpensively,but carefully well balanced, from bright shirt fibers! These flappy little jigs catches for him, in addition to tons of crappies even through the dog days of summer, many big walleyes (he kicked off a 28 incher at boatside while I was watching him -"too tough to eat" barked Red!), many smallmouth bass, and muskies up to 45 inches(yep, same 4# test mono)!

Talking with him, Red told me he vertical jigs almost exclusively, right IN (not merely around) the 12-18' brushpiles he carefully, CONSTANTLY scopes with his depth finder.He likes only having, at most, 15' of line straight below him for cautious hitting crappies. If wind & waves create boat motion, he puts on a split shot above his lure, rather than a heavier jig ;he wants something light & chewable for a crappie or big perch to easily suck in.Sometimes Red will notice suspending crappies on the depth finder which he ALWAYS monitors, and will gently nod(he calls it a "nothing" motion!) his jig ,then, right amongst them at that depth. With any hint of a tap, Red is not exactly gentle in his hook set,but misses few and has a well preset drag to protect light line - a 16 or even 18" crappie is not unexpected, and can seriously test ultralight spinning outfits!

I'm going to have to interview this "Santa Claus" looking character at length for a longer detailing of his vertical method, at a near future time. In the meantime some of you might luck into him at his usual booth (and seminars) during this year's tackle shows in Erie,PA , Buffalo ,NY, Cleveland,Ohio, or Niles,Ohio. Or follow him around on Pym -living near shore, he's out most everyday, all day, during most any condition. Just don't go looking to retrieve any of his snagged jigs -he'll often fish with his lure ticking those downstairs sticks for 12 hours,only losing ONE jig, tops, for the entire session!

 

[redear]

gotta watch those old timers, they will take ya to school!!

 

[Radtexan]

Nicely written JJ...and yes there is nothing like the "thump" while vertical jigging...Ive had the pleasure of watching some of the old masters myself,and learned alot from them as well..

 

[Radtexan]

Meant to add,one of my mentors Ive seen catch hundreds in the belly or tail,he says he felt them swimming near his line....

 

[Fatman]

JJ - You don't have a pic of any of his jigs do you???

 

[Hawnjigs]

What kind of mono does Red use? Doesn't like braid?

How do you keep from snagging and losing jigs IN brushpiles?

 

[jiggerjohn]

Fatman and Hawn, I should be getting up to Red's house to FINALLY tie some jigs with him (he typically needs 1000s for those winter tackle shows -even at that,last year he completely ran out and really had to scramble to tie bunches more to finish out the show schedule! His regular customers and those who have heard of his reputation can't get enough of these jigs!!). He told me just today that he'll be revving up the tying schedule, as a bad knee keeps him somewhat homebound right now when he's not out on the lake, and cold fronts & high winds will have Pym unfishable for some time (MAYBE a day or two left this season!). So I'll try to get some photos of his jigs, and also dig more into what brand of mono he uses (no, he doesn't do braid), rods (just common variety ,short graphites),etc.. He claims by lowering straight down in the brush,even tho he likes to FEEL the jig batting the sticks, he rarely snags (tho SOME days....). He says on days when wind has his boat moving around,however, and he attaches the split shot to keep the line somewhat straight & the light jig down, that the SPLIT SHOT is far worse for hanging the brush than his jigs! But, as I stated above, I'll be listening carefully to this for-real MASTER's details & advice, and will post a longer story here-stay tuned!

 

[Fatman]

Thanks JJ

 

[redear]

yeah, we gotta take a look at his jigs!! altho with skill like he has, he could probably catch them with just about anything.

 

[StumpHunter]

Good read! I look forward to seeing a pic of that awesome jig too.

 

[jiggerjohn]

Stumphunter & redear, Yep, I promise to get photos of those jigs -possibly early next week (if it doesn't start snowing more!) when I go up to tie with Red ! I was on the phone with him again this morning, and received a major tying tip, that may be too good to keep to myself!As we all know, there are tiny little wrinkles in each of our own self tied jigs that make all the difference on fish, but are rarely noticed by those who replicate them. Well, Red told me that the most vital ingredient on his 1/32 oz crappie jigs is actually the tiny fluff of a body that he covers the hook shaft with, consisting of real WOOL! He ,of course, is big on his flashy "fabric" tails, but insists that the wool (not alpaca,not llama, not mohair, not even craft store wool, but real sheep fur that he obtains at a local slaughterhouse!) always maintains its perfectly formed minnow shape, because it holds water so well. Red obviously has done tons of on-the-water research on this and claims the wool bodied jig will outfish, for crappies at least, any other similar jig by an 8 to 1 ratio !! He even emphasizes that if he gives a fishing partner the wool based lure, and he himself uses a non wool jig, that the partner then will prevail by an 8 to 1 catch rate! And he has extensively checked this out! Hmmm, no sheep will be safe in my neighborhood, and my Boolies will truly become wooly !!

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

I guess now I'll be looking for some real sheep fur. Something I don't have now. Looking forward to the pics. Outfish other jigs 8-1, defintely something I need to have.

 

[Fatman]

Jigger - Learning some of the old tricks would be great!!! One of the guys at work told someone else I tie jigs and they ask why they can't find those in stores - Cause they charge alot for them. I'm gonna have to get some sheep wool - theres an arts and crafts show this weekend and some of the ladies spin wool into yarn - I'll have to see if they have any for sale, are there any colors to this wool or just the raw wool???

Can't wait to see some of his ties!!!!!!!!!

 

[Muskygary]

Maybe post some of the shows he attends? Would love to meet the guy and buy some of his jigs to experment with. What part of the country are you from?

 

[jiggerjohn]

Muskygary, When I talked to Red, he said he'll be tying something like 7000 jigs (he doesn't want to get caught short at shows, like he did last year!!) for shows in Cleveland, Buffalo, and in Niles,Ohio. I'll get the dates & exact details for you when I go up to visit him( I'm from Pittsburgh, he's near Jamestown, PA).Red loves to talk fishing, and he'll enjoy meeting you at a show. Heck, with your name, you'd enjoy hearing of his "crappie" fishing last year on nearby Conneaut lake -while vertical jigging with his little 1/32 ozers ,one day he nailed a 45" muskie, the very next day a 45" northern pike! Both were carefully played on 4 pound test mono and cautiously unpinned by Red at boatside.

 

[redman]

Jiggerjohn every place has one of those type characters. Red sounds like a real gem. Ours is a old black man that will only fish crappie with minnows but he does a fine job of catching crappie with them and is the one that all other fisherman are judged by. Now I have to become good enough to be know as one who uses jigs to catch the Crappie. I try to go to school every day and learn. Keep the info coming we all need all the knowledge that we can get from these old boy before it's lost to the grave.

Redman

 

[quivira kid]

Some guys just have the touch when it comes to jigging! I have also learned that most flashy, "pretty" lures appeal more to fishermen than fish. Most of the time, the "boring" stuff is what puts fish in the livewell the best!

 

[jiggerjohn]

Redman, I agree with the knowledge available by the really proficient "ole timers" -guys like Red, tho freely sharing everything & always helpful to other anglers, often seek no limelight and just like to get out fishing! Red himself seems hardy & healthy, with a big booming voice over the water, but does have a few health issues -hopefully the joy he derives from fishing and tying will keep him around for many seasons,yet, so we can BEGIN to understand some of his carefully acquired wisdom!

Quiv-kid, Yep, from watching him the past few seasons on Pymatuning, there certainly is something special about Red's jigging motion & feel! My 30 yr old son has shared a boat with him a bunch of times, and says he's almost a magical ole wizard on big crappies!! But ,talk of "flashy lures", some guys are gonna be sadly disappointed when I display photos of Red's jigs -they are not the eye-candy that some artists create, but rather simple appearing,even with just a crude red dot for the eye (if he even bothers), however, through the most careful analysis, trial & error, EVERYTHING on his jig has a specific FUNCTION ! He even ties with a container of water beside him, so that he can test EACH lure when its tied to insure perfect minnow action!

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

Looking forward to seeing them. When I first started tying and tried the mallard flank feathers by themselves on a nickle plated jig the crappie and gills literally ate the feathers off the jig,nothing left but the jig and thread so I started adding flash underneath the fetahers to keep their interest up. Nothing flashy about the original duck jig other than the head but that jig is still a killer. I won't be disappointed in seeing his jigs no matter how they look. Thinking back,my first duck was tied with red thread. A little red somewhere on the jig can make a difference.

 

[redear]

I like this guy RED already!