Thread: How to fish a looney Jig

Hey guys I just recently bought some Looney Jigs at J&M. I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to fish them for the various species, or is it pretty much the same for all? I was distracted by an interesting conversation about fishing with one of the guys that worked there and forgot to ask....

you can fish them numerous different ways. fast twitch "walking the dog" type retrieve will produce Spanish, blues, skipjack, etc when active near the surface. Other times a nice steady retrieve with a few twitches and let it fall will get a reaction strike at times. Sometimes cast it out, let it fall while feeding out excess line and once its deep enough twitch until it starts to get close to the surface will produce fish too. This method had pompano following it up to the surface out near the octi on one occasion!

Until #r comes along and tells you the secret, I'll share what I do with at least reasonable success. If you see someone catching fish, figure out what they're doing and copy it. Other than that, keep changing your retrieval until you find what they're looking for - assuming of course there is a bite on.
Cast let it sink all the way and retrieve at various speeds until you see it and then let it sink again. Repeat till you reel it in. Jig - fast/slow/some combination. Reel it hard and fast. Just keep trying.

ETA - sometimes hanging a belly strip on your hook
will make 'em hit when nothing else will.

Originally Posted by divedeep

Until #r comes along and tells you the secret, I'll share what I do with at least reasonable success. If you see someone catching fish, figure out what they're doing and copy it. Other than that, keep changing your retrieval until you find what they're looking for - assuming of course there is a bite on.
Cast let it sink all the way and retrieve at various speeds until you see it and then let it sink again. Repeat till you reel it in. Jig - fast/slow/some combination. Reel it hard and fast. Just keep trying.

That about covers it.

There are almost as many ways to work them as there are species of fish that'll hit them. Pompano like them bounced along the bottom. Flounder like them dragged along the bottom tipped with a belly strip slowly. Spanish are moody sometimes and sometimes they'll hit any way you work it. I've caught them casting it out, letting the jig hit bottom and burning it back in as fast as you can reel it until it gets to the top and then repeat, or working it in a zigzag retrieve closer to the top. Like divedeep said, just watch what's working for others and adjust until you start getting results. Good luck!

Thanks guys for all of the tips! I really appreciate it and am ready to give'em a shot!

throw it out let it hit bottom and vertical jig the piss out off it let it sink again and repeat..