Countdown And Retrieve

[Tugaloo]

Everything I read says that you should countdown your jig to achieve the proper depth and then retrieve slowly. I am under the impression that the jigs will fall about 1 foot per second. So "One Thousand One" thru "One thousand fifteen") should get the jig down to fifteen feet. But will it stay at that level with a very slow retrieve or will it continue to fall? Suppose that you are fishing an ultralite open faced spinning reel like the Mitchell Avocet 2000. How slow is slow? One complete revolution of the handle per second, 1/2 revolution per second, or what? I'm not try to be too precise here, just trying to get an idea of what we're talking about.

Thanks

Tugaloo

[fiddlefarter]

I "swim" a jig like this about 90% of the time. I try to keep mine slow enough that I can imagine it swimming flat. You can kinda tell if your reeling too fast because the jig is at the top of the water when it gets to you. When you get the jig to the boat and you have to reel it straight up and its not already at the top of the water, then to me thats the right speed. Its hard to say how many seconds per turn of the reel but I'll try to remember to check tommorrow.

[fiddlefarter]

If you count it down to 15' you will have to make a super long cast and reel it really slow to keep it at 15' for any amount of time. Look at it this way. Say you chunk a 16oz jig 45 feet. the resistence from the line is going to cause the jig to pendulum back toward you a little as it initially sinks. Then you start reeling its going to stay at 15' a few seconds then its gonna start coming back up. I think the key would be, and I try to do this, is to cast beyond where you think the fish are holding, countdown, and try to time it to where you are passing through the fish a few turns after you start to reel. ..I have a picture in my mind of how I think it is but its hard for me to put into words so I don't know if this helps or not.

[CrappiePappy]

I cast a 1/16oz tube jig about 35-40ft .. 4-6lb line ... 6.5-7ft rod. Once the jig hits the water, I start reeling ... 1 turn of the handle takes 4-5seconds. I cast the spot I'm fishing, with the idea that my jig will bottom out on its return at about 8ft. As slow as I turn the handle, there's still a bit of slack in the line (from tip to water) ... all I'm doing is taking up the line, as the jig swings towards me. The rod is held in the 10-11 o:clock position ... and I watch the line. I also watch where the line enters the water. When the entry point doesn't keep coming closer to me, I am aware of the fact that my line is probably draped over a limb, or something. I continue reeling until I see the line straighten out, or feel the jig come in contact with the limb. I then drop the rod tip down about 1ft, and in the same motion, raise it 1.5ft ... this usually bounces the jig over the obstruction, without hanging up. Trying to crawl a jig over a branch or quicksnap it over - usually ends up snagged. Oh, and be ready for a "hit" as the jig clears the limb and starts to drop back down ... it's happened too many times, to me, to be a fluke (maybe the Crappie thinks the "bait" ran into the limb and stunned itself, momentarily ?)
To get a 1/16oz jig down to the 15ft level - counting down is OK ... but, remember to let the jig fall on loose line, where it lands. Don't engage the reel, just let the line out, once the jig has landed. Time your retrieve to drag the jig back without straightening out the line (from tip to water) ... let it bow a little, and just reel fast enough to not let the jig fall deeper (unless you want/need it to). Watch for the line to "bounce" or "go slack" - and in either case, set the hook with a quick snap of the wrist and "moving" the reel from out in front of your chest, to beside your chin. Then crank down towards the fish, to get your rod/reel back into "fighting" position.
I don't normally "cast" to fish, when they're deeper than 12ft ... most of the time I will use the "Vertical Casting" method for >12ft depths, if possible. And especially if the fish are concentrated on a brushpile, in that depth range. (now you know why I use a 7ft rod and weedless jigheads !)
There's just too many variables (line diameter, line type, jig weight, jig body type, etc. ... for me to try and keep all that mathmatical equations stuff going on in my mind - and concentrating on the line, watching for that subtle "movement" of the line (indicating a strike or contact with cover). I just keep casting, and keep experimenting with retrieve speeds; cast distances; and color changes ... until I'm satisfied that I've covered the area as good as I can. ..........luck2ya ...........cp

[fiddlefarter]

I counted today and 1 turn of the reel for me, takes about 4 seconds.