need some clarification on slw fishing

[Jamesdean]

Thank you spartannation, I am beginning to realize it is a relative term and means something different to everyone. I will be playing with it some more...I have been fishing from a bridge over a section of river and with all the rain we have been having, its been real rough...let the jig just float at the waters pace is too fast, floats past structure before fish even see it, hold back a bit and nothing touches it. And it don't seem to matter either whether it's natural bait or artificials . And yes there are fish where I'm fishing as every little bit you will see them surface. Thank you everyone for the in put...

[Ketchn]

I present artificial baits under a float year round . it is in fact a way to reach fish and keep it in front or above them for a longer period of time .
real slow under a float to me means not moving it away from the area I want to target and let it sit still with a twitch or 2 in that area for an extended time .
in the summer months fish don't seem to want it real fast sometimes and often times sitting dead still gets bit .
the fish that are "resting" in brush or under docks or around other cover often need time to look it over before they will take it from what I can tell .

[Jamesdean]

Ok ketchn, I have a question maybe you can answer. I fish a small river that feeds into a lake about 250 to 300 acres, primarily due to access points, and the fact the lake is pretty shallow for the most parts. My question is how would you deal with the current? I fish it mostly from a bridge and have access to the full width of the river. I have tried the bridge supports, more of a cement wall than pilons, drifting from the up current and going down river, to no avail, not a nibble. I have fished it all the way across at varying depths, from trying to hold it in one spot to letting it drift with nadda for it. your take on it would be appreciated, as well as anyone else's. Thanks.

[Spoonminnow]

what is meant by working a jig slow, or real slow UNDER a cork.

Time of day vs time of year may be more relevant in most waters.
Floats and light jigs can work most months of the year but especially when a school of fish is found and one fish starts the attack frenzy.

I usually do best with floats in water 5' deep or deeper along with using a 4 - 6 lb test fluorocarbon leader and clinch knot keeping the lure near horizontal at rest. JMO
At times a loop knot has worked when working the lure & float faster.

Jig size depends on lure size used or more accurately - the maximum size lure fish will bite. The smaller the lure, the lighter the jighead. 1/32 -1/16 oz is for me a usable range.

Cork floats are hard to see in the water when casting long distance so I routinely use brightly colored foam floats with a band of weight to keep it upright. Fish have no problem dragging it down considering the float's neutral weight and little resistance to being pulled under.

Strike detection: the float usually bobs up & down in place due to one or two test strikes by a fish. After that the lure gets dragged down once I move the float and inch, steadily allowing for a slow rod tip hook set in the opposite direction. Strange how aggressive fish get watching a suspended lure do its thing with little horizontal movement.



I'm not too keen using curl tail grubs for float fish and always use small straight tail soft plastics for the most action with a surface ripple or with a drag & pause retrieve.
Corks are fine for live baits, but for me don't cut it for soft plastic, feather or hair lures.

All of these have caught fish under a float:

[Jamesdean]

Thanks spoonminnow. Some great advice for sure, and I agree on the visibility of natural cork at anything over 30 ft away. I bought some fluorescent orange paint in wally world craft section and dip the tops of my homemade cork floats and allow to dry. then dip the whole thing in some varnish and hang to dry. This makes them a lot easier for my tired eyes to see. Thanks for responding. Really like those jig colors and styles too. Thank you for sharing them...

[deathb4disco]

... how would you deal with the current?... I have fished it all the way across at varying depths, from trying to hold it in one spot to letting it drift with nadda for it.

A river is one place where I would use a float with a jig. I would not use my beloved wagglers, however. For river fishing, you need a float with the buoyancy (the fat part) at the top. That should not be hard to find since that's the only type of float that people use in the US.

You can't hold the float in one place. That's unnatural, so the fish won't touch it. You should let the float drift downstream with the current. The tricky part with river fishing is that the current on the surface (where the float is) is moving faster than the current on the bottom (where the food is.) If the food in the river is moving at 2mph and your float is dragging the jig along at 4mph, it looks unnatural, and the fish won't touch it. You have to slow the float down to match the speed of the food in the river. You do this by "checking" (holding back) the float. You don't want to stop the float, just slow it down. You do this by touching the spool slightly with your finger. This slows the line coming off which, in turn, slows down the float. Getting the speed right is just a matter of trial and error.

[Spoonminnow]

like those jig colors and styles too.

All of the lures pictured were hand crafted. If you have plastisol, a microwave, box cutter blade and a glossy floor tile, you can easily make your own. They catch everything anywhere! Size and shape are decided by the lure crafter as well as color which can be added by throwing in some old unused lures.

[Clint]

Sorry for being a little late to the party, but let me tell you how I got started using jigs under floats. Me and my buddy took his grandson out and he wanted to move the jig as soon as it hit the water. So we rigged a jig under a slip float and told him don’t set the hook until the float went down. Sure enough it took less than a minute and the float went “plop” and down it went. Three or four more times and we realized that the crappie wanted a jig sitting absolutely still. So now I keep a rod rigged with a float and jig for those times when they want a still jig.


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[Jamesdean]

Thank you for your little story Clint, and your not late at all...

[Curlytail]

For fall fishing there is nothing better for me than a 1/16 oz hair jig under a bobber. Let it sit & every few seconds give it a twitch. Brush pile fishing makes a great slip bobber. No bobber stop needed. Easy to adjust depths. Thats what works for me.

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