Retrieve speed for different jigs

[castingcole]

What retrieve speeds should I be using for baby shad, curly tail , paddle tail, and beetle spin?


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[deathb4disco]

It's easy to reel too fast, so slow down. One turn of the reel handle should take 2-3 seconds. (That's an approximation, so feel free to experiment.)

[USMA65]

I would look at the action of each rig, and then judge the minimum speed to impart action for each different jig. Excessive speed can put an obvious unnatural action on the jig. I find myself dropping whatever overboard and reeling in such a way as to refresh my memory about each rig. Then the key is to duplicate whatever you were doing when you caught that first slab.

[castingcole]

It's easy to reel too fast, so slow down. One turn of the reel handle should take 2-3 seconds. (That's an approximation, so feel free to experiment.)

I noticed when I go to slow for paddle tails and curly tails the tails don’t have any actions.

I use curly tails a ton for flounder fishing
( I am new to freshwater) and iv noticed that the smaller tails (like for crappie (1-3 inches) have far less action I’d you go slow then the larger 5-6 inches tails for saltwater.


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[Cane Pole]

All you need to know is that fish are mentally challenged. Expect the unexpected. I've caught a lot of crappie burning the water with large bass spinner baits.

[deathb4disco]

I noticed when I go to slow for paddle tails and curly tails the tails don’t have any actions.

They have enough action, IMO. I remember Jimmy Houston talking about the Road Runner. He said the mistake most people make is reeling fast enough so that the blade spins. He believed that a slower retrieve was better. The blade didn't have to "spin" to work.

[CrappiePappy]

They have enough action, IMO. I remember Jimmy Houston talking about the Road Runner. He said the mistake most people make is reeling fast enough so that the blade spins. He believed that a slower retrieve was better. The blade didn't have to "spin" to work.

Jimmy also vertical jigs with Road Runners ... blade flutters more than spins. IMO ... if your RR blade isn't "spinning" (cast/retrieve method) it's no better than a regular jig, because it's not putting off the vibrations & flash that it would with the spinning blade. Will fish still hit it ... absolutely !! Will they hit it more often ... I kinda doubt it, but that's just my opinion.

Kinda the same theory on curly & paddle/boot tail plastics. They'll still push water (pressure waves) that the fish can sense, just not as much as they would if the tails are moving as much as they're made to do. AND YET, I've caught quite a few fish on a "carrot shaped" plastic, which has little to no tail movement. Could be the colors, and/or the pressure waves that got the fish's attention, or it could have been something as simple as that bait happened to run thru the strike zone of that particular fish while the plastics with more tail action were outside of any other fish's strike zone at that time.

[deathb4disco]

Jimmy also vertical jigs with Road Runners ... blade flutters more than spins. IMO ... if your RR blade isn't "spinning" (cast/retrieve method) it's no better than a regular jig, because it's not putting off the vibrations & flash that it would with the spinning blade. Will fish still hit it ... absolutely !! Will they hit it more often ... I kinda doubt it, but that's just my opinion.

JH thought the "flutter" put off enough flash to attract fish. I rarely fish a blade, so I'm agnostic on the subject.

[Schmoopie]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is what I believe is the most important -- whatever speed keeps the bait at the target depth. Obviously the jughead weight can offset this, but spinners especially can rise up in the water column if you retrieve too fast. It's more important to put a bait in the fish's face than it is to have action when the bait is in the wrong place.

["G"]

JH thought the "flutter" put off enough flash to attract fish.

Thats what I think