I've long lined jigs many times but never pushed them. Is there an advantage to pushing? Also how do you rig to push, a heavy weight above a leader? Can't find a whole lot of info about it.
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I've long lined jigs many times but never pushed them. Is there an advantage to pushing? Also how do you rig to push, a heavy weight above a leader? Can't find a whole lot of info about it.
The biggest "advantage" of Pushing over long line trolling is "control" .... you have less line out, so your turns or S curves or following a winding contour line are more likely to keep your lure in the correct path. With Long Line Trolling, your lure is much farther behind you ... so your turns have to be much wider, and your lures won't track as close to your path, but will instead simply follow straight behind you (more or less, especially on short S curves).
I rig mine with 1/2oz to 1.5oz weights (barrel sinkers) on the main line ... then a bead & a duo-lock snap. I have several sections of pool noodle with jig heads on 2ft leader lines, so I can change out quickly whenever I break off on a snag. I'm generally going at 0.8 - 1mph and use a spread of 3 - 4 rods when fishing solo. But, I'm still a novice at Pushing ... and just recently acquired two more long rods (which have line counter reels) to add to my 3 other long rods (which have baitcast reels), a double seat setup & a long handled net. I've yet to have the chance to use my newly acquired equipment, but have used these same items in the boats of a couple of my friends, so I won't be totally ignorant when the time comes to do it out of my own boat.
Thanks Pappy, that's the info I was looking for. Do you think you spook many fish with the jigs that close to the boat? I should be fishing deep enough this time of the year for it not to be a problem but I worry about warmer weather when they are shallower.
If using long poles out the front in shallow water your are going to catch em before they are spooked ! I’m new to pushing but I’m loving it ! I caught lots of 1 1/2 -2# sows back in the spring in 3-5’ it’s awesome to see em slam that jig just in front of ya!
In the Spring I'm mostly casting jigs & Road Runners. After that it depends on the lake I'm fishing as to whether I Push or cast. My longest rods are 14' , but I have used them to Push jigs in as little as 4fow .. & caught fish.
No way for me to know if I'm spooking that many fish, either by running the jigs just in front of the boat/TM or even under/behind the boat (after passing over them, when fish are a bit deeper). All I know is the technique works.
My fishing buddy Don and I push jigs. It is the tactic that works best for us, in the lakes we fish. YMMV
We stopped using minnows years and years ago because pushing is so effective none were necessary. And checking with others fishing the same water the same day, we are beating most of them in size and quantity.
These photos were before we went to very long rods and line counter reels but we still did well. We now use 20 foot Japanese carbon telescoping poles and line counter reels. I use Shakespeare ATS 15's and my buddy uses Okumas. We fish an 8 pole spread across the front of the boat. Used to fish 10 poles but it did not increase our catch and made a mess when 4 or 5 pound bass or some of our large Florida gar and bowfins showed up. We find the long rods gets the lures farther away from the boat and that reduces spooking the fish. We fish some lakes that are fairly shallow bowls and others with pretty deep water (for Florida) and do well in both. Lately we have been catching fish 16 to 18 feet down in 20 to 22 feet of pretty clear water so pushing is not restricted to just a shallow water tactic.
We fish these rigs year round, not just in the fall and spring as most crappies fishermen do.
In the shot of the fish on the table, the 11 fish stacked neatly on the left were all over 2 pounds each. The pile of "little ones" on the right were all 13 to 14 inches.
Tom
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Thanks Tom, Looks like you guys have it figured out. Are you using a heavier weight above the jig as others are?
Thanks to all who have replied.
We use 8 pound test braid main line. A slip sinker that varies between 3/4 ounce and 2 ounces (depending on the water depth) is threaded on the line. A Duo-Lock clip, the smallest they have, is attached to a tiny S-Pro swivel and tied below the weight.
We use 4 to 6 pound fluorocarbon leaders (I prefer 4 pound, my buddy uses 6) three feet long. They are pre-tied so we don't have to mess about with them if we need to re-rig while fishing. Loop knot on one end, jig on the other. If we need to change rigs, we can just unclip one and clip on another.
Tom
good info, thanks
Crappie Pappie - where do you get your duo-lock snaps? Do you have brand you typically get? What about the size? Thanks in advance!