There are a lot of factors to consider when jig fishing such as water temperature, water clarity, amount of sunlight, time of day, etc... Saying that, I can't remember how many times I've spotted a steelhead resting in the riffles and got him to take a jig on the first cast. All this fish saw was a foreign object coming at him very quickly and decided to take it before it passed by. The fish took the jig not because of presentation but due to its’ color.

Countless other times I've spotted unmolested fish sitting in the middle of a drift and watched them cautiously approach the jig and take a nip at it simply out of curiosity. This happens all the time in slower water and the takes are typically very light. Presentaion had little to do with a take liike this since for the most part the jig is just hanging there.

Just this last week I spotted a lone fish fining in the middle of a shallow drift. I made three passes with my pink/white jig and the fish didn't even budge. I snipped off the pink/white jig and tied on a red jig. The very next cast I watched the jig all the way to the fish and when the jig was within a foot of passing by, the fish moved and took it. Again, it was the color of the jig that made the steelhead take a swipe at it since both jigs were presented exactly the same way.


Mark