I was reading a book on saltwater jigging, and the author discussed bending jigs like Pt. Wilson Darts, Zzingers, etc. to get more action.

He recommended a C-bend for vertical jigging, and an S-bend for trolling or horizontal jigging (casting).

What have your experiences/success been, as to whether to bend or keep your jigs straight (un-bent)?

i've bent a few, maybe a little more action. it does do a good job of cracking the finish, though. then the next thing you know, you've got a lead colored jig with great action! if you do bend them, don't bend 'em too much. they seem to have plenty of action (as they were designed) on the drop, which is when you'll get most strikes. not worth it IMHO.


willy

I've had great success using a slight "C" bend when vertical jigging for salmon. Don't always bend it though. I always check out the flutter on the drop and only start "tuning" it if it doesn't already have a good flutter. Always though, the better the flutter the more successful the jig. the long back and forth sashaying that can come with a straight jig right out of the package just doesn't seem to work for me.

i wouldnt waste my time bending them.....ive bent some and they dont do any better or improve the action.....if you do bend them, only bend them a very very small amount.... you will get more action out of them by fishing them right than you will by bending them.......

I love jigging Pt. Wilson Darts, been using them for years and don't remember the last time I put a bend in 1.

The bend works great as long as slight. I have watched videos on darts and big yanks cause them to miss the strike. I know they still hit it but with a straight dart it moves up and down really fast and far. The slight bend slows it way down giving them a better chance.

Putting the bend in it DOES increase the great number of times in a day you will be reeling up to untangle it from your line... Can increase hookups.. But It doesn't take much of a bend at all! Just very slight.. I did find one year that the blackmouth in sekiu wouldn't take the damn thing unless it had a slight S bend.. It was damn near a religious experience..

Keep your jigs(slabspoons) straight.

I will put a slight bend in the "Tail" section of a dart to prevent the "sashaying" that ocean sun mentioned.

If you're using treble hooks, I try no to, I think a bend also reduces the chance that a salmon will throw a hook.

Some Pt. Wilson Darts have a finish that will crack, but some don't. I've never figured that out either.

I agree w/ Oceansun. Check the flutter action before you do any bending. I love jigging and rarely need to bend. Use a fairly stiff rod with braided line. Use mono for the last few feet w/ a duo-clip for quick jig changes. A saltwater casting reel is nice. I keep a jig rod ready to go when trolling. If bait balls are scarce, I will pull up the DRs, park over the bait ball and jig when I do find one.

Remember, lift a couple of feet and then drop. The fish pick them up on the drop. Don't do the giant Roland Martin yank-a-roo! That moves the jig WAY too much.

On the drop is it still controlled or more of a free fall?

CF

Some of mine do have a slight bend, but not much. I caught most of the lings, bass, etc with diamond jig. You don't bend them at all.

I use a controlled drop so I can feel strike by fish or bottom.

Steve

Never!

If your new to jigging the best thing to do is jig it a few times where on the up swing the jig is only a foot below the surface and then watch it drop out of sight. It's really very easy and it helps you get the hang of it. It is also good to know just how fishy looking it is.

You can do a soft or hard lift, but always follow the jig back down...don't drop the rod tip and let your line go slack - you'll miss fish, especially when jigging deep. If you see a twitch/hesitation in the line on the drop, set the hook. If nothing is there, you'll be in place for the drop. Braid is wonderful for jigging. Some Smelly Jelly won't hurt. I also replace the treble hook with a 6/0 siwash on a barrel swivel on the split ring. Fish can't get leverage as well when rolling/twisting that might pull the hook out.

When I was about 24 yrs. old I went to P.A. to salmon fish not knowing to expect the guy at the Ediz Hook tackle shop told me that the kids on the floating logs out front were catching salmon on jigs. I bougth one and made my out to the logs that are floating in the harbor for the mill there. I was jigging away and a kid came up to me and asked if I wanted a salmon I thought he was pulling my chain and said yea right you are going to give me a salmon he said he had somehow caught one over his limit by mistake. I said sure he started to flip over pieces of bark and found the smallest fish about 15lbs. I said thanks alot and how do you catch them he looked at my jig it was straight he put a slight S shaped bend in it and said to let it down just fast enough so it would spin but not to allow the line to become slack and if it stopped or if I felt a bump to set the hook on my first drop I hooked and landed an 18lb king. The rest of the weekend got better from there I caught so many salmon off of those logs it still remains one of my best fishing trips ever that was over 20 yrs. ago. So I put that same bend in my jigs to this day.

Anyone that says NO, NEVER, needs to realize that there are times where that little extra action can mean fish or no fish.. In the end, try it out, come up with your own conclusions.. Don't ever take someone elses word for things exclusively.. Take it as advice, and use it as food for thought while making up your own mind =) As jigging is my number 1 99% of the time method for fishing salmon and bottomfish, I can tell you that it does work.. There is a lot of great advice in this thread, but fact is, both methods work =) There have been days I couldn't touch a blackmouth without the bend.. period.. My buddy and I alternated back and forth, and we didn't even touch a damn fish on the unbent one.. But it isn't always the case.. I've switched over to buzz bombs for a lot of my salmon fishing as of late.. Just harder to fish deep with em =)

Tom

Well said.

Don't use jigs. Please.

Creates an unnecessarily high lead content in our prescious water, eh Dennis? =)

Is the Kandlefish out of production or has it just fallen out of favor? That was one of my favorite lures for saltwater salmon.