# Best Jigs



## trubluau (Aug 13, 2014)

What is the best jigs for grouper and snapper. I have caught alot of AJ'S on jigs but have never caught any grouper or snapper on them. Any info would be great. thx


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## redneck_billcollector (Aug 13, 2014)

Ironically, I have had to move when targeting AJ with jigs because we couldn't keep the snapper and grouper off our AJ jigs long enough to catch AJ (closed season on the gags and ARS).  The best luck I have with grouper is with either Blue Blue V Sea Rides (a couple of fish in the other thread pictured are with those). Hots Drift Tunes, Hots Y2K, any of the Current Jigs. I have a friend that uses nothing but Williams Benthos and Abyss jigs and loads up on snapper and grouper, he even caught a Mutton Snapper out of Apalachicola with one, d-a posted a picture of it in another thread.  It is more how you fish the jig than what type. For grouper we do a lot of yo-yoing with the jigs we catch AJ with and they work fine.  We will fast jig up maybe 30 or so feet, then let it fall back, yo-yo for awhile, then rip it up 30 or so feet again, and repeat. Tons of grouper that way, and snapper too.


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## redneck_billcollector (Aug 13, 2014)

Here are some snapper caught on jigs.


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## d-a (Aug 13, 2014)

Two things. There is no best jig. I have great success with a hammered diamond jig. Some days I out fish my guest and other days they out fish me.  

Secondly. Your targeting bottom fish. If your not constantly bouncing the jig off the bottom then your missing out on the most productive 10 ft of the water column. 

It's always best to go with someone that has it figured out to watch and learn. 

d-a


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## redneck_billcollector (Aug 13, 2014)

d-a said:


> Two things. There is no best jig. I have great success with a hammered diamond jig. Some days I out fish my guest and other days they out fish me.
> 
> Secondly. Your targeting bottom fish. If your not constantly bouncing the jig off the bottom then your missing out on the most productive 10 ft of the water column.
> 
> ...



Never a truer statement uttered about jigging....we have this discussion all the time on jigging forums, it is more about what you have faith in more than anything, you tend to fish what you like more so therefore you catch more fish with what you fish the most.....I have faith in what are known as "high end" jigs, so I catch more with them. Doug uses the whole gauntlet and he catches fish with all kinds of jigs.  I don't even think I own one of his favorite fish catching jigs (hammered gold jig) .  Yet he will pull out some high end jig hard to get in the states, and a lot of the time I will have one or a few of that make.....Back on memorial day weekend I had a buddy of mine fishing for two days with Doug and I, my friend only fishes williamson jigs, he was racking up some impressive catches...Doug (d-a) looks at me and says..."Jay, do you know how much money we have wasted on our jigs?  Thousands of dollars" There might be some truth to that, but I just cant catch them on williamson jigs like my buddy can, he has a unique (putting it mildly) jigging style that I, nor anyone else, can replicate....it is a sight to behold, I have tried and failed.


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## trubluau (Aug 14, 2014)

redneck_billcollector said:


> Never a truer statement uttered about jigging....we have this discussion all the time on jigging forums, it is more about what you have faith in more than anything, you tend to fish what you like more so therefore you catch more fish with what you fish the most.....I have faith in what are known as "high end" jigs, so I catch more with them. Doug uses the whole gauntlet and he catches fish with all kinds of jigs.  I don't even think I own one of his favorite fish catching jigs (hammered gold jig) .  Yet he will pull out some high end jig hard to get in the states, and a lot of the time I will have one or a few of that make.....Back on memorial day weekend I had a buddy of mine fishing for two days with Doug and I, my friend only fishes williamson jigs, he was racking up some impressive catches...Doug (d-a) looks at me and says..."Jay, do you know how much money we have wasted on our jigs?  Thousands of dollars" There might be some truth to that, but I just cant catch them on williamson jigs like my buddy can, he has a unique (putting it mildly) jigging style that I, nor anyone else, can replicate....it is a sight to behold, I have tried and failed.



That's funny. I mainly fish with williamson and frenzy jigs. I catch plenty of AJ's but never catch any grouper or snapper. I mainly drift fish so that may have a bearing on it. I have read where you need to be anchored to catch grouper in jigs. I will try some of the high end jigs. There is nothing like catching big fish on jigs.


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## redneck_billcollector (Aug 14, 2014)

trubluau said:


> That's funny. I mainly fish with williamson and frenzy jigs. I catch plenty of AJ's but never catch any grouper or snapper. I mainly drift fish so that may have a bearing on it. I have read where you need to be anchored to catch grouper in jigs. I will try some of the high end jigs. There is nothing like catching big fish on jigs.



I would disagree about anchoring.  Fish hit jigs out of anger or something else as opposed to hunger. As a matter of fact, I do not think I have ever been anchored and jigged and I have been jigging since before shimano started marketing butterfly jigs.  I have had the benefit of meeting, fishing with and talking with some of the American pioneers in jigging japanese style or whatever you want to call it.  Same with d-a, I would hazard to say he was one of the pioneers in the US.  Yes, jigging has been around since fishing, but the style, tackle and other aspects of modern jigging have evolved to become something more than it once was.  

We use tackle that is not readily available in the US also. I would hazard to say most on here have never even heard of the rods most of us use.  I use rods such as Fisherman Spinoza, Smith AMJ, Evergreen Maori Spirits, Temple Reef X12B, Ocea Jigger, etc...etc....very specialized tackle. Reels such as Ocea Jigger, Studio Ocean Mark, Saltiga Expedition, etc...My friend who uses only Williamson Jigs, uses Medusa Custom Works rods exclusively...he uses the cheapest jigs out there but you can not touch one of his rods for under 800 dollars....funny. He has Saltiga Dogfights and Shimano Trinidads as reels, once again, not really cheap tackle.  

Talk to Doug (d-a) about maybe getting him to teach you how to catch grouper and snapper. My grouper catch has gone up since I learned a few tricks from him, he really is very good at jigging and a good teacher.  He also catches most of his fish on tackle that seems to be about the same size as what most people use as bass tackle.  I catch snapper a lot of the time when I am targeting AJ, the same jigs and methods.  Long jigs being speed jigged through suspended fish.  That is another aspect I have learned from him, go as light as you can.   Here is a picture of me fighting an AJ, notice how light my tackle is. Doug calls this heavy tackle....funny.


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## Saltwater Junky (Aug 15, 2014)

I have had great luck with the shimano butterfly jigs.  i started using cheap jigs with good hooks though.  getting bit off gets expensive with the butterflys


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## redneck_billcollector (Aug 15, 2014)

Saltwater Junky said:


> I have had great luck with the shimano butterfly jigs.  i started using cheap jigs with good hooks though.  getting bit off gets expensive with the butterflys



I wish the majority of the jigs I use cost as little as the butterflys.....lol.  Try Hots Jigs, CB One Jigs, Current Jigs, Blue Blue Jigs, Smith Jigs, Shout Jigs, Fisherman Jigs and the list goes on and on, the average jig I use cost around 25 dollars and up....It gets expensive at times, lately I have only been losing an average of just one jig a trip, the kings are almost always the culprits, I have caught a lot of kings on jigs though......I know some jiggers over in Puerto Rico that use real short wire traces above all their jigs and they slay the wahoo and kings.  I have tried it, but I really don't like the way it affects the jigs' action.


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