Educate Me, please

Utah Fishing Reports & Discussion Utah Fishing General
1

I have been reading here that many of you like to fish Strawberry with white tube jigs, some tipped with chub. I have a few questions:

  1. What size/weight jigs do you use?
  2. Do you put anything else on your line (extra weights, etc)?
  3. Do you let them settle to the bottom (or near it) and just “jig” occasionally?
  4. Where do you get the chub to tip the jig with?

Thanks in advance!

2

1/4 ounce
No
Yes, but it depends on the day sometimes you don’t jig at all sometimes you jig alot
I net mine, But Sportsmans has them frozen

3
  1. What size/weight jigs do you use? As light as possible to get the jig down. If it is a little windy I will use a heavier jig. I make my own, which allows me to make some light ones on larger hooks. 2 1/2" white tubes are a good place to start.
  2. Do you put anything else on your line (extra weights, etc)? No
  3. Do you let them settle to the bottom (or near it) and just “jig” occasionally? I watch the fishfinder and find out where the fish are located. Ideally, they will be on or near the bottom. Often I will bounce it off of the bottom a few times and then raise it a few inches. I vary the action on the jig and try to determine what kind of action they want on any particular day. Casting and retrieving it, sometimes bouncing it off of the bottom, will sometimes be the ticket.
  4. Where do you get the chub to tip the jig with? I net or trap mine, but Sportsman’s usually stocks them and they are cheaper than crawlers. Avoid the temptation to put a large chunk on the hook. The idea is to attract the fish by the smell of the cut bait, not to feed the fish. Large chunks of bait make it more difficult to hook the fish. A 1/4 to 1/2" chunk is all that is needed. I also try tipping with about 1/3 to 1/2 of a crawler.
4

Why don’t you get a hold of one of the fisherman who jigs and offer to pay your half or more to fish with them so you can be shown the right way of how where and what to do…

5

All pretty good info given here. The only other thing I would add is that white, while generally effective, isn’t always the “ticket.” Don’t be afraid to try out some of the other colors. I’ve had days up there where I have slayed them on green or pumpkin tubes. Also, I don’t use chub meat, rather I use the red-side shiner minnows (personal preference), and they seem to work just fine. Finally, as mentioned above, night-crawlers also work pretty well for tipping (plus they stay on better IMO). One more thing, make sure you have a sensitive rod that will allow you to feel very light bites. Sometimes they’ll slam it, but more often than not it’s a very light. Good luck, and feel free to PM next time your headed up. Maybe we can get together.

Funny thing, this was me about two years ago. I too learned this method by picking the brain of some of the other board members. This is now the only method I employ when fishing the Berry. Very fun and active way to fish.

6

Hey Gunter,

Here are a couple of links on previous posts here at BigFishTackle regarding jigs and tubes for Strawberry:

BFT Link 1

BFT Link 2