JIGS CATCH PIGS!!!
By Montana Grant

Posted: July 3, 2022

Pigs live deep and feed sloppy and slowly. If your fly is not visible on their buffet, you will not hook up. Nymph masters know how to get deep and not get snagged. Jig flies are the pigs squeal when it comes to successful nymphomaniacs!

Bead head nymphs are worth the money. The small brass or tungsten beads add weight to your trout flies and help to put the fly in front of the fish. Big Pigs did not get big by being athletic, leaping at small dry flies, or chasing faster minnows. They became pigs by finding that deep, protected water where food is washed into their Big, Fat, Mouths! All they need to do is rest their bellies on the bottom and open their mouths.

To get your nymph into their feeding zone, you have several choices. 

Add weights     Normally, this means you add split shot above your nymph, between two nymphs, or on a dropper. The weights will certainly sink into the pig’s zone, but the nymphs may be just above them.

Add weight to the nymphs    Weighted nymphs will sink your flies but take away any natural movement and drift. You will also tend to get snagged more often.

Bead Head Nymphs     The weight of a bead head and light tippet, with a proper upstream drift, will get the fly to the Pig. Therefore, they are so popular. Prior to beads, most nymphers were never in deep enough to hook up. Flies that catch fish are more popular even if the fishermen have no clue why. 

Droppers     When tying a blood knot to connect tippet, leave one end longer. Add the weight to this dropper. If it gets snagged, you can pull the line so the sinker will slide off. Now you can re-weight the dropper and continue to fish.

Tie to a Jig    Jig flies offer a couple of advantages. First, the hook will ride up. The jig head will add weight and get your fly into the zone. If you get snagged, jigs tend to release and not get snagged.

Sinking lines    Using a sinking, weighted line will also get you to the promised, deeper, land. You can get a weight forward or other variations designed to put your fly in the feeding window.

Jigs tackle tip    You can also fish jig nymphs using a spinning rod.

Getting Jiggy Wit It can help you pig out!

Montana Grant

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