Introduction - I've always been an angler that based my fishing upon numbers, even when I fished tournaments. While many guys worried about the win, or targeted quality fish, I simply wanted to catch as many bass as I could on a given day and let the chips fall where they may come size. This approach has probably cost me a few wins along the way, but it has certainly yielded me consistency, along with a bunch of checks over the years.
One such technique that has filled a critical seasonal role in that numbers game for me is a tactic that my friend Kevin has coined "sissy jigging". It's nothing revolutionary or unique, and certainly nothing that many before me haven't utilized to a certain degree - Lord knows the basic jig has been around longer than most artificials. It is not too far removed from what some of the smallmouth experts down on the TVA lakes have used for years when chasing those big brown bass. "Sissy jigging" is instead my own little personal spin on a finesse version of the jig-n-pig that happens to work extremely well on green fish in many of the Indiana waters that I've frequented over the years.
Origins - I first came across what I would consider the basics of sissy jigging in an old BASSMaster article from around 1980 that featured an Ohio angler who used a small black doll fly on some of the heavily pressured lakes in that state with great success. This was before I had my first boat and well before Internet shopping, E-bay or Bass Pro Shops. As such, the closest thing I could find locally was a black marabou crappie jig. Even so, I found out that a simple small jig like that would catch quite a few bass during the toughest times I faced as an angler on many of the clear water gravel pits and ponds I regularly fished.
Timing (When) - As I've continued to play with the little jig from time to time, I've slowly come to depend on it at very specific times of the year. By and large, the majority of the time I now reach for the sissy jig is during the cold water periods. On my waters, I start picking up the sissy jig around mid-October when the water temps drop into the low 50's. From that point on, I continue to fish the bait more exclusively as water temps continue to drop, all the way up until ice-up. It is also always tied on to an outfit starting the day after the ice leaves and continuing again until the water rises into the low 50's. There are other times of the year and certain lake conditions where it will work well, but these ice water conditions we face in Indiana from mid-October until the 2nd week or so in April are what I consider prime time.
Baits (What)- So what do I consider a "sissy" jig? As I mentioned, I first started with black marabou crappie jigs, usually in 1/16-oz. size. About 8 or 9 years ago I made the switch to a more stout jig, as well as one made from bucktail. My favorites because of cost and accessability were Cabela's hand-tied hair jigs with the 1/8-oz. size considered the all around workhouse. More recently I've started to have a local custom jig tier, Don Dusanic, make my sissy jigs. These are craft hair customs that he can make to my exact specifications. Again, 1/8-oz. is the size I throw 80% of the time but I also have some down to 1/16-oz. and others a little larger, weighing in at 5/32nds of an ounce.
One thing you'll notice is that all these jigs mentioned have no weedguard. Another is that they are all truly "crappie-sized" baits. These things look small even sitting next to something like a bitsy bug. Most bass jigs that are labeled as 1/8-oz. are much larger and bulkier than what I prefer. They would be considered a "big bait" in my eyes, and some are just flat out too large for what I'm after or the equipment setup I'm using.
All baits are fished with a hand poured plastic "frog" trailer that I get out of Ohio, but you can also use something stock such as a Zoom tiny chunk or an ISG Bambino finesse chunk. Pay no mind to all the sages who say you need pork in cold water or that plastic won't work as well because it gets too stiff or some other such nonsense. The fish could care less. It's all about size and profile - if you get that right the other specifics in detail become secondary.
Tackle (More What's) - When most guys see the size of the bait I'm throwing they immediately think ultralight rods, but that's not good. You actually want what would be considered a traditional jig action rod, and by that I mean fast action. I personally prefer a Med-Lt. Any lighter and I feel you won't have the proper backbone to engage a larger bass. When I actually first started using the hair style jigs with this technique years ago I would throw them on a 7' MH spinning outfit. As I've come to rely more and more on sissy jigging as a larger part of my cold water approach, along with the advances seen in line technology, I've lightened up the outfit to become more versatile. I've gotten to the point where I now throw a lot of my sissy jigs on a pair of Matt Davis (Otterods) custom built rods in 6' and 6'6" lengths and weighing in at just 3 ounces. These are the same sticks that I use for my deep water crappie jigging and they are awesome. That said, cheaper rods will work fine with the correct action. Another of my favorites on the low end is a Gary Roach walleye model Lightning rod, the one he designed for jigging.
As for line, I started with traditional mono in 10 pound test as my basic setup. This worked fine for the 7' rod and when fishing in 1-5' of water. But as mentioned, as I've become more experienced with and expanded my versatility with the technique, I've switched preferred lines. I now stick with either 6# fluorocarbon, or 6-10# braids or super lines. I've found that 4 pound fluoro as well as 4 pound super lines just don't quite hold up to the conditions I'm fishing as well as I'd like. That slight bump up in line size makes a lot of difference in my opinion in both durability as well as in confidence when a larger than average bass grabs one of these tiny morsels (see article pics).
A lot of guys will mention fishing heavier braids because of their small diameters, but I've found for my preferences that the very thin diameter of a superline (1-4 pound mono equivalent) gives me a much greater range of capability and performance while still maintaining all the strength I need.
Another frequent question I get concerns using leaders with the braids. My thoughts there are that if it makes you feel more comfortable, go ahead and use them. On the waters I fish, and after literally hundreds of bass caught this past year tying direct, I've found it doesn't seem to make any difference, and in that case, I'll always defer to the strongest connection I can get, which is a direct tie. If you do use a leader though, you'll need to use something in the 6-10 pound range. Whenever you make a line-to-line connection, the knot connecting the two becomes the weakest link and will invariably break first. Trust me on this...I've tested it extensively over the winter. To help over come weak spots, as well as to stand up to the shock capability that a limited stretch line like a braid will impose, a bump up to 6, 8 or 10 pound mono, fluoro or copoly depending on actual braid test used is in order.
Location (Where) - Having no weedguard, this technique shines on largely open water banks such as riprap, clay, or gravel. It will also perform well around limited open cover such as boat docks and laydown logs. Catching bass off these more open water areas is one of the strengths of the technique. Additionally, bass tend to not be as heavily cover oriented in the cold water period. This is actually one of the biggest mistakes I see anglers making during this time frame. Many guys love to work or be around heavy cover for some reason, but frequently the fish aren't this early in the year. Nearby cover in the area is fine, but bass aren't typically buried in the stuff from what I've seen on the waters here in Indiana. Here's another way of putting this locational aspect into perspective - if it looks like a great bank or spot for a jerkbait, it is also probably a great bank for a sissy jig. The only difference being a sissy jig will work much better in stained or murky water on those same banks.
Retrieve (How) - Vary your retrieve just like most jigging success. Try swimming the jig for short periods, or utilize small hops or lift-drops. Anything that makes the little bait look alive is potentially the right retrieve. Part of the key to being successful with any technique is to figure out the "triggering" component of a presentation on any given day. Sissy jigging is no different.
NOTE: This piece has been added to the 'Articles' section of the site found on the lower left hand sidebar for easy future reference.