Cayuga Cayuga 7/14 - Jigging Report

[PCPete]

Ill start this out by saying I'm unsure if my fish finder is currently giving me reliable accurate data on whats going on down there but a new one is on order and so i'm hoping for better results in the future. Due to how life goes sometimes I didn't end up getting out there until around 2:30pm yesterday and to save you time reading this - 0 fish in the boat. 

 

Went to the power plant first and found scattered bait all around... lots of algae and seaweed all over there... was quite a mess between the two. Marked a few fish on the bottom and alot of scattered bait but after jigging for around two hours with no hits decided to move on.

Headed for Taughannock. Trolled around looking for bait pods but didn't find anything of size. Passed by some other guys Jigging but they had just got there 20 minutes before and hadn't caught anything yet either. Tried Jigging there for around an hour and after no hits, decided to move on and head for the salt plant.

 

Ended up getting there around 5ish and found a little bait, had a few short hits (I think) but still no fish in the boat. 

 

Decided to call it around 6 and put my new Hummingbird 386ci on order. - Hope for better results next time.

 

 

 

 

[katydid]

I know exactly how you feel. I have a Hummunbird 565, and I have trouble telling what's going on down there. I was at the power plant July 15th, and the bait and fish were very scattered. It was hard to find concentrations of more than a few fish, and I think this makes a difference with jigging. I gave up jigging, and trolled with Dipsys, and ended up 8 for 9. Some decent-sized fish. Sometimes, you just have to troll. But I like jigging better. Let me know which unit you get. Best depths for me were 75-90 ft.

[guff]

I think sometimes the lakers like their quarry moving more horizontally than vertically. Sometimes I have had better luck (while drifting) casting my jig down wind as far as I can, letting the jig settle to the bottom, then reeling in let's say 25-50 feet, then let the jig settle to the bottom again. Repeat this action 4 or 5 times before reeling in back to the boat. Although I only got 2 LT on my last trip, both hit while using this method. Vertical presentation was not working. Maybe something to try.

[PCPete]

Wow, I didn't know that...

 

Thanks Guff, I have always though that to be successful jigging you have to be completely vertical but this is a good backup option for sure. I will try this method out when standard Jigging methods fail in the future. 

 

Got my new FF last night - after 2 hours of analyzing every detail at bass pro I decided on the Hummingbird 386CI model. 

 

Quite a few people I have asked say that color screens are better for Jigging and I have 30 days to make up my mind for sure. The 5" screen would have been nice but if you really can see your Jig better on color, then its worth the sacrifice made. 

 

Now to work out how to mount the new transducer properly... 

[bulletbob]

 Vertical jigging was and is the norm.. however, these fish are seeing a LOT more jigs hopping up and down for the past 10 years or so.. They no longer  respond as they did when very few guys were using jigs. If you aren't getting hit and are marking fish, try racing and I do mean RACING your lure straight up from bottom.. You can't possibly move the lure fast enough to take it away  from a laker..
  past few years I have caught more lakers on fast retrieves than I have with conventional "yo yo" jigging techniques.. Some days it doesn't make a difference.. Often it does however... bob

[rustyrat]

If you want retrieve speed I suggest getting a pen jigmaster reel. I used them for tuna and yellow tail when I lived in san Diego. Drop to the bottom and reel like heck! It takes a bit to get used to but the retrieval speed is worth it.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[guff]

First I need to correct something I said in the above entry. I said cast the jig "downwind". I should have said "upwind". Makes a lot of difference. Jig in the water a lot longer if do it upwind. Sorry about that. One of those senior moments I guess.

Now for the good news. Went back to Belhurst area (Seneca-north) again today. What a difference a week makes. 2 trout in 8 hours last week, 8 trout boated, one came off and at least a half dozen hits today before noon. Tried verticle jigging (fast and slow) but only got one that way. All the rest came on the jigging/casting? method mentioned above. Today, anyway, they just loved that method. Got most in 70-80 fow with a white paddletail(shaker) on 1 oz (Hermit's) jig. Two of the 8 were 30 inchers and most of them put up a very good fight. My drag got a workout today. The 3 I kept had a belly full of alewives so maybe they have got the feed bag on now.

Was my lucky day I think. Got 4 LT between 11:00 and noon. When I looked up at the sky to the west, it did not look right. I decided it was time to head back even though the bite was on. Man, am I glad I did. I got the boat/trailer all ready to pull out on the highway and all h... broke loose. Heavy, heavy rain. Windy, windy and even some hale. I just stayed in the launch parking lot for a good hour waiting for the monsoon to move on.

[PCPete]

Thanks for the suggestion @rustyrat. I may pick one of those up and return the Shimano Caenan Baitcaster Reel I bought the other day... It has fast retrieve but a really crappy drop system and drops very slowly compared to my other baitcaster. I thought all I had to look for was gear ratio but I took for advantage the features to change the drop speed on my main one... Hopefully the Pen Jigmaster has a good system that lets the reel free-flow down and allows you to simply control the speed with your thumb. 

 

Sounds like you did well @guff - I got my new hummingbird 386CI installed last night and cant wait to try it out.

 

I'll be going out tonight to give it a test run on Cayuga and then early tomorrow morning as well. 

 

Hopefully it works as advertised and I can see both the fish any my jig! - Will keep you guys posted. 

 

PS. If anyone wants to join me tonight for a Jigging trip up to the power plant, just shoot me a PM. 

 

Thanks again for all the help/advice. 

[rustyrat]

Just remember there is no level wind on that reel but you will get used to it.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[rustyrat]

Gear ratio is 4 to 1. Line retreive 27 inches per crank.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[Copperliner]

Take a peek at the Quantum AC101HPT's (AC100HPT is the right-hand model), the flipping switch is especially handy for jigging.  Lightweight, and plenty fast.

Edited July 19, 2013 by Copperliner