Coach Haru has so much jigging wisdom, these tips have been broken into multiple posts. Lot of wisdom here for beginning and advanced jiggers!

Coach Haru: Most of Major Craft Jigpara are made for retrieve in high speed. That’s why they have treble hooks in the end. High speed retrieve, fish chase and attack from behind, treble hook wiggle like tail. Assist hooks on tail is for slow jigs. Long or flat slow center balanced jig falls slowly with side way. Some jig has eyes on the tail too. When I go out with boat, I have 3 rods. One is casting rod with spinning reel (Shimano Twin Power 12000) PE 80lb main line, leader 100lb, I have bait reel (Shimano Ocea Jigger) PE 60lb main line, leader 40lb. For slow jig and long center balanced jig. Fast jigging (Daiwa Saltiga 8000), PE60lb main line, leader 80lb. Jig 250lb-300g, jig for 100 fathom or more depth.

I like to use lighter gear because fun to fight, make me thrilled, also when I defeat the fight, fish won’t spool out whole line,  just snap leader or take lures. I found so many long mono line in water in Hawaii. Can you imagine that marlin spool out 500 yard line. Line killed so many marine animals. For me, fishing is game like boxing. Boxing is not street fight. Boxing is game. Needs lots techniques, strategy and have to practice. I’m an MMA coach but my favorite style is boxing. When my plan works, that is satisfaction. 

There are many jig sabiki in the market. There are from super light to heavy. When fish are not biting lures , use smaller jig like a compact tungsten jig. If still fish are not biting, I use jig as the weight on a sabiki. Size of flies on sabiki is are an inch or less, leader on fly is 15lb to 30lb. There is Nomase( live bait fishing) sabiki which can keep the bait fish on sabiki continue to fish not detach the bait from fly. The leader of fly is longer than normal sabiki so bait can swim better.  Use a jig instead of lead weight. Prefer swimming jig but not long center weighted jig since that can tangle line and flies easy.   Daiwa TG bait or Jigpara are good. I don’t put hooks on jig because I don’t wanna lose the jig, especially the expensive TG Bait. Also, I put 2 flies out more than that. I had tried home made jig sabiki had 4 flies; Kawakawa hit it more than one, I lost entire set up so I use just 2 flies. Also it’s shorter that easier to use from Kayak. Jig is swimming jig, when reel it, jig wiggles makes flies dance good. Here is a Japanese video of a jig used as the sabiki weight. He has assists hooks on his jig and catches bait on the jig too!

Editor’s note: There are underwater videos taken in Japan, of fish reacting to various objects jigged on the bottom. Haru refers to those videos below.

Now you know when fish bite. When the jig is suspended the moment or starts to fall, that’s the moment the fish bite. But fisherman feels fish bite on the way up. But fish already bit the jig. Fish doesn’t feel the hooks because the moment, jig has no tension. That’s why need to set the hook hard. When fish bite the jig, fish face down so hit hard, pull hard, fight hard. Reeling tairaba, fish is face up to chase it so when fish bite, no need to set hook because line has tension, face is face up, easier fight and no need to set the hook. Plugs as well. Reeling plugs on surface, fish comes from under, face is up to take the plug is easier than jig is taken by fish face is down. 

For jig fishing, gotta find the fish first. You must show the lure.  Important is to make sure the lure is in fish’s sight. Most of the time you drop a jig to the bottom. You can see your line and bottom on fish finder, you gotta feel the bottom with the jig. Is it sand or rocks or artificial reef or wrecked ship? What ever it is, you gotta feel it to identify exactly where your jig at. Gotta put a jig in fish’s sight. Sometimes jigging catch fish out feeding time. Bait fishermen not catching , but jigging fishermen catch. Because jig can make reaction bite. Agitate fish. Make them piss off so they wanna attack. Most of toothy fish react aggressively. It’s reaction bite. Jig must drop on fish. Very important for fish to see jig. It has no smell or sign of life, fish will not come to jig from far. If there is no fish on fish finder, I don’t jig.