8 Jig Fishing Tips To Catch Bass On The Rocks

The versatility of a jig with a weedguard makes it the ideal lure for tempting bass holding around rocks. Jig fishing is never a bad call when trying to dig bass out of cover, but these are your best options for targeting bass on the rocks.Bass crave rocks especially in springtime, because the rocks absorb heat from the sun to warm the water and harbor crawfish, one of the bass’ favorite foods. A jig and soft plastic trailer is an ideal crawfish imitator that can be crawled, hopped or banged into rocks without hanging up in the cover.Here are eight tips on how to catch bass on the rocks with a jig:

1. Choose Your Colors Wisely

Use crawfish-imitating colors such as brown-and-orange, brown-and-green pumpkin or black-and-blue for your jigs and soft plastic trailers when bass are feeding heavily on crawfish.

2. Look For Baitfish

Try shad-imitating colors such as white, blue or gray for your jigs and soft plastic trailers if schools of shad or other baitfish are swimming around the rocks.

3. Check The Rock Size

Try spider jigs or ballhead finesse jigs with small plastic craws or chunks for best results when fishing pea gravel and softball-size chunk rock banks in clear water.

4. Think Football For Bass On The Rocks

The head design of a football jig allows the lure to easily roll over rock and rubble without snagging so use a football jig for tempting largemouth, smallmouth or spotted bass holding tight to rocky ledges or big boulders. Select a jig with a 90-degree angle on the jig eye which allows the lure to roll over rocks easier.

5. Be Aggressive

On cloudy days with a slight breeze, trigger aggressive bass into biting your jig by hopping it or banging it into the rocks.

6. Pay Attention To The Sun

Calm, sunny days cause bass to hug a rocky bottom, so crawl a football jig over the rocks with short pulls of your rod and pause the lure for a couple of seconds to coax lethargic bass into biting.

7. Don't Neglect The Postspawn Bass On The Rocks

During the postspawn when bass suspend over rocky drop-offs and rock ledges, try stroking a 3/4-or 1-ounce football or structure jig off the bottom to trigger strikes. Rip the jig off the rocks by jerking your rod from the 9 o’clock to 12 o’clock position and let the lure fall back on a slack line. Strikes usually occur as the jig flutters back to the rocks.

8. Use The Proper Line

Throw jigs on fluorocarbon line for increased sensitivity and abrasion resistance. Fluorocarbon helps you distinguish between a bass engulfing your jig or the jig hitting a rock and minimizes nicks caused by the line constantly rubbing against rocks.