Jig Fishing With New Electric Reels

As soon as purely the area of economic anglers, so much has modified available in the market for power-assist reels. With important latest enhancements to in the present day’s highly effective electrical reels, fishermen are discovering new methods to make the most of these instruments.

I’ve been utilizing them to jig for pelagics. Some great benefits of electric-assist are apparent for deep-drop jigging with 1,000 toes of line out, however what about concentrating on among the quickest fish within the ocean within the pelagic zone? The place I fish the Atlantic off South Florida, gamefish embody some notoriously quick swimmers corresponding to wahoo and blackfin tuna. With the power to succeed in speeds of 40 to 50 mph, these species like lures labored quick!

To have interaction these fast-swimming predators, it helps to cowl the water column shortly and effectively. Enter the extremely productive approach generally known as high-speed jigging, particularly I’m jigging with electric-assist reels. This specialised gear and its related methods will be tremendous efficient for concentrating on continually transferring species. Just like high-speed trolling, electrical reels provide the skill to shortly and successfully cowl massive areas of water looking for gamefish. Additionally, electrical reels mitigate the fatigue of high-speed jigging, particularly for anglers like me that suffer from a previous shoulder harm. 

Options and Features of Electrical Fishing Reels

With in the present day’s electrical reels, the power to set particular jigging patterns and the supply of light-weight battery packs or built-in energy provide have tipped the chances considerably within the angler’s favor.

Choices from Penn, Shimano and Daiwa all have programmable characteristic units, and Penn’s new Fathom Electrical reel received better of present at ICAST – the premier know-how showcase for fishing gear. The Fathom’s built-in battery system makes it the primary utterly cord-free electrical reel in the marketplace.   

Many electric-assist reels have versatile programmable modes, permitting the angler to automate and alter lure retrieval because the day unfolds—an ideal device for fishing particular areas of the water column.

Key options to search for in electrics embody auto-stop for hands-free retrieve, override for handbook jigging, spool stress knob to manage the drop, and a line counter in toes or meters.

In the hunt for a light-weight electric-assist combo with automated-jigging options to be used with smaller jigs, I occurred upon the Piscifun AtlantiX 1500. This reel is in keeping with present choices in the marketplace with programmable features. Weighing in at simply 17 ounces, this light-weight reel options an aluminum physique, superior motor know-how, intuitive controls, and a self-jigging mode. It has a protecting circuit to momentarily interrupt energy till the reel cools ought to thermal situations be exceeded.

Different electrical help reels designed particularly for deep dropping and deep-water vertical jigging embody choices from Daiwa and Shimano. The Daiwa Seaborg sequence makes use of a variable pace Jog dial to simply management the pace of your jig whereas beneath energy. This adjustable pace management is operated by way of a handy thumb dial. The Seaborg G300J-DH matches within the angler’s palm comfortably and can be utilized to focus on species at depths exceeding 1,000 toes. The adjustable JOG energy lever permits the angler to manage the pace of their retrieve interactively. Daiwa’s newly developed MagMax G motor and ATD drag has one of many highest drag scores for this measurement reel with a max stress of 35 kilos. 

A characteristic set distinctive to the brand new Shimano BeastMaster 3000 EJ sequence is the power to manage the energy and period of every jigging movement. The 3000 measurement isn’t but out there within the US, however different sizes are. This new mode was developed to make e-jigging really feel as near conventional jigging whereas eliminating the fatigue of handbook jigging. By choosing the jigging energy from three patterns — H (Excessive), M (Center), and L (Low) — the movement of the jig will be proactively modified from a delicate fluttering movement of an injured prey (low) to a quick motion simulating a fleeing baitfish (onerous). One other new characteristic is the one-jerk distance show, which reveals the gap reeled up in a single jerk earlier than fluttering again down. This enables the angler to examine and alter the jigging sample that greatest produces a strike. These are only a few examples of developments in gear and performance in a mode of fishing that’s quickly gaining reputation as a result of it’s efficient for a variety of species and depths. Jigging with electrical reels can be enjoyable, and it permits you to fish all day whereas saving your energy to battle fish.

Rigging for Jigging with Electrical Reels

When rigging to jig for pelagics, I spool my reel with high quality braid within the 25/4 ratio. This implies the road has an equal diameter to 4-pound mono with a 25-pound breaking energy. Excessive tensile energy with a diminished line diameter allows you to put much more line on the reel. A thinner braid additionally permits for a extra vertical drop, as a consequence of much less water resistance and subsequently higher management of the jig. I connect a brief 4- to 6-foot Seaguar fluorocarbon chief within the desired breaking energy immediately from the braid to the jig.  

I paired my reel with a JYG Professional Revolution rod and a Piscifun 5000 mAh battery pack, which made for a superb light-weight electrical jigging combo. Utilizing a brief 3-foot battery cable and equipped pouch permits you to transfer the battery from the reel to a belt loop. A freshly charged battery helps roughly 180 drops on a single cost. I at all times carry spare battery packs for all my electrical reels.

Paired with the precise measurement jigs and utilizing the superior jigging options, this new breed of electric-assist reels are able to deal with the whole lot from deep dropping jigs for grouper, snapper and tilefish on the underside to high-speed jigging the water column for pelagics.  My present go-to jigs are from Nomad, Rapala, JYG and Shimano. Buy your favorites in a number of sizes and physique types starting from gentle to heavy. Ensure to buy glow-in-the-dark choices together with high-visibility and pure colours. I set up the whole lot in a Mustad Jig Bag.

Discovering and Concentrating on Wahoo, Blackfin Tuna and Amberjack

Concentrating on pelagic species, the primary environmental issue is discovering areas that constantly maintain bait. Search for reefs, hills, spires and bigger wrecks in deep water that may maintain baitfish that get swept together with the present. As soon as bait is situated, arrange for the drift and examine your sonar display screen steadily in search of “scratches” or fish feeding within the water column. We often have one particular person assigned to calling out structural modifications together with depth of marked fish. We additionally manually set our sonar for backside. This provides a extra correct illustration of fish within the water column.

In South Florida, sturdy regular wind out of the north and present transferring south is greatest. This actually will get the bait fired up and gives oxygenated water to enhance fishing.  It’s why the winter chunk will be spectacular, nevertheless it additionally makes for uncomfortable sea situations. When the wind and present oppose one another, the drift is slowest. Whereas these are ideally suited situations for concentrating on backside species, it could possibly make it troublesome to maintain up with speedy pelagics like tuna. Extra present permits you to stick with the tuna when they’re transferring shortly. If it’s good to sluggish your drift to maintain jigs extra vertical within the water column, a sea anchor or electrical trolling motor turns into important. You may also have somebody devoted on the helm utilizing the motors to take care of your drift.

Tuna choose to swim out and in of the thermocline layer and will be usually discovered from 250 toes as much as the floor. Excessive pace cruisers like wahoo choose the higher 75 toes of the water column, whereas backside dwellers like amberjack will be discovered near buildings corresponding to reefs or wrecks. Whereas it may be troublesome to arrange on fast paced fish chasing reside bait balls, the situations that produce this kind of feeding will keep constant, so tailor your drifts accordingly and stick with the bait. 

Quick erratic actions with sudden flashes of shade are the set off most pelagics use to focus on a selected bait. When utilizing an electrical reel for jigging, you possibly can simply alternate retrieves going from a sluggish yo-yo movement, which mimics a wounded baitfish or squid, to a full-on high-speed assault, which triggers the chunk reflex by imitating a fleeing baitfish.

Experimenting with New Electrical Reel Capabilities   

Experiment with totally different methods and choose the one which works greatest on any given day. You even have the choice to set the self-jigging operate to permit the reel to jig the lure via a selected space of the water column. For instance, should you’re marking tuna at 60 to 120 toes, you possibly can set the reel to jig a lure to cowl this depth vary. By using this functionality, an angler can simply preserve a lure within the strike zone for prolonged intervals. Utilizing the pace jog dial on reels just like the Diawa Seaborg, you possibly can simply simulate the up and down movement of a fleeing baitfish with simply your thumb. Use the jog dial to hurry up then decelerate the jig because it’s retrieved via the water column. 

The Shimano BeastMaster will even help you management pace and depth of the up and down yo-yo movement of the jig. By altering the excessive, medium or sluggish setting, you possibly can fluctuate the way in which the jig reacts in the course of the retrieve. This works effectively for pelagics as a jig will be labored all through the whole water column. In case you are concentrating on backside species corresponding to grouper, tilefish or vermilion snapper, drop till you hit backside, then work the jig 15 to twenty toes off the construction, drop again down and repeat.

With a number of electric-assist combos of various sizes on board, you possibly can cowl the whole water column utilizing totally different sized jigs. Make your preliminary lure choice primarily based on reaching a desired depth with out your line scoping. I like utilizing jigs within the 80- to 320-gram vary, however you possibly can go as heavy as 700 grams if wanted. Matching the hatch with a smaller jig is oftentimes the one method to get a strike when juvenile baits are current. On this case, an 80- to 120-gram jig with a lighter setup is preferable. As soon as attached, use the electrical motor to use stress to show the fish. Enable bigger fish to run after which use the motor to show them and apply fixed stress as soon as the run is over.

A day jigging will be fairly a bodily exercise — particularly at excessive pace and at deeper depths overlaying the water column. Having electric-assist reels vastly will increase your odds and reduces fatigue when concentrating on speedsters that cling simply offshore of our coastal reef techniques. Most of all, experiment together with your power-assist gear. With latest developments, anglers are discovering new methods to make the most of these instruments. I alternate utilizing powered setups for trolling, high-speed jigging and deep dropping for backside fish with nice success.