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What is a metal jig?
Shooting: FISH PARADISE! Editorial department
A metal jig is a lure made of metal materials such as lead and iron, and is often abbreviated as a jig among anglers.
Although it is necessary to make the action by operating the rod, it boasts an overwhelming flight distance and fall speed, and is compatible with all actions. Depending on your technique, you can approach various fish and get outstanding fishing results. It can be said that it is a versatile lure.
fishing with metal jigs
shore jigging
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Shore jigging, which uses a metal jig to target blue-runners from the land, is one of the popular fishing methods for salt shore fishing. Metal jigs can be said to be effective lures because they can be used in a vast field such as surfing, so they can cast long distances and explore a wide range.
Shore jigging also includes light shore jigging and super light shore jigging, and shore jigging handles metal jigs up to 60-100g, light shore jigging up to 30-50g, and super light shore jigging up to 15-30g.
offshore jigging
source:Photo AC
Offshore jigging is a method of aiming for fish using a metal jig on a boat, and it is a popular fishing method that even beginners can catch large fish such as yellowtail and amberjack. One of the great attractions of this fishing is that you can easily target a wide variety of fish species such as blue fish, large root fish, sea bass, and flat fish.
Offshore jigging also includes light jigging and super light jigging, and offshore jigging handles metal jigs up to 100-250g, light jigging up to 40-150g, and super light jigging up to 60g.
Fish that can be targeted with a metal jig
source:Photo AC
Jigging with metal jigs and shore jigging can target blue-runners, sea bass, flounder, flathead, rockfish, hairtail, dolphinfish, and even light games can target horse mackerel, rockfish, plating, barracuda, and black sea bream. .
Metal jigs have a wide range of sizes, so you can catch any kind of fish by changing the size according to the situation.
How to choose a metal jig
When choosing a metal jig, pay attention to three items: weight, color, and center of gravity.
weight
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Metal jigs range in weight from a few grams to hundreds of grams. Choose the weight of the metal jig according to the target fish and fishing field. As mentioned above, the guideline is 100g or more for jigging, 30-80g for shore jigging, 20-50g for light shore jigging, and 10g or less for light games.
For example, if you use a 50g metal jig in a shallow area with a rocky bottom, it will quickly become rooted and lost. It is important to select according to the water depth of the field to be used.
Color
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The colors of metal jigs are often blue, gold, green, and pink to resemble small fish such as sardines. Especially if it's not this color, you can't catch it! No, but it's most efficient to use a color that mimics the dominant bait in the field when you're fishing.
Also, sparkling metal jigs with a flushing effect have a strong appeal to fish, so this is also effective.
center of gravity
front balance
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The center of gravity is located in front of the body, and as a feature, the center of gravity is in the head part that connects to the line, so the fall time is the longest among all balances. It is easy to direct between bitesIt is easy to move with respect to points and actions, and the operability is high.
It has a balance that is easy to use when you want to lure fish with a highly responsive action or when you want to eat with a fall action.
center balance
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The center of gravity is located in the center of the body, and as a feature, the flight distance and fall are stable, and the response to each action is good. All-around use possibleIt can be said that the point is attractive.
It can also be used as a reference for assembling the day's fishing, such as searching for the current and the presence of fish as a pilot lure when the situation is difficult to understand, and it has a balance that can be versatile for all kinds of fish.
rear balance
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The center of gravity is at the rear of the body, and as a feature, compared to other balances I can fly distanceA point is an advantage. In addition, it is easy to cause stable wobbling even with retrieve action. It is best used when you want to shoot a distant boyle or nabla, or when you have a good response with retrieve action.
material
lead
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Lead material is the most common metal jig material, and its biggest advantage is its low cost. It is released by each manufacturer and has a wide variety of types, and the specific gravity is well-balanced and can be used all-round in any situation. First of all, many anglers see the situation with a jig made of lead material for the first cast.
tungsten
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Tungsten material, which has a higher specific gravity than lead material and other materials, is the heaviest of all metal jig materials, so it has the advantage of fast fall speed.
Other than that, the specific gravity is heavy, so it can be one size smaller than other materials with the same weight. It is easy to get a flight distance and has a strong bite performance.Points are also great weapons. However, since tungsten is an expensive material, many of them are expensive.
tin/iron
It has a lighter specific gravity than lead, and the fall speed tends to be a little slower. It can be said that it is an effective material when you want to make the fish appeal to the metal jig more carefully. In addition, since line slugs are easy to appear even in jerk actions, it is easy to produce wider movements.
Aluminum
It has the lightest specific gravity among the materials used for metal jigs. Of course, the fall speed is also slow, and it may take more than twice as long as lead, so it is necessary to determine when to use it, but there are days when it reacts only to this material, so aluminum is strong if you get addicted to it. .
10 Recommended Uses of Metal Jig
As a guideline for choosing metal jigs that are available in various types and types, we will introduce the ones recommended by the editorial department for each application.
for shore jigging
Shore jigging uses a metal jig of about 20 to 80 g. Various types of metal jigs are sold for popular fishing from summer to autumn.
Major Craft Jig Para Short
It is an easy-to-use metal jig that is easy to cast and goes well with any action. The short type makes it easy to use even for beginners, and the reasonable price makes it a great jig.
Daiwa samurai jig
It is a metal jig with high basic performance with a body that emphasizes flight distance, which is important in casting, and a stable swim posture thanks to its benefits. It can be said that it is also attractive that the lineup is abundant and it is easy to choose.
Shimano Colt Sniper Aomono Catcher
Even with a light action, the brisk movement jerk action is also an attractive model. It can be said that it is a technical model that has enough appeal to fish with small movements at the time of fall.
Cartiva shooting jig aero
Overwhelming flight distance, which is an important factor in shore jigging, is a weapon metal jig. It also has high durability due to its unique material, Tough Bone.
Yamaria Mucho Lucia
It is a metal jig that is easy to use even for beginners who can sufficiently appeal to fish with retrieve action alone. The compact body has excellent flight distance, and it is an easy-to-handle model with sufficient feeding performance.
for offshore jigging
Offshore, we use a heavy metal jig of about 100g or more and drop it directly below to invite it with a shiver and fall.
Major Craft Jig Para Vertical
It is a stable and comfortable metal jig that is easy to use for all kinds of offshore jigging actions such as one-pitch jerk and jerky rolls. It is a model with excellent basic performance and excellent cospa that attracts fish with a stable posture when falling.
Daiwa Saltiga TG Bait
It is a metal jig made of high specific gravity tungsten material with high feeding performance so that it is already called bait. Due to the one size down body, the flight distance and fall speed are sufficient, and there are situations where it responds only to this jig.
shimano ocea stinger butterfly pebble stick
It slides firmly even with a light jerk action, and while maintaining a stable stopping posture, it has an excellent fall posture and a stable appeal. The slits designed allow the body to properly drain, allowing it to be versatile from slow to high pitches.
Weight (g): 150
jackal bumbles jig
Due to the asymmetrical shape, it is a metal jig that has a high appealing power of exquisite rolling and slide fall after jerk action. It is an easy-to-handle metal jig that can produce a clean slide and fall action even with a light force due to its well-designed body.
Smith CB Masamune
It is an attractive metal jig with a center balance design and a variety of actions with good water drainage for slow jigging. Designed specifically for slow jigging, this model is recommended not only for experts but also for those who are just starting slow jigging.
How to attach a metal jig (tying method)
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The most common method of connecting metal jigs and leaders is basically a combination of a welded seamless ring called an O-ring and a split ring.
There are other ways to tie the leader to the eye of the metal jig, such as a swivel or directly, but inserting an O-ring increases the freedom of the jig and makes the action more natural.
The leader and ring knots are strong and relatively easy to tie, such as complete knots and double clinch knots. Snaps are not recommended for jigging as they may break or interfere with jig movement.
How to use metal jig
source:Photo AC
Here are five basic actions for using metal jigs.
Just roll
I just wind the metal jig without adding action with the rod. You may think that the appeal is weak and you may be worried about whether you can catch it, but the metal jig swims well even with just reeling, so there is no problem with appealing to fish.
You can change it by speeding up or slowing down the winding speed. Above all, it has the advantage of being less tiring, so it can withstand long hours of fishing.
One pitch jerk
probably in a metal jig most popular actionit might be. The basic action is to jerk the metal jig once by jerking the rod once, and collect the lint that comes out by knocking down the rod by winding the reel once, repeating this rhythmically.
It is important to do it rhythmically, and if the rhythm is disturbed, the metal jig will move erratically and the fish will not respond well. The movement itself is simple, so practice it repeatedly to get a feel for it.
Jakajaka roll
Jakajaka winding is an action that retrieves at high speed while moving the rod up and down in small increments. Because the metal jig moves very quickly, Effective against active fish.Unlike one-pitch jerk, you don't have to worry about the number of turns on the reel, so it's an easy action for beginners.
lift & fall
Lift & fall counts down and falls after squeezing the rod to float the metal jig. When falling, there are variations such as free fall with slack line and curve fall with line stretched.
It is an action that can be devised in various ways, such as 3 times in a row, not just 1 time.
long fall jerk
Long fall jerk is effective for blue-runners such as yellowtail, and is an action mainly used for offshore jigging. From the state where the tip of the rod is facing down, swing the rod all the way up.
After that, lower the tip of the rod with the line stretched according to the fall speed of the metal jig, or let it fall free. It is a style of action that appeals to fish in the fall.
Tune your metal jig to your liking!
One of the pleasures of metal jigs is that you can tune them up to your liking. There are some tuning methods that are easy to do and some that are more elaborate, so it might be a good idea to try customizing them to suit your tastes.
assist hook
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The assist hook varies depending on the target fish species and field, such as single and double. In addition, there are cases where it is front or rear or both, and there are deep parts such as changing the length of the hook and the length of the string of the assist hook.
Ready-made products can be fully customized, but many experts make their own assist hooks.
blade
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Blade tune is also a famous customization method for metal jig tune-up. The advantage of using a blade is that it can enhance the appealing power, such as increasing the flushing effect and strengthening the waves in the water.
It is also important to choose a blade that matches the metal jig, such as the shape, size, and color of the blade.
Urethane coating
Metal jigs are often used hard and the paint is peeling off, and it is also a lure that is prone to severe damage. Therefore, by applying urethane coating, it will be possible to use it for a long time, such as increasing the strength and preventing the paint from peeling off. It is said that the method is easy and easy to do, such as adding a groove.
Recommended case for storing metal jigs
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A case is a convenient thing to have when taking a metal jig to a fishing spot. You may divert the one for lure fishing from the exclusive one.
for shore jigging
Many of the metal jigs used in shore jigging are relatively lightweight or not that big, so anglers who are doing other lure fishing may use lure cases. However, many metal jigs are heavy, so it is better to choose a case with a certain degree of strength from the standpoint of durability. It also has a partition Reversible typeWe recommend that the hook is less likely to get tangled.
Meihou Reversible 100
for offshore jigging
Many of the metal jigs used in offshore jigging are large in size and weight, and the case to handle is also large. In addition, since the size and size tend to fall apart, it is easier to store than a hard case. jig bag or jig rollbackA case that is easy to change shape to some extent is more convenient to use.
Gee Crack Jig Roll Bag 2
make your own metal jig
source:Photo AC
Metal jigs are lumps of metal, so you can make your own lures relatively easily. It involves some difficult processes such as making a mold and melting lead, but if you want to catch fish with a lure you made yourself, I think you should definitely try making your own metal jig.
Many people make their own metal jigs and explain how to make them on the internet.
Gomoku fishing with a metal jig!
source:Photo AC
Metal jigs can be used in various fields such as offshore, fishing ports, surf, and estuaries regardless of season or region. Although it depends on the sea conditions and the activity of fish at that time, it is no exaggeration to say that a single metal jig can cover salt lures.
A metal jig that can be made relatively easily among lures. Let's master various types and challenge unseen fish!
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