Slow pitch jigging - The art of falling
The technique really focuses on the fall. You lift the jig and let it fall and lift it again as soon as you feel the jig weight so that you keep the jig moving horizontally for as long as you can. You would wind the reel at the same time so you can work the jig in different depths.
by Kaz Otsubo - Ocean's Legacy NZ
It was a perfect day to get out for a slow pitch jigging session in deep water, so a group of us took a day off and headed out to Little Barrier.
We arrived at a 50+m mark where there were no work-ups or no signs on the sounder, but we knew there was a good current coming in and always bringing a good amount of food for fish, so we started our free drift and dropped our lines.
It did not take long before we got a hit by a nice pig fish, followed by a 15lb snapper and many others such as kingfish, trevally, gurnard, kahawai and then even frost fish. We managed to get seven different species, which was great, but it is not uncommon to catch a variety of species with slow pitch jigging.
For those who are not familiar with the term “slow pitch jigging or SPJ”, this is not slow jigging like kabura, sliding jig or inchiku-type fishing, or the traditional mechanical jigging. The traditional fast jigging or mechanical jigging method is a way to make the jig swim away from the predator fish, so your target species must be hungry enough to chase the fast-moving jig. With slow pitch jigging, you will have a metal jig that flutters down like a dead bait or a dying bait, which is often the prime target or an easy target for many species.
Slow pitch jigging is very effective as you can target many different species, you can target fish in many different states (e.g. active/non-active), and you can fish in different water conditions too. You can keep the jig around the bottom to target bottom fish or you can wind up higher and target pelagic species. You can pitch slow and/or fast to change the jig speed, as long as you are letting it fall and give the fish time to hit the jig.
The technique really focuses on the fall. You lift the jig and let it fall and lift it again as soon as you feel the jig weight so that you keep the jig moving horizontally for as long as you can. You would wind the reel at the same time so you can work the jig in different depths. You can also use the rod to lift the jig higher which creates a longer falling time. And to give it consistent fall actions, you need to make sure that your line is down as vertically as possible. It gets harder to create good falling/fluttering action when the jig is pushed away from the boat. Therefore, it is important to use the right jig weight and a sea anchor to control the line angle.
As it imitates the dead or dying bait, nine out of 10 or close to 10 out of 10, you will get a bite during the jig’s descent. When you feel the line slackening longer than it should, it’s most likely that the jig is taken by the fish so start winding!
Another distinct feature of slow pitch jigging is the fighting style. When you get a hook up, you don’t power lift the rod. Your rod is super-soft and designed to constantly feel the jig and precisely control it. Therefore, if you lift the rod too high, it may snap. You need to keep the rod tip as low as you can and use the reel (and the drag) to negotiate with the fish. Having said that, there are some new slow pitch rods in the market that are designed to perfectly slow pitch but also power lift the fish.
So, let me talk about the slow pitch jigging set-up and some variations of slow pitch jigging.
A typical slow pitch jigging: a 6’2–6’4” specialised overhead rod which has a soft but responsive tip to flip the jig. Or another specialised rod in 7’3” length if you like to lift the rod for long fall actions. Use PE 1.5–2.5 and 30–50lb leader. The jig is also made for slow pitch jigging. Look for an asymmetrically shaped jig which creates better fall actions, weighs around 100–200g. Hooks are important too. Because the jig swims horizontally, you won’t know which side the fish attacks your jig from, so it is recommended to rig a twin assist hook on both eyes of the jig.
Super light igging: a light version of slow pitch jigging. A short spin rod in 6’7–6’11” length with PE 0.8–PE 2.0 with 20lb leader. The jig weight is less 30–70g. This is an easy for the body fishing style so you can fish easily all day. When fish is feeding on a small bait, it is super effective! And super fun to fight with the light set-up!
Power slow jigging: a heavy version of slow pitch jigging to target bigger species such as extra size kingfish and tuna. Use a 6’2–7’3” specialised overhead rod with PE3.0–PE6.0 with 60–120lb leader. The jig weight is around 150–300g. The technique is the same as slow pitch jigging, but everything is more powerful!
Deepwater slow jigging: a slow pitch jigging in 200+m deep water, targeting hapuka and bass. A typical set-up is an overhead rod in 6’1–6’3” with PE3.0–PE 6.0 and the jig weight goes from 300g to over 1kg sometimes.
Ocean’s Legacy New Zealand – specialise in lure fishing gear in slow pitch jigging, slow jigging, super light jigging, deepwater slow jigging and many others, available at selected retail stores or www.oceanslegacy.co.nz
