Entry 256-2
Facing the Ups and the Downs of Tournament Fishing with James Niggemeyer
Editor’s Note: Strike King believes in their fishermen and considers them all winners, regardless of how they fish in tournaments. Forgetting that professional fishermen don’t always catch fish or win tournaments is easy. Fishing success often is based on luck as much as skill. Being a professional fisherman is a tough vocation, and this week, James Niggemeyer of Van, Texas, will tell us about the ups and the downs, the victories and the defeats that take place every year in an angler’s career.
Part 2: Lessons Learned This Year
Question: James, what have you learned this year?
Niggemeyer: I’ve done well finesse fishing this year. I’ve used the drop-shot rig this year more than in the past. On Lake Murray, I caught my biggest bag of bass on a drop-shot, allowing me to move up from 47th to 21st place. I’ve always used finesse fishing in the West, but I strayed away from this style because I’ve been fishing more in the East. Finesse fishing is an effective style of fishing when the bass don’t want to bite.
Question: How did you rig your drop-shot?
Niggemeyer: I didn’t do anything special. I fished 8-pound-test fluorocarbon line with a No. 1/0 light-wire hook, a 6-inch finesse worm and a 3/16-ounce drop-shot weight on the end of my line. I’d cast the drop-shot rig out and drag it slowly across the bottom, until I felt some type of bottom contour change. Whether it was a stump, a rock or a transition from a smooth to a rough bottom, I’d stop the bait and shake it. Largemouth bass like to get around cover and structure. So, I’d leave the finesse worm wherever I felt the bottom change, shake the bait to give it some action and wait for the bass to bite.
Question: How would the bass take the bait?
Niggemeyer: I wouldn’t feel the strike. I’d just tighten up my line, and the line would feel heavier than normal. The bites were very soft, so to get a bite, I had to be really patient and methodical with my fishing. If an angler has never used a drop-shot tactic, he may not be able to feel the bite like an angler who uses this method all the time. The more you fish the drop-shot, the more proficient you become, and the easier the bites are to detect.
There are a number of people not catching the number of bass they can if they’ll spend time learning to fish the drop-shot technique. Finesse-fishing techniques with the drop-shot, the shaky-head worm or the new football-head jig often will cause bass to bite when they don’t want to bite. Remember that the bass aren’t always in a feeding mode, and they aren’t always ready to chase a spinner bait or a crankbait. So, when bass aren’t feeding, change to finesse-fishing techniques, and you’ll often get non-aggressive bass to bite.
Question: Now, you’ve said you use the football-head jig as a finesse-fishing bait, but most people use a jig as a power bait. How do you finesse fish a football-head jig?
Niggemeyer: I don’t crank the bait really fast or hop the bait very high. I cast it out and slowly drag it across the bottom. I move the jig really slowly and take a lot of time so I can feel every rock, root, stump and stick the football-head jig comes across.
Question: Why do you believe this technique with the football-head jig is so effective?
Niggemeyer: Many times bass aren’t willing to travel a long distance to take a lure, but if they have a bait that crawls right into their face and stays in the strike zone for a longer period than most baits, they’ll often bite, even if they don’t want to bite.
Contents:
- Part 1: Fishing is a Fickle Business
- Part 2: Lessons Learned This Year
- Part 3: Still Learning about the Shadalicious
- Part 4: Excited about the Wake Shad
- Part 5: Looking Forward From Now to the Classic
