(Originally published Mar/Apr 2018)
By Capt. Stephen Spagnuola
If insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, then perhaps we may just need to reinvent ourselves, or at the least mix it up. Just like nature adapts, so should we and if we find something works for others, often it will work for us. Skeptics will say “they’re just sea bass, they’ll eat anything.” Yet they choose to stick with the typical high-low rig with two or three hooks, and perhaps they will get a little creative and mix it up with a red or green bead with a curly-tail grub and top it off with fresh clam or squid.
The latest generation of jigs called slow jigs were developed by Japanese commercial fishermen and have accounted for more trophy-size sea bass and other bottom species over the last 5 years than traditional jigs. The classic crippled herring and diamond jigs along with slow jigs such as Shimano Lucanus jigs work extremely well when targeting jumbo sea bass in the 5- to 7-pound or larger range. Jig colors that seem to be most productive are gold, silver, pink/white, green/black, chartreuse/white and orange/white. Shimano Lucanus jigs are a complete system that allow for the hook and skirt replacement and 1/0-2/0 double hooks. It’s a must to carry replacement skirts and hooks when fishing these jigs for large sea bass because bluefish and dog sharks wreak havoc on jigs throughout a fishing trip.
When rigging diamond and crippled herring jigs, we use two 4/0 assist hooks or butterfly hooks at the top of the jig with a traditional J hook at the bottom of the jig with a small skirt. Rigging your jigs in this fashion will allow for double-header catches of
