Jigging Softbaits for Tuna
Heading towards the BC buoy, east of Chatham, Capt. Mike and the Salty Cape crew introduce the new and improved, Hogy Harness Jig Lure.
“We came out here to film a trolling shoot and weren’t seeing anything so we put the trolling rods away, took out the jigging rods and dropped it right on top of them,” Capt. Mike said as he struggled to fight and land the first tuna of the day.
When there are a lot of marks on the bottom that you see while you are trolling but the fish aren’t coming up to take the bars, jigging is an excellent way to put the lure right in front of the fish.
As compared to speed jigging, a slow-jigged lure is an easy target for lazy tuna. Slow jigging works best with eel tails such as the Hogy Harness Jig and Hogy Pro Tail Paddle Tail soft baits. You are relying mostly on boat drift and slow rod tip motions to work the bait. The natural softness of the plastic does the rest. It’s really a slow method and Capt. Mike often instructs other fisherman to fish like “you don’t really care about fishing.”
The Hogy Harness Jig, paired with an HDUV Jiggin’ Eel, brings some extra flavor to the lure. The HDUV component brings UV pigmentation into play, making this lure extremely visible in low light and in deeper water.
The Harness Jig is built for pressure, with a custom harness inside the soft plastic, a 250lb ball-bearing swivel and a VMC Barbarian hook.
Gear
Rod: Sewell Custom 400g Jigging Rod
Reel: Shimano Stella 20k
Line: 100lb Jerry Brown Hollow Core
Leader: 130lb BHP Wind On Leader
