What is Slow-Pitch Jigging?

Introduction To Slow-Pitch

By Joel Unickow

Slow-pitch jigging. The name itself evokes a sense of deliberate grace, a stark contrast to the aggressive, high-speed techniques often employed in deep-sea fishing. This art form, born from the innovative minds of Japanese anglers, has captivated anglers worldwide, and for good reason.

Slow-pitch jigging, at its core, is about finesse and subtlety. Instead of brute force, it relies on gentle, rhythmic rod movements to impart lifelike action to specialized jigs. These jigs, often featuring intricate designs and unique profiles, are designed to flutter, shimmy, and glide enticingly through the water column, mimicking the movements of injured or dying baitfish.

Slow-pitch jigging is more than just a fishing technique; it’s an experience. It’s about connecting with the ocean, feeling the subtle vibrations of the jig, and anticipating the explosive strikes of a hungry fish. It’s a dance between angler and quarry, a testament to the beauty and complexity of the underwater world.

Slow-pitch jigging offers a compelling alternative to traditional fishing methods in Coastal BC and Vancouver Island waters. Its versatility, effectiveness, and engaging nature make it a valuable technique for anglers seeking to enhance their fishing experiences and increase their catch rates. And guess what? It’s catching on locally. Here’s Montague’s take.

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All About Slow-Pitch Jigging

By Montagu Lee

Everyone knows about jigging, but did you know there’s speed jigging, vertical jigging, and slow-pitch jigging styles? This article will focus on slow-pitch jigging, a style that’s relatively new to our area, but first, let’s take a quick look at all three.

Speed Jigging

Speed jigging mimics baitfish fleeing from a chase. This works well for pelagic fish or midwater, actively feeding fish. You lift your jig up and reel with a fast- pumping action, repeating it all the way up to the surface. This style of jigging covers a lot of water, but it will tire you out quickly.

Vertical Jigging

Vertical jigging is how most fishermen jig on their boat—drifting while staying on top of structure or a suspended water column of fish. Vertical jigs like a knife or minnow don’t have much action because of their design, so you must impart a jigging and reeling motion to mimic a wounded or fleeing baitfish.

Slow Pitch Jigging

Slow-pitch jigging mimics wounded bait fish and half-dead bait fish. It’s all about the jig’s action in the water during the fall. Give your high-speed reel a crank with a slight twitch to the slow-pitch rod, then pause while holding your rod parallel to the water. This will lift the jig up with a flicking motion (which we call “a pitch”). The rod will unload (which means the rod is straight), then you let the jig free fall while watching the fishing line slowly follow the jig down. The majority of the time, fish will bite during the fall. If you see your line doesn’t move, or you see only slack line on the fall, that means the fish took your jig. That’s why slow-pitch jigging is effective for all fish, and at any time. This technique primarily targets bottom fish, but it works well at all water columns. The key to slow-pitch jigging is slow movement which will trigger the fish to have an easy reaction bite.

Slow-Pitch Jigging Gear

With slow-pitch jigging, it’s easy to fish all day without getting fatigued, because you use lighter (but still powerful) reels, thin line, slow-to-medium action rods, and lures designed for slow-pitch jigging. You don’t fight the fish with a slow-pitch rod; you winch the fish up using the reel and drag. This means the rod tip is pointed towards the fish while reeling, which keeps the rod straight most of the time.

The reel does all the fighting with big fish, and not the rod. Sometimes we use the “Captain Morgan stance” to help prevent ourselves from getting tired arms. The rod reel seat area rests on your thigh, using it as a pivot for the rod and support point to help winch the fish up (right-hand reel rod on right thigh, or whichever side you are more comfortable with). Do not let the slow-pitch rod bend more than 90° while fighting a fish, or you might risk snapping it. We use thin braid line (8 lbs to 50 lbs) to cut the water resistance so we can fish more vertical area, and for better sensitivity. The deeper you fish, the thinner line you want to use to minimize the water resistance.

There are rods designed specifically for slow-pitch jigging. Your forearm rests on the rod shaft to the butt of the rod, which makes the rod feel like an extension of your arm. This also engages more muscle groups from your body, again cutting down on arm fatigue. These rods are super sensitive, so you can feel every little bump. As their name suggests, slow-action rods will make the jig move up slowly when pitching, and the jigs themselves are designed to have action—black sliding, falling leaf, irregular, spiralling, or wobbling—on the free fall. Because the majority of these jigs are centre weighted, we must drop the jig down with a little bit of line resistance to prevent the flutter action of the jig happening while trying to get to the bottom quickly.

Slow-Pitch Jig Techniques

Within slow-pitch jigging, there are three techniques: slow-pitch, high pitch, and long fall. Slow-pitch technique is great for windy days or slow-movement presentation. You point your rod tip to the water, then lift the rod so it is parallel to the water (from 4 o’clock to 3 o’clock) while cranking on the reel at the same time, anywhere from 1⁄8 to a full crank depending on how much movement you want. Then pause and wait until your rod tip loads up from the weight of the jig, and repeat the slow-pitch motion. Occasionally, drop the jig back down to the bottom or to the targeted water column, and repeat.

High pitch is almost same as the first technique except this time you lift the rod tip from water to 2 o’clock while giving a crank on the reel. Then rest the rod parallel to the water until the jig loads up the rod tip and repeat. This technique will give the jig a little more life, like a baitfish trying to stay alive.

The long fall technique gives the jig a burst of energy, then lets it flutter down like it passed out. You lift your rod tip from the water to the 1 o’clock position with a crank on the reel, then rest the rod parallel to the water until the jig loads up the rod. This technique has the longest flutter action time.

If your rod tip does not load up from the weight of the jig, you have a fish on the jig. With enough practice, you will develop a smooth motion pattern, almost like meditation. Slow-pitch jigging is effective and efficient for fishing when the current is less than 2-kts (SOG) drift.

Types of Slow-Pitch Jigs

Slow-pitch jigs have many different designs, and each shape helps with fishing in a different current. Slow-pitch jigs are usually hand-painted works of art, and they all come without hooks. You’ll want to choose a jig designed for the action you want and the current you’ll be fishing.

A falling leaf action jig (a.k.a. flat fall or butterfly jig) will take longer to flutter down, subjecting it to way more water current. When you have line scope (more than 15° from vertical), use a heavier jig and see if that helps keep it vertical. If not, then the current is too strong for a falling leaf action jig. Switch to a wobbling, irregular, or back sliding action jig.

A spiralling action jig drops down a little faster than falling leaf, but it’s still subject to current. Wobbling and irregular action jigs work great in all depths and currents. They tend to be short and fat or long and narrow with water-fluted cuts, which helps break the water resistance when falling. Then there’s the back sliding action jig, which drops faster than all the others and is best for fishing deep or in current above 1 kt. All these jigs will have action in the water even if you don’t jig them.

Slow-Pitch Jigging Setups

There are so many rod-and-reel options for slow-pitch jigging. They are all slightly expensive, because this is a highly specialized finesse fishing technique.

Rods

Slow-pitch rods are usually one-piece, slow- to medium-action rods, with power ratings from 0 to 6. The rating is displayed as a number from 0 to 6 or listed as a range in grams (ex. 150 g-350g equivalent to power 2). There are different kinds of line guide setups—neutral, conventional, and spiral, each with its own advantages. Choosing the right rod is all about matching the jig to the rod. If you are using 70g-150g jigs most of the time, then you want to use a power 0/1 or 50g-200g rating slow-pitch rod. If you are using 150g – 300g jigs, then you want power 2/3 or 150g-400g rating.

Reels

You want a large-handled reel with a high-speed gear ratio. A star drag system, like the Shimano Ocea Jigger 2000 or Daiwa Saltiga 15H is best, but it’s quite expensive. You want a light reel that can hold almost a quarter more than the deepest depth you are fishing. Generally, 30-lb braid is enough for most jigging situations since most reel’ max drag is around 25 lbs.

Line

The deeper you fish, the thinner the line you want to use. Generally, 30-lb braid for mainline is a good choice, then top shot with 6′ of 50-lb fluorocarbon leader tied on to the slow-pitch jig swivel. The other setup is to tie 30-lb mainline braid to a swivel, then tie a 50-lb fluorocarbon leader before tying on a jig. Some pros use 12-lb braid line fishing 300m deep.

Jigs

Normally, you want to use a swivel attaching a split ring and a pre-tied assist hook to the top of the slow-pitch jig.

Some pre-tied assist hooks are single or double hooks (two hooks when bitten act as a grappling hook). You can rig your slow-pitch jig with two single-assist hooks, one on the top and one on the bottom of the jig. Or use two double-assist hooks, one on the top and one on the bottom, for four hooks on the jig. Most pre-tied assist hooks are tied with braided cord, which is very hard to break off when snagged on bottom. If you know you are fishing in snaggy bottom, just pre-tie your own assist hooks with 40-lb mono line. The swivel attached to the slow-pitch jig is a must to prevent line tangle and keep your line from twisting when retrieving your jig back quickly.

This article appeared in Island Fisherman magazine. Never miss another issue—subscribe today!