the Stand-up Jig. Whether you use the local/regional name (Erie Jig) or the other name, this jig shines on flat bottom lakes.
While I was setting up my fishing table on day two of the garage sale my neighbor had going, I busted out a big plano box of these jigs. These were my extra’s, so if I sold a few it was not going to be a huge loss to my inventory. Course the neighbor goes, how come we haven’t used these yet, and I really did not have a good answer for him. Really my only possible answer was, with some much gear available in the shop, its actually hard to use it all.
Seriously, how many folks have used something that works, but are like me and keep trying something new all the time? When that happens, its easy to put something away, and it be sometime before you bring it back out again to fish with. My Erie Jigs are a great case in point. I should have busted them out while we were drifting hair jigs a month or so back. Would have been a great time to see if they work just as well then, that early in the season.
On the big waters such as Erie, I like using the 3/4 and 1 oz sizes for drifting and trolling. Lots of times I use them as my weight in conjunction with a three way swivel, and either a floating harness or one I have rigged up with a Mack’s Smile Blade. They are a deadly combination, either rigged with a large shiner or when threaded with either a twister tail or chunk of night crawler.
When using worms, I like to pump a little air into the tail to have it rise up, and dance in the current while it moves along the bottom of the lake. Often it entices bites that otherwise might pass the bait up. When using a longer crawler, incorporate the use of a stinger rig to increase your fishing catching ratio vs missed hits.
