Deep Jigging Plastics

"You don't want to slow the fall of the bait with a thick mondo plastic body. If it's doing this," (his hand tracing the slow, undulating course of a boring roller coaster) "you're not getting bit. You want a rapid up-down movement, jumping the bait 7 or 8 feet off bottom with each jigging motion. A really erratic action with a fast drop speed is critical."

Cast, let the jig fall vertically, point the rod tip down, and as soon as the jig hits bottom, lift the rod tip sharply 7 or 8 feet. Follow the jig back to bottom with the rod tip, and as it hits bottom, snap it up again. When the jig reaches a point directly below the boat, work it vertically for several snaps--especially when marking big fish.

For this routine, the Lindner boys like 7 1/2-foot flippin' sticks; high-speed casting reels; and tough, abrasion-resistant 20- to 25-pound monofilament like Berkley Big Game. (I prefer superbraids, like Fins Spectra or Power Pro, which are thinner and cut the water a little better, allowing me to cast farther, fish faster, and set hooks harder.) The rod not only has to lift a lot of weight, but also has to sweep the jig high, because pike often position 4 or 5 feet off bottom.

A long, fast-action, medium-heavy- to heavy-power rod is crucial to the technique. If the jig isn't snapping off bottom and getting back down at a rapid pace, the presentation will be too slow to cover much water. With the right tackle, it quickly covers a horizontal band of water up to 120 feet long and a vertical zone from bottom to 8 feet up. Pike on metabolic overdrive in summer don't have to see the jig for a long time. They just have to see it and it's zip, rip, and chew.

"I like magnum Jack's Jigs Reeper Tails, 6- to 8-inch lizards, magnum Lunker City Slug-Gos, 6-inch Berkley Power Grubs, Mann's Jelly Hoos, Nichol's Willie-Bill's Waterdogs--those kinds of plastics," Jim says. "The shape should be long and slender so it slips through the water efficiently without slowing down the jig, while presenting the profile of something in the size range that makes a big gator think lunch.

"The key to presenting those baits is a jig with a long-shank hook and a big gap. One of my favorite choices is a 1-ounce football head. It falls right and really pops up and down. Football heads are designed to be dropped right to bottom and dragged, but they work fine with this big overkill, snap-jigging technique. Big round heads, giant mushroom heads, and bullet heads--most jig styles--work if the hook is right. We're talking substantial pieces of plastic, even though they're mostly long and slender, so at minimum, it requires a long-shank 6/0 hook to control the bait--give it some backbone--while retaining enough room between the point and the plastic (gap) to set the hook past the barb.