Rigging and Tuning Diamond Jigs for Optimum Performance.
For fishing efficiency, it doesn’t get much better than diamond jigging. Diamonds can plummet in the strongest current or flutter downward like wounded prey, yet they wobble rapidly and irresistibly like a fleeing baitfish when retrieved. Despite their effectiveness, however, you can improve the performance of jigs by tuning them. “Tuning” means to adjust the hardware, appearance, or configuration of a jig to better suit the conditions or your target species.
Leader material for diamond jigs can be fluorocarbon, monofilament, or wire. Fluorocarbon is a good choice when fish are in shallow, clear water or for predators with sharp eyes like tuna. But 60- or 80-pound mono is cheap, easy to tie, and the best all-purpose choice for deepwater fish. Wire leader isn’t necessary because bluefish almost never engulf a jig deeply enough to reach the leader with their teeth. Typical leader length ranges from 30 to 48 inches when jigging over heavy structure or when a school of competitive bluefish is swiping at the lure. Tie the leader to the jig eye using a loop knot to enhance lure action. But never clip a snap swivel directly to the jig because a big fish can clamp down on it and open the snap.
You can use one of three basic systems to connect a main line to a jig leader. The first method is a line-to-line knot, like a Double Uni or Blood Knot, which allows you to reel a long leader into the rod guides, useful on headboats where the mates like a very long (up to 30 feet) mono “buffer” between the lure and your braided main line.
The second method is with a heavy-duty barrel swivel, which remains on the main line. To detach the jig for storage or transportation just snip the leader at the swivel and clinch it on again next time. The swivel should be large enough to prevent it from being reeled in through the rod tip.
The third method is to tie the main line to a 75- to 125-pound black Coastlock snap-swivel, which necessitates a loop knot in the leader to which you clip the snap. Your connection choice depends on application, gear transportation, and personal preference.
The most beneficial tune-up to your jigs is to remove the standard factory-installed hook and replace it with one of a different style, size, strength, or sharpness. When preparing diamonds intended to fish on rugged bottoms or for bluefish, always remove a treble hook and replace it with a single. Treble hooks snag bottom and lobster gear more easily, and they make unhooking feisty fish difficult and hazardous. They’re also more harmful to the fish when practicing responsible catch-and-release.
The standard, single diamond-jig hook is an O’Shaughnessy in size 7/0 or 8/0. Only use factory 7/0s for lighter fish like schoolie striped bass, black sea bass, or small bluefish. The thinner gauge of cheap 7/0s can straighten under excessive force like when lifting large fish from the water or when snagged on bottom.
One trick I use when small baitfish are the primary forage is to spray-paint my hooks black, which reduces the overall “length appearance” of the jig by about 3 inches.
Treble hooks have their place when diamond jigging, especially when you’re targeting species like tuna feeding in mid-water or cod staged on a gravel bottom and which you want for the cooler. In this case, shiny treble hooks may produce more hits than black hooks because their wobbling action resembles a baitfish’s beating tail. Tuna pros like Capt. Ned Kittredge feel that most jigs “right out of the box” need their treble hooks exchanged because “those supplied are not suitable for powerful species.” Kittredge removes the factory trebles and replaces them with a heavy-duty version. He favors the Owner 4X Strong, which is one of the toughest, sharpest treble hooks available.
Probably the strongest split rings on the market for a hook-to-jig connection is the Owner Hyper Wire series. These are extra-heavy-duty split rings made from high-quality stainless steel, which have instant spring-back after opening. Owner is one of the few companies that supplies pound-test ratings for its split rings.
Another special tune-up hook for diamond jigs is a circle hook. Circles help prevent gill-hooked fish. To install one, remove the factory hook from a jig then attach a 7/0 to 9/0 Gamakatsu (or similar brand) offset circle hook. Fishing a circle hook on a jig is like fishing it with bait—don’t set back hard when you feel a strike, just keep steady reeling.
Dressing options are to adorn hooks by adding white bucktail or a section of colorful plastic tubing over a hook shank. Tubing is a common addition when jigging for cod, pollock, haddock, bluefish, and striped bass. In situations like cod fishing, the tubing over a bent-shank Limerick hook is intended to resemble a sand eel. In other applications, it resembles the tentacles of a fleeing squid. But the added water resistance will hinder speedy jig drops in deep, swift rips.
For black sea bass, hickory shad, or mackerel, try tying in a dropper loop 12 to 18 inches above a diamond jig. Attach a 2/0 or 3/0 hook on the dropper with a soft-plastic squid skirt over it to resemble a larger baitfish chasing a smaller one.
You can purchase stick-on eyes or scale-pattern decals, such as seen on Deadly Dick lures, to add realism and sparkle to a diamond jig. These are readily available on Amazon. And once the shiny chrome plating wears off a jig body, simply paint it with a product like Rust-Oleum Bright Chrome Metallic spray paint.
For more detailed information about rigging jigs and specific diamond-jigging techniques, see Tom Migdalski’s book, Fishing Diamond Jigs and Bucktails.
https://www.amazon.com/Fishing-Diamond-Jigs-Bucktails-Versatile/dp/1580801536
