Vertical Jigging in the river?

[gfishes]

Our local muskies inc meeting this week went into great detail about vertical/slightly vertical jigging presentations (in particular with the aid of Panoptix). LSC, Detroit river and our local Alum Creek reservoir were the main bodies of water. I was surprised to hear that many of the fish come in 8-15 fow. With Garmin Panoptix, the fisherman can see that most of the fish are coming right off the bottom.

Has anyone tried Bondy's or other vertical jigging methods in the river?

[Red Childress]

Yes, been doing it for years. Same concept these days but vastly improved baits since the early-90's. The October Tubes were originally invented to be jigged in the fast current of the Niagara.

[Red Childress]

Actually, the first musky I ever caught was on a plain 2oz. lead-head jig with a dead Chub. Fuzzy Duzzits were the first jigging lures I can remember buying.

[gfishes]

Nice! Red, any thoughts on ideal depth for this presentation? For some reason I have it in my head that all of the fish are located somewhere between my boat and the shore. The more I read, it sounds as if many fish are located right on the bottom; which could be right under the boat. Most of the water I target, I am drifting in 8-10 fow and casting into shore.

[Red Childress]

If fishing rivers with a current speed of about 3-4+ mph, they will most likely be very near bottom OR positioned downstream of a structural element to save energy. In lakes, find the bait depth and fish right above it (for starters).

[gfishes]

Nice, I might have to pick up a Red October tube. They appear to be cast-able as well.

[Red Childress]

There are a few different styles. Vertical and horizontal specific tubes on their site.