In slow pitch jigging we prefer an overhead fishing reel filled with braid (PE Line).

We use 4 meters of fluorocarbon leader connected to a solid ring to connect the jig with the split ring.

There are various knots that connect the fluorocarbon to braid (PE line) such as the PR Knot, Tony Pena or even wind on leaders.

The connection of the solid ring to the fluorocarbon can be done by many other knots like Palmor Knot or a crimp.

How to use SEAFLOOR CONTROL Jigs?

Step 1.

Start by letting the jig fall vertically under the boat to the sea bottom and when the jig reaches the bottom immediately turn the fishing reel handle about 2 turns or more if necessary to remove the slack line created with the current.

Do not let the jig laying at the bottom for a long time because it will get stuck to the bottom especially if you are on hard sea bottom.

Step 2.

Hold the fishing rod parallel to your arm then start making action to the jig by lifting the fishing rod and turning the fishing reel handle so that the rod bends nicely and gives smooth upward acceleration to the jig.

This is called one pitch and reeling can be 1 complete turn, 1/2 turn or 1/4 turn of the reel handle.

To make a long fall lift the fishing rod from rod tip down angled at about 30 degrees almost touching the sea to almost upright position.

When you reach upright position wait for the fishing rod tip to spring back and release the tension.

There is no need for the rod tip to become straight but you have to wait for the rod tip to finish the action and release the tension.

If the fishing rod is soft and remains bent because of the jig weight it is not a problem just wait for the bent action to finish.

When you reach upright position the jig gets free and it is carried by the momentum and the movement is performed differently depending on the jig model.

After the pitch some jigs turn and slide horizontally to the side, other jigs lay on the side and fall immediately.

When the tension on the rod tip is released the center balanced jig lay in a horizontal position and this and the fall are the best moments for the fish to bite.

Step 3.

After you reach the upright position and wait for the fisihing rod to spring back then start lowering the rod without turning the reel handle to the starting position in step 2.

It is important to focus on the tension of your line during the fall.

You can perform a free fall or a tensioned fall.

A free fall is done by lowering the fishing rod a little faster than the jig so that you create a loose line.

A tensioned fall is done by lowering the fishing rod keeping tension on the jig.

Tensioned fall or free fall is selected depending on the type of fish or the mood of the fish.

A free fall will imitate a falling dead fish and a tensioned fall will imitate a fish trying to hide and find shelter at the bottom of the sea.

After lowering the rod pick up the jig by repeating the same procedure as in step 2.

Before lifting up the fishing rod the timing is important and wait for the jig to make tension on the rod tip and let the jig use all the loose line created by lowering the fishing rod.

if you do not give enough time you cancel the falling action and the next pitch is very weak.

If you give too much time you are hanging the jig on the line and the jig is like dead and not moving.

If during the falling you see the line slack for a longer time, it is very likely that a fish took the jig.

Reel in until you feel a weight on the rod tip and if it moves strike the fish.

The fish targets the head or front of the motion so if it bites during the sliding of the jig it is likely to get hooked by the top hooks.

If it bites during the fall it is likely to get hooked by the tail hooks.

To land the fish keep your rod down and reel in slowly and constantly.

The slow pitch jigging rods are made to attract fish with jig movement not to land the fish so let your reel land the fish and use the reel drag to do the job.

Do not bend the rod too much when landing the fish because professional slow pitch jigging rods are made from plain carbon to spring back better and this make them more fragile.

You can repeat step 2 and step 3 as many times as you like.

If you turn the reel handle one full turn with a slow pitch reel it normally lift the jig about 1 meter from the bottom.

For bottom fish normally 10 meters above the bottom of the sea is enough and so release the jig to bottom again after you reach 10 meters above the bottom and start from step 1 again.

For pelagic fish you can continue step 2 and step 3 until you reach the surface of the sea and then release the jig to the bottom or the preferred water column of the sea starting again from step 1.

The falling action with the fishing rod position from almost upright position to very low position as explained above from step 2 to step 3 is called long fall.

You can also change the action of the jig to short falls and you can use short falls in combination to long falls while you are fishing.

For example you can make one long fall and 2 or 3 short falls after the long fall and then you do the long fall again.

Short falls are made the same as step 2 to step 3 but you make a shorter lift with the fishing rod and then lower the rod to the starting position.

For example you can start lifting the rod in step 2 from very low angle with the rod tip almost touching the sea to horizontal position which is almost half way to the upright position of a long fall and then lower the rod down the same as in step 3.

Varying the angle when you start lifting the fishing rod makes different movement to the jigs.

If you start lifting the rod from very low angle with the rod tip almost touching the sea and stop at the horizontal position you will be using the rod tip section.

On the other hand if you start the lifting action with the rod in horizontal position to an upright position you are using the middle section of the rod.

The tip section of the rod transfers less energy to the jig and make the jigs accelerate softer while the middle section transfers more energy to jig and makes the jig accelerate faster.

Some jigs like Seafloor Control Gawky can make a better action using the tip section of the rod because Gawky can spin if you give a lot of energy.

Gawky does not require much energy to stop and lay flat and start the falling action.

Other jigs like Arrow may require more energy to perform their sliding action and lay flat.

Some jigs may fall back if they do not have enough energy during the uplift or jerk.

When jigs fall back jigs fall faster and the interpretation of the fish for the movement of the jig can be different.

The fish may interpret the back falling jigs as a predator instead of prey.

The interpretation of fish depends on the mood and if the bait is moving fast or slow.

If the jigs move faster than the bait it will probably not attract the fish.

Other jigs like Abyss and Arc are more versatile and they do good movement both using the rod tip or the middle section of the rod.

You can also make slow jerk or fast jerk and in slow pitch jigging there is no wrong ways of fishing but there are standards which are important to learn.

After you learn the standard way of slow pitch jigging then you can experiment with other slow pitch techniques.

In slow pitch jigging the angler has to always think and find the best solution.

You can also change the energy transferred to jigs during the uplift by changing the model or force number of the fishing rod.

Seafloor Control slow pitch fishing rod JAM force 4 gives more energy to the jigs with the same weight than the JAM force 3.

The higher the force number of the fishing rod the higher the energy transferred to the jigs during the uplift which results in the jig with the same weight and shape to move faster during the uplift.

The fishing rod in slow pitch jigging is not used to lift the fish but to create movement to the jig so you choose the rod model to make the right amount of energy transferred to the jig.

With slow pitch jigging you can catch big fish and you can also use thick PE fishing line and Fluoro Carbon leader but if you use thicker line you have to compensate by increasing the jig weight.

Always try to keep the jig as vertical as possible under the boat if you see that you cannot manage to keep the jig under the boat increase the jig weight or use a thinner main line and leader.

If you cannot solve the problem by increasing the jig weight try another faster falling jig like Spunky, Arrow or Messiah Semilong.

It is important to keep the jig under the boat because the jigs will not perform their action perfectly if they are pulled to the side instead of vertically.

If the jig is not vertical under the boat a lot of slack line is generated by the current.

The pitch and the uplift will be partially cancelled by the slack line.

The jigs have to turn and lay on the side and perform their sliding action according to the type of jig so they need to be pulled vertically.

Some jigs suffer more than the others if they are not in vertical position.

During the day each time you go on a fishing spot using slow pitch jigging technique try to change the jigs as often as possible and use jigs with different action to interpret the mood of the fish and the sea conditions.

Try to change the jig frequently and do not pass over the same fishing spot with the same type of jig more than 3 times if you do not catch fish.

Anglers that experiment with the slow pitch jigging equipment and jigs get the best results.

It is important to at least start with four different jigs which have different actions to test the mood of the fish and current speed of the sea.

For example you can start by testing the fishing spot and fish mood by using Seafloor Control Abyss, Cranky, Arc and Spunky.

Abyss and Cranky have slow falling action and are suitable when the fish mood is to attack slow moving bait.

Abyss and Cranky work better when the current is slow because if the current is fast they drift with the current because they fall slowly.

To compensate for the current you can also increase the jig weight.

Do not increase the weight too much and try to find the perfect balance because very heavy jigs may fall faster and they are bigger so they may be less attractive to the fish.

When you find that slow falling jigs are giving you good results you can try to improve by testing other slow falling jigs like Seafloor Control Rector, Secret Rector and Gawky.

Slow falling jigs have normally flatter shape and they are very often shorter which helps them do a very nice action during the falling action.

If you want to see if the fish mood is to attack faster moving bait you can try Seafloor Control Arc which has a medium falling speed or Spunky which has a faster falling speed.

Fast falling jigs can give better results when the current is fast because they drift less with the current.

If you have better results with fast moving jigs then you can continue to test other fast falling jigs like Seafloor Control S Legend, Arrow and Messiah Semilong.

See the tables below for jig characteristics.

Many Seafloor Control jigs are available in stock at this website www.maltatackle.com and you can shop online.

If you need more help about Slow Pitch Jigging do not hesitate to contact Malta Fishing Tackle on this website.