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03 Mar '16

Shimano Bottom Ship 2 the jig for all occasions

Yesterday’s charter aboard Reel Force out of Lancelin proved to be an awesome experience thoroughly enjoyed by all. Not only was it an enormous pleasure to have the opportunity to fish alongside AFL legend Glen Jakovich but also fish with the new Bottom Ship 2 jigs manufactured by Shimano. The idea whilst filming episode 6 of Perth Fishing TV was to fish baits versus metal jigs and see what the results would prove?

We were targeting demersal species such as Dhu fish, pink snapper, break sea cod and bald chin groper in water depths of around 25 – 45 meters. The sea conditions were absolutely perfect with a gentle 5 – 10 knot s/w breeze drifting us along nicely over the low swell. Out came the Bottom Ship 2 jigs and after a couple of drops it soon became obvious to all how effective these sensational new jigs really were.

The Reel Force Charter crew of Skipper Brendon and crewman Jeff were exceptional and not only put us on the largest number of Dhufish I have ever experienced but also took an enormous amount of care when releasing undersized or unwanted fish. These boys certainly have their local areas fish stocks in mind and are doing a fantastic job of maintaining them for future generations to also enjoy. I would highly recommend Reel Force Charters to anyone wanting to experience a professional and productive fishing charter.

I found the 90 – 110 gram bottom ship II jigs in orange gold to be the jig of the day accounting for 6 Dhu fish, 4 samson fish, a very nice Harlequin fish and a variety of other assorted species for me. Fished from Shimano’s Stella 5000 SWXG loaded with 20lb power pro braid and coupled with a Grappler GRAPS603 PE3 jig rod these jigs are an absolute pleasure to fish with. The combination of these jigs and this quality Shimano fishing outfit not only ensure an extremely enjoyable fishing experience but also a highly effective one. Fluoro carbon leaders of 40 – 60lb are ideally suited.

This super relaxed yet highly effective form of jigging is by no means a recently developed technique and is something myself and probably many other anglers around the country have been slowly developing over the last 7 years or so. Finally anglers are now starting to realize the full potential this style of jigging offers providing them access to a technique that has now proven to be unbeatable. Believe it or not this technique is far less taxing on the angler than most and is far more economical and effective than bait fishing. It simply requires dropping the jig to the sea floor engaging the bail and slowly lifting and dropping the jig allowing it to flutter around close to the bottom. Once the jig is around 2 – 3 meters up drop it and begin the super slow retrieve again until the line angle becomes too shallow and effects the jigs true action. Try to imitate the slow rocking motion of a boat and allow the jig to flutter up and down seductively.

My theory is that jig styles including the Bottom ship II which are rigged with plastic squid coated assist hook set ups offer demersal species an unprecedented artificial option. When you speak with a lot of local divers they will often tell you of the Dhu fish they encounter gathered around their anchor chains upon their accents. These fish are drawn by the sound of the anchor chain rattling on the reef. I feel that most if not all demersal and semi pelagic species are in fact attracted by small, soft, metallic sounds similar to the ones produced by a metal jig clunking down on a reef or wreck. Most bottom jigging hook ups occur within seconds of the jig hitting the bottom and this theory would possibly explain why? The combination of the plastic squid coated assist hook and metal jig could also possibly imitate a small reef fish attacking a small squid, cuttlefish or octopus. It seems too much of a coincidence that these jigs catch everything from small unwanted reef dwellers similar in size to the jig to real monsters.

The smaller fish see the squid trying to flee from the slightly larger predator and nip in to grab the squid before they miss out and the larger fish just want the lot. Even when bites are slow or shut down this technique will generally produce results and has certainly replaced the need for purchasing smelly bait. These jigs do in fact represent 99.9% of a reef fish diet and are capable of imitating everything from small bait fish to prawns and even cray fish. Fishing with jigs also enables anglers to fish the entire water column from top to bottom, as soon as the jig hits the water you are fishing.

Jigs are effective on their way down, whilst they are worked on the bottom and also when being retrieved back to the boat allowing anglers to target an enormous variety of species at from bottom dwelling demersals to line burning pelagics.  You can take your jigs home at the end of a day’s fishing and use them over and over again instead of throwing old, smelly bait away and having to scrub it off your boat and clothing. Jigs are more enjoyable to fish with, less taxing on the angler and much more effective than any other form of bottom fishing. Shimano Bottom Ship 2 the jig for all occasions.

Ps. Keep visiting our Perth Fishing TV Facebook page for new episodes, including a fully detailed and instructional segment dedicated to not only the above mentioned jigs and technique but also the result of our controversial baits versus jigs competition.