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Let me warn you right now:

In the hierarchy of macho fishing styles,
the equipment and techniques discussed
in this month's column rank far below
chunkin', winding or any other vigorous
technique practiced from the testosterone
pit of an 18-foot metalflake monster.
The reason for their appearance here is
simple: There are times when an aggressive
fishing approach is futile, when the ultimate
finesse baits -- the world's tiniest jigs
-- catch fish they seemingly shouldn't
and, in fact, do it better than anything
else in the tackle box.


Microjigs -- those jigs as light as
(this is no misprint) 1/300 of an ounce
-- are stock-in-trade for crappie fishermen,
an addiction for some trout specialists
and panfishermen and, more recently, the
leadhead of choice for a growing coterie
of light-tackle river bass anglers. A
few minor design variances aside, most
of these lures are the same basic thing
flyfishers drift below "strike indicators"
(known as "bobbers" before fishing jargon
went uptown). Micros come in plain models
intended to be tipped with natural bait
and dressed with plastic, hair, fur, feathers
or other materials.


Beyond Panfish

If you've just finished dragging a shanty
off the ice, you're probably familiar
with microjigs, most likely in teardrop
shapes that maximize their fluttering
action while slowing their drop. Don't
put them up for the summer just yet. The
same lures are incredibly effective for
trout, as the record book will support:
The four-pound-test -- and all-tackle
-- world-record brown gobbled a 1/64-ounce
micro pitched by the late Howard "Rip"
Collins in Arkansas's Little Red River.
It weighed 40 lb. 4 oz. -- so much for
that adage about "big lure, big fish."
Smallmouth, spotted, white and largemouth
bass also eat micros from early spring
through the rest of the year.


In dealing with good-sized largemouths,
there is usually little problem sinking
the fine dmeter point of a microjig
hook into the fish's mouth. Then comes
the challenge of maneuvering the fish
through cover without opening the hook
or breaking it. Typical heave-ho largemouth
tactics won't hack it, and not just because
of the delicate hardware; this is a two-,
four- and (at the outside) six-pound-line
game.


Smallmouths in more open water, including
rivers, are an entirely different proposition,
as are trout and other fish that have
room to run. A fine-tuned reel drag, a
longish rod with ample cushioning flex
and a healthy portion of self-control
on the angler's part are the keys to success
hereänot to mention a little luck.


The History

Microjigs are hardly new to the fishing
scene. In the 1970s and early '80s, Missouri's
Tanneycomo Lake was peaking as a trout
fishery. Before overstocked trout wreaked
havoc on the protein-rich scuds and mysis
shrimp responsible for the splendid fish
growth in this serpentine impoundment,
anglers used micros to imitate the tiny
crustacea. At first, 1/64- and 1/32-ounce
jigs were the norm, but some experimenters
soon discovered that 1/80- to 1/100-ounce
micros did even better. Because 1/32-ounce
jigs are about the lightest a spinning
outfit can cast effectively, the standard
rig evolved into a 91/2-foot fly rod or
panfish pole spooled with two- or four-pound-test
leader and a tiny toothpick-snubbed strike
indicator on the leader. The fisherman
would roll-cast or simply lob the rig
and let the jig settle at some depth less
than 10 feet -- the limit for mysis in
Tanneycomo.


You need not "match the hatch" exactly
with micros to trigger trout, panfish
or other gamefish. However, the smallest
jigs in black, brown, gray, olive drab
and other subdued colors are the best
bets when no fish are showing. During
those slow times you'll also do well to
use a vertical presentation beneath a
float rather than trying a swimming approach.
Tiny teardrop-shaped icefishing jigs tipped
with a smidgen of bait also work well
beneath floats when you're targeting sluggish
fish.


Active fish, on the other hand, are
vulnerable to a swimming presentation
below a float. Here you want to choose
a bright-colored microjig with a bit of
flash, the desired effect being one of
a fleeing scud, minnow or fry.


You might also consider suspending a
micro below a small floating minnow lure,
popper, chugger or shallow-running crankbait.
Simply tie the jig to the lure's rear
hook with light monofilament. As fish
begin actively feeding, they'll sometimes
hit the larger lure. You might as well
be using a "float" with its own bite.


On the Market

Not all of the currently available microjigs
evolved from the Tanneycomo experience.
Frank McKane of McKala Fishing in Trumbull,
Conn., created his Match-the-Hatch Reel
Jig micros to meet the challenges of flycasting
in tight trout-stream conditions. "At
first I tried using ultralight spin tackle
and small plastic grubs," says McKane.
"It was an improvement, but I still wasn't
doing as well as nymph fishermen." That
spurred McKane and his partner Jamie Kalanta
to create tiny plastic nymphs that mimicked
the fishing flies, which in turn were
imitating bugs or crustacea. They worked
so well that crappie anglers gobbled them
up like chocolate cherries, as did their
quarry. That success spawned the creation
rop-shaped icefishing jigs tipped
with a smidgen of bait also work well
beneath floats when you're targeting sluggish
fish.


Active fish, on the other hand, are
vulnerable to a swimming presentation
below a float. Here you want to choose
a bright-colored microjig with a bit of
flash, the desired effect being one of
a fleeing scud, minnow or fry.


You might also consider suspending a
micro below a small floating minnow lure,
popper, chugger or shallow-running crankbait.
Simply tie the jig to the lure's rear
hook with light monofilament. As fish
begin actively feeding, they'll sometimes
hit the larger lure. You might as well
be using a "float" with its own bite.


On the Market

Not all of the currently available microjigs
evolved from the Tanneycomo experience.
Frank McKane of McKala Fishing in Trumbull,
Conn., created his Match-the-Hatch Reel
Jig micros to meet the challenges of flycasting
in tight trout-stream conditions. "At
first I tried using ultralight spin tackle
and small plastic grubs," says McKane.
"It was an improvement, but I still wasn't
doing as well as nymph fishermen." That
spurred McKane and his partner Jamie Kalanta
to create tiny plastic nymphs that mimicked
the fishing flies, which in turn were
imitating bugs or crustacea. They worked
so well that crappie anglers gobbled them
up like chocolate cherries, as did their
quarry. That success spawned the creation