SC River - Jigging and Boat Control

[bdragons]

Im mostly a inland lakes fisherman, but last year got hooked on fishing on the SCR. Great fishery but the biggest challenge I had was keeping good boat control and keeping the bait under the boat, its a fast current! I have a 19' deep V, with I|O and a 55lb thrust trolling motor at the bow. What are some good methods for slowing your drift and keeping the bait vertical (drift socks, buckets, kicker motor, drag anchor, etc?). I also want tothe understand concept of back-trolling better so if there is a good post you can point me to on explaining this technique it would be helpful. Does it matter greatly if you go with the current or against? I alway understood that bait coming down with the current is most natural for the fish. I usually fish with a 3\4 or 5\8 jig. Any tips or tricks would be great - thanks.

[Deez Nutz]

When your jigging you're always going with the current. This is refered to slipping. If your using a bow mounted trolling motor you should always be facing into the wind and using the trolling motor to stay vertical. I have an 18 ft c.c. and don't using anything other than the trolling motor. If your back trolling, you're putting the stern of the boat into the wind and bumping it in and out to stay vertical. The key is to keep the boat moving at the same pace as the current. Boat control is key to catching fish jigging in the river for sure and takes practice to get the feel for it.

[mokis]

a heaier jig with fireline main line will help until you get the hang of it

[radiohead]

A 55# thrust is plenty. Easiest way to do it is to take all the guesswork of wind, current,etc out of the equation and just "chase your line".

When you get set up on your drift, slowly let your line out and see what direction it drifts, and troll back to that direction chasing your line until it's vertical. Then you just keep chasing it back as required to keep vertical.



Im mostly a inland lakes fisherman, but last year got hooked on fishing on the SCR. Great fishery but the biggest challenge I had was keeping good boat control and keeping the bait under the boat, its a fast current! I have a 19' deep V, with I|O and a 55lb thrust trolling motor at the bow. What are some good methods for slowing your drift and keeping the bait vertical (drift socks, buckets, kicker motor, drag anchor, etc?). I also want tothe understand concept of back-trolling better so if there is a good post you can point me to on explaining this technique it would be helpful. Does it matter greatly if you go with the current or against? I alway understood that bait coming down with the current is most natural for the fish. I usually fish with a 3\4 or 5\8 jig. Any tips or tricks would be great - thanks.