Using the different applications of Jigs in fish

It seems there are many uses of this kind of bait. I am trying to glean as much info as I can about their varied use.
My first impression being that they are only good for small species like panfish. Boy, was I in for an eye opener about this.
My wife and I started out using the one sixteenth ounce under a bobber with minnows for crappies. We then find that bass are also interested in this presentation.
While casting square bill divers I saw a fellow casting bigger jigs with the swimtail soft bait, beside a few crapppies, he also got a bass or two and a nice toothy pike.
He said that was all he ever fished with was jigs and soft bait, namely chartruse color.
He was doing a cast and slow retrieve, which is the kind of fishing we ( wifey and I ) tend to enjoy.
We would like to learn how to use the jigs to their best extent, wondering out loud if the DVD advertised by the Jig Company here would help us to get a head start on this.

I am aware that the small jigs don’t cast like the bigger ones. Winter time seems a good time to learn a lot more about this facet of fishing.
Any help or advise will be greatly appreciated.

Best, TIGHT LINES as the saying goes.

Roger Heywood

The jig is the most basic and most complex piece of equipment you can own. A jig is whatever you want to make it.

Many people think of a jig as something you life 12″ and drop to the bottom with a minnow for Walleyes. Some think of the tiny ice jigs you put a waxie on to catch bluegills.

The main thing to remember about a jig, is that with the weight right next to your bait (live bait or plastic), you have a real good idea of where in the water column your bait is.

I will vertical jig with bait or plastics, I will pitch jigs (mostly with plastic) to shorelines, I will drag jigs with plastic, I will pitch jigs in front of wing dams (with live bait or plastic) and let the current tumble my jig past feeding fish. I will pitch a jig with plastic and swim it back on wing dams or over sand flats.

And those are just my uses for Walleyes. Bass guys will use jigs with skirts, swim jigs, jig and pigs. Panfish guys will use tube jigs for crappies, or small jigs and live bait (waxies, redworms, leafworms, small leaches) for gills or crappies.

I used to use jigs and crawlers in small rivers for trout.

As I was saying, a jig is whatever you want it to be. That’s the beauty of it.