The following was written by Doug Newhoff on the “Fishing the Wildside” website. If you go to Google and type “snap jigging” with the quotation marks you will find this and other descriptions.
Snap-jigging
Jig-fishing doesn’t have to be a finesse sport.
Snap-jigging consists of lowering a jig to the bottom, aggressively snapping it up a couple of feet, then letting it free-fall back to the bottom. It works best when drifting or moving with an electric motor.
“The fact that the jig drops vertically is the reason it works almost any time during the open-water season,” says Chip Leer, co-founder of Fishing the Wildside and the Leech Lake Guide Coalition. “You’re not ripping it away from the fish. You are forcing the fish to make a decision, which is exactly the opposite of holding something in front of them and enticing them to bite.
“With snap-jigging, you are trying to catch them by surprise and force them to react.”
Leer likes to employ the technique when he’s fishing open or long pieces of structure that encourage long drifts. That can include sand flats, breaklines or reefs. Depths where snap-jigging is effective are typically 15 feet or less.
“I’ve gone along and found pods of fish in these areas, but when you go back and sit right on top of them, you can’t seem to get them going with vertical jigging,” he relates. “It’s almost like they hear the train coming. The jig gets ripped through the water, and it makes a commotion that gets their attention.
“I’ve found that I do better when I can keep moving.”
Leer’s favorite jig for snapping is a Northland Tackle Stand-up Fire-Ball.
“A lot of the flats where snap-jigging works well have a little vegetation on them,” he explains. “The Stand-Up Fire-Ball has the eye at the front of the jig, so it doesn’t pick up any grass or clutter off the bottom. I tip it with a 2- to 3-inch minnow threaded onto the hook. It’s important to get it lined up straight. If not, it tends to fall off to the side. If it’s center-hooked, it will drop straight.
“You need a pretty tough minnow. Early in the year, I like big shiners. Otherwise, I use a fathead or a rainbow chub.”
When walleyes are feeding on aquatic insects, grubs or crayfish, Leer turns to other jigging methods.
“In this region, sometimes those fish are feeding on little tiny crayfish that are running around out on those flats in the grass,” he explains. “If that’s the case, dragging can be more effective because they are looking down as they feed.
“If the minnow bite is on, then snapping is the way to go because the walleyes are actually feeding up and out rather than down, and they will exert a little effort to go get a minnow.”
If the walleyes are biting short, Leer switches to a Northland Lip-stick jig, which retains the stand-up properties, but features a hook with a longer shank.
“You can use a stinger, but I try to avoid that,” he adds. “If there’s any vegetation at all, those stingers always seem to find it.”
Equipment is an important consideration when snap-jigging.
“I prefer monofilament line because I don’t want to feel anything until I snap that jig up off the bottom,” Leer relates. “With a no-stretch line, you might feel a bite or a ‘tick’ during the free-fall that causes you to react too soon.
“Most of the time, I don’t feel the fish hit at all. After I let the jig free-fall, I raise my rod tip just enough to take the slack out of my line and make contact with my jig. If I feel any resistance at all, I drive it home. If not, I give it another aggressive snap.”
Leer uses a 6-foot-6 Fenwick Techna AV rod.
“You want something with medium-fast action, and you want a longer rod because it helps you get the jig back away from the boat. The shallower the water, the farther you want that jig to be back.” For Leer, snap-jigging is a means of bringing the simple jig to life.
“To me, people typically look at jig-fishing as being fairly methodical and slow,” he says. “Snap-jigging is fast, proactive and happening. You are moving and covering water, and with every stroke of the rod, you don’t know what you’re about to set the hook into.” 
