jigging help

[Florida_Native]

So I went out to Long Lake (lake Spokane) today and tried to catch some smallies and perch. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. First of all what is at the nine mile end of the lake? I tried my rainbow set up, also tied a deep diver and jigged for about 5 minutes before the rain came in.

I've played around jigging lately but haven't caught anything. Also tried a drop shot.  So does anyone have any pointers for jigging? Does jig color matter? What size would you use in 30 ft of water for bass and perch? crawlers or plastics? I've seen it done before so I get the concept but other than that I'm lost.

Thanks for any help.

[Mfowl]

For bass right now 30' might be too deep. The water is still warming up and they aren't far off the spawn. I've found bass fishing in deep water doesn't kick off until the water temps are high and the day temps soar which forces them into the deeper/offshore structure. I've had success dragging a tube or a creature bait on the bottom with an appropriate sized jighead. Also Carolina rigging can be good in deep water. For perch and other panfish I like a 1 or 2" paddle tail grub on a 1/8 or so sized jighead. Sometimes tipped with a piece of crawler or just scented up. But again this is in the "dog days" of summer when the water and air temps are high. Right now I would expect the majority of spiny rays to be in shallower water around the weed beds. When I bass fished a lot this was always my favorite time of year to topwater fish in the mornings/evenings.

[Florida_Native]

So what is hanging down deep in a lake like long/spokane? Most of what i saw was down deep?

[Mfowl]

I don't know, could be any number of species. I once listened to a seminar on walleye fishing in which the speaker said " when I mark fish on my finder and can't get them to bite in 30 min, I call them carp and move on." Could just be lake chubs or whitefish or something like that. I haven't actually fished that lake and am not familiar with the available species. One method that has worked well for me in the past is to troll the weed edges of the lake with plugs then take note of what you caught and where and come back and fish that area with specific gear, ie: bass/panfish gear. Good luck!