Tips for Fishing the Classic Diamond Jig

This simple silver jig is as ancient as angling, yet it still catches fish.

Diamond jigs have been around for about as long as mankind has been able to work metal. Walk the isles of any tackleshop today, and you’ll see countless types of metal jigging spoons with all sorts of fancy paint jobs, realistic eyes, and different shapes and sizes. Yet no matter what tackle manufacturers come up with next, the classic silver diamond jig always survives. Add a few to your tackle collection if you don’t already have them, apply these diamond jig jigging tips, and you’ll soon see why: these things catch fish.

This simple silver jig is as ancient as angling, yet it still catches fish.

Diamond jigs sink fast and pack a lot of weight for their size, allowing you to get down deep. So choose them when fishing reefs, live bottom, or wrecks in 20-plus feet of water.
The natural silver color mimics baitfish, and they work well un-baited. However, also try sweetening one up with a fish strip or a bit of squid. Even though it may not be the most natural presentation, many bottom fish go nuts for a diamond jig dangling a bit of meat on its hook.
Reach for diamond jigs when fish that like a very fast action, like Spanish mackerel, are attacking bait just below the surface and you’re casting and retrieving. While wobbling spoons and other shiny offerings don’t always have the weight to stay beneath the surface during lightning-fast retrieves, diamond jigs are heavy enough that you can’t get them to skip or flip out of the water no matter how fast you crank.
When you’re chunking or chumming for suspended fish, try dropping a diamond jig to the appropriate depth, running it out an outrigger, and letting it dangle. Wave action and the long fulcrum the outrigger provides will give it some action, and you can use this as a “set it and forget it” offering while you fish with other methods.
Use a diamond jig as the anchor lure, when you need a tandem rig that can get down deep fast.

All in all, they’re about as versatile a lure as you’ll find; no matter what sort of saltwater fish you like to go after diamond jigs belong in your tacklebox.