A few things factor into how fast a jig will sink... Are we talking bass jigs here?

 

Like Stak says, there are a lot of things that determine drop speed. The type of jig, the shape of its head, the thickness of the skirt if it has one. The type of trailer, if it's straight or something with action. Line size, line type, length of cast, wind conditions, wave conditions, etc. As you can see the question is too general for an accurate answer.

The easiest way for you to determine drop speed is to drop it in the water on a slack line and start counting. Watch the line, and stop counting when the line stops moving. Do it right beside the boat, or on shore. After the line has stopped moving, drop your rod tip to the waters surface right where your line enters the water, and reel in the slack. Just reel it enough to get the slack out of your line, not so much that you lift the jig off the bottom. Then just lift up your rod, and pull the line out of the water without reeling in any additional line. If you know how long your rod is (and you should) just use your rod to measure how much line you have out. Just make sure you don't do it in too deep of water. After that, it's a simple matter of doing the math.

You pretty much want it falling on a semi slack line, unless you are fishing vertical cover. If you are doing that, you'll want a little more slack in your line because you want the jig to fall right beside the cover and not pendulum away from the cover. If you are counting and the jig stops before it should be on the bottom, or before it gets to the depth you want to fish it at....... set the hook. It could just have hit something you didn't know was there, but it could be a fish that hit it on the fall. You definitely want to watch your line. A lot of times you'll see your live move and never feel the fish hit.

 

Like Stak says, there are a lot of things that determine drop speed. The type of jig, the shape of its head, the thickness of the skirt if it has one. The type of trailer, if it's straight or something with action. Line size, line type, length of cast, wind conditions, wave conditions, etc. As you can see the question is too general for an accurate answer.

The easiest way for you to determine drop speed is to drop it in the water on a slack line and start counting. Watch the line, and stop counting when the line stops moving. Do it right beside the boat, or on shore. After the line has stopped moving, drop your rod tip to the waters surface right where your line enters the water, and reel in the slack. Just reel it enough to get the slack out of your line, not so much that you lift the jig off the bottom. Then just lift up your rod, and pull the line out of the water without reeling in any additional line. If you know how long your rod is (and you should) just use your rod to measure how much line you have out. Just make sure you don't do it in too deep of water. After that, it's a simple matter of doing the math.

You pretty much want it falling on a semi slack line, unless you are fishing vertical cover. If you are doing that, you'll want a little more slack in your line because you want the jig to fall right beside the cover and not pendulum away from the cover. If you are counting and the jig stops before it should be on the bottom, or before it gets to the depth you want to fish it at....... set the hook. It could just have hit something you didn't know was there, but it could be a fish that hit it on the fall. You definitely want to watch your line. A lot of times you'll see your live move and never feel the fish hit.

Better than I could've said it!

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Bassbme, you are a pimp. That was the most informative and descriptive post I could have hoped for! Saving this post to make sure I can answer this for someone else in the future.

Follow up question about size:
The deeper I am fishing the larger the jig I should use correct? Im thinking a 1/16 oz jig would take 2 hours to get to say 30 feet.

If in calm waters (as I know you want a heavier jib in rougher waters), is there a rule of thumb for weight/to depth? Like a 1/16 oz for 0-10', 1/8" for 10-20', etc?

Mostly what I have right now is regular ball jigs. I am going out tonight and I am thinking of vertically jigging with jigs n twister tails. (I dont need to tip a twister tail with a worm right? I can just fish them as they are?)

 

if you have a good enough rod, you can feel a bite on slack line. just so you know.

 

I don't think we're talking about bass jigs here.Round head jigs with twister tails is a different animal.Typical weights for a bass jig would be something like 3/8,1/2,3/4 or even 1oz.Good rods,the right line,and quality reels all determine what you actually feel.If you want to fish offshore structure such as humps,you'll want to go with a football head jig,or if you prefer fishing laydowns or stumps along the shore,go with a standard jig.For offshore fishing with a football jig I use a quality fluorocarbon line around 15#-17#.For flipping and pitching a jig around shoreline cover I like to go with braid anywhere from 30#-50#.Hope that gets you started.

 

Bassbme, you are a pimp. That was the most informative and descriptive post I could have hoped for! Saving this post to make sure I can answer this for someone else in the future.

Follow up question about size:
The deeper I am fishing the larger the jig I should use correct? Im thinking a 1/16 oz jig would take 2 hours to get to say 30 feet.

If in calm waters (as I know you want a heavier jib in rougher waters), is there a rule of thumb for weight/to depth? Like a 1/16 oz for 0-10', 1/8" for 10-20', etc?

Mostly what I have right now is regular ball jigs. I am going out tonight and I am thinking of vertically jigging with jigs n twister tails. (I dont need to tip a twister tail with a worm right? I can just fish them as they are?)

LOL a pimp?...... I don't know about all that. But thank you for the comment, and I am glad I could help a little.

As far as using a heavier jig for deeper water. Yes, generally you'll want to use a heavier jig. As far as a general rule of thumb of what weight head, for a given water depth. You will read articles, and people will say what they use for different water depths, but those are really based on their own abilities, and the equipment they use. Not everyone can feel an 1/8th oz. jig in 10 feet of water, or a 1/4 oz. jig in 20 feet of water. The key is being able to feel the jig. You can use any weight jig you want, but if you can't feel it, you're fighting a losing battle. Of course using a heavier jig is easier to feel, but depending on the cover you're fishing, its also easier to hang up. So it becomes a balancing act. You need enough weight to be able to feel the jig, but not so much that you hang up in cover all the time.

Water depth isn't the only thing that determines the weight of the jig you want to use. For instance, if you are fishing heavy cover (weeds, or bushes) in shallow water, you'll want to use a jig heavy enough to penetrate the cover. After it gets into the cover you can control it's rate of fall. If the rate of fall happens to be a determining factor that day. Also if you are using a jig as a search lure, or looking for a reaction bite, you're probably going to want to use a heavier jig, just because you can move it faster, or it falls faster.

As far as tipping your jigs with a worm. It depends. You may not have to. The action of your trailer may be all it takes. But if you know you are around fish, and you aren't getting any action it may help by adding scent. Some times scent can make a huge difference. Other times it doesn't matter at all.

I hope this helps. Good luck !!!