“O.K., we’re over the hump now,” said Gary Diamond, studying the depth finder screen on his 24-foot center console. I put the casting reel in free spool, felt the thump as the jig hit the hard sand bottom 35 feet below, engaged the gears, lifted and felt a harder thump as a fish took the lure. A few minutes later I swung aboard a healthy 25-inch striped bass — not bad for the mid-Chesapeake in midsummer.

“I don’t know why I even bother with anything but a Stingsilver,” I remarked as I released the striper. I’ve echoed this thought many times.

Chuck Thompson took this nice winter striper "deep jigging" with spin tackle.

The technique descried in this incident is known as “deep jigging” or “vertical jigging.”

It’s probably existed since man began fishing. It has grown in popularity and practice in the last 40-plus years due to four factors: the development of modern braided lines, the development of specific lures like the Stingsilver or adaptation of classics like the Hopkins, improvement in depth finders, and discovery and targeting of new species offshore.

So here is a brief introduction for deep jigging in Chesapeake Bay and deep water lakes and reservoirs.

Tackle for these waters is basic. Most medium to medium-heavy conventional tackle can be used. The ideal tackle is a graphite, medium-heavy to heavy casting rod 6- to 6 ½-feet long, but spinning tackle works, too. With either tackle any decent reel will suffice, but braided line is critical.

I strongly recommend a good braided line of 20- to 30-pound test. This rod/line combination will detect the slightest touch on your lures and allow instant hooksets. Often the colder the water, the more delicate the strike. Compound this with the fact that you may be fishing as deep as 80 feet and the fact that fish often strike on the drop or after a jigging action, and you can see the value of the responsiveness of the tackle described.

A small black swivel, with a strength at least equal to the line, is attached to the main line via a Palomar knot to prevent line twist and an 18- to 24-inch leader added between the swivel and the lure. I use 20-pound fluorocarbon and attach the leader to the swivel with a Palomar knot and the leader to the lure with either a Palomar Knot or a 100% Loop Knot.

Jigheads from ¼ to 3 ounces or more can be used with bucktail or soft plastic tails. I prefer metal lures, like a ¾-ounce Hopkins Shorty in hammered chrome, and 1⅛ and 2-ounce Stingsilvers in hammered chrome. I clip one tine off treble hooks for easier releases. Adding a small strip of squid to a metal jig makes a killer rig for many species.

Deep jigging is an apt description of this year-round technique. You simply drop a lure straight down or make a short pitch to a structure such as a piling, then lift and lower the lure in the same area and repeat this action several times. The lure can then be worked back to the surface, either quickly, slowly or in a “stairstep” pattern of lifting the lure back to the surface with pauses at various levels.

Generally slow and subtle works best, and you must keep your eyes on the line. Strikes can be very subtle, often occurring on the drop after the lift and only indicated by a twitch of the line.

Deep dropping is also effective on breaking fish. Work up from the bottom as described above, since bigger fish often lurk under the melee. Or try a shallower version of the stairstep retrieve. Let the lure drop 5 to 10 feet below the surface, crank it back to the surface, and — if a fish hasn’t hit yet — repeat the action.

Depth finders can show fish suspended off the bottom, and sophisticated color screens can reveal different species by size and color feedback.

One rough but effective technique for reaching a desired depth for suspended fish, say, 40 feet, is to use a spinning rod with the reel’s bail open or a casting rod with the reel in free spool and the tip of the rod and the jig lowered to the water’s surface. Then lift the rod directly overhead and quickly return it to the water’s surface. The lure will have dropped about 10 feet. Repeat three more times to reach 40 feet.

Chuck Thompson took this nice winter striper deep jigging with spin tackle.

Big, heavy jigs can appeal to suspended or bottom-hugging stripers but not to white perch. And sometimes stripers lock in on small baits and hit them while shunning larger offerings.

Guide Richie Gaines created a solution to fishing small lures deep by using a three-way swivel. The main line is attached to the top arm. A 1- to 2-foot section of 20-pound mono is tied to the lower arm. Then a heavy jig is tied to that, or, for a snaggy bottom, use lighter mono to attach an expendable sinker. A 1- to 2-foot section of fluorocarbon or mono is tied to the side arm and a small jig or Clouser Minnow fly is tied on with a 100% Loop Knot. Again a small curlytail grub or piece of squid adds extra appeal. You might call this rig a saltwater dropshot.

The above lures and techniques can also be used in deep lakes and reservoirs to take bass, crappies, white perch and other species, but smaller lures, like the Hopkins Shorty and Stingsilver in smaller sizes, generally work better. Two fresh water favorites are Little George, a tailspinner, and Silver Buddy, a metal jig. Numerous versions of these basic designs are available.

Again, a dropshot rig or even jigs below a slip bobber can be fished deep jigging-style.

Deep jigging is increasingly the technique of choice for offshore fishing but requires highly specialized tackle and techniques. “Rudow’s Guide to Modern Jigging” is worth pursuing.