Starting Lineup for next trip out

[SuperDave336]

Great looking jigs

They do look great and Skip does a fantastic job. Lots of work in making those. Skip has previously posted on how he made them.

[DockShootinJack]

I remember the post

[GrumpyLoomis]

I used to carry a camera flash fishing before cell phones to charge my glow jigs when the sun was not present. Works really well and still use it some as my cell phone is usually off while I'm in the boat.

[skiptomylu]

Yes the sun will charge them, but a good UV light will do it really fast too.

Skip

[SuperDave336]

Skip can you tell a difference when using glow jigs? Do the fish bite them better, same or worse? I have some glow chenille I haven't used yet just wondering.

[skiptomylu]

Skip can you tell a difference when using glow jigs? Do the fish bite them better, same or worse? I have some glow chenille I haven't used yet just wondering.

I don't really know that there is a different bite for a glow jig, but for sure getting one in the fish vision has to be easier with a glow jig huh?
I have not seen any glow chenille that gets real bright, but not sure it need to be all that bright, however the glow needs to last a little while.

I have had good luck fishing tight line around brush piles.

Skip

[SuperDave336]

Here is the chenille. I think it’s pretty bright.



Not sure how long it will last once charged. I will try to put a little research into it when I can.

[DockShootinJack]

That os a lot of jigs worth

[Micanopy]

So I went fishing and used four of the 1/16th oz and four of the 3/16th oz jigs as shown above. Conditions were very nice as the weatherman had lied about there being 10 mph winds in the morning.



I started catching fish right away which is unusual for me, so I was looking forward to a good day. However the final tally was just a half limit.



A few nice ones in the creel. Had two that were missing their dorsal areas. As if something had tried to eat them years ago. Also managed two 8” largemouth bass, and a half dozen throwbacks for lack of size.

The Willow leaf blades were very sleek as they swam along. They just were not all that successful for me. I ended up swapping all of them out for Colorado blades by the time it was over. Tried different colored jigs and also jigs with no blades trying to figure something out, but to no avail. I could have stayed and kept catching at a slow rate, but needed to go so I ran back to the launch and headed home with what I had.

As I was bored, I decided to try to get a good look at how my jigs swam. So I laid a rod in front and let the line pay out to the back, and then stood on the back of the boat and looked. This changed how the jigs swim- to my eyes. The extra line allowed for a better look. I had jigs that spun, jigs that wobbled, and jigs that looked weird. The spinning jigs was due to how I had put the hook through the plastic body. Having issues with that still. The jigs that wobbled did so because of the style of the plastic body. The weird ones were the most disconcerting of the bunch.

Take a look at this picture.



This is the attitude the jig takes as it is being pulled. The resistance of the blade causes it to align with the eye and it results in the jig swimming along like this. Head down. Before as I swam the jig next to the boat with not much line out it looked different, more level. Spooling out more line allowed me to better see what was happening when the jig was actually being fished. This effect was less pronounced with the Willow leaf blades and more so with Colorado blades.

Last night I considered down sizing the blades, and extending the wire backwards more to try to lessen the angle.



I imagine this will help but at what cost ? Every time you alter something to achieve something you end up giving away something. I also considered altering the boat’s speed, as slowing down would certainly change the jig’s attitude.



I have pretty much decided that there is a “Best Speed” for bladed jigs. That speed is the one that makes the best sound as the jig swims. I figure a good sound is the most important aspect my jigs can have. If they sound good they will alert the fish that there is a prey item attempting to pass by in review. Once alerted, he can then use the vibrations of the blade to locate and track the jig’s progress. Finally the plastic body completes the ruse and he bites.

So the order that he senses the baits is- sound, feel, vision, smell and taste. Getting the bait to be noticed is the key here. If my jig is already beyond the fish before he notices it, he is not as likely to try to chase it down. They like to ambush, or bushwhack their prey, and sound offers an early warning so he can prepare and setup on it. Especially so in the stained waters I fish.

So slowing the boat down lessens the kiltered angle of the dangle, but the slower blades makes less sound and vibration. Trading something for something else.

It might be a huge mistake to even get started with bladed jigs, as others I know do very well without them. My buddy pulls 2” curly tail grubs at 1.5 mph and catches tons of fish. When I pull curly tails at 1.5 mph I catch a few fish. He offered to have me aboard so I can monkey see, and I think I will. I fished on his boat before but that was before I knew anything about anything.

The RoadRunner jig has been highly successful over the ages, and I imagine it also runs at this angle. The lead head down, rear of the jig body up. Maybe it isn’t a huge issue after all, but I can’t help to think that it matters. Probably more bites when horizontal and natural looking. The Tail Gunner blade design probably does not suffer from this, but that precludes me using my favorite plastic baits. It is possible that I could extend the wire assembly and position the blade straight out the back, but that will lengthen the entire jig. I could use shorter plastic baits, so the face down attitude is less noticeable, but then I have traded something for something I really want to keep.

Until I come up with something I think I will run Colorado blades and just pull them slower. Instead of gauging speed based on rod tip jiggle, pull as I did yesterday and allow the lure to have some line and watch and adjust speed until I feel I have a good spin and an acceptable alignment.

The Carrot shaped baits were very sharp looking. They even offer a slight wobble as they go. They just kind of flop over a little to one side then the other. Looked attractive to me, but this may be something that detracts from the bait. I need more experience before that can be known. They held up beautifully to the ravages of the fish’s anger with no damage done. Very nice plastic being used. Thanks Slabeye.

It would be nice if I could depend on the fish a little more here. To know a slight change to this or that does this or that. The problem is I don’t know if it is the jig’s changes or the fish that determine the success. Hungry fish eat anything. These fish must talk because all of them have the same attitude. They all bite or they all stop as if on cue. I can hear them discussing matters inside the cooler. The conversations go something like this:

”I told you the green thing was a trick”

”Well everybody knew the yellow one was bad and you bit that one like an idiot”

”Shut up you two- we all are idiots”




Soon there will be even more room in the deep freeze. Yup I can get that hunk of wedding cake out of there in a few days.




I keep asking about blades because I want to understand them better. I will go out into the wasteland of the interwebs to research and if I discover anything worthy, I will bring it back for the tribe to consume. Thinking Walleye guys must know something about all of this blade stuff.

[DockShootinJack]

Good looking Sunrise and a nice mess of fish