Jig head weight can make all the difference in summer !

[Quailtail]

Richard Gene the Fishing Machine used that method to hold the plastics on better. The dental floss apparently works, but I have not had an opportunity to try it yet. Richard Gene has a bunch of crappie videos on you tube.

[skiptomylu]

Here are some examples of what I am taking about on jig heads and their weights. Just looking at jig heads so much it seemed all heads of a given size, lets say 1/16 and the head size on one that has no collar or barb was the same size as one that had a collar and barb so I got a good digital scale and put many sizes on that scale. Here is some of what I found.

1/80 no Collar, in truth is about 1/64 and a 1/64 was really more like 1/48 and in kind a 1/48 looks like it came in right at 1/32.

Now here is another thing to take into account. I have a 1/32 with collar no bard and it's true weight is closer to 1/24. Then I have a minnow head 1/32 with collar and bard and it's true weight is close to 1/20.

I don't want to type every head weight I have as there are too many, but here are a few notes....

1/80, 1/64 & 1/48 I already put above.
3/32 no collar is really 1/12
1/8 Minnow head no collar was really very close to 1/8
1/16 ball head no collar was very close to 1/16, but just a tad under.
1/16 Minnow with collar and bard was really close to 1/13
1/16 Ball head with collar no bard was really also 1/13
1/8 no collar was a little less at about 1/10
1/4 end up right about 3/16

Hope this helps your plan!

Skip

[Spoonminnow]

The method of adding the wire:



No fuss no muss and the wire does the least damage to lures allowing reuse - especially since the jig has no barb.

Wouldn't leave home without the wire on all of my jigs - including skirted bass jigs:

[Spoonminnow]

As far as jig weight is concerned, you buy jigheads based on the advertised weight and sort /store them as in the above posted picture. Basically I know which are 1/32, 1/64, 1/16 and 1/8 oz. As important, I know the hook sizes for each jig weight and store them in groups.

The bottom row holds 1/16 oz / #6 hook which is next to 1/16 oz / # 4 hook which is next to 1/16 oz #2 hook.
The 1/16 oz/ #8 hook (smallest), is just above the 1/16 oz / #6 jigs.

Again, take note of the wire!!!!! Today I caught a dozen fish - 4 species including a 1 3/4 lb bass on one solitary grub. I can reuse the grub tomorrow. Try that with glue !

[skiptomylu]

I can catch many many fish and never change jigs as I don't use soft plastic and can tie any color combo I want and never need a wire at all! Have caught well over 100 on a single jig and never changed it.

also on soft plastics I have used in the past, your right they tear up easy, but a few years ago I tried out a guys soft plastic, actually it was Crazy Angler's original baits and I found his soft plastics lasted a lot longer than others I tried, but still I am just hung up on hand tying my jigs!

Now if I was a guy that used soft plastics a lot, your wire would be a good thing for that hiy!

Skip

[Moveon]

Watch a worm fall into clear water in a swimming pool or aquarium. How fast does it fall down through the water? Match the speed of the worm with your other baits and the fish will hit the lure better as it looks more natural. Fish see bugs or other things floating through the water column and get accustomed to what they naturally look like. Most small bugs or worms that fall into the water sink slow. That is what the fish are keying on when they feed.

I was laying down trying to take a nap and started to think about jig size so I woke up and found this thread on crappie.com doing a Google web search on "3/64 oz jig heads".

I have 1/32 oz, 1/16 oz, and 3/32 oz as well as 1/8 oz jig heads of various types. But I don't have any 3/64 oz jig heads. I found some in my google search but they are very expensive. They were painted and shaped to fall in a horizontal orientation to look more natural to the fish and came with a #4 hook size. I want a larger hook size with less weight than what I have on my jigs with #2 hooks.


You guys are onto something. I use to fly fish and would use a small sinking black hard body ANT with threads for its legs. It would sink so slowly that it stayed in the fish strike zone a long time. The Bluegill would slam this bait while it was slowly sinking. It was in shallow clear water in a small pond of about 1 acre in size and I was walking around the edge looking for the spawning beds. It was May or June and the fish were spawning so I could see where they had cleared out the beds. The lake has a lot of organic debris on the bottom that was of dark color. So when the dark matter was fanned away the lighter colored clay bottom was exposed and easy to see.

My problem is that if I can't see the bait and the fish I get impatient and don't wait for the bait to get down into deeper water. That's when I go to a vertical jigging presentation where I can slowly lower a minnow into the deeper water or just measure out some line to get to a certain depth. I use the 7 ft long fishing rod or a 10 ft fishing rod to measure the amount of line to get down to 7 or 10 ft.

Slow is good. The key it to get some 2 lb. test fishing line and a rod and reel that allows you to cast these ultra-lightweight jig heads and baits. The fly rod actually casts the line not the baits and the baits just go along for the ride with the fishing line. Fly lines are weighted and heavy enough to cast with a fly rod.

[Spoonminnow]

The key it to get some 2 lb. test fishing line and a rod and reel that allows you to cast these ultra-lightweight jig heads and baits.

Never need to go anything less than 8# test braid (2 lb test mono equivalent) and I get a nice distance casting 1/32 oz jigs + weight of the plastic (hair a different story). Stopped using mono 5 years ago though do at times use fluorocarbon leaders of 4-6# test. Line bow is a problem using light lures or working water over 7' regardless the line type and especially when trolling light jigs and small crankbaits. Sometime a 1/4 oz drop shot + 1.5' leader solves the problem.

[DockShootinJack]

I tend to like a slower fall. It seems to catch more fish

[SuperDave336]

Yup, 1/32 for plastic. 1/24 or 1/16 for hand ties.

[river scum]

open water or cold seasons(ice up to ice out) ill fish some crazy light jigs. in summer though I mostly fish down in wood cover for hogs not numbers.(I don't usually eat them from warm water) at least that's what im gunning for. lol when in cover I don't go any lighter than 1/16th and I don't do that unless I have to. the reason is snags. im bouncing off limbs constantly. I do it on purpose to make noise and draw in fish that mite be just out of sight range. I don't like 1/8th oz. jigs because of the noise hitting stuff though. its because I can shake that heavier head and get the snag loose 99% of the time. it doesn't spook them like yanking and straitening the hook to get it back. as long aas you don't set the hook or yank it when it gets hung, you can gently shake it off. that takes lots of practice at restraint to not set on a bump. its more for me feeling around down there than for what the fish want. unless they are in neutral mood about anything you get in their face, thats the rite size and smells tasty will get bit.

not knocking your post at all. like I said I use them when I have to. when in cover I need to feel what going on down there. I slow my "bigger jigs" down by using 15# mono leader and big 2" twister tails. 3-4" paddle tails work great for summer hogs for me. I have cleaned too many 16" crappie with 4-5" gills in them to ignore it! I also fish more river /res. water too. fish in those waters tend to eat bigger stuff than in lakes. at least that's what it seems like to me. we also have gizzard shad here which grow to 12+". that could have some to do with them eating bigger stuff around here too?


again don't take me the wrong way. your logic is spot on and I totally agree when im not fishing heavy cover. great thread!