When gills are the primary target, I use 1/64th with #8 hook. If crappie are mixed in, I frequently start with 1/32nd with #6 hook.
Is a 1/32 jig small enough for bluegill or should I be using a 1/64, 1/80, etc?
When gills are the primary target, I use 1/64th with #8 hook. If crappie are mixed in, I frequently start with 1/32nd with #6 hook.
I am using a 1/64th round jighead or a 1/64 road runner with a trout magnet or a 1" dark curly tail grub for bluegill. I have not had to use any additional bait. That said I am not opposed to adding a wax worm or a red wiggler to the jig.
I will be using jigs smaller than 1/32 for the first time this year . I hardly ever target just bluegills/red ear . When I do it's usually with a fly rod . I have never used line smaller than 4lb. either till this year . We shall see .
For BG, I use 1/64th jigs with nibbles, Mostly in black or other darker colors. Work great.
For soft plastics 1/32 , except Trout Magnets and 1" curlytails get 1/64 .
For my tied stuff , I use 1/80 , and 1/100 a lot , a few of my tied bugs are on 1/64 , but not many . Tried tipping with crappie nibbles and it didn't hurt , but I'm not sure it helped . I hardly use them . Gillchaser
On 2# test line I cast a 1/64 ounce Trout Magnet more than 95 percent of the time for bluegill. It has served me well....but I would use whatever catches you fish. I have fished with as heavy as a 3/32 ounce jig head #6 hook and had steady results. This past spring I tried a lure that was fished on a 1/8 ounce jig head with a #6 hook. I was shocked at the results. I caught a ton of bluegill with it. It is a Midnight Blue ThunderHawk Dancer......a two inch long paddle tail. I thought it was way too big to catch a lot of Gills...but I was wrong. The Gills flat killed it. When I found out that Leland's Lures was discontinuing it my nephew and I bought 350 dollars worth of bodies and jig heads and split them up. The lure was not even on the market for a year. I fished it in many bodies of water and the results were same. The reason I brought this up is even at age 65, and catching thousands upon thousands of Gills I am still learning. While I still believe smaller is better for catching Gills there are other ways besides going small.
Regards