Thread: jig head and hook size

Originally Posted by DrNip

Are you saying you only fish with rod at 45 degree angle to the water and never with the rod horizontal to the surface?

Correct.
I work small and large lures better at a rod angle to the surface. Plus when a tick is felt up the line, I can lower or raise the rod a bit -depending on the strike- and before the next more powerful rod tip jerk away from the fish to embed the point further. With the jig hook point at an upward angle in the fish's mouth, unlike the hook position during the retrieve, I can feel which direction to set the hook and how powerful the hook set - something I can't do with a horizontal-to-the-surface set using small gap hooks typical of small jigs.

When it comes to treble hooks or the much larger hooks used with bass lures, playing the fish and hook set is still never horizontal to the surface though at a smaller rod angle to it. Playing a fish with rod action horizontal to the surface assumes the hook is deeply embedded, which it may be, but in my experience loses more fish. In fact once the hook is in solid, I hook set again and play the fish at an opposite angle away-from-midline, which I feel confuses the fish headed towards me. This is done a few times initially and especially for small bass that like to jump.

Flat to the water or sweeping hook sets are very efficient for fish that are traveling with the bait(breaking to the left or right). This hookset is done against the fishes travel.

Spoonminnow I misread one of your previous. I was of the opion that you were in the favor of side arm hook sets as a whole.

A greater than 45 degree is a good hook set

Sent from my E6910 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

I mostly dip with a 10’ rod and hold my tip close to the water like spider rigging.

I was of the opion that you were in the favor of side arm hook sets as a whole.

The only time I might side arm is after watching both my float disappearing and the direction the line is going. A fish swimming away from me makes me want to change its direction while letting it know something is wrong resulting in an initial panic hook set. What the jig or bait is doing just before the strike is as important as the type of hookset, which is another topic that classifies lures by their presentation. Dr Nip gave one example.

Originally Posted by chaunc

I’ve been using 1/32 and 1/64 unpainted heads with number 6 and 8 sickle hooks. I’ll use a net on anything around a pound tho. 4 pound slime line hi vis is a must have with jigs this small.

Hey Chaunc, been a while. If you haven’t tried Stren Crappie in hi vis 2 lb, you should try a spool. Those 1/64 will cast so much easier, and it won’t break the bank.