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Was wondering how many of ya'll have used weedless 1/0 hooks with minnows while fishing heavy cover, and whether they affect the bite more than a regular light wire Aberdeen 1/0 hook....I've got a "hotspot" that's loaded with blowdowns and festooned with hooks/bobbers from previous unlucky fishermen...I wanna avoid the frustration of getting hung up as much....
Bushrod
Bushrod
Thats all we use up here.Whether its fishing up shallow or deep brush.It doesnt effect the bite or hook ups IMHO.I pour them from 1/16 up to 3/8 depending on the depth of water.I d say we use 1/8 and 1/4 90% of the time anymore.PJ
at least not that I've been able to tell, in the last 20+ years of using them. That is, of course, if we're talking JIGHEADS !!
Though ... I don't use any jig with THAT big a hook :eek: ...LOL!! I mostly use 1/32 & 1/16oz jigheads ... and they probably have #4 or #6 hooks on them. Biggest hook I use is probably a #1 Aberdeen, for minnows.
I don't have any trouble with hook-ups ... and I don't lose fish from straightened out jig hooks. Used Oldham's Surelock Weedless Crappie jigheads for years ... starting out on Smallmouth & graduating to Crappie. Caught many of both on them ... Smallmouth to 4lbs ... Crappie to over 2lbs (and even a Largemouth pushing 6lbs). Switched to the brush style weedguard jigheads a couple of years ago ... working just fine !! P&S Custom Tackle makes mine. I also use a "V wing" style weedguard jighead, made by P&S Custom Tackle ... very good jighead, and a favorite of mine.
I'm a big fan of "blowdowns" :D ... as well as isolated standing timber, and submerged brushpiles. I have little fear of throwing a weedless jig into any of them, and bouncing it over the branches.
Now - If we're talking making a plain minnow hook ... weedless -- like putting something like a "Stick-guard" on the hook, or buying them "already weedless" ... then I have no idea, never tried it. .........cp :cool:
cp Got to love that about you. Your always thorough. ;) Hope you don't mind me saying.Quote:
Originally Posted by crappiepappy
You might miss some hooksets with certain types of weedless. It depends onthe hook size. Big hooks miss more than smaller ones.
FIN
What about the Brewer Slider jigs? Riggin them weedless like a bass bait. Have any misses with them?
I have to go with you on this one, Great post return crappiepappy..Quote:
Originally Posted by crappiepappy
Fish Detective
I have used the Oldham Weedless Jigs 1/16oz size and some of my own homemade weedless jig head. Never tried weedless hooks yet. But it sounds like a good idea for fishing brush piles.
I have used the Charlie Brewer Sliders a lot and have missed some bass bites while using them weedless.
I would say that I have missed a lot of crappie using weedless jigs. But I will say that I have caught a lot of crappie on weedless jigs too.
I am getting to prefer using regular #2 gold thin wire hooks with live minnows when the fishing is really tough.
But when the fishing is hot. Fish are agresively feeding the weedless jigs really work in heavy cover.
Think of it's this way. I would rather miss 25% of the bites than spend 2 -5 minutes every ten minutes retying my hook-jigs, bobbers, and bobber stops etc by getting snagged and breaking off often.
That's my experience on the lake that I fish. I fish a lot of submerged trees that are in about 15 to 20 ft of water and come up to within 10ft of the surface of the lake. Water is stained and I can't see the submerged tree tops. Crappie are small in this lake also. They range in size from 7" to about 12" max. Although there are some 14" crappie caught in these waters by bass fishermen using crankbaits. So you might want to recognize that all weedless baits won't behave the same on all lakes. Some lakes with much larger fish may let your weedless jigs hook/bite ratio be better. Also the size of the hook and the way the hook is designed will effect the ratio of hook ups vs bites.
The hookup/bite ration on the Charlie Brewer baits is much lower than on the oldham weedless jigs. Because of the design of the two baits differs so much. It's much harder to get the hook point though the soft plastic than to get the hook point on the oldhams into the fish's mouth.
In making my own weedless jigs I have noticed that the angle of the weed guard to the hook makes a big difference. If the angle is too high I get hung up more. If the angle is too I miss more fish bites. And the length of the weed guard makes a difference also. I learn this the hard way. Out on the water catching fish last year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by barrelslime
I use sliders rigged weedless sometimes in really thick cover. Might miss a few sometimes but avoid all the headaches of losing jigs and having to re-tie. Never used the weedless jig heads but am sure going to try soon based on what I've read here.
Happy fishing.