Chuck7

ok ...been getting tons of bites on my 3/16th ounce Strike King Little Bitsy Jig...and yesterday out of 15 bites only 6 made it in the boat AND ALL six came unhooked in the boat..Yes,I was crossing their eyes,yes I was using a stiff 7 footer with braid..

I thought and thought and finally I think I figured it outl.On that particular jig it has either a 2 or3/0 hook ..and made of weak material..fact..I'm constantly straightening the hook.

So..last night I got out the 1/4 ounce modelBINGO. .a number 4/0 Gamagusi lol. Hook..solid as steel. First hit this morning Bingo right through the jaw..

Lesson learned..sometimes it's not the fishermen but the tackle..

buckhunter14

Are you running these jigs with a casting rod? I can't say that I have ever used, nor would I be able to efficiently fish such light jigs with a casting rod.

3/16oz would be consider finesse in my book, I would opt for a spinning rod in this situation, which I do often.

JoshKeller

i throw all my jigs on a casting rod - right down to 1/8 oz. are you splitting the weed guard with your thumb nail down the middle so half goes to the right of the hook point and half goes to the left? that will give the hook a clear path into the fishes mouth when you set the hook, and still make it weedless.

Chuck7

thanks Buck,
You may have a point...I would be considered a finesse fishermen...3/16th ounce jigs, 7 inch Trick worms and Rooster Tails..and last month I said the secret is using a medium rod instead of a MHeavy...
I have run into a small problem..when I chuck my jig 7 foot into the twisted up cat tails..I know longer want the fish to run ..I must pull him out / get her up quickly so I opted for a 7 foot MH and 40 pound....I still get bites..especially with the green pumpkin colors in 3/16...the heavier the jig the fewer bites I get..just a fact..I find blue/black is an Awesome color in low lighting...anyways..I really don't cross their eyes but I do give the same set army worm rod..and I' about 80 per cent ratio to boat fishing that..

Josh..with those cheap 3/16 ounce Strike King jigs..I don't see any bending either way of a weed guard...I did notice a much skinnier hook.

Summary..I will try Bucks idea with a lighter rod..I still will use a bait aster but on a 7 foot medium which has a lot more flexibility..

Thanks young men for your input..

PS. Another issue with the 3/16th..there is not much of a weed guard anyways..you get hung up a lot..However,,the fish love this size jig..(note..after catching the ten..I feel like a monkey has been lifted off my back..I'm holding back no secrets (-; ). Also guys...I use 4mm glass worm rattles in every BLACK Trick worm..they really do generate strikes.Thry are About 20.00 for 100,

God bless you all,
Chuck

Gangly

the worm rattles work well. I have the Xcalibur brand finesse rattles.

The smaller jigs have been a problem for me. They catch fish, but if I use a stiff rod it bends the hooks, and if I use a soft rod I cant yank them out of the jungle of vegetation and I wind up loosing a few fish. Thats the main reason i started using hand tied jigs from a company called Northstar Custom Jigs. He uses owner and gamakatsu hooks and I have only bent one hook since using them, and I swing for the fences on ALL jig hooksets. Check them out guys, they are a quality jig and spinnerbait manufacturer.

JoshKeller

what kind of trailer are you using on the jigs? a real pork trailer will slow down the fall on a 3/8 oz jig to that of a lighter one.

Chuck7

Nothing expensive Josh..on a trail or I look for a tight on the hook compact green pumpkin crayfish..I like it where the legs are only a 1/4 inch past the skirt..I bought every pack off the shelf 2 nights ago...they are made by berkley..
Think it'called salty craw..

JoshKeller

try to use a size heavier jig and get some real pork frogs. They are around $5 for 4, but you can reuse them until you lose the jig. they will make the jig fall much slower, and you can use a bigger hook size and get the same fall rate at a finesse jig.

Chuck7

Thanks for the info..and yes Gangly I"ve come up with the same conclusion..stronger hooks

Phil from Maine

Man I wish some one could fix my leadfish problems.. I lost 2 of them today at 5 a wack it can get costly pretty quickly.. The problem I had was the fish would straighten my hooks out. I fix that problem by getting some Mustad treble hooks # 4 s. Just like what came on my leadfish only I bought some new stronger and sharper.. Well that part worked and now I have lost 2 of those lures to lakers.. I have now changed my leader line hoping to get another shot at one in the morning.. Also had a big one hit an 8 inch golden shiner but couldn't hook after it run all my line off my tip-up.. Hopefully one of these bruins will be back in the morning and still feeding..