yeah let's definitely bring this back. what are you guys using to pitch creature style baits or trailers without jigs? i know most use an EWG hook and rig something like a beaver texas style with a worm weight. how are you pegging them? are you using screw lock bullet weights? the toothpick? bobber stoppers etc? i haven't really done this method yet and want to try.
Forgot to respond to this back when:
I've tried a couple different setups in terms of hooks and lures. I tend to adjust the weight and the hook based on the crap I am fishing: 3/8 oz and smaller if I am not trying to get through pads or mats, 3/8 oz and up if I am. For mats and other heavy cover, I have started using a straight-shank flipping hook like the BMF or the Trokar flipping hook. Where I am using a normal texas-rigged setup, I use an EWG worm hook of whatever brand I am currently liking.
I've been using bopper stoppers for nearly all the time I've fished either setup, and it's been great. Make sure you get a size that works for your line size. You want to be snug enough that it doesn't slide around all the time, but at the same time you do want it to be able to move. I find that when I fight a fish, the bopper stopper slides up the line, letting the weight move up as well. This gives the fish less leverage to throw the hook. I usually end up with the 8-12# test stoppers, since they work for nearly all the lines I use them the most on (30# braid, 12#-17# fluoro).
I haven't really done a lot of upsized weights on the setup, so it might slip a little more when trying to punch mats with a 1 oz weight. I'd imagine two stoppers or a smaller size should fix it, if that is indeed the case.
I actually have that jig kit that Tony posted from Bass Pro. Some of the jigs have little rattle things wrapped the 'neck' of the jig, right about where the band holding the skirt on is. Do these actually help? I've been trying to figure out these baits but haven't had much luck yet, so I don't know if the rattles are helping or hindering.
Got my first jig fish today. on top of that I topped my 4.5 lb bass personal record i set a few weeks ago. 5 lber on a 1/4 oz white bitsy bug jig with a yum money craw trailer. was caught within 5 minutes after arriving at pond and was followed moments later by a 4.5 lb bass by my bro throwing a black/blue hack attack jig
very nice, how did it feel? was it off of structure? did you have to work it off of a stump or a wall or any structure or was it on retrieve. i'm writitng a novel, lol
nice work man
1st off, Thanks!
here's how it went down... A nice long cast. I was fishing in about 4 feet of water. (from shore, i fish from shore 99% of the time). The first 10 feet out from shore was pretty mucking so i really wanted to get a nice long cast out, which was pretty easy with a 1/4 oz jig and fresh Stren braid. The muck that was hugging the shore extended in strips out toward the middle of the pond. So while I was not fishing structure like logs or trees I was trying to strategically throw the jig in between patches of muck/weeds so that I could work the muck without having to pull the jig directly through it.
On my third or fourth cast of the day was when it hit. The cast landed in a nice hole between the muck; I let it sink to the bottom. Jigged up and down a couple times, let it sink some more, then as it sinking I felt a really nice THUD, which was when I swung for the hookset. Then the fight began. Immediately the bass jumped out of the water trying to spit the jig, it was at this point me and my bro caught our first look at the fish. It took a good 3 minutes or so to reel this guy in. There was a point where I was just standing there letting em fight because he was trying to swim directly away from me. It was a great fight, one that I'll never forgot.
I've never really gave jigs a chance but I wanted to this season. So as the fall season has hit and I realize I still havent given jigs a chance I knew yesterday was the day. my bro swears by jigs and has the jig catches to back that up. I won't be overlooking them any longer, thats for sure.
so it felt terrific to answer your first question. It hit on the fall, there was no nibbles, just a slam.
This season I have decided to get into the pitching/flipping game and give the old jig a chance. So many people have caught their pb on it and I think I've caught one fish ever on a jig (never really give them a chance) So I've been reading a lot and searched all of the MAFF forums on the jig n pig. I'll tell you what...I read this entire thread. I laughed...I was amazed at the twists and turns...Johnny said he was writing a novel...all he had to do was copy this thread. I'm definitely the type of guy that likes to read a lot about a new technique or when I'm fishing a new lake or whatever but like anyone else, seeing is believing. Thank you all for your knowledge. I hope to use it. I hope to make it a confidence bait and lastly I'd like to thank you guys for getting back on track. I've gotten involved in spats in the past mostly by accident and they don't do any good for anything except maybe for me reading this thread long after it cooled down. You guys rock