Thread: weedless jigs

Originally Posted by Sovran

I am looking for plain weedless jigheads mostly in, 1/16 and 1/32. Where do you like to get them?

Custom made to your liking :

Paul Mullins - P&S Custom Tackle - Vicco, KY

Paul is known as "Grousefly" on this site & can be reached by PM.

Also ... email : [email protected]
ph#: 606 642 3167

I get my 1/32 & 1/16oz ballhead jigheads with #2 Aberdeen hooks and the Y shaped weedguard or fiber brush style weedguard from him. But he has many other styles of weedless jigs to choose from, different colors of hooks and weedguards, and you can get them painted or unpainted. Let him know you're a member here & you can get a discount on some orders. You can tell him I sent ya, but that won't get ya anything

I've been getting my weedless jigs from Paul since back around 2002 ... and I've always been happy with his work.

... cp

Thanks CP. I have sent him an email.

Arkie has them also.

Do weedless hooks not effect the hook up rate?
I'm scared to try them,

The arkie ones don't I used to use them a lot shooting docks but now I use my ties for docks.

Originally Posted by brettw

Do weedless hooks not effect the hook up rate?
I'm scared to try them,

Yeah, they do affect the hook up rate ... or more accurately the "hang up rate" as they keep you from hanging up as often as you would with an exposed hook jig. That, in turn, affects the hook up rate of the fish, because it keeps your jig "available" longer for the fish to grab.

I've used weedless jigs for 40+yrs .... starting out tipped with a minnow for Smallmouth fishing, then eventually using them with plastics, plastics/minnow, and tipped with a minnow (no plastics) for Crappie.

While there's no way to know if a fish refuses to hit a jig with a weedguard on it ... those that do are stuck by the hook point just as easily upon hookset. And while I generally hook a fish in the roof of their mouth, there have been occasions where the hook penetrated the membrane around the lips ... and the weedguard kept the fish from dislodging the hook through that gaping hole, even on momentary slack line, because the gap between the weedguard & hook point is a lot smaller than the gap between an exposed hook point and the body of the jig.
Personally, I can say with 99% assurance that I have not lost a fish due to the weedguard ... but have landed several that could have gotten off, had there been no weedguard.

And, no ... I don't set the hook any different or use heavier line, just because my jig has a weedguard. I've used weedless jigs with 4# & 6# test mono or copoly lines, on microlite to UL to lite power rods, and set the hook with the same speed & power, regardless.

My avatar photo is one of several that were taken of a 2+lb Crappie, caught on a 5' lite action rod - 4# test mono - and a 1/16oz weedless jig (fiber brush style weedguard). Here's another pic that might show things better :



... cp

I've used the Y guard for about 22 years. The guy I used to buy them gave me a price to make a thousand for me and a buddy. He delivered on a couple of hundred and then wanted to change the deal. I decided not to do business with him anymore, even though it was my favorite jig. That didn't stop me because I wound up buying my on pro melting pot from Do It and started making jigs for me and my buddy. With other jigs, you try to fish close to brush, with weedless jigs, you want to fish through it. If you hang something, raise your rod and jiggle it, many times it will come loose. Let it fall and get ready, I've caught a lot of fish that way.

I met a couple of guys who weren't having any luck and they sat and watched me catch several fish off a brushpile. I showed them how I fished it, went around and told them to throw their buoys beside mind so I could pick it up. I gave them a handful of jigs to fish and left. A couple of hours later, they looked me up to thank me. Then they did everything they could to talk me out of what jigs I had left. Try them, you'll love them.

I usually use #2 Eagle Claw, #2 Gamakatsu, and #2 sickle hooks. The Gamakatsu are more expensive, but are stronger and can be resharpened and hold an edge. I've fished with the same jig all day and caught a bunch of fish.

HA !! Bronson ... truth be known, I bought a couple dozen or so of 1/16oz jig heads with the Y guard, out of a sale bin at a small bait shop here in Lex., that was likely someones hand pour job .... and that would have been well over 30 yrs ago, by now. I used them Smallmouth fishing, tipped with a large minnow, down in Tenn for well over 10yrs ... then came to the point where I only had ONE left. I squirreled it away & started using Oldham's SureLock weedless Crappie jigs, up until Terry Oldham quit making the Crappie versions and just made the Bass versions.

Then, when I was soliciting tackle from the members here, for some C.c tourneys I was hosting, starting back around 2000, I got in contact with Grousefly. I liked his stuff, and asked him if he could duplicate that jig. He did, and I had him make me some ... used them & started many other members using them. A couple of years later, several other jig maker members started offering them for sale in their lineup.
I probably still have some of the original bunch that Grousefly made for me (w/#4 Aberdeen), but since I've gone from 1.5" hollow tubes to solid body plastics (up to 2+ inches) I had him make my last bunch with the #2 Aberdeen. Very satisfied with that hook size, and have it on both 1/32 & 1/16oz heads.

... cp