Thread: Hook Shank Length

Very nice. Thank you for sharing.



I tested my latest jig designs today.




Kind of nice out there with it being about 55 degrees, light winds once the boat idled down. LOL

I was all set to test my new rod arrangement and it was pretty good. I was able to extend all ten lines behind the boat with no tangles. Turned 90 degrees and such and still everyone came out great. I was able to guide the fish into the back corner area easily enough and once there it was a quick lift and in.

Initially I had set out a nice spread of jigs of differing styles, sizes and colors. That changed pretty quick when it became obvious that they wanted my minnow imitation.




The top two jigs on right hand side. Again these were made with the Eagle Claw 571 jig hook size 1/0, and the Free Style head in the 1/16th oz size. Slabonator’s Hot Rod bait that was cut down in length to better fit on the hook.

The bite was slow today, but those two jigs caught all the fish.



There are changes due to seasonal transitions and I am playing catch up. The bladed jigs were ignored, as were the larger jig bodies I had been using. Even the thumper tail jigs were ignored. They wanted a sleek minnow.

Check out Mr Big Pants here.



He hit it like a champ.



The hook performed very well. Every time the rod indicated, a fish hit the deck. Once there they were unable to toss the jig like they do with longer shanked hooks. Those get pitched 3 times out of 4. Could be the barb, but I suspect it is more of a leverage type of situation. All lures tracked well due to the plastic being attached better. More aligned.

I was very pleased with the hook and wanted to try a different head with it. Once at home I poured up some new ones to use next trip.



These are Monster Green with Glow In The Dark powder paint. They glow nicely, too. 2 sizes here, the 1/4 oz and the 3/32nd oz in the Bat Jig design using the new EC 571 hooks in the 1/0 size. I thought a wedge shaped head might do better than the FreeStyle. I have skipped adding eyes and also the baking procedure. My jigs never get chipped and the fish don’t examine them checking for eyeballs or gill plates and fins and such.



Check out this profile.



Top is a Hot Rod on the 3/32nd sized head, and the one under that is a larger sized Hot Rod on the 1/4 oz head. They swim very sleekly as they go. The tail wobbles imperceptibly to me above the surface, but I imagine quite tantalizingly when viewed from below. This color combination has been popular with my fish all Summer.

I used the 3/32 size because I am cutting away the collar and figure it to be close to 1/16th when done. The 1/4 size because that is as big as it gets for that mold. I really like to have heavy jigs in kind of close, and light jigs back behind me a ways.

I fished the middle of the lakes a lot and the minnows school up and make their way along. Looks kind of hairy when you see them getting smacked around. I imagine these look like scattered minnows trying to find the school again. I really like the profile and while it may seem simple and silly, to me it is a big deal. I have created hundreds and hundreds of jigs, and now this is what I am down to. Dialing them in.

I got a report from a highly experienced fisherman and his teammate and they said the fishing was slow for them, but the ones they managed were nice size. It is so weird how all the fish seem to do the same thing, at the same time. They came up to chat some and then set off in a different direction.

Anyways I felt my take was good and they are cleaned up and in the fridge waiting for dinner tonight. She loves fresh fish and I her, so everything works out. I safely installed the new dryer as well, so I will get the Dat A Boy treatment tonight.

Can you tell I like that hook ?