Thread: Deep water

This time of year I usually go with a 1/32 jig head, and add a couple of small splitshot about 10-12" up the line.I use a jig and minnow when the bite is slow.

I use a 1/16 95% of the time, wheter it be 2 or 30 ft. No additional weight added.
It is pretty slow and tough in the wind. I should add I am casting.

I'm pretty much with "Colayn" ... I use 1/16oz jigs as my primary bait, whether I'm fishing shallow or deep. If there's a lot of wind, I may still just use the 1/16oz jig, if I can still get it to the depth of the fish. But, if that's not the case, I'll add a #4 splitshot about 1' above the jig.

I can tell you this : I happen to have a 7' IM7 Bionic Blade rod / Shimano Spirex 2000 reel, with PowerPro 10/2 hi-vis braid. I normally use this outfit when casting Roadrunners, Whirly Bees, or other hard/metallic baits. I rigged it with a 1/16oz jig/plastic and put the splitshot on about 1' above the jig, in order to fish down in some deep brush piles. Even though the jigs are weedless, they can still get hung, and the splitshot offers a chance to bounce it loose ... as well as helping get the jig down quicker. While I was fishing, I was catching fish on another rod without the added splitshot ... even though the bite was kinda lite. When I switched over to the BB/SS/PP outfit .. I noticed a very significant difference. The bite was no longer "lite" ... in fact, it felt like they were slammin it !! The bite feel went from feeling like someone "touched" the rod, to feeling like someone dropped a rock on it All the while I was catching the same size fish, out of the same depth of water, with the same jig ... the only diff's being the stiffer rod & braid. When I was catching them with my regular casting outfit (with hi-vis mono), I was "seeing" the bite more so than feeling it (which is my preference, especially when it's a lite bite). But, when I switched over to the outfit with braid, I got a firsthand experience with what everyone calls "living for the thump" !!

Now, understand ... I tie my braid directly to the jig ... no mono leader. Even so, I saw no less willingness of the fish to take the jig. This was on a sunny day, in about 15-18 feet of water, on Green River Lake. I wouldn't be hesitant to use that same outfit & rig, in even deeper water (&/or shallower water) ... or even on any other lake I'd fish.

You do what you gotta do, to get your bait in their zone ... as long as "what you gotta do" doesn't interfere with the fish's sense of security/hunger. My experience tells me that colored line, and lead weights (6" - 18" above the bait), aren't considered by the fish as a deciding factor in whether or not they'll take the bait. If they were, I'd have caught a whole lot less fish over the last 55+yrs.

... cp

Have splitshots from 1/4oz to 1oz add as needed for depth and wind.

I must agree with crappiepappy and Colayn in gig selection. I prefer a 1/16 oz as my go to gig and add the lightest splitshot needed to reach depth. I fish with the Bass Pro Shops Crappie Maxx Mighty Lite Rod in 8' length with a 750 Crappie Maxx Spinning Reel. But I feel the real key is your line. I primarily use the Crappie Maxx Hi-Viz Yellow in the 4lb. test. I would also recommend S.O.S. Fishing Line in 2lb. test. Both are great products and the strongest lines I have found when comparing similar diameters. The 8’ rods really make casting the lure and fighting the fish on the light line a dream. My wife and I have caught crappie 2+lbs., bass 5 lbs., catfish 6 lbs. and an 8 lb. drum and have not broken one off yet (knock on wood). We primarily fish KY and Barkley Dams. Our favorite soft plastic is Wendell Shelton's split tails in silver body with pink tail and black body with blue tail. Shelton's jigs can be found at most bait shops around the dams.