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I've pretty well switched to all hand-tied jigs at this point, and the only time plastics are still preferred is dock shooting. I catch most of my fish waaaaaaay back under the docks, right at the limit of how far I can shoot them.
None of my hand ties will skip on the water the way a baby shad type bait will. Are there any patterns out there that will?
I fish a lot like you do. Hand ties don't do the job as well as plastics in this application.
It would be great if they did. Being shot under a dock is a rough life for a baby shad. A hand tie would stay together so much better.
Well I make a 1/16 ox spring collar jig that works holds up well with plastics, all be it a little heavy. that is the smallest I can I can make.
I have not tried but I wonder how well the Jelly jigs that Mike ( Ship Ahoy 41) makes would shoot. Being a hybrid on plastic and feather it may shoot well
My thought is ; depending on distance and clearance. If there is more than a little clearance and the distance isn’t too long, I can get by with a hand tie. I shoot hard and keep the line low to the water for as much of a line drive shot as possible. The baby Shad shoots well and will be tough to beat, IMO. I pitch a lot of 2lb braid and Itty Bitty swimmers and slab slayers on a 1/43 head and being so light, they shoot a good way under stuff and even skip a bit sometimes. But like I just said, they’re light and won’t carry as far as a 1/32 or 1/16. My favorite in TN was a 1/32 #4 and a baby Shad. Did well with them.
A paste type scent on the body of the jig will help, old timers used to use petroleum jelly believe it or not.
Otherwise, something heavy and compact will skip the best. Bucktail with chenille body work better than marabuo/kip tails.