Printable View
I've caught some nice bluegill when fishing deep for crappie. I was wondering how those of you who fish deep with tiny jigs do this. Do you drop shot and use a loop knot for your jig? (I use a trout magnet, 1/64 oz.)
How heavy a sinker, 1/8, 3/16th, etc. do you use?
Do any of you use a slip sinker with a swivel or add a bead between swivel and slip sinker?
If you have a more effective way of catching them deep, please share.
My deep-water rig, which is my main rig this time of year, is a Thill center-slider slip float, then a 1/16 oz. bullet slip sinker, then a single BB split shot, then about 18" below the split shot a #6 aberdeen hook. I use a single live red wiggler hooked only once (not threaded) through the nose so it can freely move about in the water. I don't use a bobber stop, so the bait will be on the bottom no matter what depth you're fishing; but when a fish takes the bait, the movement of the line still moves the float. Sometimes the float just bobs as the line moves through it; more often, it goes under. Very deadly rig.
I fish the Trout Magnet almost exclusively. Last fall I started using a jig head made out of tungsten. The jig was made with a 5mm tungsten bead on a #10 hook. It will change the way you fish in deep water with that lure for Gills. You can almost double the weight of the Trout Magnet head and still maintain the same small profile. I just recently got some jig heads made out of a 3mm bead on a #10 hook. I will throw that with a new Gill rod I had made by tnpondmanager. Tungsten gets down pretty quick....unlike a Trout Magnet head. If you wait on a 1/64 ounce lead head to get down to 30 feet you will be waiting all day. It has been extremely productive for me.
Regards
I need to try that this year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphahawk
Quote:
Originally Posted by deathb4disco
Fishing with small tungsten jigs literally opened up whole new world for me and light line fishing. Was just getting into it when the knee went out and had a replacement on 7 January. But am just about ready to get back out to my good spots. For those reading...be warned.....fishing with tungsten can be addictive....LOL. It is expensive but the feel when a Gill or any other fish hits it is like someone slapped you hand. In warm water I will use lead but for cold weather....deep fishing.....it cant be beat.
Regards
Where do you get them and how much do they cost? Do you lose a lot fishing them on the bottom? Do you use a float? If not, do you let it sit, keep moving it back slowly, etc.? Definitely interested in giving this one a try.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphahawk
Looking forward to trying it. Do you find more fish just off a drop or the anywhere where the water begins to get deep? Do you ever move on top of the drop to catch them or are they almost always deep? Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by tnpondmanager
I don't own a fishfinder. I'm wanting to get one, possibly this year, but the past few years all of my dough has gone into the ponds I guide on to get the bluegill in them monstrous. Ninety-five percent of the time when I fish for bluegill it's in ponds, and I've never had a problem finding them in a pond without a depthfinder. I do however still pay close attention to depth and bottom configuration; for instance, one of my best ponds, a six-acre one, has a large flat that averages about four feet deep, that also borders the deepest water in the pond (41'), and that flat typically holds fish from April through September. There's a small point of sorts that borders one end of the flat just before the water plunges into the deep hole where the 41' is; often this time of year I find the big bluegill in that pond on that point, or sometimes they're in about 20' of water in the deeper area near the 41' hole.
In the late fall when the water temps are in the fifties I use a 1/8 once #6 hook jig tipped with power bait. The gills last fall were in 25 to 28 FOW.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bronson
I slow troll at 0.5mph or vertical jig.
Attachment 120319
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bronson
If you fish UL and want to get a small profile jig down deep you can use tungsten as it is 1.7 times the weight of the same dimension size of lead. I have jig heads in the 5mm and 3mm size. The 5mm is a little larger than a Trout Magnet head but it feels like an anchor on the end of an UL rig with 2# test line. The 3mm is slightly smaller than a TM jig head but is almost double the weight. If I wait for a TM jig head to get down 30 feet I will be waiting all day. I only use them for deep water situations. For shallow or suspended fish I stick with the 1/64 ounce lead TM jig head. Time is not an issue in 6 feet of water and I don't want my fall rate to be that fast when fish are shallow or suspended. So I can keep my small profile I want and can almost double my weight. I will always use lead for shallow as it is far cheaper and I don't want to lose anymore tungsten than I have to. The stuff is expensive. My "naked jigs" cost me a dollar each for the 5mm and a friend made me some 3mm for 50 cents each. As to where you can find them that can be tricky. ebay is a good place sometimes. In talking with several bass anglers they tell me they use it in a tournament situation only. A tungsten worm weight can be as much as eight dollars. I can attest that you do get superior feel with the stuff. The stuff is so dense it really transmits the bite up the line. People have asked me why I just don't use say a 1/16 ounce lead head. I would lose the small profile I want and as far as I can tell you can't buy a 1/16 ounce lead head with a #10 hook. My last batch of 3mm were made for me and the beads are put on the hook with epoxy. I have thought about doing my own but will need to buy a fly vise...and other tools I guess. Hope that has helped some.
Regards
Alphahawk, thanks for getting back with me on this. Definitely sounds like you have a good system for deep gills. I understand the need for lower profile. Please let me know if there is a website where these can be purchased.
Thanks again.
This the problem......where to find them. I got into this after reading an article from In-Fisherman Magazine. They listed a place that sold tungsten jigs made as we would use with soft plastic. I ordered 50 bucks worth. I still have some of them. I tried to order some more from same place and found out they had gone out of business and from what I was told took a lot of peoples money....after In-Fisherman singing their praises. In the late fall......before my knee went out..... I was using them in 30 feet of water and catching tons of nine inch Gills. During my recovery time I have spent hours trying to find some more with the size hook and design we could use the Trout Magnet on. I found some that will work fine and bought them off of ebay. They are on a #12 hook and I have already tried them. While they are not what we are used to they get the job done. Here is the link Tungsten Ice Jigs 5mm Diamond 10 Pack | eBay
I am in no way affiliated with this seller. If you find where to get some please let me know. I have enough to get me into early summer but then I will be out.
Regards
Best bet for tungsten is to find an ice tackle supply outfit. Also try custom jigs and spins.
Quote:
Originally Posted by toofuss
Ice tackle shops have plenty of tungsten jigs...at about a two and a half dollar price tag. The shop I had been using made the tungsten jigs that were just like a normal looking ball head jig. It was suitable for small plastics....tubes and such. As I said a friend made my last bunch and those were 50 cents each. A dollar each is about as high as I can go for a jig head. I am seriously considering buying a vice and then buying the beads and hooks to do myself.
Regards
Look a little harder there are some to be had around the 75 cent mark. Trouble will be finding ones with a large enough hook. But i do agree buy as many as u can for 50 cent apiece.
Last summer we stumbled onto a method for catching pretty big bluegills in a deep river channel. While trolling the Tennessee river for catfish on a standard catfish rig, we had to move out of the way for a barge that was going up river. Once he passed we got back out into the channel and immediately started catching huge bluegills. The tug pushing the barges had churned up the bottom and the bluegill congregated and started feasting on anything that got stirred up. We simply had worms on the catfish rigs, and they were hammering it. Now, what used to be an annoyance every time a barge passed thru is like happy hour on the river!
How is he making with beads?Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphahawk
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluetick1955
He is using 2 ton epoxy and just sliding them over the hook and letting it set up. It's really the only way to go and not pay a fortune. They work good. You can buy the beads in different sizes. I like the 5...4...and 3mm size. I'm addicted to tungsten....LOL.
Regards
These are just Fly tying beads? How can you tell the weights? I was looking and didn't see any listed. A lot of those beads are countersunk so not sure how to judge. Are they all kind of uniform weight. :donoMe no fly tieing experience. Or do ya stick to one brand, like Lucent...
Thanks . Was wondering :bash
There are some interesting (newer) tactical approaches in this thread for catching deep water gills (for sure). I've always had good luck just casting a carolina rig baited with red worms on a 12 to 24' leader line and just bumping it along the bottom much like you do when fishing a carolina rig for largemouth bass. I never knew there was any bait presentation better than that one.
Call me crazy, but I spider rig for gills, the same way I do for crappie. I can run my baits within a foot or two of the bottom. I use popeyes tipped with a wax worm. The best part is the occasional crappie will take me up on my offering. It's big fun hitting the deep water gills in the summer as well. The hotter, the better.
That's crazy! (Sorry, couldn't resist.)Quote:
Originally Posted by missedafish
I use slip corks, type that line passes thru the center and a rubber bobber stop that Bass Pro Shop sells (48 on a yellow plastic tab with wire loops you put the like thru and pull the rubber stopper onto the line). They cost $1.48 per tab. No need for beads. Add the propper amount of weight for float to ride upright and adjust the depth by sliding bump up the line(wet line is easier to slide).