Is a 1/32 jig small enough for bluegill or should I be using a 1/64, 1/80, etc?
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Is a 1/32 jig small enough for bluegill or should I be using a 1/64, 1/80, etc?
When gills are the primary target, I use 1/64th with #8 hook. If crappie are mixed in, I frequently start with 1/32nd with #6 hook.
... is my standard bluegill bait, but I have caught a lot of gills on a:Quote:
Originally Posted by Badgerloader
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Originally Posted by Badgerloader
Would you throw a crappie nibble on a 1/64 for bluegill?Quote:
Originally Posted by Badgerloader
When I tip a jig, I usually use bait (wax worm or mealworm.)Quote:
Originally Posted by SwampFisher
I am using a 1/64th round jighead or a 1/64 road runner with a trout magnet or a 1" dark curly tail grub for bluegill. I have not had to use any additional bait. That said I am not opposed to adding a wax worm or a red wiggler to the jig.
I will be using jigs smaller than 1/32 for the first time this year . I hardly ever target just bluegills/red ear . When I do it's usually with a fly rod . I have never used line smaller than 4lb. either till this year . We shall see .:popcorn
For BG, I use 1/64th jigs with nibbles, Mostly in black or other darker colors. Work great.
For soft plastics 1/32 , except Trout Magnets and 1" curlytails get 1/64 .
For my tied stuff , I use 1/80 , and 1/100 a lot , a few of my tied bugs are on 1/64 , but not many . Tried tipping with crappie nibbles and it didn't hurt , but I'm not sure it helped . I hardly use them . Gillchaser
On 2# test line I cast a 1/64 ounce Trout Magnet more than 95 percent of the time for bluegill. It has served me well....but I would use whatever catches you fish. I have fished with as heavy as a 3/32 ounce jig head #6 hook and had steady results. This past spring I tried a lure that was fished on a 1/8 ounce jig head with a #6 hook. I was shocked at the results. I caught a ton of bluegill with it. It is a Midnight Blue ThunderHawk Dancer......a two inch long paddle tail. I thought it was way too big to catch a lot of Gills...but I was wrong. The Gills flat killed it. When I found out that Leland's Lures was discontinuing it my nephew and I bought 350 dollars worth of bodies and jig heads and split them up. The lure was not even on the market for a year. I fished it in many bodies of water and the results were same. The reason I brought this up is even at age 65, and catching thousands upon thousands of Gills I am still learning. While I still believe smaller is better for catching Gills there are other ways besides going small.
Regards
Get any bass with it?Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphahawk
Yes I did. I bought them thinking it would be a great smallmouth bait.....and that it is. I was surprised it really produced for bluegill. Largemouth love it too.....and that's a problem for me. I hate hooking into big largemouth with 2# test. It's also a killer for white bass....which was no surprise. It is really a great all around bait. I also got a lot of the 1/16 ounce jig heads to go with it as I will use them more than the 1/8 ounce. I took the guy that designed this lure to Dale Hollow to fish for Smallies....he had never caught one. As a matter of fact he had never fished until then. He is from China and is a big producer of soft plastics for Daiwa Europe.Quote:
Originally Posted by deathb4disco
Regards
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I do but i tear the nibble in half. Thats all you need.Quote:
Originally Posted by SwampFisher
Alphahawk - i have become hooked on 1/64 ozs jigs for BG and RE's, solely because of your posts. Normally, I used crickets or red wigglers in the past. Now my go to is a 1/64 jig, 2# test and a magnet or 1" plastic of some sort. Thank you. At 66, I am still learning too.
Thanks for the comments. I love fishing with the Trout Magnet.......it just simply catches fish.Quote:
Originally Posted by cricket george
Regards
In the lake I primarily fish, I've had great luck with 1/16 and 1/8 beetle spins on 4 lb line....I don't think I've ever fished below 1/16. Have to try the smaller ones...
You can also look into ordering custom jigs in weights that you are looking for on ebay or other custom jig sites. I use a 1/32 oz ball head #8 sickle hook a lot, and even ordered some 1/16th oz ball heads on #8 sickle for tightlining tiny jigs deep 8-14' deep. To be honest though, a #6 hook isn't far off from that size and BG have no trouble eating hooks that size.
Bobby Garland also has a 1/48th oz #8 that I think casts better (maybe much better) than the 1/64 oz.
Once you get to 1/80 oz and smaller, casting really becomes an issue.
Casting may be an issue with the smaller size but a 1/64, or 1/80 slowly falling in front of a fish garners a lot of attention. A reel spooled with 1# or 2# test NanoFil will take care of the casting problem also. I have a lot of 1/48....1/24....1/32......1/16....and 3/32...with #6 and #8 hooks for when I need to go deep.
Regards
Agreed, that slow drop through the water column is irresistible.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphahawk
For some reason, I'm not able to edit my previous post, so I'll just add this. Other than my dad, nobody has influenced my jig fishing as much as the late Charlie Brewer. If you read his book, he talks a lot about the advantage of light baits. He experimented with different jig sizes and their fall rates. From my experience, I think you can really increase your catch by going with lighter jig heads.
I know about casting small jigs, I tie 1/80, 1/100, and 1/124 oz jigs with nymph patters similar to flies for fly fishing for trout fishing with on 2lb and 1lb line. They are also killer for bream, but I wouldn't say they are a make or break piece of tackle for panfishing, just another tool that can work.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphahawk
A 1/80 oz jig hook is about perfect for slow falling a cricket into place though. :biggrin
do you still get a slow fall on a 1/80 with a split shot to cast?
No split shot.
If I need weight I use a cork/bobber set at depth.
I use 4lb as my main line constantly. If I feel I need lighter line than that for fooling fish, I tie on a 2-4 foot leader, and that's only when I'm trout fishing clear streams.
You can put one size "B" split shot on and still get a pretty slow fall rate. Of course a 1/80 will just hang in the water column. Depends on how deep you are fishing if you want to add the extra weight. Though even adding a size "B" to a 1/64 it will take a very long time to get it down to 15-20 feet.Quote:
Originally Posted by SwampFisher
Regards
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No I am fishing less than 5-6' of water with the tiny jigs. Spawning beds and shallow flats.
If I intend to fish deeper water I use a heavier jig head 1/32 down to 8 feet deep or 1-1/6 with a size 8 or size 6 hook down to 14' or so. I go to a drop shot deeper than that.
I normally fish in really shallow water. If I put on the split shot a ft or so above the 1/80 jig, would that help the cast without pulling down the jig too fast? Or, should I keep the split shot 4-6 inches above the jig?Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphahawk
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Originally Posted by SwampFisher
Depends on how big the split shot is. I prefer a bigger jig to the jig/split shot combo, though.
Another option is two small jigs.
I use one and two inch slider grubs on the same 1/32 road runner style bait . Have been using only Stren 4 lb. original clear blue . Catch plenty of gills and red ear . This one took a two inch white with a pink tail .Attachment 258366Attachment 258366
I like the panfish/trout magnet lures with the float May by that company. Been using the set up a few years now. I like bison tail gold jig. Pink jig chartreuse tail or red jig green tail. I put a crappie nibble on now and then to. I catch as many crappie on the small tails as the crappie size too. I get bass cats walleye and tropical fish on them when in Florida. I have a crappie magnet bag in my panfish life supply. That bag is always with even when I bass fish they work that good. I watch the infomercial many times it's that good