Finally found a solution to being 'stumped' (snagged)

Weed guards for small jigs aren't practical. Bass jigs yes; small jigs no way. But more important than making a jig weedless, is making it less branch and stump snagging. I routinely fish stumps and close to submerged branches of fallen limbs over deeper water (4-6'). But almost 1/2 my cast end up snagged such that I have to troll over and free the lure using my rod tip. It's time consuming, frustrating and spooks fish in the area. So... here's something I came up with yesterday, that's not foolproof but does work a majority of time. I call it my ram horn wire design in that the wire is shaped line a curved ram's horn.

The first consideration of any weedless option is to make sure the hook gap is adequate between the hook shank and weed guard tip. The brush guard for bass jigs must depress easily when a basses jaws clamp down, but there can be no brush guard for pan fish because the feel of the resistance to bending down, makes them let go immediately. I use a very thin wire I attach to the jig hook shank and then form the guard as seen below:

https://i.imgur.com/uxc7qU5.jpg

The L wire holds the lure in place; the ram guard deflects wood and most weeds standing off bottom while at the same time allowing enough gap for fish to clamp down. As I said, it's not foolproof - occasionally snags happen and the wire must be adjusted high enough to deflect snags, but most times it's worked!!! It sure as heck did well yesterday even in open water.
Here are three of the dozen fish caught yesterday using the ram guard:

https://i.imgur.com/HwvaDsL.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/OmvT2Va.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wVU8N8z.jpg?2

I found that using slimmer lures worked best by allowing more hook gap between the lure body and hook point.

Fishing was tough because of an algae kill and stagnant water due to a drought, but once fish were found in an area of open water or under trees with branches and stumps, fish became aggressive enough to clamp down - many attacking the lures a few times on the same or next retrieve.

As you can see, I've rigged the guard on different jigs having different hook size and weights 1/32 and 1/16 oz. This covers lure speeds: crawl to medium. Once I got the hang of it, adding the guard didn't take much time, but regardless - well worth it!

I will respectfully disagree on weed guards not being effective on small jigheads, based on my use of them. Grousefly' brush guard and "y" guard heads on a 1/16 oz #2 lets me fish the nasty stuff.

Glad that works for you .... but, I'll have to agree to disagree on your contention that weedguards on small jigs are not practical. I use 1/32oz & 1/16oz weedless jigheads, almost exclusively, and haven't had a problem with fish rejecting them.

When I first started with weedless jigheads, I was using Oldham's Sure-lock weedless Crappie jigs (no longer made). They had a very thin wire loop that tucked under the hook point to make them weedless. They worked very well on the Smallmouth Bass & Crappie that I was fishing for, at that time. But, the downside to the thin wire was that it bent out of shape very easily, or easily broke after bending it back into shape a few times.
Then I discovered the Y-guard weedless jig, custom made by a unknown local. Once I ran down to having only one of those left, I sent it to Grousefly to copy it (about 15yrs ago) and have been using his Y-guard and fiber brush guard style weedless jigs ever since. And in fact ... the 2.75lb Crappie I'm holding in my Avatar pic has a fiber brush style weedless jighead, made by Grousefly, in its mouth. My original order from Grousefly was for 1/32 & 1/16oz ballhead w/#4 Aberdeen hooks (which worked fine with the thin plastic hollow tubes and Panfish Assassin Tiny Shad plastics that I was using at the time) ... then I started using larger/thicker bodied plastics and had those jigheads made with #2 Aberdeen hooks, to allow for greater gap between the back of the plastic body and the hook point. I haven't had any problems with fish rejecting the bait on account of the weedguards, and have caught Crappie (& other species) on them ranging from around 4" long to well over 14" long.

This may sound crazy...but the sickle hook sharpness I think is the reason a lot of jigs get hung. Does this make any sense to yall?...:dono

I think the OP idea is very creative ...

I make my own similar minner hooks (un-weighted) ...

Rickie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crappie cowboy

This may sound crazy...but the sickle hook sharpness I think is the reason a lot of jigs get hung. Does this make any sense to yall?...:dono

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All hooks get hung for the same reason ... the point is allowed to come in contact with an object, and the angler tries to yank it free, pull it free, jiggle it free, etc. and all the while all they're doing is burying the hook point deeper into the object. Occasionally, the hook comes free, because the object it's in contact with isn't strong enough to hold it (think waterlogged bark or branches) ... and even less frequently because the line strength is greater than the hook strength and the hook bends out (relieving the pressure on the hook point).

The tendency of a sickle hook to get/stay hung is less towards its sharpness and more towards its bend shape being less flexible than hooks with the normal C shaped bend. IMHO

When a jig is being pulled thru the water, the hook is pointing upwards ... but when the jig is pulled over an object, then the weight of the hook point section of the hook will cause the jig to "turn" (trying to turn upside down). That puts the hook point in contact with the object the jig is being pulled over, causing it to stick into the object. That's the main point in the purpose of having a weedguard, so that the guard keeps the hook point elevated just far enough to allow it to clear the surface of the object and have the jig slide over that object and continue to come towards you with the hook point, once again, pointing upwards.

I've fished with jigs whose hook points were basically blunt, either from having been broken off or pulled against metal or rock often enough to destroy the point ... and I've caught fish with them, and I've also hung them up ... which is why I don't think the "sharpness" of the hook has that much to do with the reason it gets hung. Just my :twocents opinion.

Hey...That's why they are called hooks".

Pappy, do you have a source you could share for those jigs?
You've inspired me to again try another weedless design I came up with five years ago. I did catch bass on it but didn't use it for pan fish.

Attachment 276414Attachment 276415

The wire has enough spring to keep the loop beyond the point and stumpless, but compressible enough for a fish strike.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spoonminnow

Pappy, do you have a source you could share for those jigs?
You've inspired me to again try another weedless design I came up with five years ago. I did catch bass on it but didn't use it for pan fish.

Attachment 276414Attachment 276415

The wire has enough spring to keep the loop beyond the point and stumpless, but compressible enough for a fish strike.

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Unfortunately, those jigs with the thin wire loop are no longer being made by Oldham's ... but there are jigs with similar single wire guards to the one in your picture. I get all my weedless jigs from Grousefly, but there are other jig maker members that could probably make, or do make, many of the same styles as he does. Here's a picture that I got from Grousefly, showing the different versions he makes, above a picture I took showing the Oldham's Sure-lock that I was using prior to getting Grousefly to copy the Y-guard jig for me:

Attachment 276416Attachment 276417

Grousefly may have added new versions since this picture, as the picture is quite a few years old. :dono

The ones I use, that I have him make for me, are the top row center (brush style) and center right (Y-guard style). I still have a few Oldham's, squirrelled away somewhere in my tackle collection.

Thanks.
Mine should work for larger fish that have enough clamp power to depress the spring as well as a mouth large enough to clear it initially.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spoonminnow

Thanks.
Mine should work for larger fish that have enough clamp power to depress the spring as well as a mouth large enough to clear it initially.

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My partners and I are constantly catching Bluegill and other species of Sunfish that are less than "hand-sized" ... even when using the weedless jigheads with #2 hooks, and even more often when using the ones with #4 hooks. But, we're not in search of "just fish" or a "variety of species", we're fishing for Crappie ... and even the 4" ones are very capable of being caught on either one.

And remember, the fish doesn't have to "clamp down" hard enough to depress the wire, just get the hook point inside their mouth and hold it there long enough for you to set the hook ... the wire will depress from that (hookset) force, alone. A "fast" snap hookset will generate several pounds of pressure at the hook point, instantly, and that should be sufficient to bend the wire away from the hook and drive the hook point into the mouth of most any fish.

Can't wait to give them a try in different hook and weight sizes! Part of my ongoing interest is what works best - lureology/lurecraft if you will - involves the range of hardware that can be matched to fur, hair or soft plastic lures. More and more, I'm finding decades old assumptions disproved - like the weedless jigs you just mentioned getting bit by fish of all sizes.