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Sorry guys, its me again. Instead of opening a whole new can of worms on an existing thread, I figured Id ask here.
When pairing a jig head to a plastic, are you guys matching the hook size to the jig head? Or are you choosing the weight more so to match your fall rate? Still a pain to find a jig head that matches a plastic just right with the weight and hook size. Thanks again for everything guys
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I like large hooks in my jigs, crappie have big mouths. I've caught them on large deep diving crankbaits bass fishing. The weight depends on how deep I'm fishing, wind also plays a role in weight selection too. I cast 99% of the time.
Ive always disliked the really large hooks that come in 1/4 oz. jig heads They never fit any of the soft plastic tubes or grubs that I like to fish with.
A jig head that I found that I have had awesome success with is the 1/4 oz. Bighead jig currently marketed under the Deep Ledge Jigs name.
What makes these so great is that they are 1/4 oz. but only have a #4 hook, the same hook as a 1/16th oz. jig.
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Don’t overthink it. The 1/16 jig heads at Walmart (painted or unpainted) work just fine on all
The 1.5-2.5” bodies. Pick a weight you want (and can cast well) and your favorite body and go fish. The will eat it.
Ive tried to force myself to think this way. I heard a talented bass guy say one time he throws a 3/4 ounce jig no matter if he was fishing 2 feet deep or 20. He said if a bass was going to bite, it was going to bite regardless if it was 1/4 or 3/4 ounce. I want to fish and think this way. But I keep confusing myselfQuote:
Originally Posted by Ranger690
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Sorry, I shouldve remembered what my 6th grade English teacher told us: Proofread your work.Quote:
Originally Posted by Auston22688
I screwed my question up. I meant to ask do you pair the plastic to the hook size? Or pair the plastic to the weight you want?
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I went to a 1/16oz jighead w/#2 Aberdeen hook, just because I started using bigger/thicker plastic bodies. And I still use those same jigs when putting a 1.5" plastic body on. I also have some 1/16oz jigheads with #4 hooks & they work just fine, except when using a thicker bodied plastic. Then the #4 hook can be too close (IMHO) to the top of the plastic body, that it may not stick into the fish's mouth. (example : I've had several occasions where the fish bit, and the plastic body got pulled down on the hook (& turned), which caused the hook to bury into the plastic body or get jammed up against the hook point to where the hook point was unable to come into contact with the fish's mouth.)
So, no .... I'm not matching hook size to jighead weight, rather matching it to the size of the plastics I'm using. But, yes ... I'm using the jighead weight for fall rate & for the depth I'm fishing.
Before having LS I was mostly casting a jig to cover & was using weedless jigheads in 1/32oz & 1/16oz, both of which I had made with #2 Aberdeen hooks. Were I to need a 1/32oz jig to fish shallower water w/LS .... I'd have no qualms about removing the weedguard and using them. Or I might even use them "as is" ... knowing I could get those jigs down into the cover and back out again more often than with a regular jig. (which I have successfully done, several times)
When I use plastic, it is almost always tubes. I use 2 sizes of Southern Pro tubes. The 2'' Umbrella tube on a 1/8th using #1 hook . The Little Hustler is a 2.5'' bait and rig it on a 1/4 oz jig head using 1/0 hook . I think using bigger hooks when it fits is best for holding big fish .
I'm glad I waited to read what some of the crew posted before giving my :twocents. Dothan is much further south, more like our style of fishing. The further south you get the fishing needs change a bit. Florida anglers mid state will fish different from us. I pour 1/16oz heads with #6 Matzou sickle hooks to 1/32oz with #2 Aberdeen XXFine wire Mustad hooks. Sink Rate is a important factor for us. Using Southern Pro's Original Crappie Stinger (I highly recommend) with the #6 Matzou hooks is a great Micro - Hot weather jig for presenting to finicky Big Blacks but depending on depth I change the weight. Heat of summer one year I will be fishing braid at 12ft, next summer the fish are 3ft but in shade. A heavy head won't catch like the lighter one will. Ketchn posted about three years ago now fish smaller hooks in heavy cover. As usual the rest of his post was the wraparound story. I picked the gold out of his post and applied it on Ross Barnett Fall fishing in heavy cover, well it works. My confidence in small hooks after that exploded to the point I only pour #4 Matzou Sickle & #4 Eagle Claw 570's or #6 Matzou Sickle hooks for something as small as Southern Pro's Original Stinger up to Do-It's 2-1/2in Fluke. BG Scent Wigglers on a #4 Matzou Sickle and I swing everything in the boat. Haven't had a fish come off the hook in years. If I can't see the jig in the fish's mouth I swing'em in. CrappiePappy is a very skilled Crappie angler as well as Nimrod, both gave you good advice but don't underrate Ketchn's smaller hooks as my full ice chests can attest to their lethalness to Crappie. Lastly, bend your hook out enough that when passing your finger over the eye of the hook towards the point it catches your finger. If it does not stick you after opening it up a little you have your hook buried too deep in the plastic body.
I really loathe a big hook , suggesting the ketch rate is higher with a big hook is bla bla bla , that is simply a fact , sure lots swear by it and say the proof is in the pudding , but I am of a different travel path for sure .
small hooks go deeper inside the mouth for sure on takes and to be VERY sure unless it bends out ,you can land a huge fish with a small hook .
now if the only crappie in the lake were all 2 lb plus fish , yeah I might use a bigger hook simply to match the monster plastic I would likely use .
but as we all know or can easily google and find out, the across the nation average size on a crappie is a whopping 9 inches ....
here in lies the issue , the more exposure a hook gap has in the water , the more likely it will ketch things that are not fish and on small plastics a small hook is the way to go to keep it all balanced properly ,so it acts more natural .
sometimes I use a number 4 when folks give them to me , I NEVER buy them ....number 6 and number 8 are my hooks of choice , with the 6 being king in my boxes of jigs ...
use what you want and ketch fish how you want , but NEVER underestimate how deadly a small hook is on herds of crappie .
4's & 6's on 1/16 & 1/32 ball head jigs or roadrunners.
casting with float, and without.
11 foot pole for dipping and teasing and vertical jigging.
might go to 1/8 in windy conditions & deeper water.
I suggest watching some of Richard Gene's oldest videos on youtube.
Sometimes when you see someone doing the same thing your doing, or maybe a bit different, it helps build your confidence. Time on the water, patience, fish slow, enjoy.
I caught a good bite a few months ago where I had marked some underwater brush a week earlier. put the anchors out about 30 feet away. pulled out the float and 1/32 jig head with a crappie magnet
and a nibble. I lipped and unhooked so many my fingers were raw when I got home. A man in his yard heard me and thought I was in trouble. I said "no sir, I'm good, I'm just having fun catching fish and laughing all by myself."
Where are yall from? The water gets so hot here that we have to downsize baits so the point, the hooks are bigger than the bait. Most all commercial jigs hooks are too big.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rojo
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I'm 4 miles north of I-10 in south MS. We have the same hot water. See those big fish I have been catching? Hot water, big shiners, 3-4ft deep this year buried inside horizontal wood structure large enough to provide shade. Micros these fish will not touch. They didn't get 16-17 inches long by accident.Quote:
Originally Posted by Auston22688
All of ours have been around 15ft. I cant keep live bait alive. Id love to fish big baits for some big fish. I cant seem to make it happenQuote:
Originally Posted by Rojo
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I pretty much only use jigs & plastics or hair jigs myself. I haven't been crappie fishing but a few years but for me around here where i fish in southern KY. all i use is 1/16 & 1/8 heads both round & minnow style. Depth & how active the fish are usually determine which one i use.
Strange, water temp here hits 90 and seems to speed up metabolism . They hammer a big bait .Quote:
Originally Posted by Auston22688
I say this, meaning Ive kept going down in size to get them to bite. Ive never had bigger baits to try honestly. You see these B.A.S.S. guys keep going smaller to get fish to bite. I reckon I assumed I needed to do the same thing. Ignorance on my partQuote:
Originally Posted by NIMROD
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In a perfect world you can have both....whatever hook size/weight combo you want to try i'm sure i can most likely make it within reason.Quote:
Originally Posted by Auston22688
I always fish 16ths on 4 pound yellow line. I need to make myself throw a lighter one sometimes just to get the slower fall. Guess that would help sometimes.
On my home lake the crappie can very finicky in the summer. I typically fish bridge pilings so hang ups are rare. I use 2lb SOS line with either a 1/16 or 1/32 jig head with size 6 or 8 hooks. My plastics are 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 in length. Many times those fish will touch anything over a 1 1/2 long.
JMHO - haha
BTW I agree with many of the above suggestions and observations, but here are a few to consider (forgive those repeated).
1. know what your fishing for and the odds of catching fish on large lures. I've caught crappie on 5.5" Kut Tail worms rigged on a 1/32 oz jig with #2/0 hook. The presentation determined jig weight, lure length and action which determined hook size.
Note: small lures are very capable catching very large fish as long as the hook penetrates when set and stays set as in the case of this chain pick. and white sucker:
https://i.imgur.com/Ln05cVp.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/tWQZgQc.jpg
and this little guy:
https://i.imgur.com/C6LciJX.jpg
2. Lure size always determines hook size in my book. A lure's action must not be diminished by a hook that's too long. Smaller lures require hooks that come out less than 3/4 the body length of the lure or less - not total length. The weight of the jig doesn't determine that choice.
In the example of the Kut Tail Worm, the hook comes out near the front, but still long enough for a good hook set:
https://i.imgur.com/W8qrILJ.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/SS55OyC.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/WWeOXnV.jpg?3
3. Depth fished and speed of retrieve - in combination - determines jig weight and lures used.
4. Lure action and size determine speed of retrieve which determines 1-3.
5. I always carry different jig weights and size hooks for each, knowing the hook gap of each. The fatter the lure, the larger the gap needed.
https://i.imgur.com/bKl1UbR.jpg
This:
https://i.imgur.com/Mhlkpod.jpg
versus this:
https://i.imgur.com/X5m6ZSj.jpg
There will always be differences of opinion and fishing forums present many. But I have done very well taking into consideration all of the above and realized long ago the variety of lures presented on Crappie.com catch just about any fish species and size fish in a lake or river. - but only as long as jig rules are followed.
I think the Bass get pressured alot . Could be different where your fishing .Quote:
Originally Posted by Auston22688
The lighter the line the faster they fall .Quote:
Originally Posted by Ranger690