what is the smallest hook size that can be used when pouring these super light jigs. Is a size 12 or 14 too small to be asking for
Printable View
what is the smallest hook size that can be used when pouring these super light jigs. Is a size 12 or 14 too small to be asking for
I use a 12 on a 1/100 work great up here in mid winter ice fishing when bite is tough
I will never understand using that small of a jig but that is just me. Take any hook and wrap it with some really fine copper wire and you have the same weight.
Smallest I have seen is a #12 on any size jig.
Want a lighter jig? Still only down to size 12 though.
Fly Fishing Gear, McFlyFoam, Glo-Bug Yarn, Micro Jigs, and Fly Tying Materials from Heartland Outdoor Specialties
How do you even weigh them?
Its not about wieght its about profile and finise.not sure i would want to use just a hook with wire wrapped around it ice fishing. the fish love those mini hair jigs.
I know alot of guys here have never ice fished its a totally different world. we use electronics and you can see a fish follow a 64 oz jig up and then just swim away when this happens you must downsize or catch nothing. I rarely have to go below a 80th but on those real tough days they wont hit anything but a 100.
in the summer i never have used anything higher then 1/16 and I know alot of guys up here dont either.
joe
I have number #8 & #6 regular bend in 1/80 oz and in my 1/64 I have regular bend #8 & #6 also in Sickle hooks I have #8, #6 & #4 hooks.
In the summer I mostly use 1/8 & 1/4 oz jigs and at night in the summer the same.
Skip
Well it wouldn't be on a jig hook but I understand that the intricacies of finesse fishing can be, well intricate.
I have fished with smaller flies so I know when size matters. It is amazing to see a 17 inch trout take a size 24 Adams when they won't hit a night crawler. It is even more amazing to see a 20 pound salmon hit a size 20 fly when one might question their ability to even see it.
I just figure it would be easier to make a fly with some weight on the shank to make them even smaller profiled than a tiny jig head. Add a bead and you have the same look too. Just learning here and adding my thoughts though. I realize that there is a reason they make jig head so small, they work. I want to get some just so I have that extra trick up my sleeve when nothing else seems to work even though the lakes rarely freeze here at all let alone thick enough to fish on.
Downsizing for steelhead is a different world here. When we downsize it is from a 1/4 to 1/16. If I could find a steelhead worthy hook in a smaller jig head I would have them for those days when they won't hit anything larger.
I think a #12 would be the smallest I'd use and that would be for trout and gills,not crappie.Smallest for crappie would be a #8.
VMC has a size #14 in their catalog. Shorty’s might have the 6147 #12 (got 2000 of these) on clearance (real cheap) - they sold out on the #10 and #8 – missed the boat on that one.
There are some guys out there that tie up some awesome UL jigs in the 1/80th – 1/100th size. One is Crappie Keith (think he posts on CDC but not in the jig making section) with T.H.E. jig – excellent craftsmanship. Another is Zig with the Zig Jigs. These guys are top notch tyers – real artists. If I didn’t tie my own I would diffidently have their jigs in my arsenal. Not too proud to say that some of their patterns have been copied…….
The best I could find for Gills was a pattern called a cap spider. Small jig heads and then a simply tiny body with some sort of leg material for a spider shape. Everyone using them say they are awesome and seem simple enough to tie up. Most were suing the 1/80 or 1/100 on #8.
The smallest jig hook I've used is some number 8's and they were tough to tie on. Other than that the smallest is a 6.
Fatman
#12 on 1/100 is the way to go.
well if i cant find any #12 I will just have to expand my search up to a #10 then #8 and so forth that for all the input and allot of good info as well.
will have to find one of those cap spiders and see what they look like sounds very productive
SMALLIEST ID USE FOR CRAPPIE ANY TIME OF YEAR IS #8,BUT USUALLY YEAR ROUND A#4... #1's,and#2'S W/ SICKLE WHEN HOT, AND HEAVY W/ MY 1/32OZ.thru 1/16OZ.ROUND HEADS"WHAT A MONSTER"!he"he""!!!
Real Gill Rippers"!!!lol"
I use jigs with #12 for bluegill all the time. Also some company like custo jige and spins, list their size as 12 but they are actually smaller than a vmc 12. Id love to get my hands on smaller sizes. When fishing is finicy and there are small fish around or heavily pressured waters the smaller lures really shine. I have some jigs poured on regular #16 hooks and they are deadly. Also when after trout these micro small that really resemble flies will out catch any normal micro jig my a whole bunch if you can get them in the strike zone.
DOC
I've found that a #10 hook on the 1/80th and 1/100th oz heads are far superior as far as hooking ability and in holding micro plastic baits in place without covering the hook point. Even on a tied micro jig, the gap between the ball head and the hook point is too small and many fish do not get hooked deep enough to hold them.
With a #10 Mustad 32751 Extra long shank, fine wire jig hook, that gap opens up to the point where your hook up ratio highly improves.
After watching hundreds of hours of underwater video, studying bluegill, crappie and perch feeding habits, I've come to the conclusion that the difference between the 1/100th and 1/80th jig heads are Zero when rigged identically or tied with the same colors. The difference between those two sizes and the 1/64th oz head is minimal at best and when a bluegill opens it's mouth, flares it's gills and sucks in a bait, it's amazing how big their mouths open up !
Through the ice, the size of the jigs between 1/100th and 1/64th really had nothing to do with the bite but color and presentation did every time.
Open water, I believe the size issue is even less of an issue.
I'm constantly experimenting and documenting what I find when fishing for bluegills, crappies and perch.
Winter through the ice, a 1/64th oz head with #8 hook and open water, a 1/32nd head with # 4 hook has been my most consistent over the years although, I'll go as big as the fish will take whenever I can !
robbor and DC
The VMC 6147 #12 is a very fine wire hook - something you might like. Can send you a couple if you want to check them out.
Saddle Tramp
Very imformative post - thnx.
My smallest buggers weighed 1/128 and were tied on a #12 hook. Really tricky when they are that small. I can't imagine working with a #14 jig hook although I'm sure some do and I'll tip my cap to those who do.