[tallastro]

Ok, I've made my peace with the events of the weekend. Well, I guess I should back up a little.

Was fishing Jordan and not getting much action as I worked along the shore. The first cove was nothing but tiny little guys pulling the tail of the trickworm so I moved over to try the point some. Still nothing. Well, let's see if I can hook one of those little guys. I've been having lots of fun lately with panfish on ultralight gear, even found some ponds where they were fairly big too. So I threw out the little crappie magnet with a plastic grub. 6' from shore I thought it snagged the bottom, pull a little harder and, pop, it shoots out of the water and over my head. Was that a tail? Let's try that again but with a different color plastic, maybe I can fool him into biting twice. Two more casts and bam, thing takes off, drag screamin' but it turns back and I see a giant swirl and good size tail. Nice. This is great, I love fightin big fish on light... pop, empty jighead flys out of the water followed by another monster swirl. Dangit! Look at the hook, it's almost completely straightened. Dangit! It was still a good day. Saw eagles, osprey, hummingbird, and a black snake doing his best rattlesnake impersonation. I'm ok, it was a nice day.

Does anyone have a brand of tiny jighead with better hooks? I'm going to try hardening a few of the ones I have. Or go back to roostertails, never lost a fish on a bad hook with those.

Or maybe I'll just keep doing what I've been doing. Those slab bluegill haven't given me any trouble and I catch most of my bass when actually targeting bass with appropriate gear. It was only one fish. But I really wanted to land that fish, sigh.

 

[wademaster]

It's happened to me almost exactly like you described. I never seen the fish but it was taking line then all of a sudden i have nothing but a straightened light wire hook. It's a real pain.

I've fought and landed some nice fish on light stuff and it makes me wonder at times if it's the way it's hooked and the direction of the pull in relation to where you're positioned.

I stopped having that problem when I started letting the fish have a little more drag to pull.




Sent from my kayak...

 

[meenyt]

Yep, some of the tiny jig heads have crap for hooks. I got a hold of some that would break before they bent out. I bought some from a guy on Ebay a few years ago that work really well, but I don't remember who it was. Just have to keep experimenting, and have fun trying.

 

[Bleedingblue]

Check out punisher lures. They make float-n-fly jigs that have a pretty stout hook (note the hook will be fine for crappie but may be challenging for bluegill/sunfish). I've used these to land big smallies on light line. They come in 1/8 and 1/16. You can buy them unpainted and undressed.

 

[misterslowride]

Sounds like you might need to loosen your drag up some. I fish those type of lures on 4lb line on my ultralights with many brands of jigheads and only bend hooks when releasing the fish. Strike King from wally world are my go to jigheads, gamakatsu hooks in em.

 

[spidey]

man sounds like you had a good time at least. I have been using small jig lately on light action but so far nothing big has taken it. I usually am targeting bass so usually throwing big bait on big rods!

 

[ChltBnks]

Maaaan... I wish I had your problems Tallastro.

 

[tallastro]

Sounds like you might need to loosen your drag up some.<snip> Strike King from wally world are my go to jigheads, gamakatsu hooks in em.

I checked and it was still set pretty light. I've hooked plenty of logs and the hooks don't let go without putting my hand on the spool (but this was a new one, not a recycled one I straightened). It was probably just a very quick pull on a bad hook, in the bony lip on a big bass, and maybe the line caught on the spool. It was 6# braid and I thought I was being gentle. The fish just beat me somehow. It's ok. I'll be back and I'll get his photo yet.

I'll look at the Strike King and Punisher brands, thanks.

 

[catmaster]

After initial strong hook set...always loosin your drag....U can land huge fish on light line....for instance I caught a 33lb lake trout from shore on 8 lb test...and 10+ pound rainbows on a 3lb fly tippet.

 

[Neilslure]

Getting burned by big fish is a chance you take by going light.

 

[tallastro]

I've been burned with heavy tackle too. Those poor little fish chasing a lure twice their size. It's so sad. I'd rather miss a big one.

 

[ozarks transplant]

i'm pretty loyal to the bass pro brand when it comes to 16th-ounce jig heads. they'll straighten out a bit on snags, but i don't remember that ever happening on a fish, and i've caught everything from catfish and gar to the normal fish you'd catch on small twirly-tail grubs. i've used them pretty much exclusively for the past decade, and don't see any reason to change, not with the cost/quality combo. plus, the wide variety of colors is nice. (sheesh. that sounded commercial-ish.)

this might be being a little too cautious, but once a hook (any type, not just jig heads) gets stretched on a snag, i'll tie on a fresh one. have a little collection of once-stretched jig heads with the paint scraped all over my car. don't want to lose a memorable fish because i didn't tie on a new 15-cent hook, y'know?

also ... eagle/osprey/hummingbird/black snake in the same day? jealous. and ... the risk of being burned by going light is a risk i'm willing to take, because catching a big fish on light tackle is awesome. i caught a 29-inch carp at the lake of the ozarks on my bluegill rod when i was 14ish (well, my only rod at the time; remember when you didn't know any better? ha), and it was so much fun to see that rod bent over that i was hooked (ahem).

 

[Neilslure]

this might be being a little too cautious, but once a hook (any type, not just jig heads) gets stretched on a snag, i'll tie on a fresh one. have a little collection of once-stretched jig heads with the paint scraped all over my car. don't want to lose a memorable fish because i didn't tie on a new 15-cent hook, y'know?

Me too. If there is any chance of being bent, it gets replaced... I buy my worm hooks and trebles in bulk and keep them with me. If I bend one back and end up missing a big fish or money fish, I will kick my self hard and repeatedly.

 

[tallastro]

Chapter 2 - saw my nemesis again today between storms. Now I definitely don't mind losing the fish and understand how my hook got mangled so easily. It was a big bowfin. I got to see that dorsal fin waving as he closed in but pulled the lure away too soon and spooked him. I'll get him sometime but, at least, I didn't miss a PB bass. Whew.

The other news from today... my 9 yo son outfished me by catching 1 little bluegill before the storm ran us off. No help from me either. I couldn't be prouder.

 

[RouseD]

I haven't had much of a prob with inexpensive small hooks and jig hooks so far. I caught a small striper while fishing for crappie on the Trent River. It was large for the rod, reel, and line I was using. I managed to boat and release the striper with that hook. I did bend the hook trying to get the striper back in the water as quickly as I could. Great discussion on this subject.