Help required

[kevin white]

help required please,

i've mentioned before we don't have freshwater bass, the closest fish we have to them i suspose is wrasse, these are a similar shape to bass, live in the same hard to get at places, fight hard and bury you and your gear in the bottom structure or cover at lightening speed, they grow up to high single figures but mostly around the 3-5lb mark, the biggest problem in catching them on soft baits is they only have very small mouths for there size, with a big set of teeth designed for biting into crabs/ limpets/ small winkles etc.

the way we fish for them that seems the most sucessful has been dead sticking on 5-15gram jig heads depending on depth and current with either craws or stick baits, but the problem lies in hooking them, were only hooking up 1 out of every 8+ bites sometimes even less, so was wondering how you might approach this dilema.

all the best

kev

[BigBassin144]

It could be your jigs, your rod, or maybe even your line.

If the hooks of the jigs to too large to the fish's mouths, they obviously aren't going to get hooked very often. Now there are exceptions to this as I've caught a bluegill on a 3/0 live bait hook, lol. I don't know how heavy 5-15grams is (lol, we're afraid of the metric system over here, lol), but I'd try to get ahold of some walleye jigs. They come in 1/16 up to 1/2 oz and have smaller hooks than most bass jigs.

Next is the rods. If you're fishing really deep or with long casts and you're rods aren't stiff enough, you may not be able to get a good hookset. Again, I don't know how much 5-15g is, but if you can cast them on a 7' MH baitcasting rod, do it. If not, there are plenty of good 7' or more MH spinning rods that will throw light jigs and still provide enough backbone to set the hook good.

Finally, the line. This may be another solution to the under powered rod problem. If you use a line with little to no stretch, like braided line, you'll most likely get better hooksets. If the water is clear, don't hesitate to add a mono or fluorocarbon leader to the end of the braid if it gives you more confidence.

BB

[Bassboss]

Yup! I'm with Biggins on this one! Your jig (more specifically the hook), or and/or line.

The hook could be dull, try finding a good strong, sharp hook, like Gammikatsu, Owner, or Mustad ultra point (the favorite of salt water anglers around here!). Your rod could be to limber, or to short. a Stiffer rod could help set the hook into them better. A short rod will not give you a very wide sweet, and wont move the line as far as a longer rod. Try a longer stiffer rod. And last your line. If you're line is to stretchy, you can't set the hook very well. Try a good braided line like sufix or power pro! Or could not be your gear, you may try waiting longer after they bite.

Hope this help man!

[3dkicker]

Circle hooks.......

[kevin white]

thanks for the replies guy's,

jig weight 1/8 = 3.5grams

1/4 = 7 grams

1/2 = 14 grams

were mainly using 1/4 -1/2 oz for the wrasse because of the depth around 10 ft plus and to contend with current,

10lb flurocarbon straight through or 15-20lb braid with a fluro leader, rods anything from 7-8ft, tippy to feel the bites but good mid to low end power to get em out when hooked, i feel the main thing is hook size, maybe something as simple as a rigging problem or style of jig my self, but unfortunately we can't just go into our local fishing shops and buy ready made jigs, we have to buy molds or buy them over the internet etc,

what style of jig head design do you guy's use when fishing dead stick, line tie at 30 degree, 60 degree or 90 degree or doesn't it make any difference, as for hook sharpeness, i tend to sharpen up all the time due to the type of terrain these things live in.

all the best

kev

[Mac2]

I'm certain that Keith Okimoto who pours jigs at www.leadfreejigheads.com can help you out. He pours a wide variety of jigheads and provides excellent workmanship on all of his products. He is very knowledgeable about both saltwater and freshwater fishing and I'm sure he'd be glad to assist you. His email address is hawnjigs@yahoo.com

[Rebbasser]

Kevin-one thing that often gets overlooked is how sharp your hooks are. Many times right out of the package hooks are about as sharp as a Q-tip. If the point of the hook won't dig into your thumbnail with just a little pressure it needs to be sharpened.

[Bassboss]

These things like in around rocks right? Check out some football head jigs, that don't get caught up in the rods as much as others.

Your tackle sounds fine.

[kevin white]

Originally Posted by Rebbasser

Kevin-one thing that often gets overlooked is how sharp your hooks are. Many times right out of the package hooks are about as sharp as a Q-tip. If the point of the hook won't dig into your thumbnail with just a little pressure it needs to be sharpened.

thanks mate, that's just the way i do check them, make sure they dig in well in stead of just sliding across the nail.

as for the football style jigs, we can get them from our shop but the hooks are c*** they just bend out with the slightest bit of pressure.

been looking at getting a new jig mold from do-it-mold, i think it's called a weedless sparkie jig, anyone tell me if these would be ok for this type of structure and cover.

lots of boulders, thick weed cover, the jig looks like it has a 30 degree line tie so hopefully should be able to lift and swim through the weed etc, but i'm relatively new to jig fishing (2 years ) so still have lots to learn about what style of jig is better for what type of situation.

thanks

kev

[Cavs1123]

i would try smaller and sharper hooks.

[BigBassin144]

Kevin, if you're using jigs with plastic weed guards, this may be your problem. In a bass's mouth, there is plenty of room for the weed guard to be pushed down or out of the way. If the fish's mouth is too small, the weed guard may be inhibiting the hook.

Try thinning the weed guard down or cutting it off all together if the weeds aren't too bad and you can fish without it.

Or you can try something with a smaller hook, like a darter, mushroom, or even plain round jig heads.

BB

[Bassboss]

Originally Posted by kevin white

thanks mate, that's just the way i do check them, make sure they dig in well in stead of just sliding across the nail.

as for the football style jigs, we can get them from our shop but the hooks are c*** they just bend out with the slightest bit of pressure.

been looking at getting a new jig mold from do-it-mold, i think it's called a weedless sparkie jig, anyone tell me if these would be ok for this type of structure and cover.

lots of boulders, thick weed cover, the jig looks like it has a 30 degree line tie so hopefully should be able to lift and swim through the weed etc, but i'm relatively new to jig fishing (2 years ) so still have lots to learn about what style of jig is better for what type of situation.

thanks

kev

If you can get away this it, don't use a weed guard! No weed guard should help with hook sets if they have small mouth. As far as what kind, if they live around weeds and rocks, an I think an Arkie would be the best all around.