Twister jig rocks 'em again...

[smashingsmallies]

I'm in Ohio.  Spawn has been completed on my body of water.  The fish apparently had a varocious appetite.  I fished the Big Darby yesterday and landed over 40 smallies!!!  All but about ten of them were 17-20" in length.  It was mayhem!  Cast after cast, fish after fish and I laughed the whole time 'cuz nobody else was on the water.  I've gotten many tips/techniques off of this site and I look forward to employing those methods later on.  HOWEVER, at this time the 1/8 oz jig with a 5" twister does it again.  If you are or are about to fish smallies in a river or creek as the spawn ends, do yourself a favor and THROW A TWISTER!  At the time I was catching these fish I threw cranks, multiple colors, nothing.  I threw spinners and spinnerbaits, nothing.  I threw tubes and shaky heads and wacky style, nothing.  Put the jig back on and immediately, BAM! fish on.  I cast and pop retrieve with straitline retrieve mixed in and I KILL the fish this way.  This bite will be like this for me for the next 6 wks or so...bummer.  Whatever will I do?  Good golly miss Molly I love fishing.  Now, if I can grow a brain so I can post pictures, all will be well. Fish on.  John.

[River_angler]

I wack 'em all summer with a 5 inch grub and an 1/8 ounce jighead too.

[Crestliner2008]

The Sportsman's Show each Feb. at the Eastern States Expo Grounds use to have a vendor called the "Worm Barn". They sold a huge variety of plastic worms and curly tails - all by the pound! Hate to tell you how many pounds of curly tails I have in the spare room and attic! 

Great lure indeed.

[smashingsmallies]

Ha!  Nothin' like offering some candy and then snatching it away!  ;D  Do you or anyone out there have any contacts for bulk twisters or plastics in general?  :-/

[iceintheveins]

Few things work as well for smallies as a curly tail. I really like hula grubs and double tails too. The odd thing is tubes usually work well when curlies are producing, and I'm had days where curlies didn't work but tubes mopped them up when they wanted a more erratic action. Slip your insert jighead only halfway into the tube and it will have a really erratic action.

[bassnbtom]

I was having a rough time fishing lately, so I tried a similar  setup, and was able to pull in 3 tonight, which is good because usually I never catch more than 1 or 2. I also realized I would of probably caught more if I knew what a bite felt like. When I would pop the bait I would get this weird feeling that I thought was a tree or stick in the water, so I ignored it. Soon after the same situation happens and amongst my frustration I yanked on it to pop it over the log and boom it was actually a fish biting. So after I learned what it felt like I pulled in 2 more that same hour.

[smashingsmallies]

Getting the feel for the bite is paramount in numbers of fish.  I know what you mean by that dull weighted feeling.  A Smallie will either crack the bait or go into that dull feeling mode.  I know what the bite feels like, yet, it took me awhile to get back in touch with that feel and many fish were lost.  I can remember maybe a half dozen times this year I've started to snap my rod back several times to get the "snag" out.  After the "snags" started moving I realized I was an idiot and I had fish on. :-?

I fish twisters alot but I also always have on hand a rod with a tube jig, and a rod with a straight/stick worm and a bait caster for "other".  I would have more but I fish in a kayak and that ain't happenin'.  I've been on two bodies of water 7 times in 9 days and I've averaged 17-20 fish a day, and ALL were caught with plastics of some sort, and the twister out performed the others by far.  I fish the twister first and then make my adjustements to my plastic selection depending on where or how I'm gettin' the smallies on the twister...i.e., if I notice I get the bite on the bottom area, I immediately switch to the tube jig to work the bottom, even though I got the fish on the twister...works every time.  And those doggone sraight worms, or senkos weightless are just rediculously good around boulders and the first stretch of that shallow water just above a "run" or "rapids". 

The twister doesn't just get smallies...I get largemouth, catfish, crappie, saugeye/sauger and those doggone carp just about every time I go fishing.  Oh yeah, I rarely, and I mean rarely, get skunked.  I catch fish on the twister almost every time I go fishing...something so simple yet so productive and not fished regularly by the majority of the people leaves me scratching my head. 

I'm looking forward to the hot months so I can branch out on the other techniques I've learned from the other members on this site, but the plastic bite has been so good for me now I just gotta keep fishing it!

As for that bite, the flouro I've started using has put many more fish in the boat with it's sensitivity and low stretch-love it.  Fish on.  John.

[cax1]

what brand 5in twisters do you recommend? i can only find a few brands that carry them in that size Gary yamamotto and Kailin

[dabskie]

What color were you hittin them on,,,,,I never tried a 5 inch,,usually 2's 3's and 4's,,,they tell me what size they want.

[smashingsmallies]

I do throw 3 and 4 inchers as well, I just like the bigger presentation, sometimes I'll throw 6 inch twisters at them, although that means I go from 1/8 oz to 1/4 oz in anything deeper than 3 ft.  I'm one of those big bait big fish guys, although I've caught plenty big on small bait.  As for colors, I generally always use brown, green brown, pumpkin, watermelon, salt n pepper, white, and black can be devastating---and the colors often depend on the creek/river or even hole to hole.  I just throw alot of color at them till I narrow it down--dark colors seem to work better for me.

[Ontario Bass]

I have also had great luck using jig and grub.  I use 1/4oz chart jig and orange grub.  It's my go to bait when nothing else will catch.

[Crestliner2008]

what brand 5in twisters do you recommend? i can only find a few brands that carry them in that size Gary yamamotto and Kailin

Kalin grubs are the best I've ever found. I find the Yamamoto's are way over priced. Cabelas or BPS have quality tails as well. And don't forget to check out what Netcraft has available. You can get them in bulk there too. I've been using them for a lot of years now.

[Matt B]

Kalins are the only ones I buy at that size any more. Nice and squishy, the smallies love em.

[hotrod]

would somebody please post a pis of this curly tail worm? Is it simply that, any 5" curly tailed worm? Sorry but want to better understand. Thanks

[hotrod]

Also, how is it rigged, straight or weedless? Thanks

[Matt B]

Kalin's 5" Lunker Grub:

That big fat tail just wiggles like crazy when you retrieve it.

Mostly I only use watermelon color, although I just bought some white ones to try out.

This is how I rig them, just a standard round jighead.

Also a good way to fish with my wife, just troll them along riprap with an ultralight rod and catch smallies all day long. I've also caught walleye with them, and the smaller ones are my go-to for bluegill and crappie as well.

[hotrod]

thank you Matt. Much appreciated!

[smashingsmallies]

Hey Hotrod-I'm not sure if you literally mean a "curly tail worm" or if your talking about the "twisters" mentioned here. I call them twisters after the Mr Twister. I don't remember the last time I used a "Mr Twister" but I use jig bodies like it, and yes, when your talking 5" twisters, I'm sure you could classify it as a curly tail worm. I personally rig them on an 1/8 oz jig head--oh yeah, and MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING A LONG SHANK HOOK or you will not be happy with the amount of fish you lose. I thread the body on the hook, open hook, and I go from there--fish it like a minnow or a crawdad, vary your retrieves until you figure out what they want. As for the curly tail worm, I'm sure you could do the same thing with it, probably a heavier weight, depending on current and depth of course, and pop it or straight line it back, I just haven't done that yet, although I've thrown 6" twisters and half the body was the tail. Hope you get some fish--I HIGHLY recommend puttin' it in your arsenal. Fish on. John.

[smashingsmallies]

I've refined my jig fishing a little. After taking suggestions to use the football jig heads, I tried it right away and I LOVE it! I will now fish the football head jig ALL THE TIME over my regular 1/8th oz long shank hooks. To eliminate the exposed hook with the regular jig heads, I've DRASTICALLY reduced my "snag-ups". Now I can properly work that twister body both in the straightline retrieve, and now, I can, at all times, drop that jig down to the bottom and work it like a crawdad without getting the hook snagged, and I can work the jig head over the rocks. Something so simple, yet immediately improved my fishing. I WILL FISH THE FOOTBALL JIG HEAD EVERY TIME I FISH A TWISTER and I highly recommend others try it if you haven't. Thanks for the tip on this site. Fish on, John.

[hotrod]

Thanks for the info John!