Jigs For Mass?

[Jigfishn10]

Hey guys, just wanted to get your opinions on this tungsten jig:

Tungsten bullet head with a Gammy hook. Here's what it looks like naked:

Sorry for the bad pics. Any thoughts?

[J Francho]

Hook is too light for anything I'd flip. Otherwise looks fine. I wonder about that loop getting fouled up. I see what you're trying to solve here. It's a start.

[A-Jay]

Look at you !

Nice work - looks stury enough for a "casting" style bait.

I'd recommend attaching various line tests and types (braid & flouro) to the bait and someting solid.

Then conduct a little R & D to find out where the weak link is - the hook, the rig/ring and at what lb test the rig would detach from the hook.

Better to find out "on the bench" rather than on a Hawg.

Additionally, please observe All Saftey Precautions. (that was my disclaimer)

A-Jay

[A-Jay]

btw - If you were looking to drop a hurt bomb,

you could kick that hook up to something like the Owner Wide Gap Plus

or that Laser Trokar Flippin hook - that thing is like a Gaff !

A-Jay

[deaknh03]

Killer idea, I like the loose jig head like that. I have some older ones, I forget the name, but I found them and bought the whole rack.

[Jigfishn10]

I think you're right on, JF, about the line tie, but I think I have a solution to that problem. I had about 1/2 hour to work on this before I had to head out the door, so the choice of hooks and whatnot was really what I could get my hands on first. I think I'm at least on the right track and will have to perfect this a little more. Please keep suggesting ideas. This idea was something that popped in my head and I wanted to get it started before it went to the black hole.

A-Jay, I will be looking into those hook ideas, I think you're onto something there. I do like the fact of using the worm hook, so I can rig the trailer weedless.

Derrick, if you have one, could you post a pic?

Thanks for your replies guys. A lot of good ideas here that I like, but like JF says, it's a start. This whole lead ban law really hurts, it takes away a lot of structure/cover specific jigs away from us.

[J Francho]

How about an R bend at the top, and run the tag end back through, and do your barrel twist behind the sinker.

[Jigfishn10]

I was thinking the exact same thing JF without the barrel twist. I was thinking of taking a page out of a Mepps Aglia book and doing what you mentioned and running the tag end back down the sinker, but instead of barrel twisting, just bend the tag at the bottom of the sinker and clip off the excess.

See the tag end sticking out of the brass and red lure body? Keep it simple.

Thanks for posting your idea. Every litte bit helps.

Thanks again.

[Jigfishn10]

Well I tore it apart and built again. It's getting there, but 1 more refinement is needed.

[deaknh03]

The one I was talking about us called The Topper, it has a split ring under the head so you choose the hook, and allows it to swing.

[Fishing Rhino]

Put a couple of bobber stops on the line. Then run the line through the bullet head sinker, and tie it to the hook. I did that a couple of years ago to allow me to rig worms, lizards or whatever weedless which I cannot do with the Jackall Wacky Jig Heads or the Buckeye Flick It jig heads. It also allowed me to slide the bobber stops and change it from what amounted to a Texas rig into a Carolina rig.

I suggested two bobber stops because I use six pound fluoro for most of my fishing and a single bobber stop just does not hold its position on the six pound line very well.

I also used the Gamakatsu wide gap hooks with the plastic weed guards to fish wacky in the thick vegetation. I didn't use it much this past year, but plan on using it a bit more in the coming season.

[J Francho]

That is just a pegged t-rig, and doesn't solve the durability of the knot, or the knot getting twisted into the gap issues. My late friend Roger used to make a similar jig. I really wish I paid more attention to how he made them.

Let's see the updates, jf10.

[Fishing Rhino]

I don't understand how the knot can get twisted into the gap on a hook. I can see it happening in the wire connector that passes through the sinker as it is presently configured. I have found the knot to be quite durable since the bullet head protects it from getting chewed up by a rocky bottom. If the sinker itself abuses the knot, then a bobber stop between the sinker and the knot would take care of that.

[J Francho]

I don't understand how the knot can get twisted into the gap on a hook.

Just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Why else would they come out with hooks with welded eyes, like the BMF?

[Jigfishn10]

Here's the second version. I was able to get rid of the wire turns at the top, but this time around I underestimated the bottom a bit, so the yellow, is chenille which fills in the gap...LOL

I'll try and post final bait later this afternoon.

[J Francho]

Looking good!

[POPRG]

Nice jig alternative..try a couple drops of craw/garlic flavor on the "chenille-scent pad"!

[Jigfishn10]

I think I got a BINGO!

I added a rivet - the one you would use for a buzzbait - to the back of the sinker which provided the exact spacing needed as well as a surface to tie on a skirt. It was so much easier and faster to construct this time around. I think it's a keeper!

[Fishing Rhino]

Just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Why else would they come out with hooks with welded eyes, like the BMF?

I'll toss your question back at you, if it is not a very rare problem, why aren't more or all hooks made with welded eyes? I'll grant you this. I've only been back recreational fishing since 2008, and there is a lot I do not know, but I've fished with guys who've been at it for forty or fifty years, and I've never heard anyone comment about the tiny gap in the eye being a problem. I've never seen it happen to anyone or heard of it 'til now.

Then again, it could be because I rarely use the super braid lines. It might be more common to them because they are a much smaller diameter, and, I'm guessing this because braid can easily spin on a spool without mono or fluoro backing, that it can slide around on the eye of a hook more easily than mono or fluoro.

I'll take the opportunity to add one more thought on the bobber stops vs pegging. A pegged weight is a fixed weight. If you use a bobber stop on the Texas rig arrangement, you can convert it to a Carolina rig simply by moving the stop three, four or however many feet you want to which will allow the line to slide through the weight. This is not my creation. I learned about it at Pickwick from Big O.

[J Francho]

It's more than rare. It is not your problem because you do not use braids.

[deaknh03]

I think I got a BINGO!

I added a rivet - the one you would use for a buzzbait - to the back of the sinker which provided the exact spacing needed as well as a surface to tie on a skirt. It was so much easier and faster to construct this time around. I think it's a keeper!

John, send me an invoice for 3 of those.

[Fishing Rhino]

Looks like a winner to me.

[Jigfishn10]

Thanks a million for the kind posts. I'm very appreciative.

Now one question? With the hook now swinging and not fixed, do I stand a chance of fish coming unbuttoned?

My concern on the twisted line tie I initially had was more with the line wrapping around the barrel twist on a cast where the wind would cause the jig to flip in flight. The jagged edge of the end of the twist would cut thru the line or at least nick it up pretty good.

Again, thanks for the kind post guys. Your suggestions were very helpful.

[Fishing Rhino]

Here's a suggestion. There is another difference besides the swinging hook. Most jigs if not all have the eye configured so it is "off center" to keep the hook point up. Make your tying loop a little longer and bend it so that when retrieved, it will keep the hook point up. You may have to tinker with the length, and the final "height" of the loop that is connected to the line.

As configured in your last photo, if it lands hook point down, that is how it will run. The craw type trailer will prevent it from rolling over. With the usual jigs, the drag from the line as the jig sinks will tend to right it.

[grampa1114]

It's more than rare. It is not your problem because you do not use braids.

We are gonna change that this year.

Jiggy that won't be a problem flipping but might be if you plan to swim the jig.