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I’ve been unable to get on tidal waters for over a week due to family obligations.
However, when I’m compelled to stay home I satisfy my urge to go fishing by working on tackle projects as time allows. I do a little bit at time, depending on what I am making. Flies I tie quickly, and I can usually make enough for a particular outing in one setting. But jigs take longer. It’s a sequential process -- melting, pouring, painting, drying, and tying if I make bucktails. When the weather is nice like it has been for most of the week, I pour an inventory of jigs because I can open my garage for needed ventilation when working with lead.
Most of my jig molds allow me to make various sizes of the same jig, from 1/8 oz. to ¾ oz. Size does indeed matter and not just what your initial thought on that statement might be! A fishing rule of thumb is to downsize when strikes are hard to come by. I abide by that rule most of the time. However, sometimes it’s better to upsize. And I think we are entering a period to do that if you want to cast to skinny water for stripers.
Right now, white perch still inhabit the shallows and soon they will be joined by larger stripers as they both fatten up for the winter. I cast 1/8 oz. jig spinners to white perch throughout the summer. They work well and indeed the small spinners will catch stripers. In fact, stripers love a vibrating bait like their smaller white perch cousins. But if you want to deter hooking perch after perch and possibly attract larger stripers, I believe it’s good to upsize. I do that by pouring and tying larger jigs. This week I’ve been working on 1/4 oz. jigs.
The photo below shows the slightly larger profile of the ¼ oz. jig over the 1/8 oz. jig. The smaller perch jig is the blue and white lure to the left of the quarter in the photo. The two bucktail jig spinners at the top of the photo are ¼ oz. The size difference is slight yet significant. The ¼ oz. jigs are a little longer, have a wider profile and this is important, they cast farther. Each factor can have a positive impact on catching a larger striper. Note the green jig to the right of the quarter. That’s reserved for a paddletail trailer, in lieu of bucktail. A soft plastic trailer under a spinner is very effective. It’s nothing more than a big Beetle Spin.
IMG_0365.jpg
Lastly, even those of you who do not pour or tie can make your own jig spinners. Notice the components in the lower left of the photo. Plain jigs like the red and green jigs in the photo, bucktails, wire arms, split rings, and spinner blades are readily available through on-line sources and local tackle shops. A pair of split ring pliers is all you need to assemble the components into a completed lure. It’s not hard to do and they work just as well as their commercially produced counterparts.
I encourage you to give it a try. It's fun and you'll have the satisfaction of catching fish on something you've made.
However, when I’m compelled to stay home I satisfy my urge to go fishing by working on tackle projects as time allows. I do a little bit at time, depending on what I am making. Flies I tie quickly, and I can usually make enough for a particular outing in one setting. But jigs take longer. It’s a sequential process -- melting, pouring, painting, drying, and tying if I make bucktails. When the weather is nice like it has been for most of the week, I pour an inventory of jigs because I can open my garage for needed ventilation when working with lead.
Most of my jig molds allow me to make various sizes of the same jig, from 1/8 oz. to ¾ oz. Size does indeed matter and not just what your initial thought on that statement might be! A fishing rule of thumb is to downsize when strikes are hard to come by. I abide by that rule most of the time. However, sometimes it’s better to upsize. And I think we are entering a period to do that if you want to cast to skinny water for stripers.
Right now, white perch still inhabit the shallows and soon they will be joined by larger stripers as they both fatten up for the winter. I cast 1/8 oz. jig spinners to white perch throughout the summer. They work well and indeed the small spinners will catch stripers. In fact, stripers love a vibrating bait like their smaller white perch cousins. But if you want to deter hooking perch after perch and possibly attract larger stripers, I believe it’s good to upsize. I do that by pouring and tying larger jigs. This week I’ve been working on 1/4 oz. jigs.
The photo below shows the slightly larger profile of the ¼ oz. jig over the 1/8 oz. jig. The smaller perch jig is the blue and white lure to the left of the quarter in the photo. The two bucktail jig spinners at the top of the photo are ¼ oz. The size difference is slight yet significant. The ¼ oz. jigs are a little longer, have a wider profile and this is important, they cast farther. Each factor can have a positive impact on catching a larger striper. Note the green jig to the right of the quarter. That’s reserved for a paddletail trailer, in lieu of bucktail. A soft plastic trailer under a spinner is very effective. It’s nothing more than a big Beetle Spin.
IMG_0365.jpg
Lastly, even those of you who do not pour or tie can make your own jig spinners. Notice the components in the lower left of the photo. Plain jigs like the red and green jigs in the photo, bucktails, wire arms, split rings, and spinner blades are readily available through on-line sources and local tackle shops. A pair of split ring pliers is all you need to assemble the components into a completed lure. It’s not hard to do and they work just as well as their commercially produced counterparts.
I encourage you to give it a try. It's fun and you'll have the satisfaction of catching fish on something you've made.
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