Salty338
Member
Not trolling at all. That guy knows his stuff! Just also know what I know and maybe didn’t provide the best feedback for what I see. Cheers. It’s fun out there that jig life!
High Tech Jigging
- Thread starter Waterwolf2230
- Start date
Pewpster
Well-Known Member
Nice bright fish. Is that jig tied on backwards?
Bowbreaker
Member
Right!! Yes, I know who you are now. Yeah, you know your stuff.
No trolling here! Don’t even own down riggers
If Salty says they are Chinook, then they are. He was there. I wasn’t. I haven’t seen Chinook don’t show up on my sonar so dense/tight, so if those arch’s were Chinook. Damn. That’s some crazy number of Chinook! Wish I was there too!
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RiverBoy
Well-Known Member
I have fished bait balls with no marks and had non stop chinook action, and i have fished blank screens with heaps of action. i have also had screens full of marks with no action.
I dunno. i think sonar hits bait funny and doesn’t always read the fish. that’s why i don’t get excited with big, solid steady clouds of bait. i get excited when i see bait that’s all busted up, and suspended. that tells me chinook are running amok and feeding. but this pic below? twas a good day
I dunno. i think sonar hits bait funny and doesn’t always read the fish. that’s why i don’t get excited with big, solid steady clouds of bait. i get excited when i see bait that’s all busted up, and suspended. that tells me chinook are running amok and feeding. but this pic below? twas a good day
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Deepaaaar
Well-Known Member
Yowza, that's some bait!
I had a killer day on Friday and sonar was definitely helpful. The slugs would appear, I'd reel up or drop down to 'em and a moment later I'd get hit. Honestly, though, I probably would've done fine without it as there were a LOT of fish around. Took home an 80cm and a 72cm. They're in the freezer now, sashimi-ifying. Released a 23-24 lb beast of a buck that dragged me about a half km in my kayak. Biggest one to date! Man, I love jigging up these monsters.
Salty338
Member
Agreed. I don’t even usually drop if I don’t see the bait disturbed. Lots of times there’s a ton of bait with no fish in it.
One day this year at Wilby there was a ton of bait up shallower with few fish in it but I found fish sitting in 180’-220’ with no bait. It was funny cause we were catching a bunch of fish and other jiggers would roll up and wouldn’t stop I’m guessing because they saw no bait. Fine by me, we had a hay day with nobody around us.
spring fever
Well-Known Member
Love when you read it right! Think thats the attraction of jigging and why it can be so successful. Don't get me wrong-I do troll-always when I have somebody on board-but when I'm by myself -I'm Jigging
spring fever
Well-Known Member
acrowe
Active Member
Most of us are doing a lot less trolling!
Although I have been flyfishing lately and have picked up the odd fish dragging my fly while looking for fish
acrowe
Active Member
I don't have the latest sonar but I think I am getting better at using what I have. I have to admit I have no idea what type of fish are showing on my sonar by what they look like on the screen. Hopefully Ill get better at that. So far I have never seen what I thought was salmon feeding on herring and just hit dogfish... so far. I usually don't get too many unless I try bait or jig really slow in one place.
I haven't been trying too hard for chinook lately as I want to be able to have the option to keep one if I find time for winter fishing. And the last couple times I have been out and hit the morning surface feed, I have been able to get some coho casting flies. In the 40 minutes or so that the intense surface feed lasts I have got 3-4 good size coho (6-8lbs) and a half dozen or so grilse between 10-16". I assume I probably would have got 3x as many mature coho jigging, but its pretty exciting to get them on a cast fly. even a 14" grilse is pretty decent on a 8wt fly rod, and they are usually an easy unharmed release on the fly.
I haven't been trying too hard for chinook lately as I want to be able to have the option to keep one if I find time for winter fishing. And the last couple times I have been out and hit the morning surface feed, I have been able to get some coho casting flies. In the 40 minutes or so that the intense surface feed lasts I have got 3-4 good size coho (6-8lbs) and a half dozen or so grilse between 10-16". I assume I probably would have got 3x as many mature coho jigging, but its pretty exciting to get them on a cast fly. even a 14" grilse is pretty decent on a 8wt fly rod, and they are usually an easy unharmed release on the fly.
the force
Crew Member
lol yeah it is…didn’t realize until I went to take it off at the end of the day and was like wtf. Still worked.
RiverBoy
Well-Known Member
did it come with the assist hooks top rigged? if so it’s not on backwards. i have a couple jigs like that. tie to the solid ring ( thanks @spring fever for showing me)
the force
Crew Member
This one came w/o hooks, though they do go on the top and that is where I installed them… I use it for bottom fish as well and top rigging is supposed to help reduce snags. I just clipped it on upside down in the heat of the moment.
Salty338
Member
Wondering if anyone running the shimano flat fall jigs are ditching the assist hooks they come with for a single hook instead? If you are what hooks and size have you been using that seem to hold fish on the best and are you running it on a cord or swivel to split ring?
Trying to find potentially a better way than using the double assists.
Thanks
Trying to find potentially a better way than using the double assists.
Thanks
RiverBoy
Well-Known Member
it depends on the size of the flat falls as far as hook size is concerned. i had a big spring chew off one of my hooks so i bought new shimano flatfall hooks in the wrong size and it didn’t fish as well. The 160 gram flat falls come rigged with twin 5/0 hooks. The 200 gram hooks come rigged with 7/0 hooks. i put 7/0 on my 160 gram jig and was not fluttering the same. but i digress.
As you already know, they fall butt first so the hooks flutter up and over the back where they get bit. i just don’t see them working as effectively with a split ring and a single hook, but to be fair i also haven’t tried it.
Are you wanting to do this to minimize facial damage to shakers and whatnot? because i hear you there. the doubles are mean.
and by the way, since i’ve started slow pitch, i have never snagged myself, my boat, my clothes, as much. i have to be so much more careful than i used to
As you already know, they fall butt first so the hooks flutter up and over the back where they get bit. i just don’t see them working as effectively with a split ring and a single hook, but to be fair i also haven’t tried it.
Are you wanting to do this to minimize facial damage to shakers and whatnot? because i hear you there. the doubles are mean.
and by the way, since i’ve started slow pitch, i have never snagged myself, my boat, my clothes, as much. i have to be so much more careful than i used to
Salty338
Member
Have a few goals with this and I've had some decent success with a few different variations.
1) Reduce possible damage to the fish of the second hook
2) Making fish easier to release given there is only one hook and minimize that second hook flopping around and getting me. lol
I don't go directly to a split ring. The two ways I have done this is by:
- Siwash open eye big river bait hook to a barrel swivel then to a split ring and to the jig. Allows the hook to rotate and flop around. 3/0 and 5/0 is what I've used here since they are not a short shank hook. This has been my most successful way.
- have also tried single 5/0 and 6/0 owners tied on a short assist cord to a steel ring and then split ring to jig. This also works but i didn't stay buttoned up as often.
I spent 4 weeks out there trying different things and the siwash is the best so far. The factory hooks that come are good but the assist cord to the hook is garbage and had numerous come apart on fish so I started rapping them tight with big fly thread and gluing them right out of the package before they ever touch the water. This got rid of the hooks coming off problem.
Still think the best option will be a good single that holds fish.
1) Reduce possible damage to the fish of the second hook
2) Making fish easier to release given there is only one hook and minimize that second hook flopping around and getting me. lol
I don't go directly to a split ring. The two ways I have done this is by:
- Siwash open eye big river bait hook to a barrel swivel then to a split ring and to the jig. Allows the hook to rotate and flop around. 3/0 and 5/0 is what I've used here since they are not a short shank hook. This has been my most successful way.
- have also tried single 5/0 and 6/0 owners tied on a short assist cord to a steel ring and then split ring to jig. This also works but i didn't stay buttoned up as often.
I spent 4 weeks out there trying different things and the siwash is the best so far. The factory hooks that come are good but the assist cord to the hook is garbage and had numerous come apart on fish so I started rapping them tight with big fly thread and gluing them right out of the package before they ever touch the water. This got rid of the hooks coming off problem.
Still think the best option will be a good single that holds fish.
acrowe
Active Member
I do think dual ends up with less fish getting off barbless hooks near the boat, but the dual assist hooks often end up causing much more injury to pretty much any fish you want to release. I have been going single hook on a similar cord, Ill try the single siwash and barrel swivel, to compare how well it stays hooked up.
Bowbreaker
Member
Funny you should mention this... We think very similarly!
I spent A LOT of effort on trying different single hook options this summer. I am tired of releasing undersized fish missing an eyeball. Seems like a very unfair way to interact with these fish and unsporting. Also, my hands get abused by the second hook in the net and I am very concerned about my 11 year old daughter unhooking fish with two hooks in the mouth.
Here is what I learned:
*I start to tie my own single hook set ups with a fly tying vice and braid for thread. I used heat shrink tube over the braid connection point. I varied the length of cord and size of hook.
*Smaller owner or gami hooks (2/0 and 3/0) generally straighten out very easily. I lost a LOT of fish from bent hooks.
*Shorter cord length resulted in less solid hook ups. I lost count of how many times my jig would stop falling, I'd "set the hook" and the get a few head shakes before the fish would come free.
*Some days the fish will be more aggressive and my land ratio would be respectable and other days less aggressive (the way I see it anyway) and the hook to land ratio would be dismal (like 5 out of 20).
*I worked my way up to larger hooks (4/0 to 5/0) and longer cord length (2" or so) and still had awful landing ratios...
*What did seem to work well was using the 2/0 owner assist hook (that comes with the smaller flat falls) as a single (cutting off one of the second one).
Overall, not very successful bit of experimenting and I did go back to small, double hooks at the end of the season to land a few more (lost some really big fish that I would have liked to have seen close to the boat). A friend of mine seemed to do OK with singles for most of the summer, so not sure on the difference there. I am using a parabolic, slow pitch jigging rod (Grappler Tyle Slow J) with a strong cranking reel (Shimano Ocea Jigger). That rod was cranked over tight and the hook was still pulling free...
I fished with another diehard jigger this year who uses large open siwash hooks as well and swears by them. This sounds like the way to go and I look forward to giving it a try. Thanks for the tip!
