Fluke Jigs- "Hook Refinements?"

[Leprechaun]

LG - I specifically asked him to come up with a smaller, yet still strong hook. Nothing crazy small, just not the big wide-gap 5/0 Mustad he normally uses. I can't say exactly what model or even size the new hook is, because he never told me.

It very well might also be a 5/0, except in another pattern, as actual hook gap varies from pattern to pattern. Whatever size it is, it works as I had anticipated, and that's all I can hope for. The experiment is a success, as far as I'm concerned.

Benny - I believe there is no one correct way to fish for fluke. Rigging and lure selection of 10 different guys can be 10 different ways, and all of them work - to a greater or lesser degree. For me, I normally use a stinger hook on my BS-rigged bucktails - for fishing behind the boat, on the drift. I don't think I want them on a lure I have to cast, as the GULP! baits I use for that are somewhat larger.

For instance I will use a 4" mullet or a 5" jerk shad on my 4/0 and 5/0 stingers. The stinger hooks are sized to the weight of the bucktail, 2 & 3oz get 4/0s, while the 4,5 and 6oz buktails get a 5/0. But on the 2oz ball jigs which I reserve for my spinning efforts, I use a 5" mullet, 5" jigging grub or 6" jerk shad. Just the way I prefer to fish, nothing more.

My stinger hook-equipped bucktails for the B/S rig whilst drifting:

And this is how I put them together:

Building "Bucktail" Jigs - Lep Style

So, its like 25 degrees out, I’ve already checked inside the boat, under the shrink-wrap - more than once today - gotta make sure the bilge-mounted 60W light bulbs are all lit and doing their jobs keeping thr temp up down in there. Turned the dehumidifier off, what with the water in the bucket...

nyangler.com

 

[Leprechaun]

Time to Stock Up!

Has a nice conversation with Clint from HTLureco a week ago - resulting in him making up a bunch of "My Version" of his ball jigs, in 2, 3 & 4oz sizes, finished with glow paint. Spent a good bit of my Winter reel repair earnings on those and matching GULP! Jerk Shads in various colors - 6" for the ball jigs and 5" for the trailer hooks on my "regular" bucktails.

This season I will spend considerably more time casting these ball jig/jerk shad combos and less time dragging my usual B/S bucktail/hi-hook rigs behind the boat - not that "the dragging thing" isn't effective - because it most certainly is. Its just that I get more satisfaction fishing the spinning rod on the up-drift side of the boat. A LOT more satisfaction!

I intend to turn these:

Into lots of these:

Let the games begin!

 

[DarthBaiter]

I like the offset hooks rather than the semi circular hooks on my jigs. But more than the hook shape I think jig head shapes matter more.
I stocked up on boxing glove jigs and sweeper style jigs for this season, for fluke and togs, mainly because of the way they sit on the bottom.

Also, I've been trying the Ned rig for fluke when they are gorging on sand eels because of the way the Nedrig lays on the bottom with the worm sticking up at almost 90° off the bottom.

 

[pequa1]

I think for the most part action speaks louder than colors or shapes. But its great to have a bit of an arsenal.

 

[movetheboat]

Tying up some "stuff"

 

[pequa1]

easy to see your favorite colors, lol. I went to a lot of pink and white last year.

 

[Crabman]

It's amazing how much effort we put into boating, fishing, tackle prep and processing of our catch. It's not a hobby, it's a way of life. Like I need another one but I just ordered out another Do-It mold. The new mold can pour the Spro like 5, 6 and 8 ounce heads. I don't like the hook they recommend so I plan to make bend up a swing hook through wire to use whatever hook size I want. I never used a head over 4 ounces in the past. If the current got so hard, I would switch over to a sinker with a trailing whatever. With the new mold, of course I'm going to have to get a new rod to bounce 8 ounce bucktails. Been running down to the west due to the void of fish off Fire Island. There are some crazy currents compared to FI. Seems the wind goes one way, the surface current goes the other way and down deep who knows what the current is doing. I could not hold with a four ounce bucktail and wound up trying an eight ounce sinker. It worked but it felt and looked like I was codfishing.

 

[Snapprhead27]

It's amazing how much effort we put into boating, fishing, tackle prep and processing of our catch. It's not a hobby, it's a way of life. Like I need another one but I just ordered out another Do-It mold. The new mold can pour the Spro like 5, 6 and 8 ounce heads. I don't like the hook they recommend so I plan to make bend up a swing hook through wire to use whatever hook size I want. I never used a head over 4 ounces in the past. If the current got so hard, I would switch over to a sinker with a trailing whatever. With the new mold, of course I'm going to have to get a new rod to bounce 8 ounce bucktails. Been running down to the west due to the void of fish off Fire Island. There are some crazy currents compared to FI. Seems the wind goes one way, the surface current goes the other way and down deep who knows what the current is doing. I could not hold with a four ounce bucktail and wound up trying an eight ounce sinker. It worked but it felt and looked like I was codfishing.

Good luck, we have all been there. I have some 6 oz bucktails with swing hooks, and I feel like its so big for fluke. Let us know how the molds work out.

 

[Crabman]

I agree, it's a big jig. But, if nothing else, it might be an attractant over a sinker and you never know when the bigger fish might just swallow it up. I use spot when targeting big fluke and they swallow them. Still, I agree with you, it's a big heavy jig. I thought these types of big jigs would be thrown out of a fluke's mouth when he does the shake. We will see what happens.

 

[longcast]

I agree, it's a big jig. But, if nothing else, it might be an attractant over a sinker and you never know when the bigger fish might just swallow it up. I use spot when targeting big fluke and they swallow them. Still, I agree with you, it's a big heavy jig. I thought these types of big jigs would be thrown out of a fluke's mouth when he does the shake. We will see what happens.

Big head shakes and 6 ozs of lead thrashing around creates a huge hook hole and that fish gains a lot of leverage.

 

[Crabman]

I think it might be even worse with a swing hook. Kind of like a whip.

 

[Snapprhead27]

I agree, it's a big jig. But, if nothing else, it might be an attractant over a sinker and you never know when the bigger fish might just swallow it up. I use spot when targeting big fluke and they swallow them. Still, I agree with you, it's a big heavy jig. I thought these types of big jigs would be thrown out of a fluke's mouth when he does the shake. We will see what happens.

I'll continue to use them if need be and if I lose it, then so be it. No more big bucktails for me. I've seen people use them in the gut over the traditional 3 way rig set up.

 

[longcast]

I think it might be even worse with a swing hook. Kind of like a whip.

Some swear by them, some against. I have stuck to a fixed hook for my fishing.

 

[Crabman]

Some swear by them, some against. I have stuck to a fixed hook for my fishing.

I have made swing hook jigs. For me the jury is still out but I'm leaning away from using them on light weight jigs. The only reason I'm going to try them on the heavier jigs is hook size. The mold calls for a Mustad 9/0 hook. That's a big hook. When you think of it, we use swing hooks on a lot of our jigs such as Hopkins, Diamond Jigs and Tuna Jigs along with many other types. But, most of the fish we target with them don't have the open mouth head shake like a fluke.

 

[george]

I'm not a huge fan of swing hooks for Fluke. I miss many strikes, and the fish gives more of a head shake.

 

[Leprechaun]

agree, it's a big jig. But, if nothing else, it might be an attractant over a sinker and you never know when the bigger fish might just swallow it up. I

Yes, I also agree. Would anyone be surprised to see how many 14" fluke inhale a 6oz jig in 80' of water? How long is a 6oz bucktail? Not really all that much longer than a 4oz version, when you think about it. A decent fluke has no issue ripping down a 10" squid, so why would a 6oz bucktail not entice strikes? I use them when needed, but try to keep it to 5oz versions if conditions permit, only because it becomes painful for my wrist to be working such a heavy jig for long periods.

Instead, I go to the modified long-leader B/S rig, as described elsewhere on this board. A 8oz sinker usually does the trick, as demonstrated the last time we were out on the offshore grounds. It did make a difference.

As far as swing-hook jigs - they will catch, but I rarely use them. This is because when straight up and down jigging I find that the hook will swing upward and grab the leader, effectively bridling the body of the bucktail. No self-respecting fluke will hit that mess.

 

[OVERBORED]

I've caught fluke eeling, chunking and diamond jigging for bass. Caught them on 5-6oz smiling bill bucktails with their gigantic, fixed hooks intended for bass & grouper.

A hungry, aggressive fluke will swallow most any sized hook. That said, the biggest hook I would (intentionally) want to use on a jig is 6/0.

 

[Crabman]

The mold for the 5, 6 and 8 ounce spro-type jig head is enormous compared to the up to 4 ounce mold. Fortunately, my through wires I bent up for lighter jigs works perfectly for the bigger jig heads. I'm planning on using a 6/0 swing hook as we spoke about above.