Jigheads

[crusher]

Lost a big redfish yesterday. Not all hooks/jigs are created equal. I will rid myself of the thinner gauge jigs at this point. I know two brands that are thicker and I assume stronger.

[karstopo]

There’s probably a good story that goes along with that bent hook.

Not all hooks are created equal, that’s for certain. I like forged carbon steel hooks and Gamakatsu makes some good ones. Forged hooks have that flattened side you might see in some like the bass assassin jig head in my photo. The Gamakatsu SL-45 bonefish hook is tiny as compared to the jig head hook, but will land oversized redfish and 15-20# class jacks with no issues.

All other things being equal, I prefer lighter wire hooks as they penetrate easier and stay set in delicate mouth membranes better than heavier wire hooks, at least in my experience.

[karstopo]

BTW, that bent hook has a bent hook point. I take along a ceramic hook hone to repair bent hook points. The ceramic hones won’t corrode like some of the others in the saltwater environment.

Sharp hook points = more fish.

Forged carbon steel hooks resist damage from hard substrate strikes better than un-forged hooks and much better than stainless steel, not that stainless hooks are generally available except in the saltwater fly fishing scene.

https://www.feather-craft.com/tiemco-ceramic-hook-hone

These are cheaper on Amazon.

[TroutSupport.com]

Knotty hookers from Baad marine are nice.. I also use norton's and hogies as well as bass assasins jig heads. Always look for a sharp sharp point. I agree with the above you can hone a point a couple of times, but after you sharpen it the first time it's going to corrode even faster. Keep sharpening it yes, but those super sharp points and you're line are the cheapest connections between us and the fish.

[Endo]

I will caveat my reply with I fish the flats almost exclusively, so 1-2' is as deep as i get, usually is less than a foot deep.

I'm guessing you were fishing deeper water.

How many people use jig heads in shallower water? I never use them.

I pair the soft plastic with an Owner Wide Gap/Plus hook. Use a 1/32 worm weight, pegged with sinker stop. Keeps it weedless and less invasive (quieter) to cast.

The hooks i use are not really heavy duty and never had one come close to bending.

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[karstopo]

Part of it is how much pressure you put on a fish. Sometimes, there isn’t a lot of choice on easing up on the pressure if you are trying to keep the fish out trouble such as drift logs, piers, or around reef. Crusher has fished the Freeport marshes in the past and those marshes are typically devoid of grass, but loaded with reef.

Once in a while I’ve read something here or there about that how redfish won’t run into oyster shell, but that doesn’t reflect my experience at all. Sometimes, the redfish are in a seam between solid outcrops of razor sharp shell and they will run to where the leader is going to be at risk. Anyway, fish around shell enough and there will be times you will want to pressure a fish.

In my experience, 1/16 or 1/8 ounce jig heads don’t spook many fish up here, not unless you thump them on the head. Fish weedless if you want, but I don’t do it in shell.

[Neumie]

Lost a big redfish yesterday. Not all hooks/jigs are created equal. I will rid myself of the thinner gauge jigs at this point. I know two brands that are thicker and I assume stronger.

I've Norton hooks for nearly the entirety of my artificial tossing, and have never had a hook straightened. Of course, I'm mainly on the flats but have hooked into nice size black drum (40+ pounds) and Jacks occasionally.

I will caveat my reply with I fish the flats almost exclusively, so 1-2' is as deep as i get, usually is less than a foot deep.

I'm guessing you were fishing deeper water.

How many people use jig heads in shallower water? I never use them.

I pair the soft plastic with an Owner Wide Gap/Plus hook. Use a 1/32 worm weight, pegged with sinker stop. Keeps it weedless and less invasive (quieter) to cast.

The hooks i use are not really heavy duty and never had one come close to bending.

I mainly fish with 1/16 oz jigheads on the flats. If I'm fishing as shallow as you are I'm either sightcasting to fish or throwing a topwater or now Tobin's Grasswalker. I prefer not to fish weedless as I've noticed my hook up ratio drops a bit, but when I do I throw the weighted Owner Twistlock. The weight on there can be moved to adjust the fall rate.

[Endo]

Yep. I never really cast a jigged bait unless I know there is a fish there...i.e. sightcasting. I don't have the patience to blind cast a slow bait. And don't think it's productive to do so.

If I'm blind casting on the flats I use a Spook Jr. or gold spoon. I've now also been using the Grasswalker as a main lure for this. Between those three, if blind casting, I rotate depending on depth, water clarity, and weeds.

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[SteveRetrieve]

I stumbled in to Dicks Sporting Goods yesterday to pickup a few jig heads myself. They had a buy-5-get-5-free deal on clearance items, and i ended up getting 10 packs of Trokar boxer jig heads for about $24. Thought I scored pretty well as they are usually $6 per pack.