I am on Cinco Tuna next weekend. I am not counting on a surface bite, but if it is there, I will be prepared. I am willing to try some new YFT techniques. What do you think of tipping a jig with bait. Here are some ideas 1. Snapper slapper with squid, sardine, or dead blue runner. 2. Large tady/knife jig with squid or fish strip. 3. Flat jig such as a crippled herring with squid or fish strip. The idea is to place the bait deeper in the water and slow jig the bait. I need the proper jig that will have nice action when tipped with a bait as long as the jig. The goal is a slow action jig with some decent, but slow action. Thanks, Scott
I use a bait on the leadheads, as it is part of the slow action I fish those jigs. In other words, I think it enhances the effect of the lure. I catch more fish on the baited leadhead jigs than I do on the unbaited, and I like this combo as it get hooked up well on a slow decent. I do just as well I think with a caroline rig; the leadhead jig is just easier to rig, fish and unhook your catch, so I like it more that the carolina rig. No bait on the long/diamond jigs as i think it would hurt the action of those lures. It would be a detriment to the effect of the lure IMO. I think you would catch fish on the bait, but no more than the bait itself on a weighted hook. I catch plenty of fish on the unbaited long/diamond jigs. However, I have only tried baiting the treble hook on the diamond jigs the way I used to fish them. I just never got convinced it was the bait/jig combo that was better than just bait or a jig alone. Never tried it with the assist hooks I fish now, usually on benthos or knife style jigs.
Scott- i look forward to fishing with you next weekend. I too, dont look for a topwater bite because of the moon phase. I am counting on the jig, and of course the "ol faithful" chunk bite. Chunkin to me is boring... so I am counting on a jig bite.... I did find that throwing the jig out and kind of working it on a "slide" resulted in some hookups for me before- so I will start with that technique. You talk about baiting the hook.... I would worry about the line twist, unless you swivel your leader. I have purchased some hollow squid bodies that are scented... I plan on shoving a diamond jig up in it- that way I have a squid looking jig- now hopefully I can get around the BFT, and target the YFT once I figure out where they are staged. Baiting the hook- I think of a jig as more of a reaction type bait. Meaning the fish comes in and attacks the jig without a second look. That wold mean that it wouldnt matter if there is bait on it or not. But that of course is the way I perceive how the fish is thinking. I ordered a few extra hollow squid bodies, look me up and I will give you a couple.. I am sure they wont last long with all the teeth out there.... seeee ya in a week!!!
If the surface temps are up, and they should be then the flying fish will be on top. If the flyers are on top then there will be a topwater bite! If there are no flyers then you will probably throw out your shoulder with no return on YFT. You can also drop a live bait on a few oz. of lead down to where the big blips on the sounder (look at the plazmas through the windows). Scott, I do think if you use dead bait you will have more undesireables such as BFT, cudas and sharks. Try a live runner on the snapper slapper.
for bft no bait is necessary. rely on knife or long jig. my favorite is williamson benthos silver 300gm. read big e report from last weekend. well over 300 bft on jigs. If you want surface action try the spro jigs, as many anglers where casting these to the edge of the lights with good results. two of the yft where taken on jigs. the largest hit a chartruse williamson benthos 400 gm. amazingly landed on a small penn slammer spinning reel with 40lb. test. 70lb. yft! the second yft aprox. 45 lb. on a silver 300 gm. benthos. p.s. tuna where often deep and hit on the drop no yft for me , 18 bft. in the box,most on the silver benthos. 4 donated to chunk and 2 to the cudas.
Thanks jig. I didn't even think of placing the bait directly onto a jig head. Scott This is often a hot topic (esp. on 2cool), and therefore I don't normally comment on it. I use a 3oz pregnant minnow style bucktail jig, no stinger. I have them custom tied by a guy in Alabama somewhere. Last bulk order I placed was for 70, so I have not reordered in a while. The cost per lure in bulk, shipped, was around $1.25. These are really really nice custom made, in the colors I want, with quality mustad saltwater hooks, coated threads, etc. I have also used the striper jigs, usually banana head with bucktail, which I pick up when I find them on sale for a dollar or so. This style jig, tipped with a sardine or strip or whatever, works really well for me. (BTW, my name 'jig' came about before the butterfly system; someone called me that on a capt. john trip because I was fishing with my 'magic' bucktail jig and absolutely slaughtering the snapper while no one else was catching fish.) It seems to sink just right thru the water. And the jig with the direct hook gives me a large "handle" to hold onto while I unhook the fish. Personnally, I don't like the stingers on leadheads; they are very expensive, get in the way, are unnessessary, and actually cause me to lose fish IMO. Thus the controversy with other manufacturer's products that I try to avoid igniting. But, plenty of folks like them and swear by them.
