jiggerjohn
Active member
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2010
- Messages
- 547
Some years ago a very famous smallmouth bass expert gave me an important tip on his ultimate findings for jig fishing. He related that in his senior years he devoted much time to large panfish, in preference over bass and bigger gamefish, having considerable success with small pieces of senko type soft plastics, 2 pound test mono, and 1/64 oz jigheads. It was noted that this extremely observant angler found that the slowest drop with 1 to 2 inch long plastics had a slight wobble while descending downward that big bluegills ,crappies, and perch could not resist! (he also reported that 4-7 pound largemouth bass often "interrupted" his enjoyment!). He eventually settled on tiny plastic paddle tails that dropped horizontally, and claimed his fan tails rarely were actually activated, and he couldn't care less -the slow wobble of the dropping solid tube-like main body did it all for him !
So during the past season and now this one, friends and I have tried to copy this "wobble -drop" approach in varying situations with differant size jigs to handle ever-changing conditions. For instance ,during this early spring, our stocked rainbow trout in small lakes seemed to pounce with gusto on my very slow descending wobblers. Later on, Lake Erie largemouth bass and freshwater drum ,near piers, would take nothing but 2 inch sections of Gulp worms which were allowed to slowly drop among mossy underwater boulders. And lately, local bluegills,crappies,bass, and carp, in the toughest ,most hard hit waters around can be coerced only by slowly sinking, subtle wriggling jigs which are tipped with short sections of fat plastic worm bodies. Across the country my pals report all types of bass, big walleyes, scads of nice panfish, huge catfish, and stripers with the wobble-drop tactic. Heck, I even used this successfully in saltwater bays of the Outer Banks in May !
For me, the key is a small tied 1/32 to 1/64 oz dart jig (any pattern that YOU like as long as its short in length and thinnly tied), with around an inch of thicker, short plastic worm section. To give an idea of best image of plastic to use, picture the clitellum (biologic term of the near center ring of a real nightcrawler) on a 6" plastic. and cut only this out for use . Do not worry about tapering the ends -just leave 'em flat. Place this chubby little nub on the very back of your hook bend ( I use no 8 and 10 hooks), with most of the ROUNDED artificial sticking straight behind. Yes, this will add fairly good casting weight as well, but it's plumpness and cylinder shape allows very slow sinking and creates the slightly slinky action that is so vital. Don't concentrate on retreival or adding any extra action, just let it sink and wobble on its own. Then reel a few feet and let it descend again on a semi-taut line.(and again,and again)
Just the other evening I visited the most crowded section of a heavily worked spot in a wildly popular public park, with only my wobbly bugs and UL in hand. Nobody was catching anything under the bright sky and still conditions. Yet I scored instantly and steadily with a 1/64 oz wooly "D-Bug" that my grandson ties, tipped on back with a bright yellow 3/4" section of a Gulp nightcrawler. I noted that if I tried to impart any action ,that cast was wasted -best to just lay back and let it sink at its own slow pace ;somewhere between top and bottom I'd often detect the delicate take of a nice crappie or bluegill.
With the coming "dog days" of August, give this Wobble-Drop a sincere try in shady sections and over rocky or weedy cover in nearby lakes, ponds, and creeks. Please report back your results - I'm positive you'll be amazed, and we'd all love to hear !
So during the past season and now this one, friends and I have tried to copy this "wobble -drop" approach in varying situations with differant size jigs to handle ever-changing conditions. For instance ,during this early spring, our stocked rainbow trout in small lakes seemed to pounce with gusto on my very slow descending wobblers. Later on, Lake Erie largemouth bass and freshwater drum ,near piers, would take nothing but 2 inch sections of Gulp worms which were allowed to slowly drop among mossy underwater boulders. And lately, local bluegills,crappies,bass, and carp, in the toughest ,most hard hit waters around can be coerced only by slowly sinking, subtle wriggling jigs which are tipped with short sections of fat plastic worm bodies. Across the country my pals report all types of bass, big walleyes, scads of nice panfish, huge catfish, and stripers with the wobble-drop tactic. Heck, I even used this successfully in saltwater bays of the Outer Banks in May !
For me, the key is a small tied 1/32 to 1/64 oz dart jig (any pattern that YOU like as long as its short in length and thinnly tied), with around an inch of thicker, short plastic worm section. To give an idea of best image of plastic to use, picture the clitellum (biologic term of the near center ring of a real nightcrawler) on a 6" plastic. and cut only this out for use . Do not worry about tapering the ends -just leave 'em flat. Place this chubby little nub on the very back of your hook bend ( I use no 8 and 10 hooks), with most of the ROUNDED artificial sticking straight behind. Yes, this will add fairly good casting weight as well, but it's plumpness and cylinder shape allows very slow sinking and creates the slightly slinky action that is so vital. Don't concentrate on retreival or adding any extra action, just let it sink and wobble on its own. Then reel a few feet and let it descend again on a semi-taut line.(and again,and again)
Just the other evening I visited the most crowded section of a heavily worked spot in a wildly popular public park, with only my wobbly bugs and UL in hand. Nobody was catching anything under the bright sky and still conditions. Yet I scored instantly and steadily with a 1/64 oz wooly "D-Bug" that my grandson ties, tipped on back with a bright yellow 3/4" section of a Gulp nightcrawler. I noted that if I tried to impart any action ,that cast was wasted -best to just lay back and let it sink at its own slow pace ;somewhere between top and bottom I'd often detect the delicate take of a nice crappie or bluegill.
With the coming "dog days" of August, give this Wobble-Drop a sincere try in shady sections and over rocky or weedy cover in nearby lakes, ponds, and creeks. Please report back your results - I'm positive you'll be amazed, and we'd all love to hear !