wobble drop dynamite

jiggerjohn

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Mar 23, 2010
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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 !
 

jiggerjohn

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Mar 23, 2010
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547
Notice in the above photo -top jig is 1/64 oz dart with plastic worm clitellum as the action tipping
2nd is 1/64 dart with Gulp worm section
3rd is 1/32 oz dart with Spoonminnows famous conetail
4th is Spoonminnows mojo tail on a mop jig
ALL are Rounded bodies to acquire proper wobbling on a very slow drop, and attached dead center on the hook bend
 

jiggerjohn

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Mar 23, 2010
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547
Hawn, well, often these tails are taken deeply into the mouth (on the slow sink with minimum line tension, fish tend to inhale these "shorties" way in ) and can be rescued fairly easily. But still, yeah, ya do lose a bunch during a hot bite. But as one very astute jig maker often tells me, ya can cut a BUNCH of pieces from one plastic worm, for considerable overall savings! And tougher material as in the Gulp sinking minnow is near impossible to tear off a hook!
 

duffy

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Oct 7, 2015
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Location
Eastern WA.
That’s just what my wife and I would do with live worms. When we were running low on worms we would use chunks of crawlers and thread them onto the hook. Always worked and kept those pesky sunfish from stealing your worm.
 

jiggerjohn

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Mar 23, 2010
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547
Hi Duff, You are absolutely correct with a jigged small piece of crawler! I've had numerous friends who used this tactic very successfully on a variety of fish. I vividly recall a particularly tough day on NY's famed St. Lawrence river when our normal jig tactics just weren't producing while anchored over a very good structure; we figured a buddy with us had given up when he took a small jig, placed on about an inch of nightcrawler,and lowered it to vertical jig. The strike was instantaneous, but was not the small perch we all expected; instead he proceeded to haul in one nice smallmouth after another!

The difference in the "wobble Drop" idea is that I'm using very light jigheads in the 1/36 down to 1/64 oz range (these little ones, usually dart shaped, are easy to activate into a slight juking motion) and a purposeful use of a 1 -1 1/2" STIFFER soft plastic body which responds to water pressure during its sinking phase with a subtle wobble. This minimal vibration and slight sight effect seems to trigger a response from any lurking predator nearby !
 

JUNGLEJIM1

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Mar 23, 2010
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3,173
Location
Saint Louis,Mo
For many years I've been tipping my little hand ties with Berkley Power Wigglers that I cut length wise for more action and for tiny jigs with a #8 or smaller hook I cut those in half. The added color and scent makes a huge difference and these little additions aren't messy like crawler chunks.
 

jiggerjohn

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Mar 23, 2010
Messages
547
Hi JJ1, Yep, I agree -I often cut my thicker senko type plastics DIAGONALLY to get the same wiggly action that you mention, and also to cut down the bulk overall for use with lightweight jigs, yet still get the wobble during the drop.
 

SPOONMINNOW

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Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
211
They ain't pretty John, but the proof is always in the catch'n. In my case, I'm obsessed with symmetry and smooth lines and curves when making lures primarily because I want to believe that pretty is as pretty does.
 
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