Prototyping an inchiku jig mold

[Bucho]

Looking for new ways to adapt slow jig techneeks to my shallow home waters, I have done very well with improvised inhciku jigs for small mouthed flounder. Namely a 1oz Flutter jig with a hole in it, rigged with a bucktail flounder teaser from e-bay (=China) and a pair of #2 octopus. Tipped with a little salted lug worm and dead drifted from a boat, it produced the majority of photo-worthy flounder.





Drilling a crude hole through lead and wire does`nt exactly spell "efficiency" so when I knew what I wanted, I asked my neighour for an according "just add high temp silicone" positive mold-for-a-mold. It is hard to find 3D printing material that is heat resistant enough to withstand half a dozen of substantial lead castings. So far, we found this the ideal way to make inexpensive low scale but Hi Fi prototypes before we get into the expensive machining part which is several hundred € even among friends.   

 




I have not fielded them yet, this is to be continued. What I can say already is that the whole slow jig way of rigging assist hooks on a slow fall center balanced metal is highly productive. I once had a fishtank and noticed that fish are picking on a sick fellow even if it is their own size, especially if there is floppy stuff dangling out of it, even a string of poop. So rigging a metal body with a teaser or just bright dressed hooks on flexible cords makes a lot of sense. I caught a 30cm dab with a 12cm hering spine in its mouth. I am 100% certain it did not chase it down but nibbled on its carcass and finally swallowed the head. 

 

[Hawnjigs]

You've certainly come a long way creating - your own designs and tech to make them.

The concept of dangling from mid-slab is beyond my mental capacity to comprehend. Then again if both nose and tail hooks work why not?

The pewter (?) metal sheen looks attractive unpainted. This year I'm finding by switching back & forth that there is no difference in bite attraction between painted and unpainted jig heads with plastic tails targeting best available small walleye.

Amazing that such a small mouthed species can be hooked with oversized & heavy lures.

Thanks for posting, Bucho.

 

[Bucho]

The way I understood it, the inchiku stems from north pacific pipe jigs with mid-slab hoochies that where to be dragged over the rocks without snagging too much rubbish. The lure schields the more delicate offering which is meant for fish that pick all sort s of mollusks etc. out of cracks and shells. South pacific snapper anglers swear by it and it is very popular among mediterrainian dentex anglers too. 

Lika all other methods from Japan/Far east, there is a story behind those slow jigs. They have started to evade fishing pressure into the depth which they reach wiht large slaps on thin lines. They overload the rods to a point where you caon´t effectively set large hooks or imply fast jigging movement so they design the lure in a matter that it works on the fall alone and rig it wiht multiple, small, thin wire hooks that make up in number and work like a flying gaff to everything near it.

I am trying to get the best out of it for my home waters. For "shore slow"- casting into shallows, I prefer to keep it simple and stay with time tested American patterns. I do however lack a symmetric Flutter jig pattern in the 1,5oz range which is why I bothered to start from scratch rather than mod a slab mold with a pin or something.  

I started testing now and found the action promising to double in multiple roles

- inchiku
- casting spoon (tail hook) 27g tin / 40g lead
-jigging spoon (either tail hook or assist hooks) with very slow, erratic fall similar to buzz bomb
- Kabura style rigged flounder setup (as seen in the "halibut spinnow"), hence the molded in swivel, imitating a feeding flatfish.




I consider flatfish the panfish of the sea and encourage you to try something similar in fresh water!

 

[Hawnjigs]

No need to divert, old school jg head with plastic tail still satisfactory for primary target walleye. Crashed population + meathead over harvest presented the opportunity to fish abandoned shoreline spots alone and I'm getting a few, mostly shorts. Discovered that jig size doesn't matter getting bit, tho lately with the smaller wallys a 1/14 #2 HU head with 2" Gulp minnow seems to get less missed hits than my big fish specific 1/11 2/0 HU with 3" PB Ripple Shad.

I applaud your efforts at keeping up with international innovation, and creating your own interpretations for local applications.

Not sure, but I think the assist hook concept started with Doc's Goofy Jig for USA pompano, followed by the Shimano knife jig for ocean vert jigging. The concept of keeping a hook higher off a snaggy bottom is valid, and who knows, I might investigate myself someday.

Thank you for the further explanation.

 

[skeetbum]

My son in law has bought a 22’ CC and likes to go out about 20 miles off of Daytona and fish some trash that he finds on the depth finder. I’ve spoken to him about vert jigging but I think it falls on deaf ears. An extremely effective method and exciting too. Little in life is better than a large fish trying to steal your rod after being untouched for a time. Gets my heart rate up. The middle hook up is t new but this application is. The wacky rig was shown to me in ‘72 by a local bass fisherman with a worm called the Magic Middler. Looked goofy but couldn’t argue with the results. This follows that line and makes sense to me that it’s crazy effective, proven by the two at a time picture. Thanks for the share.

 

[Bigjim]

Looks good, smaller version would shine ice fishing.