Oct/Nov In-Fisherman

[Tony Livingston]

The latest issue of In-Fisherman contains an article on Panfishing that truly speaks to my heart. Or at least embraces techniques that I hold dear. it's entitled "Headbanger Panfish", and it's written by Cory Schmidt.

In the article, Cory talks about the fusion of tiny tungsten ice jigs, and fly tying. As our own Jim Gronaw,  Tooty, and a host of others have so aptly demonstrated, the marriage of jigheads and marabou, (as well as a host of other materials unknown by this non fly-tyer), can produce awesome results when wielded by the likes of Mr. Abney and his spinning gear.

I have long been an advocate of tungsten jigs, and have several in various colors. They sink quickly, which can be good or bad depending on the time of year and the depth of the fish. However, I have always tipped mine with maggots, or ice plastics.....never fur or fibrous materials. In the article, Cory makes a good argument for the realism imparted by feathers and fur vs. a quivering plastic. I would love to try a few of these size 12 horizontal tungsten jigflies, and I'm sure with the talent we have here at BBG that someone could take a look at the article and produce some winning jigs.... the photos from the article look like some exceptional fish catching creations.

I will attempt to locate a source for the tungsten jigheads, but I need someone far more talented than myself to do the tying......anyone willing to get creative?

[Walt Foreman]

Just my $.02, but I don't think any jig, or any lure period, is going to be more effective on big bluegill than the two I most often use, which are the crappie slider, and the Gulp minnow on a 1/64 oz. jig head.  I've used feather jigs in years past; I've also used tube jigs; to my mind, neither comes close to the two I mention above.  They just look more like an actual minnow than maribou does in the water (to me).  I think size of the jig, including weight which of course affects sinking speed, is a big consideration, and probably makes more difference than any other single factor.  But I like my plastics!

[Tony Livingston]

I hear you Walt, and I am a huge fan of the Gulp minnow myself! From reading the article and viewing the jigflys I don't believe that they are presented to be taken as a minnow however. Indeed, the comparisons are drawn as such to mimic freshwater shrimp, midges, and other invertebrates. The author notes that fall and winter panfish feed primarily on such invertebrates, and rather than having one primary piece of movement, such as the plastic that I usually favor, the numerous fine furs and feathers closely resemble the swimmerets, cilia, and pincers used as a means of locomotion.

If you get a chance, check out the article and tell me your thoughts. Based on my cold water experience, something here just feels right.......

[Walt Foreman]

That certainly makes a lot more sense - I can buy the idea of the feathers looking like inverts if fished properly.  Definitely gives one something to think about.  I've been thinking a lot lately about sponge-rubber spiders used for flyfishing, and I wonder if their rubber legs are imitating the same thing the undulating maribou is, in the eyes of a bluegill.

I have a client who owns a 56-acre lake and only fishes with a fly rod; he can catch bluegill pretty well on the nymphs and popping bugs he uses, but when I took him to my best coppernose pond a couple months ago he only caught one in about an hour of fishing, so I've been thinking about getting back into tying sponge-rubber spiders like my uncle taught me to tie thirty-two years ago when I was in the ninth grade.  I have an old issue of Fishing Facts among my collection of hundreds of issues, that begins with a photo of a bull bluegill far over two pounds on the first page, which the author caught on a sinking spider; the article was all about a distinction the author made between flies,  which he classified as normal flies used for other species including anything from dries to nymphs to streamers etc., and bugs, which he classified as sponge rubber spiders, I think popping bugs, and maybe a couple others, with the common denominator being they all had long rubber legs.  The author contended that bugs would outfish flies three or four to one for big bluegill, that big bluegill encountered them entirely differently than they would a fly, and just could be caught by them when they couldn't by flies.  I tend to agree with that author.

But it seems that no one even makes the open-cell foam that sinks anymore, and that was what my uncle (and the Fishing Facts writer) caught most of his 'gills on (on any given day, the subsurface bite usually trumps the surface bite for bigger fish by several factors, in my experience), so I've been stymied by that.  I did buy some two-toned rubber legs at a fly shop in Nashville the other day in case I am able to find some open-cell foam somewhere.  Anybody know of a source?

[Jim Gronaw]

I read Cory's piece...outstanding stuff and great insight on the heavy tungsten applications.

I have been making jigflys, or hacklejigs, whatever you want to call them, for about 5 years now and have found that somedays they're hot and somedays they're not. Unlike Schmidt, I do not desire the fast sink that he talks about with the tungsten. Rather, I am seeking the slowest possible 'fall rate' through the water column with the hackle jigs... that is what seems to trigger fish in most of the waters I fish, many of which are no deeper than 6 or 8 feet and sometimes have weedgrowth that impairs lure travel and fall rate. Also, a high percentage of my bluegilling is done from shore fishing locations, so I tend to maintain a horizontal movement, often with a bobber, if I have found the 'sweet zone' in the water column.

I have found that marabou, hackle and craft hair to do the job, but I am sure there are lots of materials that I can try and improve on.

Tony...you should have recieved the jigs by now, including some of the jigflys. Let me know how you do on them.

[Tony Livingston]

Jim, I think you and I could fish together in a BOW no bigger than a small bathtub and not get in each other's way....that's just how similar our fishing styles appear to be. You know I am a proponent of the slow fall, and I've touted it's effectiveness here many times before. I also tend to fish from shore, in fairly shallow water (at least during the warmer months), and will readily suspend a jig beneath a slip float.

The attraction that tungsten holds for me is it's sheer weight..... typically, It allows me to downsize the size of the jig. Say I'm using a size 10, or even an 8 in a common lead jig, the tungsten will allow me to drop down to a 12, or even a 14 while maintaining the casting weight and similar sink rate of a larger lead jig.

As I know you are aware, ice fishing is where the tungsten really comes into it's own. When the fish are finally located, and are in a feeding mood, it's all about speed.......how fast can you get back down the hole, before the bite quits or moves on........ that cold water is dense, and the tiny ice jigs sink VERY slowly, which is NOT what an angler wants in the winter. Lots of days the fish are not willing to move up in the water column, they stay put close to the bottom and getting a bait down to them quickly is paramount when they are actively feeding.

In short, tungsten's ability to fish heavy while keeping a miniscule profile is what appeals to me both summer and winter. I just wish it wasn't quite so expensive.....are they mining this stuff on the moon??

Thanks for the jigs, I haven't received them yet but I greatly look forward to using them! I certainly appreciate your generosity!!!

[Jim Gronaw]

Indeed...speed back down the chute is a key in the ice fishing world. I can remember when we finally located deep and active yellow perch at Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland...we didn't even bother to re-bait our Rapala jigging minnows...just get them down there in front of the fish and start jigging while the action was hot!

I also think that LedHed has some outstanding and creative designs in panfish jigs with his auto and semi-auto creations with the rubber legs. Tungsten might really be a hit in those deeper, clearer situations at Lake Perris. And Frederico is doing the deep water gig at some of his Texas locations...tungsten may help him, too.

If I am 'free-falling' a 1/64 oz lead hackle jig on 2 pound  SOS mono, it is going to fall pretty darn slow through the water column, allowing me to tickle it through weed growth and stay in the strike zone a little longer than a larger/heavier jig...warm water application here. If I tip that same bait with a piece of worm or other natural bait, the lure actually 'tumbles' awkwardly through the water column, and does not look natural at all. Despite tipping the jig, I tend to get fewer strikes with the free-fall jig technique. For that reason, I favor, in most instances, suspending a 'tipped' microjig below a fixed bobber presentation. In a free-fall  scenario the hackle jigs, untipped, just look more appealing

In other words, I favor...for the most part...

-tipped jigs below fixed or slip-bobber presentations and

-untipped jigs, especially 1/32 and smaller, on a straight casting/swimming/free-fall type of delivery.

But, as you know, there will be exceptions to these basics.

[Tony Livingston]

I agree. I think an angler can use a tipped jig more effectively when suspended relatively stationary beneath a float. I believe that when a jig is free-falling through the water column it should appear natural to the fish, and fall like a living invertebrate would fall. It should move......like it's alive. Adding bait can hinder that movement.

That's why I prefer to tip my vertical/float presentation jigs with lively bait. I'm looking for movement, something that portrays realism to the fish since the bait is not falling on its own. I think this becomes even more important in the case of wary, or highly pressured fish.