mike rousseau Posted October 27, 2014 Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 Hello So the past few years I've learned to love the simplicity of a jig and minnow... Especially when the water is cold... But I don't do it a lot... So to all you anglers that use this technique a lot... What's your favourite jig...? make and model...? How do you like hooking your minnows? Do you bother with a stinger hook? Any other information would be great... We got 20 walleye (most around 16-18 inches) in 2 hours yesterday and it was a blast on light gear and a jig... Not trophies but really fun none the less.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manitoubass2 Posted October 27, 2014 Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 (edited) Rock chuck jigs are my fav bit I use a variety. I usually hook right through skull or at time through the tail. I like wahoo jigs as well. N8ce design good strong hook. I use northlands too but the hooks suck. Gotta change frequently in snaggy waters Edited October 27, 2014 by manitoubass2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solopaddler Posted October 27, 2014 Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 Goes without saying that a shorter shank live bait jig head is what you want. Will often run a stinger especially in the fall when I'm using larger minnows. VMC hammerhead jigs are nice, but there's lots of great ones on the market. If you can find a live bait jig with a small Colorado spinner underneath, similar to a Road Runner jig USE THEM! I have a bunch of jigs like these and the added flash of the small spinner makes a huge difference at times. Was just searching online for a photo of one but couldn't find any. Also can't remember the brand I use...(getting old sucks LOL!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manitoubass2 Posted October 27, 2014 Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 Goes without saying that a shorter shank live bait jig head is what you want. Will often run a stinger especially in the fall when I'm using larger minnows. VMC hammerhead jigs are nice, but there's lots of great ones on the market. If you can find a live bait jig with a small Colorado spinner underneath, similar to a Road Runner jig USE THEM! I have a bunch of jigs like these and the added flash of the small spinner makes a huge difference at times. Was just searching online for a photo of one but couldn't find any. Also can't remember the brand I use...(getting old sucks LOL!) thats what those wahoo jigs are. Small red colorado under the jig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solopaddler Posted October 27, 2014 Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 thats what those wahoo jigs are. Small red colorado under the jig Great minds think alike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeytier Posted October 27, 2014 Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 Through the mouth and up thru the hard part of the skull is IMO the best way to rig a live minnow on a jig. I usually stick with northland gumballs, and a stinger is probably a good idea if you can get away with it (might be tough on snaggy bottoms) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted October 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 I found some short shank fireball jigs from northland and some VMC stinger hooks at Canadian tire... Gunna try them out and see how they work... Gunna try hooking the minnow like Joey said.... I'll keep an eye out for those higher end jigs you guys mentioned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manitoubass2 Posted October 27, 2014 Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 There not too expensive mike. 3.99 for 4 jigs I believe. When you rig through mouth and out the skull the minnow remains alive for alot longer then youd think. Its kinda cool too you can feel the minnow panic seconds before a bite sometimes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 I found some short shank fireball jigs from northland and some VMC stinger hooks at Canadian tire... Gunna try them out and see how they work... Gunna try hooking the minnow like Joey said.... I'll keep an eye out for those higher end jigs you guys mentioned I use something similar, although I only hook the upper jaw of the sucker minnow, not the bottom. They seem to last a lot longer this way. As for the stinger you can straighten one of the trebles and stick it right behind the dorsal.. Won't kill the fish, no worries about it getting snagged either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioFisherman Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 http://www.lindyfishingtackle.com/lindy-fuzz-e-grub-jigs http://www.reelbait.com/ccp7/index.php?app=ecom&ns=catshow&ref=original I used Lindy's Fuzzy Grubs almost exclusively on Lake Erie for Smallmouth and Walleye if I decided to fish with a jig and minnow. Top link ; they work well, but it may have just been because of the minnow? I didn't like to use small minnows, so the minnows of choice were 3-5 inch golden shiners ( purchased ) or creek chubs the same size ( caught ) 4-6 inch suckers ( also caught ) seemed to completely eliminate the smallie bite and it became walleye fishing. For the suckers a stinger hook became necessary, and since I didn't care to use a size 8 or 10 treble stinger? I made my own using a size 6. Just stumbled on the jigheads in link #2, they could be effective. The ball head jig with a 3-4 inch grub and a minnow is also though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister G Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 Too many variables to answer. How deep of water, current or no current. line diameter, drifting or no drifting and if drifting how fast or is it a controlled drift. Color of the water (stained or not, muddy or not). And then are you fishing weeds or rocks or the transition area not that it's fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted October 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 http://www.lindyfishingtackle.com/lindy-fuzz-e-grub-jigs http://www.reelbait.com/ccp7/index.php?app=ecom&ns=catshow&ref=original I used Lindy's Fuzzy Grubs almost exclusively on Lake Erie for Smallmouth and Walleye if I decided to fish with a jig and minnow. Top link ; they work well, but it may have just been because of the minnow? I didn't like to use small minnows, so the minnows of choice were 3-5 inch golden shiners ( purchased ) or creek chubs the same size ( caught ) 4-6 inch suckers ( also caught ) seemed to completely eliminate the smallie bite and it became walleye fishing. For the suckers a stinger hook became necessary, and since I didn't care to use a size 8 or 10 treble stinger? I made my own using a size 6. Just stumbled on the jigheads in link #2, they could be effective. The ball head jig with a 3-4 inch grub and a minnow is also though. I have a couple of the jigs in link 2... Got them to try a while back and never got around to using them.... Too many variables to answer. How deep of water, current or no current. line diameter, drifting or no drifting and if drifting how fast or is it a controlled drift. Color of the water (stained or not, muddy or not). And then are you fishing weeds or rocks or the transition area not that it's fall. I'm more concerned with models... Not weight or color wich eliminate half your criteria... I'm pitching a jig/minnow in river eddies in less then 20 feet of water... Light current... Mixed bottom of sand/gravel/rubble/mussel beds/weeds.... Not concerned about snags at all... Mostly single rocks here and there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister G Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 1/8, 1/4 and 5/15 jigs........my favorite are bullet heads, followed by round heads with 6# test line on a light or med light 6' 6" spinning rod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCTFisher9120 Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 Live bait hahaha, only through the ice for me. I like VMC jigs if I had to fish the worms or minnows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKRISONER Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 I started using a 3 foot lead of fluro this weekend and the results spoke for themselves a PB. I would say most important is presentation of the jig itself when fishing. Call me crazy but the way you hold your bait in the water is everything, I personally have always found that if I get my presentation just so, I will outfish everyone in the boat. for me its all about sitting the hook on the bottom, and then finding the point where I can put load and tension on the line but still have it sitting right on the bottom. Every 10 seconds a quick pop and putting it right back on the bottom with tension. For me at least, hovering over the bottom, or too much slack on the jig while it sits on the bottom makes all the difference. Personally my trick to get it perfectly is to hold my rod with one hand and let the tip of my rod be completely free to teeter totter to ensure the jig is loaded but not moving. This can be much more difficult when drifting a lot or there being lots of current. I rig my minnows through the bottom lip and top lip as far back as I can without puncturing the sucker's brain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hookerdown Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 I tie my own bucktails/zonkers and tip them with minnows for open water fishing. Ice fishing for perch on simcoe I either tie ice fishing flies or small bucktails tipped with a shiner. I am going to try a new style of jig head that will provide more movement and test it during the hard water season for perch and hopefully make it out to the Laker grounds this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDunn Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 I like the ones your gonna buy mike. Through the gill and skin hooked is how I use em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosebunk Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 Think I'm using mostly VMC's now Mike... maybe with some Jig-A-Joes still thrown in the mix. Hear ya though dood... cold fall waters it's best to go lively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted October 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 Tried the fireball jigs today in 3/8... Hooking the minnows inside the mouth and out behing the head...Me snd me brother managed 12 in 2 hours... Minnows lasted A LOT LONGER... But I was surprised how soft the hooks were... I mean I don't mess around... I like to get my fish to the boat in a jiffy... By I was surprised that my 6'3" med-light could straighten the hook on a walleye under 20".... Blew my mind... I ended up backing off on the drag and no more issues... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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