01-29-2011, 01:14 AM
[cool][#0000ff]Some guys do use the very small jigs...usually below a heavier jig or flasher. And they do work for finicky perch...but not when there are hordes of the little ones around. Anything you drop down gets swarmed by the little fish and the big deliberate fish don't have a chance to move in, look it over and take a taste.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In the most productive areas of Starvation right now, your sonar screen fills up with fish from the bottom to several feet above bottom whenever you drop a freshly baited jig down to them. There are some bigger fish in the bunch, for sure, but you can't find your jig among the marks of all the fish surrounding it. And the aggressive lightweights usually get there first.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I almost never use jigs with hooks smaller than size 6 and often go up to size 2. I usually decorate with a big chunk of perch meat or lots of crawler, just to keep the littlest fish off the hook. Doesn't always work. I let the rod tip bounce and wiggle while the dinksters are nipping at the bait and suddenly the rod tip takes a big dip...a pulldown. Then I set the hook and usually have something more worthwhile. Amazingly, those tiny perch often chew the bait down to size and manage to get the hook point inside their mouths and impale themselves. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Whenever I try to use small jigs I usually catch nothing but small fish...at least in the shallow areas where the littlest ones hang out. But when you can find the schools of big fish, in the deeper channels, using small baits can be a better way to attract the big egg-laden females that cannot eat larger food. The other option is to use something flashy and noisy that will provoke them into whacking it. Gotta have a lot of tricks in your tackle box and know what to try on any given day.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In the most productive areas of Starvation right now, your sonar screen fills up with fish from the bottom to several feet above bottom whenever you drop a freshly baited jig down to them. There are some bigger fish in the bunch, for sure, but you can't find your jig among the marks of all the fish surrounding it. And the aggressive lightweights usually get there first.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I almost never use jigs with hooks smaller than size 6 and often go up to size 2. I usually decorate with a big chunk of perch meat or lots of crawler, just to keep the littlest fish off the hook. Doesn't always work. I let the rod tip bounce and wiggle while the dinksters are nipping at the bait and suddenly the rod tip takes a big dip...a pulldown. Then I set the hook and usually have something more worthwhile. Amazingly, those tiny perch often chew the bait down to size and manage to get the hook point inside their mouths and impale themselves. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Whenever I try to use small jigs I usually catch nothing but small fish...at least in the shallow areas where the littlest ones hang out. But when you can find the schools of big fish, in the deeper channels, using small baits can be a better way to attract the big egg-laden females that cannot eat larger food. The other option is to use something flashy and noisy that will provoke them into whacking it. Gotta have a lot of tricks in your tackle box and know what to try on any given day.[/#0000ff]
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