12-10-2003, 08:22 PM
Worms and whitefish.....just a small piece of worm is typically used to tip the small jigs. Maybe 1" or so. I agree with the other posts that you do no need a worm if the fish are "on". I fished last Sat. without any worms and small maribou jigs and two of us caught 20 whitefish. It was just a matter of finding the fish. Once we located fish we caught about 15 fish in about 45 minutes. Just hook the worm on, there is no secret way. The whitefish are hitting the jigs out of aggression more than for feeding.
Leaders and knot strength..... There are many opinions here. Best spot to look for fishing knots is on the web. I looked at several last night in fact and again proved to myself that it is difficult to beat the knot strength of the Palomar knot. It is easy to tie with jigs and holds 95% of the line strength. Other strong knots are the Trilene knot (about 95%) strength and the ever-popular improved clinch knot at about 75% strength. There are many others I don't mention. As far as line goes I am a Spiderwire fan too for vertical jigging. For the terminal end, I attach a 4 foot length of 12 to 15 monofilament (I like Trilene XT) to the jig. Between the Spiderwire and mono I use a barrel swivel to reduce line twist. I use the "braid" knot made for braided line to tie on the swivel. Again, this knot is found on the web. I agree with BLM that once you get over 12lb test or so, it is usually the knots that fail or the fish may be just hitting their teeth into the line just right and causing it to break.
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Leaders and knot strength..... There are many opinions here. Best spot to look for fishing knots is on the web. I looked at several last night in fact and again proved to myself that it is difficult to beat the knot strength of the Palomar knot. It is easy to tie with jigs and holds 95% of the line strength. Other strong knots are the Trilene knot (about 95%) strength and the ever-popular improved clinch knot at about 75% strength. There are many others I don't mention. As far as line goes I am a Spiderwire fan too for vertical jigging. For the terminal end, I attach a 4 foot length of 12 to 15 monofilament (I like Trilene XT) to the jig. Between the Spiderwire and mono I use a barrel swivel to reduce line twist. I use the "braid" knot made for braided line to tie on the swivel. Again, this knot is found on the web. I agree with BLM that once you get over 12lb test or so, it is usually the knots that fail or the fish may be just hitting their teeth into the line just right and causing it to break.
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