Tougher than it should be

[fishslap]

Hit the ice last weekend for half a day.  Drilled over 80 holes and....could....not... .find....fish.  Landed a few small bass, one bluegill, one hybrid, one crappie.  The crappie was a good one though.  I had one big bass come unbuttoned on my noodle rod/level wind setup on a small jig.  All other fish but the gill were caught on a large gill pill with white clam maki tail.

[SLAYERFISH]

Rub it in--

[Bigassbassman]

Not bad for a half day --- nice crappie!   

[fishslap]

Crappie was a little under 14"....problem is that it "don't count"

[SLAYERFISH]

Crappie was a little under 14"....problem is that it "don't count"

AHA! 

[_colorado]

Nice job. 

What kind of a jig head do you use with your Maki?  I use a Cabelas 1/64th ounce lead head but they sure are delicate little jigs to route the hook through.  Nice action on them too.

[Cantharellus]

Nice Crappie!

[fishslap]

Nice job. 

What kind of a jig head do you use with your Maki?  I use a Cabelas 1/64th ounce lead head but they sure are delicate little jigs to route the hook through.  Nice action on them too.

One of the medium/larger size gill pills from Custom Jigs & Spins.  I can't remember what size.  I take the little plastic sleeve & bead off though (hate those things).  I like the gill pills to pound water since they're fairly heavy for size and have a flat bottom.  Also, if the bluegill aren't too picky, you can pick them up on the medium size gill pills and still have hook to keep the bass on when they hit.  The only issue is that I think they might spin a lot.

[Bigassbassman]

One of the medium/larger size gill pills from Custom Jigs & Spins.  I can't remember what size.  I take the little plastic sleeve & bead off though (hate those things).  I like the gill pills to pound water since they're fairly heavy for size and have a flat bottom.  Also, if the bluegill aren't too picky, you can pick them up on the medium size gill pills and still have hook to keep the bass on when they hit.  The only issue is that I think they might spin a lot.

I'll have to try some of those gill pills.  For small tungstens and the like, I tie surgeons loops to prevent the spinning.  Works well for me.

[fishslap]

I'll have to try some of those gill pills.  For small tungstens and the like, I tie surgeons loops to prevent the spinning.  Works well for me.

I'll have to try that.  Does it keep your jig balanced horizontal?  I think I tie a basic improved clinch and I always have to reposition the knot.  I keep thinking about getting some of those through hole tungstens also.

[Bigassbassman]

It won't hold it perfectly horizontal, because the jig basically hangs freely on a loop.  Unless your jig is perfectly balanced to hang horizontally from the jig's eye.  I use wolfram jigs all the time with the surgeons loop, and they hang slightly tail-down.  But the surgeon's loop does stop the spinning, which in my opinion is more important than a perfect horizontal presentation.  Especially if you're pounding the bottom and keeping it moving the fish won't care if the jig is slightly tilted.  But I've found they really dislike spinning jigs in contrast.

[Cantharellus]

Check out the no slip mono loop. I use that knot for everything! Super easy to tie and very strong. That and uni to uni are my top two knots probably.

[_colorado]

I have bought stuff from Custom Jigs & Spins in the past and usually use the hook from a ratso for the Maki.  I'll check out the gill pill.  Thanks!

____  In fact, I just looked at the Gill Pill at the website and realized I do have a bunch of them already.  I'll give 'em a try again.