HALI jig issues

[Lunch_Box]

hello all,
            I am having issues with fish either breaking the chain or straightening out the hook on my HALI jigs.  Has anyone ever ezperienced this? does anyone have a suggestion on how to prevent his from happening?  Thanks 

[hard_water]

Replace the chain with flourocarbon and invest in some gamakatsu (Dont know about the spelling on that one) hooks. Problem solved.


                                          Water

[S and K fishing]

I like the halis, but i have had to change the chain to flouro carbon and the hooks. I found a jig made by kodiak and they hold up, stronger hook and chain great colors, and nice finish on them. Not to mention about a dollar or better cheaper than the hali.

[viking king]

When the fish in-hale, the light chain allows the hook and bait to be engulfed into the fishs mouth, (Gills,perch,Crappie,etc.). When you watch it on the camera you see why they work so well. The pimple the fish has to swim under the bait and hook. The pimple gets alot of attention as do all our favorite jigs. Heres my tip, replace the hook on your favorite jigs with a replacement chain for the Hali jigs or use flourocarbon and a hook as stated in previous posts. Like I said, it is the simplicity of the fish just "in-haling" that makes the jig so successful.
Try it and let me know how you guys do......Greg

[oletimer]

I took the chain off and added a split ring and treble hook. Seems to work well.

[S and K fishing]

I also bought some Kodiaks S&K. I don't have enough selection to truley compare it, I do agree the chain and hook are superior to the Hali. I still use the two  I have on occasion.

the owner at my local bait shop has a good selection of colors he just put in a order to get more.

[adkbrookie]

just use the kodiaks instead, way better quality and a lot cheaper

[Gamma Fish]

Last year when I thought the hali's were the new hotest thing , I went out and bought a dozen of them. Following that I met Flags -a-Flyin out at Chaumont and he pulled another six out of his hand box and out-n-out gave them to me.  Flags is a real production type of fisherman and they do not lend themselves to his type of fishing. In the intervening months I have seen why. As you mentioned in your post, besides the hooks bending and breaking, the chains kinking on them selves , numerous missed hits, and the problem of getting that tiny hook out when it is swallowed, make it an extreemly problematic lure. Don't get me wrong, it gets attention, I have pulled several pike and oddly enough, if there is a large mouth in the area they tend to strike it as well. For the same amount of money and action I would stay with your old Pimples. single hook. The new embossed green and yellows have been very effective on the pond, especially at GP. That's my two cents for what it's worth

Thge issue(s) with the Hali lures is not due toi lack of quality at all as most people have accused them of over the past few years.
   They're a European lure that was intended as a delivery system to get bait to fish that are seldon over 4 inches in length but are in depths of over 50 feet.    When the Hali's started gaining popularity in the US, it was then when the problems started as people were using them to target big pan fish, walleye and pike without understanding their original intent !
   Kodiak Jigs has done a decent job in duplicating a Hali like lure and have upgraded to a heavier chain / hook.   Better price too but the original Hali is still top dog !
   There are a few modifications that will allow you to target bigger fish using the original chains.  First one is something that I've done for years and that's to weave a couple strands of small diameter copper wire through the links of the chain and on the last weave, wrap it securely.    The added stiffness allows for better hook sets plus, eliminates the chains ability to kink up.    I've found that the copper wire keeps your baits movements more subtle and under control which for me, creats more strikes !
  As an upgrade for the hook, look into Mustad "Swedish Pimple" hooks !    They're the single hooks with the big looped eye !  They make them down to size 10 I believe but they're not easy to find locally.    Best bet is to scavange them from a Swedish Pimple package that you bought as they should come with that hook included.

  For finessing panfish, there's another system that works great but it's something I'd have to show you up close becuase right now, it's lunch time for me and my keyboard is getting crumbs on it !    

[BUCKSKI]

Those hali's are junk, get rid of em


I like the cooper though, never real had a need for it.
I have only had one fish ever break a chain, a nice walter at fish ice a couple of years ago.
Those lures have caught a ton of northerns overthe years

[5watchman5]

I wouldn't say that a lure that allows you to catch a limit of Perch in an hour is junk.  Actually, most will tell you those chains are quite strong despite their size.  We catch Lakers on them while jigging for Perch, and they get the job done.

[beerbellybob106]

i have broke a chain and bent the hook on my hali but that was after catching well over 50 perch so icant really complain about it. just be easy really the fish in if they want to run let them run and you shouldnt have to many problems. also use pliers and pull the hook straight out dont try to twist it

[Raquettedacker]

I have a Hali with the same hook and chain that's been on for over a year and have had no problems..  And its caught big Pickerel, bass, crappies, perch, gills and catfish...

[sacandagakid]

LOSEN YOUR DRAG!!!!!!!!!

[Fontona19]

LOSEN YOUR DRAG!!!!!!!!!

Haha, that was my very first thought while reading this.

[michianafisherman]

My friend always seams to destroy his hali chains and hooks. I don't have issues with them but I keep them in plastic coin tubes. I also take them off when I am done fishing the retie fresh knots each time out.

[Iceangler247]

The chain on my halli brok and i just replaced it with some 8# floral

[oldbuck]

I have never broken a chain on a Hali jig and I have caught bass up to five pounds on them. I use three pound test Trilene loosen my drag and enjoy the fight. Last weekend I caught several Walleyes, the biggest at 23 inches just after dark with the same setup. No bent hooks, and no lost fish. I just take my time and tire the fish out.

[3beagles]

Anyone who wants to get rid of their Hali's please feel free to send them to me.  I love them and have few issues with them.  They are my go to panfish lures.
Mike

[deebsey]

I have found that you need a real loose drag and not hoss the fish or upgrade the hooks and add better American made hooks

[dav]

I use them on occassion, as I go out with 6 poles with different jigs (I have them on 2 poles)so I don't have to retie when their not biting one or the other. I hear everyone talking about keeping the hali jigs and swapping out the chain and hook for other options. I actually have bought the chain and hook replacements and put them on other jigs (pimples) to get different action on different jigs.

But the Hali is still not the go to jig by any means   

dav

[viking king]

Dav, that is exactly the point I made in my post. Look you lost 1 fish off of one lure that caught many more. Not like that hasn't happened before. We all lose fish one way or another. As far as the chain sets go I put them on pimples and other jigs......The chain is what makes the whole concept work. Its the ability to lessen any restriction on the fish to in-hale the bait. No resistance and proper hook size equates to more fish on the ice. ......After all we are discussing problems landing fish not attracting...These are good problems....Greg

[icedauber]

I replaced the chain hooks with the open ended chains and size 10 red gamagatsu hooks. No problems for many fish. This works very well on small buckshot rattling spoons and pimples. I keep the chains and hooks in small styrofoam cubes. 

[Otto]

Try these from www.proscandinavia.com

[fish time]

i think you can buy replacement chains

[Lunch_Box]

why buy replacement chains if they are the same as the chains that come on the jig that are breaking???

[PauliePiker]

Thge issue(s) with the Hali lures is not due toi lack of quality at all as most people have accused them of over the past few years.
   They're a European lure that was intended as a delivery system to get bait to fish that are seldon over 4 inches in length but are in depths of over 50 feet.    When the Hali's started gaining popularity in the US, it was then when the problems started as people were using them to target big pan fish, walleye and pike without understanding their original intent !
   Kodiak Jigs has done a decent job in duplicating a Hali like lure and have upgraded to a heavier chain / hook.   Better price too but the original Hali is still top dog !
   There are a few modifications that will allow you to target bigger fish using the original chains.  First one is something that I've done for years and that's to weave a couple strands of small diameter copper wire through the links of the chain and on the last weave, wrap it securely.    The added stiffness allows for better hook sets plus, eliminates the chains ability to kink up.    I've found that the copper wire keeps your baits movements more subtle and under control which for me, creats more strikes !
  As an upgrade for the hook, look into Mustad "Swedish Pimple" hooks !    They're the single hooks with the big looped eye !  They make them down to size 10 I believe but they're not easy to find locally.    Best bet is to scavange them from a Swedish Pimple package that you bought as they should come with that hook included.

  For finessing panfish, there's another system that works great but it's something I'd have to show you up close becuase right now, it's lunch time for me and my keyboard is getting crumbs on it !    Thanks for the info GAMMA,you sound a little smarter on this issue than the average joe.

[Fontona19]

I landed a 3lbs lake trout on one yesterday without any issues. I have had very good luck with these jigs.

[Gamma Fish]

Paulie.
  It's nothing more than having spent a lot of time experimenting with and understanding how/why certain lures are made and what their minimum and maximum limits are.
  Keep in mind that about 90% of ice fishing tackle is is made to "Catch the Fisherman"  !     The remaining percentage is actually well built and time tested tackle/lures that have been catching fish worldwide for decades !   The "Hali" and other similar European bait delivery systems have been around for 30 to 40 years.   People who use them the way they were intended, rarely have a problem with them.    If the people who had problems did some reasearch into how the Europeans utilize this type of lure, it would make it more clear as to why so many people are breaking the chains and/or loosing fish.
   Last winter on Oneida Lake, I sat next to a couple guys who were using Hali's with a buckeye minnow hanging from the hook.    The minnow was so big that there was barely any hook exposed and these guys repeatedly missed hits !       The other thing I witnessed was that both guys were using ice rods that could have been used for frog spear shafts !     Big money, name brand graphite rods with $ 60.00 reels that were overkill for what they were fishing for !      When the first guy broke the chain on his Hali jig, he B#tched about the poor quality and that it was the jigs fault for not hooking fish consistently 
  I suggested that he remove the tiny single hook and add a #12 or # 14 treble so there were hook points exposed but he was already worked up because of his own lack of understanding of the products he was using.
   This scenario is very common on the ice !    Either too much rod/reel for the jig or too heavy a jig/hook and too light of a line/rod !
For consistent results in deep water, a balanced rig is essential !
  The Hali is a fairly heavy and rigid lure !   To set the hook in deep water, the jig has to move quickly but not so fast/hard that you rip the hook from the fishes mouth or break the chain !     Reaction time is a huge factor when using a Hali style jig !    The shorter the rod, the faster your reaction time is in setting the hook.      Rod length, line stretch, jig weight, hook sharpness and drag settings are all factors in getting the hook planted firmly in a fishes jaw !   
  The Europeans use rods (palm rods) that are less than 12" long !   They "hand over hand" their fish to the surface !   They use no reels (most of them), the quality of the hooks/lures they use were much better quality than we had access to here in the US for years !
  Their lines were much more refined and better quality that ours !
Basically, they eliminate the factors that cause you to lose fish or not hook them !       Their system works and the "Hali" has been part of it for many years !

[bballs]

Ive used pimples exclusively for the last 5 years.  That didn't change until a friend of mine got his limit of perch using a orange tiger hali, right next to me, while i missed fish after fish.  The chain is what made the difference.  as posted earlier, the chain allows the fish to pull the bait into the mouth with little movement, resulting in more Strikes.  It makes sense, cold temperatures = lethargic fish, so less movement = more energy saved and a willingness to strike.  Compared the the pimple, where the fish has to locate your bait, then moves itself into postion to feast.  Pimple leaves a lot of room for error.  Not sure if the fish are that in-tune with their energy levels, but it makes sense to me.