Tonight's Catch

[Waterwings]

Good catch!

 

[little anth]

can u post how you split that rods cork. it looks sweet and i wanted to try it. was it hard?did u like it? thanks man
good job you are on fire keep it up

 

[nicdicarlo]

Fishins, good work with those bass. SC is still hot I guess. As for the wacky hook, I usually use a size 1 Gammy fine wire drop shot/finesse hook. It looks like a thin wire octopus. My hook up ratio is pretty good. The gap of the hook is just wide enough to accomodate a senko/dinger style bait. Just my opinion. I am sticking with that hook, until something proves better for me.

 

[FishinsMyLife]

I think this is the website for the split grip project. https://www.georgescustomrods.com/split_your_grip.htm I didn't do everything the website said. I just used what I had. I cut the cork away to how I wanted it and sanded/lightly grinded the glue and leftover cork off. Make sure your knife is sharp and go slow and you should do alright. I didn't have a heat gun or whatever. I didn't think it was that hard. I'm not sure if it helps anything, but if you cast two handed, like I do, it can't hurt and it looks cool.

 

[little anth]

yea that looks real nice it might be a new offseason project of mine

 

[FishinsMyLife]

Well I didn't really catch these at night but I'll post em here anyway. I hit the local blackwater pond a couple times this weekend and managed a few jackfish. My brother caught a one pound pickeral and a tiny one the first time, and then I managed two around a pound on live shiners and my brother caught one on a Rapala. We caught two of the three today by throwing a lot of bread in the water and getting the shiners in the pond in a frenzy and throwing a shiner on the outside if the swarm. I was throwing the bread in at first so I could throw my cast net over the shiners to catch them for bait but a good sized pick swam through the shiners, making me remember that big fish eat little fish. My brother caught his on a Rapala swimming it over the shiners and a jackfish came up and nailed it. I had another on an X Rap but it threw the hook. Also, does anyone have suggestions on a good hook for 3 to 4 inch live shiners? If we would have caught as many as we saw inhale our bait, I would have 5 or 6 more pictures.

 

[Captain Ahab]

Your problem is not the hook but the way pickerel (or Jack fish) eat. Usually a pickerel will grab the shiner lightly and use its rear curving teeth to hold the prey while it seeks cover. Once it finds cover it will then turn the prey so it can swallow it head first.

Patience is the key, wait until after the pickerel grabs the bait and moves off - it will stop in a few seconds - then set the hook, at that point it has the whole shiner in its mouth.

And please use care when handling these great fish - laying them on a dray wooded dock will remove the slime coat and can kill the fish. Not right away, but it will die in a few days becuase you removed the protective coating.

I woudl recommend that you use a size 1 baitholder or shiner hook. i use Matzou America Sickle Baitholders - they also work great for wacky rigging senkos

Here is a link: https://www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0017776117546a.shtml