Paddletails

[Scenic]

Yes, when using plastics you want a slightly larger hook gap to accommodate the body of the plastics. This will result in better hook sets.

[Note from admin-

They are now available at:

TackleCity.com - Click Here ]

[CALVINIST]

I tried cutting the collar off the jig with a wire cutter and was pleased with the results . When i went out last night I used a jig with a bigger hook gap and got a lot more fish than I had gotten in the past using a smaller hook. I faired well last night using the white/blue glitter paddletail with the "glow" tail. On Tonka, this bait works awesome at night.

[friendlyfisher]

Guys I have recently had some good sucess with theese paddletails. What im wondering is if you will use them at night? Or is it better to go with live bait? ff

[delmuts]

you can oder the small jig heads with out collars from TackleCity.com - Click Here.

[CALVINIST]

Del, thanks,

Fisherfriendly, I have had good luck with Culprit paddletails at night. There is one that is is white.blue glitter with a glow tail that I have had good sucess on. Of course, Where I fish at night there is some lighting nearby that attracts fish.

[markkstanley]

I've been using the June Bug/ Chartreuse tail. Works great day or night. Going to try the plain chartreuse and the pink version this week. I've been reeling them in slowly under a fixed float. Running at about two feet. If fish are biting they just nail it. If bite is off they will just pick it up and you have to be quick. The best part is after one week I am still using the original paddletail. No dipping in a cold minnow bucket. For a jighead I found some 1/16 glow heads with a red hook.

[Down to Earth]

delmuts,

If your still looking for a place to order collarless jigs - They are now available at:

TackleCity.com - Click Here

Andy

[poutpro]

I have been looking for paddletails, but the only kind I can find is Mister Twister. Am I not looking hard enough, or where can I find different brands?

[delmuts]

i believe one of our sponsors carry paddle tails and they should be available at TackleCity.com soon.

[friendlyfisher]

Are you guys still catchin the crappies since the colder weather hit us? ff

[markkstanley]

Caught some crappies and blue gills and more bass last night all on paddletails. Not great numbers maybe a dozen fish total. Was too windy to fish the main lake and the fish were no longer shallow in the small bays. Water temps have dropped about 6 degrees from last Friday.

[CALVINIST]

The crappie bite has really picked up on Minnetonka. I am having mixed results on paddletails. The good news is, that eight out of every ten times I would cast out and reel in, I would get a hit. The bad news is, I an having a very bad hookup ratio; countless times I brought in my jig with the paddletail pulled halfway off. When I went out tonight, I probably caught about 15 on the paddletails. But if I would have connected on all the fish that took a swipe, I probably would have had over a hundred fish...no kidding. I caught a few on minnow tipped flu-flu, but the paddletails obviously excel at provoking strikes with active fish. So Crappie Tom, I know you will read this, or anyone...what can I do to get more fish in the boat? I am using a 1/16 oz. jig head, collarless (I take the collars off myself) I rely on watching the line as well as feel, and I usually inpart some sort of slow jigging action.

[EYEHUNTER10]

I through every plastic at them you got, some tubes with the tail pieces half cut off with a head or a minnow or a small piece of anything waxie, spike, or a head of a minnow I find I get more into the boat when I figure out what they want today challenged me the worst it ever has I think but ended up with a baby ratfinky tipped with a waxxie the surface temp was 50 degrees or less no matter where I went I covered the whole n an ne section of the lake and a huge section of the entire bay on waska before I found a few then had to tie on every thing I had in my box before I even tried live bait then had to actually do something I hated to do put a minnow on I was that convinced the plactics would catch them they have for me all spring. Eventully I wised up and broke out the finkys and the shrimpos and caught a few a challenge to say the least Brr

[delmuts]

calc. try opening the hook gap a little. and if your jig has the gold colored hook, then i would try turning the hook pt off to the side just a little ( so it's not directly behind the eye of the jig) if the hook is the bronze color, then be carefull. they break alot easier. Tom and the other guys should have some other suggestions!

[CrappieJohn]

Cal....

You can try off-setting the hool as Del suggested. On the Culprit baits, I usually run the hook thru the body more to one side so the hook has adequate clearance. What I generally do on short hitters is to bite off the first 1/4 inch of the body of the paddletail.

Another thought would be to drop down to the 1/32 head. On a four pound line using the 1/16 head, it may be that the lure doesn't get enough "pivot" to allow for a solid hook-up.

You don't mention line....if you are using a braid you may be taking the bait away far too fast to hook the fish. I do not use a braid of any kind for panfish. If I am casting without a float, I use fluorocarbon. It has a much diminished degree of stretch and is almost as sensitive as the braids. When used on a free line with no float, the water absorbing quality cause the line to sink and plays on the anglers' behalf by getting the bait down quicker.

You also make no mention of a float. Until after the spawn has occured, I fish these baits almost exclusively under a float. During severe cold fronts accompanied by dropping water temperatures, I might have to locate fish in submerged, very deep wood or boulder strewn bottom and be forced to fish vertically sans the float; however, crappies will rise up to hit these baits freely, many times several feet, even when fished on a float over deep water. If I fish over five feet deep under a float, I begin to look at slip floats. If you encounter trouble getting the small head to pull the line thru the float, add a small shot a foot above the jig.

Paddletails do excel in strike provocation. This includes strikes from sunfish. The largest sunfish that I catch in the open water will fall to the paddies! What you describe as being short hitters may in fact be nothing more than smaller sunfish bothering you. I still shorten the paddletail body when I start to feel that sunfish or short hitting crappies are present. Don't kid yourself about the small mouth of the sunfish....it can get one of these critters in clear to the craw.

As with anything new, learning what to react to and how to react is a big thing. The key here is confidence in knowing that the paddletails are getting some serious attention from the fish....you have already made that observation. Now, using the addition information, try to blend the use of the paddletails into your style of fishing. The fact that you KNOW the fish are paying particular attention to the baits is the biggie. The rest is all small stuff. You'll get it....trust me.

[CALVINIST]

Tom, thanks for the lengthy reply. Thanks to the others too. I'll try to shorten things up a bit, use a smaller jighead, offset the hook, and work under a float. I had another idea. How about a small stinger hook, not imbedded into the plastic tail because that would affect the action, but just trailing along? I thought this might work. Next time I go out I'll rig something up, try it out, and give a report.

[Note from admin-

The collarless jigs with slightly oversized - super sharp VMC hooks are now available at:

TackleCity.com - Click Here ]

[tonyjor]

Eyehunter-

That is the longest sentence I've ever read.... Glad you finally found some fish. Persistence pays off when the weather is how it is. Usually I would try a plain hook with a crappie minnow in that situation, but then I get too many hungry bass and norts buggin me.

[CrappieJohn]

Cal....

I'd pass on the stinger. That will bring on more headaches than short hitting fish.

[markkstanley]

Cal I found some wide gap 1/16 jigheads. They even glow and have red hooks. Seldom miss as hook is just before the paddletail. Found them at Gander. Crappie Tom is right about the float. I was fishing Sat in 14 to 20ft of water. Paddletail was about two feet down from the float. Got a fish every cast for about an hour. It was after sunset so I couldn't see the float or the line but it was fairly easy to detect the pickup while reeling slowly. The crappies were not slamming it like they have in the past but the paddletail was inhaled everytime. Kudos to Crappie Tom for putting me on this way to fish. With the weather we had this weekend not having to dip into a minnow bucket was a beautiful thing.

[Note from admin-

The collarless jigs with slightly oversized - super sharp VMC hooks are now available at:

TackleCity.com - Click Here ]

[CALVINIST]

ok, no stinger!

Mark, I was having alot of action on the pink paddletails, as well as the white/blue glitter one. Next time I get out, i'll work it under a float. I'll keep an eye out for those hooks at Gander...brand name?

Thanks!

[markkstanley]

Northland - they come prepackaged a little $$$ but it is a more solid hook than the gold hooks on Flu Flus etc. Come in white and yellow heads.

[Note from admin-

The collarless jigs with slightly oversized - super sharp VMC hooks are now available at:

TackleCity.com - Click Here ]

[CALVINIST]

Mark,

I found the Northland jigs. I even nipped off a quarter inch at Tom's (Thanks Tom!) suggestion; I like the compact profile this provides, yet it won't compromise the tail action. Hopefully that'll take care of the short strike problem I've been having. When I get out tomorrow evening, I'll present this under a float and see what happens. I might even sneak out for an hour or so tonight!

[markkstanley]

Paddletails were the only thing that worked for us last night. Even the pink one outfished jig and minnow hands down. The crappies were slurping them. Very light pickup but when we got the fish to the boat you couldn't even see the jighead. Most of the action was towards sunset and later. I've been taking the round bulb shaped end off and not snugging the tail all the way to the jighead. That avoids the collar issue and covers short strikers all in one. Been working for me. Have used the same tail for three nights now.

[Shorelunch]

Mark,

I've only used slip bobbers in the past. Can you tell me or show me the style bobber you're using? Or would it work to put a knot below the slip bobber as well?

Thanks!

[markkstanley]

Fixed floats work best for this. Thill makes one called the Supreme series that can be used as either a slip or a fixed float. I've been using both the Mini-Stealth size 2 and the Stealth. I also tried the Super Shy Bite but prefer the prior two. You could use the plain old spring type fixed bobber. I just find it hard to adjust the depth as my line always gets wrapped up in the spring. Why fixed? It's a little more difficult to detect bites with slip floats when you are moving them and the jig falls differently. Try out both but I bet you'll end up using fixed for this technique. The Supreme series costs a couple of bucks for one but you really are getting two floats at once. I have used them as slip bobbers and they worked great.