heartbeat hula...

[CrappieJohn]

Got your attention with the title, didn't I? Don't worry, this will fit. You'll see.

We are at a time in the winter when we begin to hear of down sizing the baits to get fish to hit. But just what does this entail and how small is small?

Cold fronts, an injection of dirty water, even noise can put fish in a funk bite-wise, especially the panfish....so as you read keep in mind it is this group of fish that I am referring to while trying to explain this. A frontal weather system will be the most common of all causes to pay attention to and we will stick with that as a hypothetical in this instance too.

Say a major cold front comes piling thru an area right when a steady bite has been occuring. You are now faced with much colder air, clear, high skies and a stiff north wind. You only have a day or so to fish and won't pass on the opportunity and you find the fish on the locator but they will not respond to anything you drop down there. You dig through the tackle and find a smaller jig and a smaller piece of plastic and think "this wll do it", but nada. But why?

Lets start with the jig. Many of the typical jigs, whether vertical or horizontal, are in the 1/32 to 1/64 catagory. Some may be larger, some smaller. I call these utility jigs simply because they are the best tool when the bite is on and size doesn't seem to get in the way of the bite or hinder it. When the fish develope lock-jaw though, even that 1/64 can be way too big to tempt these fish. They still will eat, but instead of eating a pancake, they eat the crumbs. They get like a sick child....you can get them to take a random "taste" of something, but you'll be doing real good to get them to eat the whole spoonful.

Dropping down to a jig in the 1/100 to 1/200th ounce range is where we need to begin looking for a bite to develope. As an example, Custon Jigs and Spins makes Demons, Rat Finkes, Ratsos and Shrimpos that will fall somewhere in between those weight ranges and are dynamic as far as being down-sizing baits with a wide range of colors provided to choose from. Both horizontal and vertical needs are met, with the Demons and Shrimpos being the up-right numbers and the others mentioned being of horizontal nature. When I go this small, I am using no more than 2 pound line and a spring bobber. At any rate and regardless of the jig's manufacturer, this is the minimum size range you need to look at to truely consider your baits as being properly down-sized. Marmuskas of hardly any weight value exist and take some huge fish....these lures are way smaller than the 1/200th ounce numbers in my opinion.

So now you've got the jig peeled down to almost nothing and maybe are tossing a small piece of a waxie or maggot on to give it some odor. The fish show some interst, some may even be caught. Still, you are seeing many more there on the locator and they appear interested and maybe even bump the jig occasionally, so you toss on a plastic to help out. Maybe you have elected to use a jig with a plastic intalled like the Shrimpo or the Ratso. If this is the case you must now find out which on of the two presentations is the fish getter, verical or horizontal. This does make a huge difference and usually the only way to find out is to offer both and see which one wins out and then switch both lines to that presentation. What, though, if you need to go shopping for some plastic to put on jigs have that are bare?

Everyone has plastic out there and everyone says theirs' is the cats meow, but few really fall into the catagory of being a true finnesse plastic. Again, Custom Jigs and Spins has answered the call to this need with a line of finesse plastics designed specifically for this type of active duty. (There are a couple other makers who have very similar, ultra fine plastic products aimed at this particular market and are readily available at most bait shops or sporting goods store) These plastics are sweet. Very thin at the hook end and tapering away to almost nothing at the tail, they seem almost transparent. Not to worry though, a sunfish that can see the gills pumping and the apendages moving on a water flea at 20 feet in dark water will not be able to miss this plastic, but it is exactly this lithe whip-like piece that will get the fish. I even cut off about half of the heavy end of these plastics so all I am using is the thin stuff. This is very hard to hook and keep in place yes, but the fishing is worth it. That and the heavier plastics just will not get the appropriate attention you want that these ultra light plastics command.

So how do you know when the plastic is the "right stuff"? In Custom's case, if the jig comes with the plastic, you are on track. Be sure to pick up some replacement plastic (Custom also sells these in various colors, some of which glow) that matches what the jigs come with. Quality plastics are very tender and those whip-like tails will get nipped off....the jig isn't trashed but the plastic is. In the package, Custom's tackle is a balanced jig/plastic. And Custom has refined those dainty tails to a perfection not easily found anywhere on a packaged jig! Now, if you are looking to pick up plastic to do your own tinkering keep in mind the need to stay ultra thin with almost no distinguishable body. Your best finesse plastics start at almost nothing and ends at absolutely nothing more than a wisp. Single tail, split or double tail, paddle tail....makes no never mind....if it isn't ultra thin and transparent, its way too heavy for what you want. The tails have got to be very transparent even if they are of glo plastic. The key here is that tranparency equates to motion

and that is where the "heartbeat hula" comes into play.

Put a finesse plastic in a wee bit of a jig while at home. Tie the jig to a straw or a dowel with a piece of whatever line you are using for your lightest fishing.... allow about two feet between the jig and straw/dowel/whatever. Now fill a glass with water and set it in front of you on a solid table or counter top and lower the jig half way into the water and hold it there steadily. Concentrate on the jig, not your arm. Eventually your hearbeat will be transmitted down the arm, into your "rod", the line and finally all the way to the tail of that plastic. IF that plastic is as I have described, it will simply be dancing the "hula" in that glass of water. If you are on track, the jig's head will move slightly, the plastic will not be able to be kept motionless. If the plastic and the head move almost in unison, or if the plastic is at rest when the head is, pitch the stuff in the circular file and go shopping again.

Down sizing is a tricky thing but if you pay attention to what you purchase to get this job done, you can reap some huge rewards. Keep in mind that major tackle vendors such as Custom Jigs and Spins (along with Brainerd-based, Minnesota company) have years of developement behind thier products and have had these specialty products thoroughly field tested for a number of years. Both companies offer ultra soft and transparent-to-perfection plastics that fill this niche beautifully. Some of the plastics will also give you the benefit of a subtle glow. This glowing plastic is yet another consideration.

When we charge a glow head, we are directing the fishs' focus at the head itself....creating a visible target for them if you will. It only takes a speck of glow at times to captivate them. The best glo plastics will possess the other listed assets along with a "soft" glo that creates a quiet "halo" effect around the body, not a glaring traffic- light-at-mid-night type of shine. The "soft" glo desired is easiest to obtain when the plastic is very thin. Think about it....the component that makes these things glo is a powder cooked into the plastic. In ultra thin bodies the amount of the glo product is kept in check by the need to keep the plastic itself very, very soft as well as ultra-thin. The more of the glo component added to the liquid plastic, the thicker and less resilient the finished product will be. In fact, those plastics which are "over-glowed" will be way too stiff for any kind of cold water fishing if not super brittle. Thicker and stiffer products glo, yes, but they resemble floodlights when set next to a plastic with the ideal glo properties and suppleness. When down-sizing is an issue, minimizing the total profile is the objective. Loud, glaring plastics that glo actually work in the opposite direction. Super thin and soft glowing plastics create a mere "presence" and that is what gets the fish. Big and bold might get your eye, but the fish see things in an entirely different light....literally!

Some things to keep in mind when you shop: Custom's fishing ready jigs with plastics are a tough one to beat with that tail filled with perpetual motion. Any plastic you consider should be next to nothing where you hook it on and be ultra thin at the end. Roll the package these things come in. If they just flop over, they are too heavy for effective down sizing. As a matter of fact, if you turn the package over they should keep moving as a mass for a second or two....maybe longer. Major tackle manufacturers of ice plastics have plastics in use which are so soft that they feel alive which is why the plastics in the package appear to act that way. Avoid buying the "bargain" brands. The only time I buy off from bargain tables is if I find something that is a label I know, trust and respect. Keep in mind, when you are looking for downsizing plastics and jigs, just imagine in your mind what the fish are looking at down there. When down sizing is a requirement, the fish are studying everything you drop. They are not going to hit a plastic with a bulky body or you wouldn't be down sizing would you? Their food source likely has cilia, antennae, or other appendages moving around its body....all very fine and hair-like....not stiff and un-yielding. You want a plastic that is supple enough to look alive, not just boldly "there". And remember transparent. Much of the food on the shelf down where the fish live is quite transparent. The closer to all of these little things you can get with your plastic the more reliable and successful your efforts at down sizing will be!

Down sizing is productive and challenging all wrapped up in a little ball. It doesn't have to be confusing or frustrating, however . I think that a lot of the problems people encounter and don't thoroughly understand about this concept could be avoided by trying to get the "Hula" going at home so they can visualize first hand what they need to change to get things right on the water. And that is ultimately where the difference will become apparent.

[delmuts]

GREAT INFO TOM

[Matt Johnson]

Tom, this is one fine piece of writing! Good work buddy!

[flipper]

Very informative post and well written. I am fairly new to the plastics myself. One thing I am wondering about. When the fish are deep maybe 30 feet or deeper do you use extra weight a couple feet or so above the finesse lure just so it doesn't take forever to get it down? Or do you think this defeats the purpose of going light?

Thanks you,

flipper

[CrappieJohn]

Personally I find the senario frustrating. If you beef up a dropper to get down, you will defintely lose some of the effectiveness of the down-size concept. Some wqill argue that you don't. but I've been around a while and know what I have experienced. Perch tuggers might get by with droppers, but I find them complicatingly dismal and will stop fishing for the day before I resort to using them.

The other option is to tolerate the slow drop rate. This means you almost are required to be in a shelter if the wind is blowing and it will force you to use a very thin line. My pannie/crappie gear is 2 pound test universally. And I use spring bobbers without fail. Youdon't have to spend 60 bucks to get a spring that works either. I pay a buck eighteen for a package of two and do just fine thank you.

My two largest sunfish came late in the winter last year to a demon jig that was about 1/100th ounce in weight and was tipped with the last 1/2 inch of a Techni-glo spade-tail finesse plastic and no bait at all. The rewards are obvious when you get into the fish, but sometimes a deadly technique is filled with a bit of humbling too. I always think that the further away from "normal" fishing we get, the more demanding on personal perseverence, knowledge and creativity fishing becomes. The best answer to your question is one of the old ones.....do what you are satisfied and comfortable with when you get into position of having to down size. For me, I like to keep everything as light as worldly possible, watch the line and the spring.

And I'll throw this in just to create a stir......forget the flasher. You watch that spring or the line! Even if that line shows a fish RIGHT at the bait, big fish can suck in that bait and make less movement on a spring or the line than if you breathe on it. Let the flasher tell you when to get set for a hit, but watch that line!

[eyepatrol]

Great article CT! I went onto Custom Jigs & Spins HSOforum last night and looked at their product line. I'd like to place an order with them, but before doing so, I was wondering what size and colors you recommend getting....how many, what size and what color do you have in your tackle box if I may ask? I was thinking of getting 10 Shrimpo's, 10 Ratso's and 10 Rat Finkee's to start out with. Was thinking of size 8 and size 10 in varying colors.

Your thoughts/recommendations? I know I don't get out as much as you or others do (probably 5 times during hardwater), so quantity may be different from what you or others might need or have.

thanks!

bc

[Corey Bechtold]

When I saw heartbeat hula, I started wondering how your ticker was working! Glad to see it was fishing related and not health.

Nice piece of writing as always Tom!

Take care,

Corey Bechtold

[CrappieJohn]

Bass....8, 10, 12 are sizes to get. The 8 and 10 will be used far more than the 12 so keep that in mind. And if you are ordering from the site, be sure to get a couple of the demon jigging spoons in size 6, glo red for when the bite is working good. They are deadly with a waxies on them.

Any of the glo colors in the smaller baits are good. Gold heads with purple, black or blue body plastics are knockouts for pannies as well.

[eyepatrol]

Thanks for the help CT. I'll be sure to order those sizes and various colors. This will essentially be my introduction to plastics as I've never really used them before, but it looks like there are specific instances when they would come in real handy. I'll get some of the Demon jigging spoons too. Can't wait to use them locally and on URL in late January!

Thanks.

bc

[CrappieJohn]

These are all excellent baits. You will enjoy using them and the results you'll get.

[eyepatrol]

I'm certain I will. By the way...just checked your profile...I like the date your birthday lands on! It's mine too.

[CrappieJohn]

Are you young yet too?

[eyepatrol]

Doing my best to keep it that way! 11/28/72 Kids are making me feel aged though. Well, that's how I feel I guess, but my actions at home seem to have taken a step backwards 30 years....or so my wife says. ha!

[delmuts]

the only reason CT is young yet ; is he ran out of fingers and toes to count with a loooooooong time ago !!

also ! don't put these little plastics away come spring. i've had to resort to these for high pressured fish, or when a certain hatch was going on! as CT always states!! be versital and keep an open mind!!!

[juggs]

Now I know why they call him Crappie Tom--he's part fish and part man. He knows things the crappies may not even know.

[megger8]

Great info Crappie Tom. I've been a long time user of Custom Jigs and Spins products and I can tell you that all of the info you gave regarding their products and techniques is very true. One would not go wrong purchasing their lures/finesse plastics and giving them a try.

[himjunkie13]

thanks once again Crappie Tom. You sure do know your stuff concerning panfish. Great article. Are you participating in the Ultimate Panfish League?

[CrappieJohn]

Him.....sorry, I am not a competition fisherman.