bead tail jigs

[jiggerjohn]

Inspired recently by ice fishing buffs, I've become very excited by their huge success with a single,bright, usually red bead as the "tipping" to their modern "Russian Jigs" (spoon types, but originally designed for vertical jigging). The bead ,these ice men have discovered, serves actually better than live bait! So I've been playing with versions of Red's woolie jig with a single bead over the hook& material cut much shorter to allow the bead to stand out. I found a side benefit is that this rear addition adds a wobbling action to my ties with Hawnjig's 1/24 oz roundhead or his spoon-like HU head in tin (especially with a Boolie tie with propeller).

With a round red bead as "bait", I have to strongly consider the "suck factor" of the bead(whether on a boolie,jig, or spoon).The wobbling,bobbing action is certainly one major attraction, but It's shape just allows a small round mouthful to go into slurping lips easier than other shapes or materials. Do this test on your kitchen table - place in front of you a small plastic bead, a juicy nightcrawler, and a dead minnow, put your mouth next to each & "whistle inward" -see which zooms in easiest !

Some years ago, I talked to a Southern buddy, who specialized in carp, and he told me about their unique"bead ball" method that caught very wary carp like crazy, even in their extremely hard fished pay ponds(these small waters were fished 24/7 by truly diehard carpsters who ran constant pools & side bets on biggest fish, most, etc..). So what my friend & his group did was to place a single bead, nothing else, on a sharp hook, then wrap the bead within a 4-6" diameter ball of bread crumbs, rice,grain,syrup, etc, then cast the gooey, softball sized mess out. This massive doughball was designed to fall apart shortly after impact,with the nutritious contents scattered all around the immediate bottom. Carp would cruise in to hoover up all this loose "chum" and would inevitably suck in the bare bead (with hook). The bead's shape & density would always have it going into a slurping mouth ahead of nearby loose particles of "real" food!

I'm thinking any small jig could easily be increased in panfish & trout productivity with a bead over its size 6 or 8 hook, or even strung closely behind in articulated fashion, as Keith from Hawn's jigs suggests. For a better look at this concept, do a quick google of "Ken's original Hooks" or McGathy's slab grabber ice fishing jigs.

 

[Shoemoo]

Northwest anglers have used beads for salmon, steelhead and trout for many years. On jigs the beads are usually located on the hook shank, but there are also designs that allow the bead to drift behind on a piece of beading wire or monofilament.

They also side drift bare hooks with a bead pinned an inch or two above the hook. Fly fishermen also use pinned beads. There's a huge debate over whether a bead is a 'real' fly and whether side drifting them constitutes snagging or not.

As for the carp example, I'm not sure how I feel about that. Carp pick up a lot of bottom material when they feed. They're not taking the bead into their mouth because they think it's food, they're just sucking it up with the pebbles and muck while trying to eat the real food. For me at least, that crosses an ethical line since you're not really fooling the fish.

 

[papaperch]

Interesting to say the least. Fishing thru the ice can be misleading on a day to day basis though. A lure can be smokin hot one day and the next day they turn their nose up at it.

Another thing that might tend to mislead a poor fisherman is certain lakes. Lake Simcoe is polluted with perch and the fish have to feed aggressively to compete. While say at Pymatuning the perch do not have as much competition and feed leisurely.

Not saying idea is not a good one as I put beads on my ice spoons I make. Another odd thing under the ice . I have seen bluegill , crappie and perch try and eat small split shot. Bluegill are probably the worst culprits. Nothing like watching stupid fish pay more attention to a dull orb of lead. While your 3.00 lure or custom made killer goes virtually ignored.

Rest of this is PURE THEORY but based on observation after watching fish on camera. Fish first respond to movement , then if looks like something to eat worth further investigation. I believe the little round bead or split shot resemble some micro creatures they consume. They are barely visible to us if at all. But the fish see them easily. The photoplankton are known to be most active about an hour before dark. Ask any icefisherman what the most productive hour is on most lakes. Hmmmmm

For your table test you might want to add two more items. A maggot and a waxworm. I bet they fly in right along as fast as bead. Not responsible for nasty taste if you do try though. LOL

All joking aside some times I think a smell or a taste of something is needed sometimes to seal the deal. Again watching them under ice they can have in and out of their mouths so fast its unbelievable. Not to mention you see or feel nothing on your rod.

Another side note I like a small luminous bead on my minnow hook when night fishing.Its always seemed to help.

 

[Bucho]

Those are really nice jigs shoemoe! Have you made them? Would like to know how you make the extention. What size are they? The bead sure makes for a nice wiggle on a float and fly setup. Its true that many fish feed on small items the colder it gets.
http://www.biopix.com/daphnia-magna_photo-61682.aspx
Back in the day I even caught a few northern pike ground baiting with night crawlers in late winter. They get really sluggish and pick up whatever small stuff surrounds them and doesn´t get awy.

 

[Shoemoo]

I didn't make them. They're commercial jigs called a dingle berry made by a local company called Over the Edge Tackle. I'm not 100% sure on the technique, but the tails have wire in them so I'm fairly sure they're made with a dubbing brush.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Here's a pic of JiggerJohn's meat beaders.

View attachment 3

 

[AtticaFish]

I have read some of the hype on them, they have gotten some attention through In-Fisherman recently. I did some other 'net' searching and found a lot of discussions about them (Ken's Hook type bent spoons with beads) on ice fishing forums. They are popular on shallow waters (example: Lake St. Claire) for perch but it sounds the bent shape has such a pronounced action that they are nearly impossible to fish in deeper waters..... through a hole in the ice anyway. I guess i always saw the bead as more of a focus point for the fish to bite. I kind of wondered if the same look could be achieved by making a 'ball' of bright chenille at the hook bend?

This is an interesting discussion and nice looking jigs jiggerjohnn...... especially like the silver/red one in the middle. Has my eyes (and mind) open!

 

[jiggerjohn]

Hey Attica, Yep the action on those ice spoons is terrific ,but they CAN be worked deeper through the ice or vertically in open water. In fact those at McGathy's Hooks have some that are heavier guage metal ( called "drainpipes") and larger models just for deep work. On their site they also have interesting jigging info and even offer an inexpensive video on this style fishing. NOW, I've heard of that recent In-Fisherman story (Dec issue?) but have not been able to locate that mag -do you,by any chance, have that artical and could you possibly email a copy of that narrative?!

 

[AtticaFish]

PM me your email, can scan it for you. Will look tonight when i get home because i think that is not the first time i saw them mentioned on In-Fish. Maybe also in their ice fishing special edition...... could have been the same exact article tho.