Winter Smallmouth

[Kayser]

The sunshine was too much for me to take, so I tied up some rabbit hair jigs and went out to check out the hair jig craze for myself. The first fish was 16.5" on the tape, I'll have to get the picture from my camera later. Got 6 on the jigs, and 2 on a suspending jerkbait. Not bad for 2 hours.

This one was bigger than the first fish I measured, I'm guessing 17-18".

 

They were apparently hungry today- this crawfish wasn't even all the way down yet.

I think I'll be heading out again the next time we get some good weather.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Thanks!!   Solid. 

[Mitch f]

Nice fish man!!

[Gavin]

Solid fish! Good for you.

[Kayser]

Thanks, everybody. This was my first time trying  hair jigs, but I think they've earned a place in my box. Maybe I'll find time to chase smallies again in the near future.

[Smallieguy87]

Great fish! Thanks for the report. Do you by chance every use hair jigs as the water gets warmer around summer time? I've always wondered if anyone has luck with them around that time.

[Slippery]

Great Job!

[Norm M]

11 hours ago, Smallieguy87 said:

Great fish! Thanks for the report. Do you by chance every use hair jigs as the water gets warmer around summer time? I've always wondered if anyone has luck with them around that time.

 they work year round

[Al Agnew]

Sure, they work year-round...but one year I tried fishing them pretty religiously during the summer--as religiously as I ever fish anything slow and on the bottom during the summer, at least.  For whatever reason, they did NOT catch fish as consistently as the soft plastics (mostly tubes and Senko type worms) that I used as a comparison.  And for me, since I make my own, it ends up being cheaper (when you count my time when I could be doing something else) and easier to use the soft plastics--I don't have to make more hair jigs when I lose them, I just have to go out and buy more soft plastics.  

So for me, they ARE strictly a cool to cold water lure.  I'll use Mitch's craw when it gets warmer these days

[Smallieguy87]

23 minutes ago, Al Agnew said:

Sure, they work year-round...but one year I tried fishing them pretty religiously during the summer--as religiously as I ever fish anything slow and on the bottom during the summer, at least.  For whatever reason, they did NOT catch fish as consistently as the soft plastics (mostly tubes and Senko type worms) that I used as a comparison.  And for me, since I make my own, it ends up being cheaper (when you count my time when I could be doing something else) and easier to use the soft plastics--I don't have to make more hair jigs when I lose them, I just have to go out and buy more soft plastics.  

So for me, they ARE strictly a cool to cold water lure.  I'll use Mitch's craw when it gets warmer these days

Yeah it's seemed to be the general consensus that they work better during the colder months but I had to ask and see if anyone was throwing during later spring or earlier summer with any luck. During those months I find I'm throwing a lot of tubes, senkos but I also like to throw grub and use it as a poor mans buzzbait. A little off topic but what the heck.