What hook do y'all like? Using a cricket hook now. The fish always swallow the hook? Thanks.
What hook do y'all like? Using a cricket hook now. The fish always swallow the hook? Thanks.
I've started using a 1/32 oz jig head with a #8 (?) hook. Was crappie fishing a while back and the bluegills were nipping the tails so I took off the twisty tail and stuck a small piece of nightcrawler on under a slip float. Works like a champ and they rarely swallow it.
Thanks. Never been much on panfish. Sure Is a good time with the kiddos though.
I use Eagle claw long shanked panfish hooks. They bend pretty easily, the panfish can't bend them, but you can when you pull them out of a deep hooked fishes mouth with pliers. Hook will come out and you can bend it back in place and keep fishing.
^^THIS^^
Someone on Crappie.com gave me this same tip a couple of months ago. I've been using a 1/64 oz. jig with a #4 hook under my quill slip float for gills.
It's amazing how well this works against deep hooking. I went gill fishing yesterday and caught about 30 bluegill. Only one
could be called "deep" hooked. And these were good size fish. It works !
.
most all my bream fishing is done with a crappie jig. normally 1/32 or 1/16 oz jig with a #4 aberdeen or more recently a #4 sickle. Get some nice sized panfish and they are never deep hooked. Straight cast and retrieve over bed areas and other likely spots.
One trick I learned a long time ago was to hold your line tight and swirl around the fishes mouth. Not sure why, but this always works on bluegills.
Also, I use mostly the long shank aberdeen hooks.
I use a drop shot or octopus in #1 and #2 Bluegill have a larger mouth plus they usually don't swallow the hook. If your catching small gills step up in size, and be subtle with your presentation.
If using an Aberdeen hook bend the eye of the hook slightly up or down. By doing this you can tell which side the point is on with a deep hooked fish. Also bending the point slightly to one side will get you more hookups.