ask THE
EXPERTS
LIVeWeLL
Q.
a.
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a.
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a.
haIr JIg
prImer
How do you determine an appropriate
hair jig size?
Jt Kenney, palm bay, Fla. –
A hair jig is a finesse presentation, so I try to go as
light as possible. If I am targeting fish in 10 to 25 feet of
water – typical for summer – I will start with a 1/2-
ounce size. If it is flat calm with no current, then I will
downsize to 3/8 ounce. You don’t want it to fall real fast.
traILer preference
What soft-plastic trailers do you
use on your buzzbait?
scott Canterbury, springville, ala. –
A few years ago, I worked with Dirty Jigs Tackle
to design the Scott Canterbury Pro Buzz. The
buzzbait comes packaged with a Bruiser Baits
Thrasher trailer. It’s similar to a frog, but has a single
tail, which mimics a baitfish. I use it a lot, but
depending upon where you are fishing, you may need
to use something different. For example, where I live
on the Coosa River, the spotted bass don’t seem to bite
it. I’ll use a soft jerkbait or swimbait instead.
fLIppIn’ LInes
When flipping, do you prefer
braid or fluorocarbon?
tony davis, Williston, Fla. –
I prefer to use braided line when flipping. It pro-
vides better hookups and makes it easier to get fish out
of heavy cover. When the fish are pressured and in
clear-water situations, however, I like to use fluorocar-
bon. Another consideration is sound. Sometimes the
“zip” sound that braided line makes when punching,
lifting and dropping baits in heavy cover can spook
bass. You have to weigh all of those considerations
when making the decision of what line to use.
Hook size and type are important, too. When help-
ing to develop Gambler Lures’ JTK Hair Jig, we utilized
a premium light-wire hook. On long casts in deep
water, the smaller hook performs great, believe it or not.
It is easy to set the hook, and you rarely lose a fish.
Q.
a.
Q.
a.
LookIng up
does frog color rea lly matter?
Jim Moynagh, Carver, Minn. –
I’ve seen many situations where color does mat-
ter. To me, it’s all about the color on the bottom of
the frog. A lot of times, the leg color will make a
difference, too. I limit my color selection to three
types: white, dark and orange. A white bottom can
be opaque white or a clear, translucent color. A
darker bottom can be green pumpkin or black. I
rotate through all three colors to see if the fish show
a preference.
cuLLIng quIckLY
What system do you use for efficiently
culling bass?
Chris Johnston, peterborough, ontario –
I like to use the Accu-Cull Culling System. I
only tag the smaller ones and weigh them on a scale.
If I catch a fish that is close to the weight of my
smallest, then I will put them on a balance beam.
For bigger fish, I don’t even tag them. If I have to
cull those, then I am having a really good day. In
team tournaments, I will place big ones in the dri-
ver’s side livewell and smaller ones in the other.
That makes them easier to identify and cull.
Ask the Experts is compiled by Paul Strege. If you have a question that you’d like answered, email it to [email protected].
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fLWfIshIng.com I august-september 2016