The Jig is UP! and Swooning for Spooning

by Les Albjerg
(Caldwell, Idaho)

Metacraw

Metacraw

I'm tired of catching planters. For the last 6 weeks I have been fishing the Boise River even though the flows have been faster than normal. I was inspired to write about some of my findings from Chris' report from "The Driftless" region of Wisconsin. I lived there for 5 years. I would like to share some lessons I have learned. I have had several "many" fish days and caught several 14-16 inch rainbows and browns.

I have been doing very well fishing a new technique stolen from Finesse-Fishing.com. The normal JH85 jighead hook is much too heavy for a tenkara or keiryu rod. So, I have made my own with Czech nymphing jig hooks. A 3mm tungsten bead works very well with a size 8 hook. I have been fishing the micro finesse "Metacraw", and yesterday just hammered the trout! Chris is going to be carrying the Micro Finesse Metacraws on the Finesse-Fishing.com site, so keep an eye out for them.

What has worked well is to cast to the edge of the current, and then imitate the swimming motion of a crayfish into the calmer water. One of my most memorable battles from yesterday was watching a 15 incher nail the jig in about 4 inches of water. It was a dramatic commotion as he felt the hook and turned to head for deeper water! The first run was a real adrenaline rush!

I would also like to address the issue Chris talks about with the .4 gram spoons in his report from Wisconsin. Everyone needs a friend in England who is a roach fisherman. My friend Luke has taught me a lot about using shot for trimming your bait or lures. One of the easiest ways to get a .4 gram to fish as deep as a .8 gram spoon is to add a Dinsmores BB shot. It weighs .4 grams. Even better is to progressively use Dinsmores number 6 (.1 grams) and fine tune with Dinsmores number 10 (.06 grams).

Another advantage I have discovered using this method to get the spoon deeper is that it still allows the advantage of the action of the lighter spoon. I make sure I leave at least 6 inches between the last split shot and the spoon.

Last but not least, I have found that fishing spoons and jigs works best with a rod that has a tip diameter greater than .5mm. For those that are wondering if I have abandoned my worms, I have not. There are places that they won't let me fish my worms! These are two great alternatives.

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“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” - Benjamin Franklin

"Be sure in casting, that your fly fall first into the water, for if the line fall first, it scares or frightens the fish..." -
Col. Robert Venables 1662

As age slows my pace, I will become more like the heron.


Warning:

The hooks are sharp.
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The fish are slippery when wet.

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