5. Jigs Lesson Five Jigs: Weighing your Options 1. The most common jig weights include weights between and one ounce. 2. A light jig helps you achieve a of your bait or allow the bait to with the current to trigger close or sluggish fish to bite. 3. A heavy jig to through heavy weed cover, bottom when fishing in strong current or trigger a bite. 4. is a denser material than lead, and therefore creates jig heads for comparable weights. The metal transfers better than lead, up your line and to your rod. 5. When you use live bait and want to create a natural presentation, you should look for a jig hook with a, to keep the weight and the hooked bait close to each other. 6. Presenting a bait vertically, an eye that is positioned degrees from the shank will be the best choice, as it will hold the hook in a position. 7. Swimming the bait through the water column and through cover, you ll want to look for a jig with an eye that is positioned at degrees from the shank. 8. The round-headed jig is completely allowing the jig to swim and fall true with minimal effort or water influence. 24
5. Jigs 9. Mushroom head jigs have a flat back and barbed collar that holds soft plastics well and creates a between your jig and the bait. 10. Darter jigs, or bullet jigs, are designed with a cone-shaped head that gives them a very profile, making them a great option for fishing in, retrieving a jig through or when dragging smaller baits slowly below the boat. 11. Football jigs design prevents the jig from or to either side when resting on the bottom, keeps the hook in vertical presentations and makes it relatively to snags. 12. The design of the football jig has a tendency to the bottom making them a good choice when using baits that mimic. 13. The shaky-head jig is a good choice if you are looking for a presentation jig. 14. Shaky-head jigs are designed to position the of your bait to float upwards. 15. Slider jigs fall very, making them a great jig for presentations. 16. Swim jigs are designed to be fairly flat, which allows them to swim from as they fall and are retrieved through the water. 25
5. Jigs 17. Stand-up jigs are designed so that when the jig is resting on the bottom, the hook stands at a degree angle. 18. Banana jigs are somewhat and the weight-forward design causes the bait to when resting. 19. Airplane jigs are designed to be fished and can be worked by using big jigging movements that gives the bait a motion as it ascends and descends in the water. 20. Using a trailer on a bass jig can add and the bait s fall. 21. The swim bait jig usually has a swept-back jig head, so that the head looks like a part of the body. 22. Some swim bait jigs are incorporated right into the of the plastic bait. 23. Rattles added to your jig can add subtle or extreme enhancements to the and of your bait. 24. A small blade is added to jigs to give the bait some in the water and add some. 25. Stinger hooks or trailer hooks can help hook fish when they are on your bait. 26
6. Blades and Spoons Lesson Six Blades and Spoons: Taking a Turn 1. Label the following blades and choose the right statement: similar shape to a willow leaf blade, but is shorter, wider, and rounder have a hook-like shape that sweeps to a point on one side have a streamlined design that makes them great when burning them to the boat creates lots of vibration movement and vibration produced falls between Indiana and Colorado blades 2. Anglers can use size choices to affect the amount of and transmitted. 3. The benefit of smooth blades is that they produce a lot of. 4. Textured surfaces, like hammered, scaled, or rippled surfaces, produce many instead of one large flash. 5. Where the water clarity is low, many anglers will prefer. 6. Many anglers will tie their own spinner rigs when there is a need to take advantage of or add to the rig. 27
6. Blades and Spoons 7. Glass beads on a spinner rig will add a little to the rig and can produce that are not available with standard plastic beads. 8. and are relatively snag-resistant, which makes them a good option for when you want to fish your spinner rig near or just off the bottom. 9. The actual amount of weight you need to add to your spinner rigs will be determined by factors like, and at which you are fishing. 10. Spinnerbaits with short arms create a, which is useful when trying to minimize the size-appearance of your bait. 11. Skirting adds bulk, and to the lure. 12. Thinner wire spinner baits are believed to allow more in the bait. 13. Heavier wire spinnerbaits should be used when fishing for or fishing in the. 14. Spinner bait arms with an R shape are and can be more easily bent back into the correct shape. 15. Titanium spinner baits are than stainless steel and therefore may not allow as much. 16. Spinner baits are commonly used as a, as you can cover a lot of water in a short amount of time. 28
6. Blades and Spoons 17. A great tip when burning spinner baits is to remove the center rubber core from a rubber core sinker and then crimp the sinker onto the of the spinner blade. 18. Many anglers will fish a spinnerbait by slow-rolling, they let it and allow it to into any and every obstacle along its path. 19. Buzz baits are highly effective when fished in conditions, such as in, and at. 20. On a buzz bait, blades lift easily toward the surface compared to blades. a. smaller / larger b. larger / smaller c. white / green 21. When fishing an inline spinner what type of terminal tackle is important to prevent line twists? Snapswivel Bottom bouncer Snap Rubber core sinker 22. The most common spoon designs for freshwater species include spoons, spoons, spoons and spoons. 23. The action of a spoon creates broader sweeps than a casting spoon. 29
6. Blades and Spoons 24. Casting spoons and trolling spoons should also be used with or to minimize the line twist that can result from the action of these baits. 25. spoons are geared toward a vertical presentation. 26. Becasue you will often get the strike when the bait is falling, watch your and follow the with your rod tip. 30
7. Terminal Tackle Lesson Seven Terminal Tackle: Float or Sink 1. The basic function of a bobber is to give you the ability to present your bait at a, in a vertical presentation and give you the ability to see when a fish the bait. 2. Fixed bobbers need to attach relatively close to the lure for and. 3. The slip bobber design allows the line to freely slip through the bobber, until the on the line is reached. 4. You need to choose a bobber that will be buoyant enough to the weight of your lure, but not too buoyant, so that it will not in the water. 5. The best rod and reel for fishing a bobber is. 6. When attaching splitshot be careful not to your line and cause a point at the sinker. 7. Bell sinkers have a rounded bottom, which means they will not easily in rocks. 8. Drop-shot sinkers attach to the line with a wire swivel. 31
7. Terminal Tackle 9. and sinkers can also be used to catch a fish s attention. 10. To catch a fish s when you re working a bait, you can a bell sinker or dropshot weight off rocks or use it to bottom sediment. 11. Pyramid sinkers, with their design of an inverted pyramid, and into soft bottoms. 12. Walking sinkers are often used for. 13. The egg sinker s shape makes it resistant and effective at the bottom to attract fish. 14. Bullet sinkers that are not pegged will allow the bait to sink, whereas, when the sinker is pegged it will the rate your bait falls and also effect the profile of your bait. 15. Using more weight than necessary can add resistance to your line and this will effect the presentation of your bait. True False 16. Leaders can be used to provide a line near your bait or when you want a line that is resistant to. 17. When using a leader to protect your line against toothy fish, like pike and musky, leaders are the best choice. 32
7. Terminal Tackle 18. Single strand leaders are less rigid than multi-strand, which means they are less likely to of your bait. However, they are more likely to quickly and are more prone to. 19. The three main types of swivels used for fresh water fishing are the swivel, the swivel and the swivel. 20. Which type of swivels rotates the smoothest? 21. Which type of swivel offers the greatest strength for a given size? 22. The snap swivels are commonly used with lures like and. 33
8. Knots Lesson Eight Knots: Let s Tangle 1. The breaking strength of a knot is the of line strength that remains at the knot. 2. Numerous tests with monofilament and fluorocarbon have proven that your knot will noticeably improve the integrity of the knot. 3. If you cut your tag end too short, or if you do not cinch down your knot tightly, the tag end can into the knot, or pull right through, causing the knot to come. 4. By simply adding one drop of angler s to your knot, you can increase the breaking strength of the knot by as much as percent. 5. After fishing all day with monofilament line water causes the line in the knot to swell up causing your knot to loosen. 6. A significant challenge when tying knots with a fluorocarbon line, is that it has a low level of and is, resulting in weakening when bent or twisted to form and tighten the knot. 7. Superlines are usually very, making it difficult to manage the line when trying to arrange the knot. 8. Because superlines are slippery, it s especially important to consider using to help prevent the knot from slipping. 34
8. Knots 9. The improved clinch knot has a breaking strength of percent. 10. The improved clinch knot is not recommended to be tied with, as it is very likely to slip. 11. For monofilament and superlines, one of the strongest knots you can tie is the knot. 12. The Palomar knot, when tied with fluorocarbon line, will have a breaking strength of approximately percent. 13. The Loop knot is a great knot to use when fishing a where you do not want to disrupt the hydrodynamics of the lure. 14. The Loop knot is very strong, with a breaking strength of about percent but, when tied with a superline it may slip right through itself. 15. The Snell knot is a popular knot to use for. 16. The knot does not tie together cleanly which can make casting it through your rod guides a little difficult. 17. Because of the compact twists and turns involved in tying the Surgeons knot, it is not recommended for use with line. 18. The knot has both lines (leader and main) come through the middle therefore will have less negative impact on casting performance as the knot comes through the guides. 35
8. Knots 19. The knot requires the knot to be tied exactly right, or it may fail. 20. To prevent loosing the fish of a lifetime, be sure to check your knot, and periodically, even if it looks good. 36
Answer Key - Lessons 5-8 Answer Key Lesson Five - Jigs: Weighing your Options 1. 1/64 / one 2. slow fall / drift 3. break / hold / reaction 4. tungsten / smaller-profile / vibrations 5. short shank 6. 90 / horizontal 7. 60 8. symmetrical 9. uniform appearance 10. streamlined / current / sparse vegetation / profile 11. turning / tipping / pointing upward / resistant 12. stir up / crayfish 13. finesse 14. tail 15. slowly / finesse 16. side to side 17. 45 18. snag-proof / stand up 19. vertically / spiral 20. scent / slow 21. natural 22. body 23. noise / vibration 24. flash / vibration 25. biting short Lesson Six - Blades and Spoons: Taking a Turn 1. Colorado similar shape to a willow leaf blade, but is shorter, wider, and rounder Willow Leaf Indiana Oklahoma have a hook-like shape that sweeps to a point on one side have a streamlined design that makes them great when burning them to the boat creates lots of vibration Hatchet movement and vibration produced falls between Indiana and Colorado blades 2. vibration / action 3. flash 4. smaller flashes 5. painted blades 6. lighter line / customization 7. extra weight / subtle noises 8. bottom bouncers / walking weights 9. current / depth / speeds 10. smaller profile 37
Answer Key - Lessons 5-8 11. pulsating movement / color 12. vibration 13. large fish / weeds 14. stronger 15. stiffer / vibration 16. search baits 17. shank 18. drag bottom / bump 19. lower-visibility / murky water / shallow cover / night 20. large / small 21. snap swivel 22. casting / trolling / jigging / top-water 23. trolling 24. swivels / leaders 25. jigging 26. line / bait-down Lesson Seven - Terminal Tackle: Float or Sink 1. precise depth / touches/strikes 2. casting / retrieval 3. bobber stop 4. float / stand properly 5. a longer spinning rod, to give you leverage for setting the hook 6. crimp / weak 7. snag 8. line-griping 9. bell sinkers / dropshot sinkers 10. attention / tap 11. sink quickly / dig securely 12. live-bait rigging 13. snag / stirring up 14. slower / increase 15. true 16. low-visibility / abrasions 17. wire 18. interfere with the action / wear / kinking 19. barrel / crane / ball bearing 20. ball bearing 21. ball bearing 22. spinners / spoons 38
Answer Key - Lessons 5-8 Lesson Eight - Knots: Let s Tangle 1. percentage 2. lubricating 3. slip back / undone 4. glue / 10 5. absorption 6. stretch / fairly stiff 7. thin 8. angler s glue 9. 80 10. superline 11. palomar 12. 75 13. crankbait 14. 90 15. live bait rigging 16. surgeon s 17. fluorocarbon 18. uni-to-uni 19. seaguar 20. regularly, re-tie 39