stinger hooks

[sweatyspartan]

I've done a couple of searches and tried to do some research on the different types of stinger hooks for jigging in the river. Some guys use short, some long. #8 trebles or #10. wire vs. mono. Let the stinger drift vs. hooking it in the bait.

I'm just wondering if you guys could let me know in what situations each rig would work best.

I went to the Lansing fishing show today and tourney guys Lance Valentine and Mark Van Kampen both said they used long mono leaders (about 6-8inches) and let it drift above the bait.

[WALLEYE MIKE]

Mine are made from mono and are about 2" in length and hooked to the minnow near the tail.

[FowlWeather]

Wow, 6 to 8 inches seems awfully long; seems like you'd be hooking the fish on the outside of the mouth/side of the head.

The ones I just made were 10lb Mason Hard line tied to #10 treble, about 2 1/2 inch long and form a small loop with a crimp-on ferrule, dip the loop in liquid electrical tape. The hard line is stiff enough to make the stinger stand out straight from the jig, but I usually stick in the plastic or minnow anyway. When fishing nightcrawlers I let the stinger hang free.

[Hotwired]

I thread mine through the plastic and connect it to the bend of the jig hook.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/533/Picture_199_Medium_.jpg

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/533/Picture_200_Medium_.jpg

[MUSHY1]

I like what ya got there Kurt, I never use Stingers, they are just a mess for me...But Hotwired set-up is nice. Dont give away to many secrets with that plastic Kurt:lol: How do you put that last hook on? Cannot see the mono from the pictures.

Mushy

[Section 8]

For all of those that asked about the brown "Wonder Worm", HotWired has a good pic.

Plus, I like the way he threads the stinger in the plastic. This is something I will definitely try. ;)

[sid_van]

I talked to a guy about the longer free floating stingers a while back. He suggested that configuration was most likely to get the hook in the fish's mouth. When they suck in the bait, the very light, free floating hook would be the first thing to go in.

Seems to make some sense. I'll have to give it a try this spring.

[Dedge]

Yeah 6 to 8 inches long and free floating, seems like it would get caught on the outside of the fish an awful lot. What conditions did they say they used those in? Or was that just in general?

Hey Mushy1, love that sig man.

Dan

[FowlWeather]

Great looking stingers HotWired. I can't figure out how you rig those... Do you pre-tie the single hook and thread it through and tie after you put the plastic on the jighead? If the plastic gets trashed do you have re-tie the stinger or is there a way to run it all through a new one?

[Ed Michrina]

Nice looking rigs Curt. "hotwired"

I like to leave my little 2 inch treble dangle free with minnow/crawler or plastic. that is unless the bottom is so junked with Zeb's then I'll stick it in the bait.

Take it for what its worth. I only jig when Handlining isn't working or Curt is filling his cooler next to me;) :sad:

[Homie]

Did you get that idea from the guy who was selling them last year at the waydotte boat ramp. They are called ( Homies Wacky Jigs ) Looks like you made yours yourself. Good job the quality will come up as you tie more.

[sweatyspartan]

great info guys!

another question. They had jigs that were flattened on each side so that they wouldn't flip around in the current and this supposedly made them more streamlined. Also, they had jigs that had a shorter shank. Just wondering what your thoughts were on this. Thanks for answering the questions

[Hotwired]

Great looking stingers HotWired. I can't figure out how you rig those... Do you pre-tie the single hook and thread it through and tie after you put the plastic on the jighead? If the plastic gets trashed do you have re-tie the stinger or is there a way to run it all through a new one?

I first size up the jig to the plastic to see where the big hook will exit the plastic.
The stinger is then tied with a loop on one end and a #4 or #6 baitholder hook on the other end, it's length should be from where the jig hook exits to as far back as where you want the stinger to exit.
Next I run another piece of mono through a large sewing needle and run it through the loop end and tie it.
I then enter the needle up the back end and exit where the jig hook will exit and leave the loop sticking out a bit.
I now thread the plastic onto the jig making sure the hook goes through the loop, I also like to put a dab of super glue on the jig collar.
Now pull the stinger hook back a little to hide the loop inside the plastic.

All in all it takes about 10 minutes to rig (half of that time is my 46 year old eyes trying to see what I'm tying.)

If the plastic gets trashed while fishing you can save the stinger and rethread it back at home.

Hope this makes sense.

[FowlWeather]

Thanks Curt. I'll give it a try.