Hooks on Mid Size Brad's Wigglers for Coho

[Cosmic Lazy Susan]

I got to do some stocking stuffer shopping for myself this weekend. :grin: Picked up some mid size wigglers including the hard to find (at least for me [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img] ) BW-29.

Do you like the size hooks that come on them or do you go to a larger rear hook or other setup when using them for Coho?

Dale

[The Bad Fish]

i run them box stock, and change the trebles after 4 or 5 hookups.

[SR1 5]

I take both hooks off and throw away then put a 4 bead chain off the belly with a #2 gamakatsu treble on it. The action seems better and will seldom lose a fish after it is hooked.

[blacktail519]

Gamakatsu??????
OWNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lure Dragger]

I leave the hooks on them they come with but ussually after the first fish they get bent and I replace them with the same size of a better hook. I normally stay with the #4 treble though. Extending the front hook with the 4 bead chain sonds like a good idea though. Do you leave the back hook off or to you put it on like normal?

[illbfish]

I like to remove both hooks, add a short bead chain & OWNER treble at the belly. The belly hook one size larger than the stock hook.

[SR1 5]

Leave the back hook off

[Cosmic Lazy Susan]

So is the idea that leaving the back hook off improves action and the four bead chain off the belly moves the hook back and down making it easier for the fish to get hooked when hitting the lure?

Dale

[SHOUGALNITE]

I leave both hooks on.

[Spinner]

Dale, welcome to the board. This is the co-workers husband. :grin:

I change the hooks on all my wigglers to #4 trebs for steelhead and coho and #2's if I am targeting chinook. I use both hooks.

I am sure the bead chain method works well too...I have ran that with a single siwash hook as well (barbless for easy release) and it worked great. However, I prefer the action with 2 trebles.

I need to get you over here to the coast to fish for some steelhead.

Jim

[BigJim]

I have been a wiggle wart/Brads wiggler fisherman for many years. I have started using single siwash hooks on all my warts and have had very few fish throw the hook. I get a much better hook set. I can't even count how many steelhead and coho I've lost on stock wigglers with the treble hooks. You might give the singles a try. Bigjim

[Cosmic Lazy Susan]

Spinner, going for steelies would be a blast. Not sure I can find the time this year. After I get a boat though I'd like to get down with the family to Nehalem and do a camping, crabbing, fishing trip.

Bigjim, every salmon I've ever caught (that would be 3, all Cohos) I've caught on Mag Wigglers. Everyone I've ever lost (that would be 2) I lost on stock mid-size wigglers.

One day at the Mayer ramp as I again was empty handed an old fisherman (older than me) that boated 7 fish that day was kind enough to share with me what lures to get and in what colors. I didn't know enough at the time to ask but all of his mid size wigglers had siwash hooks hanging from a swivel on the belly and tail.

Half the fun about learning how to fish is going to the store to buy the stuff for the latest little trick I hear about.

Dale

[Beerbelly]

I take the back hook off and use a small 5 bead chain on the belly, That way whey can jump and twist all they want they haven't got a other hook for leverage.

[Born to be Wild]

Brad's Wiggler's and Wee Wiggler's come with VMC 9650 #4 trebles.
The original run of Wee Wiggler's had the wrong hook on them (a #5 and I forget the style) and they were terrible.
It was a mistake and not made by Brad. He ordered the #4 9650 on both the Wiggler and Wee Wiggler.
It has been corrected and both come with the #4 now.

I used Brad's Wiggler's and Wee Wiggler's for the first time last year and tagged 75 fish on them using the stock hooks and broke off quite a few.
My biggest coho was 23#'s on a stock BW-29 and I got a chinook or two around 20#'s.
I took a friend of Brad's out in his sled and he caught a 35# chinook on a BWW-29 (Wee Wigler) and we had just replaced the #5 hooks (out in the boat) with the #4's.

I have a lot of wiggler's from last year with straightened out hooks and broken hooks.
The stock hooks work great but you will need to replace them periodically.

I think the better way to go is with the bead chain and siwash hook.
Several of the guys that have been fishing warts for years before Brad came out with the wiggler's swear by the bead chain/siwash set-up.
These guys are veteran plug fishermen and very good and I'll take their word for it.

Better hook set is the key I believe and the aforementioned swivel effect for them out of control coho.

Another couple advantages are:

Last year I released a couple dozen wild or at least non fin clipped coho on the Cowlitz.
Some I know were wild.
Often times the fish will inhale both hooks.
Sometimes you can't even open their mouths and this creates a lot of extra handling on a wild fish you have to release. Better off with the single siwash hook.
I expressed my concern with a bio for WDFW last year and told him I would prefer a reg on the Cowlitz where two trebles were not allowed.

Also I landed and broke off a few coho that only had one of the two hooks in their mouth and durring the coho spin the line got caught on the other treble dangling out off the plug.
Some of the fish I landed this way the line was so tweaked I was surprised to land them.

All the fishermen I have seen fishing the bead chain/siwash hook have been running them off the front of the plug.
I believe if you ran it off the rear of the plug it would interfere with the bill and might not dive as well or maybe reluctant to dive at all.

Since someone brought up the #29 color I thought I would mention not to pass up the BWW-29 (Wee Wiggler).
Some of my buddy's thought they worked better than the wiggler (BW-29) that I made so popular on both the Cowlitz and Kalama last year.
I saw more chinook caught on the BWW-29's than the BW-29 and one of the ifisher's that read one of my wiggler/Cowlitz threads caught a nice chinook off the bank on a BWW-29 this year the day before me and Sturgeon Dave ran into him at Lexington.

There is a new version of the BW-29 coming out that used to be a custom hand dipped color also and it is a BW-29 with a chartreuse bill.
Can't wait to try her!

Interesting and I am surprised to see bead chain and trebles used in combination.
I've only seen siwash used with the bead chain set-up.

I'll see if I can get permission to take a pic of some of the new custom colors coming out including the one above I mentioned and post the pic.
I've seen the samples and they are pretty sweet.

Dan

[Cosmic Lazy Susan]

Holy Smokes, with all this great information it's feeling just like Christmas. :grin:

What a great board.