Page 40 - Lets Make Waves December 2018

F i s h i n g T i p treble hooks with similar sized 3X strong #7794-B Mustads
which have been sharpened first and attached to the jig with
size 8 (80 lbs.) Rosco ss split rings. I started making this hook
Of The Month change out about ten years ago. Coincidentally, a year or so
later Bead Mfg. Co. started making a Diamond jig with this
hook/split ring configuration. They are called ""Diamond Jig
For Rigs With Heavy Duty Split Ring and Treble Hook", "an
increasingly popular weapon for Gulf Coast anglers fishing oil
rigs for amberjack and other large, strong deep-water fish". I
guess the solution to the problem was obvious to someone be-
sides me, These are available but if all you can find are the ones
with the cut eyes, making this modification could save you
from your catch being the one that got away.
Diamon
Diamon
Diamond Jigs d Jigs d Jigs -Adaptable ImpostersAdaptable Imposters d Jigs d Jigs d Jigs Adaptable ImpostersAdaptable ImpostersAdaptable ImpostersAdaptable ImpostersAdaptable Imposters
Diamon
Diamon
Diamon
When the opportunity arises, casting
O na, ling, dolphin, kingfish and wahoo could be waiting for you
By: Patrick Lemire Diamond Jigs around anchored shrimp
boats can be highly productive. Near-
surface predators, such as blackfin tu-
f the many imposters in our fishing tackle
world, one of the most adaptable is, without a
and your Diamond Jig. When targeting kingfish or wahoo, in
doubt, the Diamond Jig. Its attracting flash and
baitfish shape plus strike-triggering vibration
but singles hold on much better. Diamond Jigs are deadly at
gives a look and sensory signal that impersonates darting, in- particular, single hooks work best -trebles hook up a bit easier,
times for just about any species from near the surface to the
jured or sick prey. Anything that eats live fish or squid will hit a bottom. Those in the mid-depths to the bottom would include
properly worked Diamond Jig. They are effective from near the suspended sow snapper amberjack, groupers and snapper near
surface to the deep bottom, wherever you fish in salt water and the bottom, a rule of thumb that's broken at times is that fast
I'm sure they would do the same in some instances in fresh jigging or winding for kingfish, wahoo and amberjack, and
water. slower for snappers and groupers.
About nine years ago, I came up with a rigging method of Dia-
The Diamond Jigs that I'm most familiar with are by Bead
Mfg. Co., with a chrome finish in 4, 6 or 8 ounce sizes. I first mond Jigs for kingfish and wahoo. I call it the Diamond Stinger
used them around 1991 while on overnight trips, fishing for Jig. Kingfish and wahoo readily attack diamond jigs and this
blackfin Tuna around deep water productions platforms about trick will increase your hookups. I came up with this modifica-
90 miles south of Galveston. While they were highly produc- tion about nine years ago turning short strikers into hookups.
tive, there was an occasional problem that presented itself. The The key is in the treble hook arrangement; it's positioned about
hooks would break off at times when heavily loaded, the prob- 3" behind the jig body; it's connected by a section of #12
lem is on the treble hook of the "'Diamond Treble Jig" model. (180#) stainless wire with Haywire Twists. Heavy gauge wire to
the stinger has less kinking and breakage.
The hooks had a particular application in mind for its eye de-
sign, so the "failures" were because the hook eye was designed
to fail under a special situation. The original use for this model
is that they are designed to fish for cod and pollack, at or near
the bottom. According to the Internet information, the pollack
in particular like a rocky bottom. You jig near the bottom and
you get hung up at times. A hard pull and you break the hook
eye, but you get the jig back. Another hook is put on, and
you're back in business for the price of a hook. While that's all
well and good in the Northeast, or anytime you regularly hook
the bottom, it causes problems jigging for Blackfin Tuna.
Whether it's high drag settings, angle of
the hook in the Tuna's mouth (that results
in a twisting, side pull), the phase of the
moon or whatever--the fact is, the original
treble hooks do break at times. To get
around this problem, I replace the original

40 | Waves Magazine | December 2018 Issue