I've been using craws T-rigged with 3/16 oz. tungsten weight with good results lately. Not a lot of fish, but really good ones. Has anyone tried this rig and found it to be more productive than the standard T-rig? It seems like maybe the craw would look a little more natural.

 

Where I fish most of the time has submerged grass except for where it's too deep for sunlight to sustain weeds (stained water in the south). It's a mostly shallow watershed with few rocks. The best structure is a creek bed down the middle (where the grass doesn't grow) and the best cover is grass, although there are a few laydowns, stumps and piers.

 

Thanks

 

i almost bought some owner jika rigs the other night, but for some reason just couldn't pull the trigger.  It does look like it would make for a good presentation though.  instead i opted for some swinging jig heads, but haven't given them a shot either.

i was wandering if these jika rigs may be better or worse for avoiding hang ups when fishing around some pretty thick cover such as laydowns?

The past few years I've found a jika rig to be more productive than a T-rig where I fish.  The most productive area is the deep edge of the weed line, where ever that is.  Deep weed lines on points that intersect a foot or so above the thermocline seem to be best for me.   Netbait creature lures, Brush hogs and Berkley Powerbait Lizards seem to work best for me.  I had a couple of days last year where the YUM Zellemander was the ticket.

 

Your home made jika rigs look a little light to me.  I make my own as well and I seldom go lighter than a half an ounce.   5/8 or 3/4 oz  are the weights I generally throw.   The logic behind  this is that the jika rig is one that you fish on the bottom and when I cast out the bait I want it on the bottom asap.  The way the rig presents the bait, weight is not an issue, I think that the heavier weight actually helps in strike detection.    3/0 or at the max 4/0 size hooks have worked best for me.   I've done better with the regular size offset sprout or round bend hooks, compared to extra wide gap hooks.

 

I think that the more you fish a jika rig, the more places you find that it will work, better than a T-rig in most cases.

Why not just use a jig head or swing head. Trying to learn

 

Your home made jika rigs look a little light to me.  

I didn't make those (yet). I just copied the pic off the Interwebs. As for the weight, the depth where I use the T-rigged craw isn't much more than 10'. A lot of the place has submerged weeds and I don't want the bait buried in it. I only use 3/16 oz when I use a bullet weight.

I fish mostly weedy ponds. I keep looking at the Jika Rig, but something tells me I'd get a HUGE mess of salad with it. 

 

On the other hand, it might do really good in the river I fish. Shallow with a lot of gravel/sand on the bottom. The thin weight would enable it to get un-stuck from rock hangups

Actually, it works better than just about anything else in weeds. The weight drags the bait, and line straight down through cover, instead of draping it over the weeds. It's just about replaced Texas rigging in weeds. I'm even using it to punch through super heavy slop with 1 to 1.5 oz, weights.

The key is to use SKINNY PENCIL WEIGHTS. You can also drop down what you normally use by 30-50%. A 1/2 oz. Jika penetrates most milfoil/coontail beds as well as a 3/4 to 1 oz. pegged Texas Rig.

Actually, it works better than just about anything else in weeds. The weight drags the bait, and line straight down through cover, instead of draping it over the weeds. It's just about replaced Texas rigging in weeds. I'm even using it to punch through super heavy slop with 1 to 1.5 oz, weights.

The key is to use SKINNY PENCIL WEIGHTS. You can also drop down what you normally use by 30-50%. A 1/2 oz. Jika penetrates most milfoil/coontail beds as well as a 3/4 to 1 oz. pegged Texas Rig.

 

Jon, are you making your own or buying a jika rig?  Just wondering what type of pencil weight you're having luck with?  The owner jika rigs i saw had a weight that was not quite a pencil, more of a teardrop i would say.

I buy Owners, and make my own for heavier weights. It's more expensive to make your own, if you use quality components. They are about a $1.75 each. The weights are pencil trolling weights, there's a heavy split ring to the hook - use your favorite, mine is Owner Wide Gap Plus or Rig'n Hook - a light split ring connects the weight to the big ring. Tie between the hook and the light ring, not on the split.

Try a Rage Tail Structure Bug rigged verticle (like a minnow). This has been my #1 presentation

for some time.

 

 

 

 

ok, thanks OP and JFrancho....  

i'm going to have to give this a shot.  sounds like a solution for the weeded areas i come across where i just can't stand using the t rig because of the slop i pull back.

Hop, and shake it in between pauses and drops as you bring it back. Also, it's not a long distance rig. An average pitch is a good distance.

I fish mine a variety of ways. Sometimes 3/8-1/2 oz with a rage craw hopping, dragging, and dead sticking like a jig, sometimes punching through grass with a 3/4-1 oz, sometimes swimming it around with a paddle tail shad, sometimes with 1/8th oz and a roboworm like a dropshot.

 

They are very versatile and effective. They slip through grass easily, they rarely get snagged, and they cast further than most rigs. They aren't a t rig replacement though. It just depends on the bottom, structure, and mood of the fish. Sometimes the bait chasing the sinker down is the only way to trigger a strike, but sometimes it's the subtle dance of a jika on the bottom and in between rocks that triggers one.

that said, I have taken to sometimes using a ringed hook for my t rigs for more action, and if you tie to a snap you can swap baits easily the way you would a crank or something.

Here's the punch rigs.

If you prefer Tungsten weights Picasso offers a great option . 

 

 

http://www.***.com/Picasso_Tungsten_Casting_Drop_Shot_Weight_Cylinder_3pk/descpage-PTCDC.html

I haven't used those, but they look nice. All I use is owner lead and I love those. Tungsten would be awesome, especially since they're hard to lose, but owner only offers those in a package with hooks.