when i have been lucky enough to find some, live helgramites are about the best bait i ever tried.  i recently picked up some soft plastic ones by nikko.  can anyone offer some tips on the best way to rig them? i mainly fish for smallies  in a shallow, clear crick. the water rarely gets more than 3-4' deep

Ned style head, or one of the ewg style ned heads maybe?

They're great baits for river smallmouth.  If you're looking for a jighead, try the Owner blockhead jig.  You'll want to pull one of the wire keepers off, the bait will still stay up.  You can also use a 1/0 worm hook (it doesn't have to be EWG, but that's what I use).  You want to Texpose these without skin-hooking it.  These baits need to stay away from other plastics, or like the Zman baits, they will melt.  They are extremely hard to thread onto a jig or hook of any sort.  But once you have them rigged, I get 40 or more fish out of them.  They work on rivers I fish where I've never seen a Dobson fly or helgrammite in the area.

Keitech round jig head 1/8 ounce 2/0 hook

I fish my Nikko’s on a Ned rig. Small mushroom head jig, exposed hook. Drag them slow on the bottom. 

Jump on YouTube and search for "Creek Fishing Adventures". The guys name is John and he lives in East TN. He fishes small rivers and streams all over and uses the Nikko Hellgrammites a lot.

47 minutes ago, volzfan59 said:

Jump on YouTube and search for "Creek Fishing Adventures". The guys name is John and he lives in East TN. He fishes small rivers and streams all over and uses the Nikko Hellgrammites a lot.

Geez...

"That's a good-un". 

Another 6 ounces and it might weigh a pound.

 

Take a look at Tackle HD’s hellgrammites too. They are super lifelike although much bigger than a real one. Rig them shakes head style. Can find on Amazon or their website. 

On 11/14/2020 at 10:28 AM, roadwarrior said:

Geez...

"That's a good-un". 

Another 6 ounces and it might weigh a pound.

 

I never said that he catches a lot of big fish, just that he uses the Nikko Hellgrammites a lot. John's more of a Henry David Thoreau type, "many men fish all their lives without realizing it's not the fish they're after." That to say, he just relishes being on the water, catching what ever hits, no matter the size.

+1 on mushroom head jig. Drag them slow.  

On 11/14/2020 at 12:57 PM, moguy1973 said:

Take a look at Tackle HD’s hellgrammites too. They are super lifelike although much bigger than a real one. Rig them shakes head style. Can find on Amazon or their website. 

 

i picked up some of those, too. looking forward to trying them out come spring

I've had amazing success this summer with Nikko Hellgrammites. The redeyes love them, at least they did this summer. I use Shroom/Ned/Slider heads with mine. I love their durability but it is hard to even rig them up sometimes they're so tough. 

3/32 oz VMC Finesse Weedless Jig, that's what I use for Nikko Hellgrammite, and it's been great for rocky creeks. The hook size is just small enough to be called finesse hook, and large enough to have a good hookup ratio. That being said, sometimes the smallies just want something else; a football jig would always be a good bet.

6 hours ago, newapti5 said:

3/32 oz VMC Finesse Weedless Jig, that's what I use for Nikko Hellgrammite, and it's been great for rocky creeks. The hook size is just small enough to be called finesse hook, and large enough to have a good hookup ratio. That being said, sometimes the smallies just want something else; a football jig would always be a good bet.

Interesting.... I do some creek trout fishing and have been looking for artificials to use.  Think that hook would be small enough for some trout in the 13-17" range?  We typically use pretty small hooks with crawlers or live hellgrammites.

1 hour ago, ajschn06 said:

Interesting.... I do some creek trout fishing and have been looking for artificials to use.  Think that hook would be small enough for some trout in the 13-17" range?  We typically use pretty small hooks with crawlers or live hellgrammites.

 

I am not a avid trout fishman, so you be the judge. This is the "green pumpkin" color of Nikko Hellgrammite.

 

 

On 11/12/2020 at 10:01 PM, The one that got away said:

Keitech round jig head 1/8 ounce 2/0 hook

I second this. Sharp and the 2/0 is a perfect size in my opinion. 

On 11/19/2020 at 9:39 AM, newapti5 said:

3/32 oz VMC Finesse Weedless Jig, that's what I use for Nikko Hellgrammite, and it's been great for rocky creeks. The hook size is just small enough to be called finesse hook, and large enough to have a good hookup ratio. That being said, sometimes the smallies just want something else; a football jig would always be a good bet.

 

the section of the brandywine i fish most, is rocky.  this is good news

I use them on a basic round head jig and a 2/0 hook. I use the Bass Pro hellgramites 

Lunker City makes decent ones as well, 3" and 5".

I only use the “Case Plastics hellgies. Might be able to get pretty easily. I use to order them direct out of Virginia. Not sure of Case Plastics position any more. I still use a lot of their tubes. They had the Smallmouth market at one time. 

Charlie Case passed away a few years ago. Great guy. Case plastics can still be bought online. Google Case plastics and you will be able to find where to buy them

10 hours ago, Dreveal said:

Charlie Case passed away a few years ago. Great guy. Case plastics can still be bought online. Google Case plastics and you will be able to find where to buy them

Roadkill camo = smallies

I do well fishing them on a 1/8 or 1/16 oz River Rock Baits Draggin Head. It has a screwlock on the front with a long belly weight and is weedless. They work real well for me working them like a tube. Another one I use is a Lifted Jigs EWG Ned jighead, primarily where I need a heavier weight or need to get it through some grass.