Put the little spinner bait to the side and try a 1/4 oz inline spinner. On a short leader to a swivel to the mainline. 

16 hours ago, MassBass said:

Put the little spinner bait to the side and try a 1/4 oz inline spinner. On a short leader to a swivel to the mainline. 

I do use inline spinners from time to time when I'm targeting open eddies and rock areas.  The little pond magic spinner is for fishing cover like laydowns and weed lines and in fall, bouncing bottom where there is tons of leaves and debris.  I just can't imagine getting an inline spinner back out of a laydown.

On 11/24/2023 at 3:14 PM, TOXIC said:

If I could only take one bait to the river in cold water, and I have been wading with chunks of ice bouncing off my neoprene waders, it would be a 3 inch smoke/salt & pepper grub on a 3/16 ball headed jig.  I might take a pack of grubs in a natural brown color as well.  Never failed me…..ever.  

Interesting.  I would think this would be to fast for cold water.  I usually use a 1/8 jig with a grub in warmer water.  How deep and how fast are you fishing your 3/16?

@IndianaOutdoors, I use the lighter heads to keep from hanging up in the rocks and shale ledges.  Prime target areas are eddies behind big rock croppings and where current flows into a deeper pool.  If I’m blind casting, I go straight across the current at say the 3 o’clock and slowly keep it coming to me until it hits the 6 o’clock.  Always going to snag some but I’ve found that’s the best for the rivers I fish.  

On 11/22/2023 at 1:05 PM, WRB said:

In lieu of a Bitzy Bug the Dale Hallow Punisher 3/16 oz brown- orange hair jig with Berkeley Maxscent Lil Trooper 2 1/2 craw in watermelon/copper-red flake Orange belly works for Smallmouth . The DH Punisher uses a Gamakatsu hook, $2.70 hard to find a better jig near this price point.

Tom

 

Would you say this is the closest jig to your hair jig you made?