light European jigging spoons(pirks)

[diemai]

Hi , folks

Just thought to introduce a few of our local light pirks , me and especially my wife are using these(amongst a lot of others) for vertical fishing in freshwater under the boat .

Originally meant for fishing for cod(obviously only has its color pattern in common with your Australian cod)in the Baltic sea at shallower places , we have good success with these lighter versions on pike , zander(walleye) and perch(redfin) in greater depths(10 to 25 metres) of local rivers and lakes , most likely during the cold season .

Normally in literature jigs of about 10 to 30 grams are recommended for sucha purpose , but my wife swears by these heavier ones , she even ties on up to 100 grams sizes , simply because these generate a noisier impact as they constantly fall on the bottom , and it really seems , that fish come by to investigate and finally strike it . Her success proves her right .

Pictured are 40 and 50 grams versions of the well-known "Norwegen-Pilker"(norway-pirk) by different manufacturers , cast of lead alloy , bottom chrome-colored one is made of steel . This model is available in weights up to 1000 grams to fish the depths of the Atlantic Ocean at the Norwegian coast .

Took a top ,-and a sideview of these .

Third picture shows some different pirk models made by the small German manufactury "HAKUMA"(uploaded some of their casting spoons already in the spoon section of this site) , also in their smallest available sizes , that we use for freshwater fishing . Off course some models are also available in heavier or even far heavier sizes , also lead free models available .

These HAKUMA jigs impress by their outstanding durability of their paint finish , it takes a long season and lotta rocky bottoms to crack some chips off , whereas other brands are already bare naked down to the metal ! And they are not the most expensive !

I have replaced all of their original tinned hooks to the sharpest freshwater trebles , that I could find , most likely "Gamakatsu's" , these surely up the catch rate , since about 10% of fish get hooked from the outside , and these hooks stick like glue !

greetz , diemai

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[Mully]

some very nice jigs there mate they all have a very natural finish to them ,,its a pity when we buy good lures and nned to spend more upgrading hooks and rings this annoys me a lot you would think for the use they are intended for they would supply decent terminal

[diemai]

@ Mully

Thanks , mate ,....... but for their intented use in saltwater their rig is OK , the HAKUMA manufactury exclusively rigs VMC's to their lures , for saltwater lures off course tinned ones .

Assembling Gamakatsu's would increase the price of the lure , I guess ,.... but I have found , that for our freshwater purposes(these jigs are originally designed for saltwater use) these hooks are just that tad sharper to often still grab fish , that only "smell" them , not really bite !

Often curious perch would school around a "dancing" jig , tip it with their noses ,...... but not really bite it ,....... or fish would fail to hit the moving pirk , since they just attack it that very moment , as the angler flicks it upward again .

So such ultra sharp hooks would often still nail these "nearly-strikes" , most likely somewhere outside of the mouth portion , but also in rare cases on back or even fins(after a failed attack the fish would stand still on the spot , the jig falls back down on its back or head and often finds grip with the needlesharp hook points) ,..... about 10% of the fish , that we catch on such jigs , get hooked that way.

On slow days this could make the difference of going home blank or with a nice zander(walleye) or perch(redfin) for the pan !

My prefered hooks for souping up these pirks are "Gamakatsu's" , "VMC Barbarians" and also "Eagle Claw Curved Point trebles" , but the latter are not as easy to purchase over here .

greetz , diemai

[Mully]

totally agree but to me the making of a truly good lure is all round practicality i hate upgrading hooks and rings

[diemai]

@ Mully

Surely it is a nuisance ,.... but something , that we are a bit used to over here ,........f.e. a few crankbait models are sometimes recommended in magazines to substitute their original thick wired hooks for thinner ones , since these thicker originals would not penetrate the bony mouths of pike and zander as good .

greetz , diemai

[MXB]

totally agree but to me the making of a truly good lure is all round practicality i hate upgrading hooks and rings

I second that . . . they should get it right the first time!!

@deimai

In offshore saltwater I use jigs up to 600gm to drop into holding fish at 15 - 60 fathoms and it is a well recognised way to catch kingfish and other species in OZ when they are schooling or holding on the bottom . . . I use 60 - 80lb braid (PE 3 -4 - 5) on a 37kg stick and will sometimes be down over 300ft. Its hard work.

The 'bottom bashing' you refer to Deiter as the preferred method of your wife is smart thinking and the 100gm jigs will get down fast and if vertically jigging hard will often get hit on the drop or on the rise or as an investigation from curious fish.

An effective fishing method

MXB

[diemai]

@ MXB

I guess , in the deep "Fjords"(deep and narrow bays) of Norway's North Atlantic coastline they're working pirks still deeper than 300 feet , at that company "HAKUMA" there are some few 1000gr models available , if my memory serves me right ?

Check http://www.hakuma.de for their online catalog , .......German only , but a lotta pictures .

In particular their logo mascot , the mermaid , is very nice !

greetz , Dieter