Author Topic: Super Sunfish  (Read 1890 times)

Offline ctom

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Super Sunfish
« on: 07/02/21 08:47 UTC »
As a good friend and I have been beating up the backwaters of the Mississippi River taking both large and small mouth bass, pike and even some dogfish using the hook-slot modified Rippers we've been paying attention to what we have on the line for color and how the fish respond. The water we are fishing is fairly clear for the Mississippi River, which always has some stain to it. Basically we are fishing a trough with water anywhere from 15 feet to about 4-6 feet in depth thru the center of the trough with shelves on both sides that top out in as little was 1 foot. The sides have substantial emergent and submergent weed growth with the shallower portions of the trough itself having some submergent growth. The deeper water offers some cooler water while the food is in the shallower areas so fish can be taken anywhere in this location.

As mentioned, we pay particular attention to what the fish are hitting well with color being our focus on the baits. On the trip before last we fished  Ripper with a heavy silver string glitter belly over a watermelon top heavy with .040 purple and .015 garnet glitters. At one point I had five hits on five consecutive casts. My partner was poking fish with regularity using the color too. We agreed that since we'd tried similar colors with pearl bellies that the fish were beginning to focus on the flash from the baits having the silver bellies so I cooked up a new color that we used yesterday thinking more flash over-all might be good and it was hands down a more consistent color.

I call this Super Sunfish. All clear plastic, just super over-loaded with silver string glitter in the bellies and equal parts of green and blue .040 [about a healthy teaspoon of each in 4 ounces] plus about 1/2 teaspoon of purple .040. This was injected thru the twin injector into the 4" Ripper molds that are converted to end injection and have the metal blanks to create the hook slots. Bass loved the color. We actually had a double on pike with it and no dogfish for a change.



I know the picture appears to have two sizes of Rippers but its the angle the shot was taken, not a difference in size. These baits are all flash having zero colorant or hi lite of any size in them. I am using straight Essential plastic and even with the glitter overload these baits are far tougher than the Kietech baits we'd been throwing earlier this summer. Using a thin punch metal blank  in the modified mold to create the hook slot, we can bury the point of the hook and keep it fully covered along with the tie on to keep these very nearly weedless yet hook sets are still quick and easy. My buddy fished almost the entire trip yesterday with one of these and caught plenty of fish coming home with that bait still rigged. My original Super Sunfish bait got mangled by the best pike I caught yesterday, but number two is still on the line until next trip.

We started the yesterday with 74 degree water and high skies. Things warmed up pretty quick but we still took the bulk of our fish from the shallower water and when the sun was out strong with these glkitter hogs and we both agreed that its the flash of all the glitter that put our fish in the net. All of the baits with at least the belly portion full of silver glitter have out-produced the more traditional bait colors with the pearl bellies.
There are good ships
and wood ships
ships that sail the sea
but the best ships are friendships
and may they
always be ......An Irish Toast

Offline Shaunm81

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Re: Super Sunfish
« Reply #1 on: 07/02/21 10:08 UTC »
Wow very nice I like how those turned out.

Offline ctom

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Re: Super Sunfish
« Reply #2 on: 07/02/21 11:26 UTC »
I'm doing the !.5" Thump-Its with this in front of a chartreuse tail....see what the Crappies think of it this fall.
There are good ships
and wood ships
ships that sail the sea
but the best ships are friendships
and may they
always be ......An Irish Toast

Offline basscatlildave

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Re: Super Sunfish
« Reply #3 on: 07/02/21 13:24 UTC »
That's a great looking color.

Offline DF

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Re: Super Sunfish
« Reply #4 on: 07/02/21 15:30 UTC »
 Nice color Tom!

Offline Bass Boys

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Re: Super Sunfish
« Reply #5 on: 07/02/21 18:03 UTC »
 Tom ,
 Can you show a picture of a bait rigged ?

Offline ctom

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Re: Super Sunfish
« Reply #6 on: 07/02/21 21:37 UTC »
Here ya go....



To rig these we start the hook fairly deep in the nose end so that when everything is finished up the eye of the hook and knot are hidden in the nose end. The barb of the hook is sitting just inside the slot. If you look carefully you can see the hook just ahead of the barb laying along the top edge of the bait...look right where my finger and palm meet.

Also note that the cast on weight is back slightly. We push the lead back on the hook some to help give the bait a real sexy wiggle on the retrieve.
There are good ships
and wood ships
ships that sail the sea
but the best ships are friendships
and may they
always be ......An Irish Toast

Offline Bass Boys

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Re: Super Sunfish
« Reply #7 on: 07/03/21 05:37 UTC »
Here ya go....



To rig these we start the hook fairly deep in the nose end so that when everything is finished up the eye of the hook and knot are hidden in the nose end. The barb of the hook is sitting just inside the slot. If you look carefully you can see the hook just ahead of the barb laying along the top edge of the bait...look right where my finger and palm meet.

Also note that the cast on weight is back slightly. We push the lead back on the hook some to help give the bait a real sexy wiggle on the retrieve.

  Nice , I like it .

Offline ctom

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Re: Super Sunfish
« Reply #8 on: 07/03/21 09:06 UTC »
I'm fishing these on 8/30 power pro and I can slow these down to a mere crawl and still have tail action. We've found that a 4/0 hook is by far the best size to use and that 1/16 ounce is all the weight we need. I've tried 5/0 with 1/16 but the hook is long enough to start to hinder the swimming action at slow speeds. 3/0 is just too small.

I prefer Gammis with this bait while my buddy likes Gammis but also likes VMCs.

If you look close at the weight you'll see I have tapered the lead at the back slightly so the weight will push thru without further opening the plastic up. Unless we get ripped up by teeth we are seeing up to 8 fish per bait and if the nose end starts to get beat up I pull the bait off while the body is still solid and re-dip the nose in hot plastic while I have a cup handy. Re-dipping allows me to re-use the baits for several fish before things are just to torn. Re-dipping is faster, cheaper than making a whole new bait. It works about one time.

Honestly I never fished a Ripper type of bait in this fashion with the weighted hooks for bass and pike. I was always pulling off masses of weeds. My buddy was rigging as seen here on another lake with success using the Keitech Fat Swing Impact. I was always a hollow frog [think Spro] guy and Rapala Skitter Pops for top water stuff. I avoided visible weeds except with the frog. With Rippers rigged like this they are basically weedless and I am of the belief that it is the clear dope and plus Rippers done in Essential plastic are five times as tough as the Keitech plastics plus I control what the colors are. My buddy loves how elastic the Essential plastic is in the Rippers.
There are good ships
and wood ships
ships that sail the sea
but the best ships are friendships
and may they
always be ......An Irish Toast

Offline WALLEYE WACKER

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Re: Super Sunfish
« Reply #9 on: 07/03/21 20:13 UTC »
Nice monster gull
May your days be filled with sun shine and you always have a tight line. AMEN