Iron question

[anglerserg]

New to iron fishing.

Just wanted to get your opinions on some of the vast array of iron available to choose from. Had thought of just buying one of each and trying them out but thought I would get for useful info here. Do you use? What conditions?

Salas 7x, 7xjr, Baby 5x, Pop, Christy, YoYo4, 6x, 6xjr

Tady 45, C, 9, A1, AA, TLC

544x

Kicker 25, 15

Candyman

Krocodiles

Sea Striker

Phew! Thanks in advance!

[djd35de]

7X and Tady 45, tady C .

[MikeyLikesIt]

they all swim a bit differently, and the swimming action is what matters.

for me, on the surface I like the tadys. I like the Salas for yoyoing. Even if that is all you throw, they all (individually) swim differently, so you have to adjust your retrieve to get the swimming action you want. when you find that jig that swims just right, guard it with your life!

[anglerserg]

Any application for the Salas Christy?

[plasticslinger]

the christy2 i would let sink for about 30-40 sec. then a med-fast retrieve, worked for me on my last trip on a paddy stop

[Steve K]

Just getting into fishing iron on Long Range trips, I asked a Captain at the Fred Hall show which jig and what color for yoyo iron. He said something like the Salas 6X or 6X Jr. I like the full size 6X as it has stronger hooks, but you can have the hooks on the Jr changed out. Smaller jig is certainly easier to crank if you're fishing Yellows all day. We talk about throwing the iron all day, and if you're at Cedros or Benitos, you may find yourself doing just that. When I asked what color, if I were going to buy just one jig, he replied Blue/White. I asked again, and if I were to buy two jigs? He said get two Blue/White.

Interesting follow up to that regarding surface iron. I was fishing an 8 day on Shogun in April and Bruce Smith got out his long rod. He was throwing the "Green Sardine" pattern Salas 7X. This is frequently referred to as Seagull Shit. We laughed about the story about buying two Blue/White and when he landed a nice Yellow on the long rod, he held it up and smiled and said, "Get two."

edit: Here's a pic. From a June trip, but the same idea and the same smile.

[mutu0069]

The Salas 7X lite,super 7x, 6X lite, 5x, baby 5X are all kick ass surface iron for yellows. The Salas Jpots , 7x jr, O pops are good surface iron for calicos and barries. The 6x jr is prob the most popular yo yo iron for yellows. The tady 45 is a good all around surface iron for yellows, barries, calicos. The c, AA, A1 are good for barries. The 9 is a good yo yo iron for yellows. The 544x is a good surface iron for barries. The Kicker 25 is a good all around surface iron for yellows and barries. The Candyman is a kickass surface iron for yellows and calicos. The most important thing you have to look for in a surface iron is how it swims. I mostly fish Salas jigs and i find that almost all of them swim well.Unlike the Tady 45, you really have to find one that swims good and doesnt spin or pop out of the water. But once you find one that does it will catch fish! Good luck! Theres no better feeling than catching fish on the iron!

[Steve K]

Theres no better feeling than catching fish on the iron!

And there's nothing quite like the visual experience of watching as a wolfpack of big Yellows knock each other out of the way,
trying to inhale that jig. Finally one of them nabs it and you just keep on winding until it starts peeling drag. Memorable moments.

[Outthouse]

Steve, I agree about catching yellows on Iron. On my just completed 5 day, I didn't start to sling iron until I had caught my limit on bait. Boy, what a rush. First of all, there weren't the hords of folks at the front of the boat plus no engine noise. Just watching the fish chase the bait was a rush. Finally, we had a guy on our boat with a fly rod. He had been trying to catch some free swimmers and wasn't having much luck, so I took the bird shit color you talked about and did everything I could to keep the fish from catching it which brought the hords to the boat for the fly dude. That was the most fun I have had out of bed in a while.

[Steve K]

Interesting observation about the bow. I had a somewhat different experience on my last trip. I was tying to get a hip on the rail to throw the surface plug with the long rod, but there were so many guys standing in the bow with long rods and yoyo iron outfis, I could not find a place for myself. A little frustrated, I hung it up for a while and went to the middle of the boat and started dropping the yoyo iron. That's alway been and probably always will be one of my favorite methods for catching Yellows. I like fishing bait for tuna, but the feeling you get when your jig just suddenly stops when you're grinding that yoyo iron is something else!

[shortbite]

Guys, don't leave out the salas 7x scrambled egg, very good too!

[maxlikestofish]

544x kicks ass, 7x light and 7x jr. and sumo 3