Disclaimer. The author does not claim to be the ultimate truth. This is a personal experience of using edible and “ordinary” silicone vibro-tails when hunting for pike in Russia, Ukraine and the CIS. It is these vibro-tails that are the number one choice if there is no desire to experiment and try something new.
Vibrating tails (rippers) have not lost their popularity even now, despite the fact that they have been partially replaced by other types of silicone baits, newfangled wobblers, and spinners. Rippers are especially popular with inexperienced beginner spinning players for several reasons:
- The vibrotail is most understandable in terms of wiring, animation options, and fishing spots . Wobblers, passive silicone lures require understanding and experience from the spinning player, and are more difficult to master.
- Relative cheapness . A beginner fisherman who only learns the basics of art is not always ready to part with a large budget without understanding where and why he spends his money.
- Rippers, with skillful selection and equipment, can be used in any situation and fishing conditions .
- Variety of installation . This gives variability and a wide field for the possible use of lures in the form of silicone fish.
- Tackle can be used relatively simple and cheap .
- What to look for when choosing a pike vibrotail
- Tail size for successful pike fishing
- Color spectrum
- Form factor and additional components on the ripper body
- Heel shape and size
- Is the smell and taste so important, or once again about the edibility
- Jigging a vibrotail for a pike – what to choose?
- 10 best vibro-tails for pike with a photo – personal rating from “Tutkleva.net”
- The process of catching pike with a vibrotail – short, capacious, from real life
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What to look for when choosing a pike vibrotail
Rippers have a whole set of characteristics that reflect their differences between themselves:
- the size;
- Colour;
- the shape of the body, the presence of a notch and its shape, additional characteristics (the presence of an acoustic or air chamber, and others);
- hoof shape (tail, penny);
- edibility / inedibility;
- type of installation.
Naturally, there are no ideal recommendations for choosing a catchy bait. There are tips to help you avoid unnecessary mistakes and gestures.
Tail size for successful pike fishing
The most common size of the universal pike ripper is 2.5-4 inches. Spring / summer working length 2-3 inches (50-80 mm). In late summer and autumn, when the pike is especially active and stores fat for the winter, baits of 4-6 inches also work.
It should be borne in mind that the size of the bait is not a dogma, especially for pike. A small “string” can bite on a bait commensurate with its length.
Color spectrum
The color of the vibrotail should be selected taking into account the season and time of day, the transparency of the water, the species composition of peaceful fish in the reservoir, the activity of the pike and its preferences at a particular time.
We omit the standard hackneyed truths. You can find it on any website and any book about spinning fishing. It will be useful for beginners. We have only practical experience.
What we recommend when fishing for pike with vibrotails:
- In fairly transparent water, pearlescent vibrotails work well, as well as combinations of mother of pearl with a red-black penny and / or back.
- Matte colors work very well – white, white with dirt, gray.
- Sheer vibrotails are good with green-red-purple glitter.
- Machine oil – all-rounder for any water. Especially edible variations.
- Versatile colors for rivers, pits, whirlpools and bays – various glitter green / lime greens.
- Combination of yellow-black-red in various variants. Red tail-yellow body, black back-red belly, etc.
- Various dirty colors are very good – mixtures in incomprehensible combinations.
- For some reason, the blue color and its variations work for us only in the edible version.
By seasons:
- In spring, the water in rivers, oxbows and lakes is muddy; at this time, acid colors in the mat-tiger style are good.
- In summer, natural colors are also used for the food base of a particular reservoir.
- In the fall, naturals work, but the size and type of bait are more important, the color is not so important. Various combinations above work.
Form factor and additional components on the ripper body
For pike fishing, two forms of rippers are used:
- Shad is a vibrotail with a wide profile. The main application is pike fishing in stagnant bodies of water and on slow-flowing rivers, in pits and in pools. From the pros – a large predator is well harvested, in the fall – one of the best among spinning rubber. Of the minuses – they fly poorly, are not suitable for the current and are not very suitable for shallow depths.
- A long-ripper- shaped version in the form of a gudgeon . A standard vibrotail with a slender plump body. An all-rounder for both calm water and current. The most widely used option for pike fishing.
For pike fishing, “pike-perch” vibro-tails with a very narrow body and a small / medium penny are almost never used. Toothed prefers more vibrating motion and noticeable lure shapes.
The notch on the body of the fake fish provides additional play, which also attracts the pike. There is a notch longitudinal and transverse, direct and reverse. The notch can drastically change the game of the bait. A prime example of Predator and Assassin from Mans. Identical baits in everything, except for the tail notch and, as a result, … catching power (photo below).
Heel shape and size
For pike, vibrotails with a wide massive heel are more attractive. These create powerful vibration during wiring. Bend angle 60-90 degrees. The shallow tail of the ripper in the region of 30-45 degrees is not the most suitable option for pike fishing, although it is not excluded.
If necessary, any vibrotail can be modified, for example, by heating the tail section and bending it at the desired angle to the ripper’s body.
Is the smell and taste so important, or once again about the edibility
It is our opinion that the edibility of the bait is not the most important factor when fishing for pike with vibrotails. It is more important to skillfully pick up a ripper and skillfully serve it to a predator. The pike responds more to skillful posting, active play of the correctly chosen bait. Nevertheless, among the edible lures in the vibrotail form factor, there are many catchy for pike.
Jigging a vibrotail for a pike – what to choose?
You can talk endlessly about the options for mounting silicone baits. That is not an end in itself for this article. Let’s walk briefly only on the used assemblies of the vibrotail on a pike in different conditions (all equipment options with a photo are clearly visible):
- Hard mounting on jig heads . The most common option. Particularly good for shaking tails 3-5 inches long. It is good if there is a pack of catchy vibro-tails, which will allow you to string them for different weight distribution of jigs, since rubber does not like frequent re-stringing. We recommend Jigi Jamakatsu – they are unbendable with powerful tackle, plus they are very sharp.
- Swivel mounting on an eared sinker with a single-twin-tee . Has more freedom and options for animation. Indispensable when the necessary frequent change in the weight of the bait, and the fish themselves are not enough. Then just change the weight of the eared sinker. With a large bait size, we recommend installing 2 double-tees on the wire one after the other (the variant of such an installation is below). The Cheburashka hinge can be used with an offset hook.
- Non-engaging mounting on an offset hook . It is necessary for strong places-snags, thickets, stone ridges. The disadvantage is the low quality of the undercut.
- Texas rig . For the most impassable places. Mostly used with ripper rippers.
https://youtu.be/-THQ037Jd_Y We practically do not use a carolinka, a diverter leash, a jig-rig and other similar equipment when fishing for pike.
10 best vibro-tails for pike with a photo – personal rating from “Tutkleva.net”
Among the best catching vibro-tails for pike in our top are both unforgettable classics and relatively new lures:
- Mann’s Predator . 2.5-3 inches . It is preferable, if the reservoir allows, to use a standard jig installation. Will help out, help get away from zero – this is about the Predator and his brother Assassin. A very popular vibrotail for pike. The classic version, works in calm waters and rivers. The size of the cargo and installation are selected according to the conditions. The colors are matte and transparent mother-of-pearl, purple, green with red, yellow with red, yellow with black and others. Nacre works in the summer along oxbows and lakes with relatively clear water. All other colors on reservoirs and rivers. Quite quickly it gets worn out by pike and perch, but nevertheless does not stop catching until the predator chops off its tail. Price from 40 rubles.
- Mans assassin (Manns Assassin ) , 3 inches . Also jig installation and on “Cheburashka”. The younger (older?) Brother of the Predator, but with a reverse notch at the tail. Has a more active shaking play on the wiring. It collects bites of passive fish better and is suitable for uniform posting. The colors are the same as those of the Predator. Of the minuses – the pike, at times, prefers a lazier game, like the Predator, so it’s worth experimenting. Well, and relatively difficult to get hold of, especially the working colors. Price from 40 rubles.
- Relax Copyto. 2-3.5 inches . Another classic vibrotail with a powerful tail. In the spring-summer, it showed itself very well on oxbows and lakes, matte white in the size of 2 inches. In the fall, larger ones are 3 or even 4 inches. Yellow-black and other colors. The price, if taken from a pack, is in the region of 20-30 rubles.
- Relax Aqua. A broad shad-type fish. 3-4 inches . Exclusively jig editing. On the bullet and offset, it falls on its side. Brings trophies, but not the most catchy in terms of the number of tails. The price is 40-50 rubles per piece.
- Bass Assassin Turbo Shad, 4 ” . Very high quality rubber from the USA. In the fall – there is simply no end. Can be used as a scout on unfamiliar waters and as a way to get away from zero. Green, green with sequins, orange. The price is about 500 rubles per pack.
- Keitech Swing impact. 3-4 inches . Catering Swing Impact is a pike food. Loves not high-speed wiring. Often bites on pause. There is a lot of perch and chub in the by-catch. Price per package from 300 rubles.
- Pontoon 21 Awaruna 3, 3.5, 4 inches . Vibriki with deep notches. Works on pike, pike perch, perch. Good to use with offset, jig head, double on cheburashka. Wide range of colors. Relatively difficult to get hold of. Price from 300 rubles for a pack of 6 pieces.
- Sawamura One’up Shad. 3-5 inches . Very high quality soft Japanese rubber. Not cheap, but worth it. Tried glitter green and orange. Both work. The price for a pack of 7 pieces is around 300 rubles.
- Lunker City Shaker 3.2 – 6 inches . Good for standard jigs. The shaker works in different colors. For turbid – acid, orange and others. Depending on the size, the price starts at 40 rubles apiece.
- Lucky John Tioga Fat 3.9, 4.5 inches . Low-cost, but high-quality silicone. Recommended! The photo shows a very working color for pike. The price is 30-40 rubles per piece.
https://youtu.be/dzHvW1A8hnI
Interestingly, it is among the vibro-tails that the most inedible options are among other silicone baits (slugs, worms, crayfish and others). Apparently this is for the reason that the catchiness of the ripper is primarily due to other factors – play, feed, size, color.
Faith in bait is the most important thing when choosing one or another vibrotail. It is also important to take into account the fishing conditions, the type of reservoir and the intended object of the hunt.
The process of catching pike with a vibrotail – short, capacious, from real life
When fishing for pike with rippers, several types of wiring are used:
- Uniform slow and medium . Everything is clear here – we carry out the bait evenly at a given depth (more often at the bottom) near the proposed pike site. Depending on the activity of the predator, we vary the speed of the escort. Good in spring and autumn.
- Standard jig step . On rivers, you can work for demolition, downstream and even against. Casting – blasting from the bottom – 2-3 turns of the coil – falling-blasting from the bottom – 2-3 turns of the coil. Working classics.
- A wide and lazy step . Used for passive pike. In a wide step, the number of turns of the coil increases to 4-6, in a lazy step, a pause is made after the bait falls to the bottom of the reservoir up to 6-10 seconds.
- Stop & Go . Almost a variation of the step, but in the water column.
- Dragging for demolition . Works on the river. The bait is cast downstream above the angler’s station. Then drag along the bottom, gradually undermining from it for a short time as it is demolished. We finish the wiring with the usual uniform or step upstream.
- Broaching and undermining the bait from the bottom with a rod, variations on the theme of American jigging . We toss the bait from the bottom with the movement of the rod and animate with the movement of the rod – then we exhaust the free line and let the bait land, we repeat the whole process in a circle.
- Variations of animation from the previous ones .
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