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I found looper bugs at Marine General, and I'd like to tie my own. That will be easy, except for one thing: they used painted tube jigs on theirs, and I can't find those to save my life. How picky are loopers about the shape of the bug? Am I wasting my time and money if I use small gumball jigs?

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You should be able to order all kinds of different sizes and shapes of jig heads from Cabela's or another online supplier. I don't think the exact shape is critical for looper bugs, either.

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You can use any color for looper bugs as long as it's black. A magic marker will take care of the color problem. When selecting jig heads of that size make sure there is a quality hook with the lead. Light wire hooks designed for panfish might straighten a bit too easily on those monster loopers.

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Last time I checked Fishermans Corner had the jig heads your looking for.

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I also relied on black, with purple and brown right up there, too. One day I had on a white/chartreuse looper bug, though, and I got bit several times when guys around me using dark colors got NADA! grin.gif

Day in and day out, the dark colors worked best for me.

I've also had great luck on Miners Lake in Ely fishing rainbows and brookies with the Rossbobber, black looper bug and the looper rod and setup I used along the North Shore. Casts a mile, set it for 20 feet down, tip it with a waxie or an inch of crawler and gun it out there. Many is the time I caught fish by the ton doing that on Miners.

Oh, that's right. Shhhhh, there's NO TROUT IN MINERS! grin.gif

And sorry to take it off topic. blush.gif

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

crappies like them too

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Thanks for the tip about checking the hook strength, matthothand... I hadn't really thought about that as much as I should have. I was too busy trying to tie exactly what I saw on Marine General's website.

Looks like I've got to continue my quest for the perfect jig head. In the meantime, I'm just going to buy some ready-made ones. I'd much rather spend my time catching fish than jumping from one tackle shop to another.

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Glad I could help. I'm trying to get a few hand crafted bugs of hard to find colors from a buddy but for a buck and a half I'll probably stick to getting mine over the counter otherwise. Also don't worry too much about perfecting the bug if you make your own. The bugs for sale often are the same four colors and profile. Tie some with longer legs or trim the skirt short. Give the fish something a bit more appealing then the same looper bug that gets tossed in their face every day.

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