Big hammer swim baits

I fish a lot with the Sledgehammers, which are 9 inches, I think.  They work really good for Lings and Reds.  Halloween is a good one.

Dave

Love these baits as well...on a side note they seem to work just as well if the paddle part of the tail is bitten off...

What oz weight do you usually go with

2 ounces for every fifty feet of depth on the jighead.

The weight really depends on the drift and size of your line. I usually fish 30# braid with 10-15 ft of 30 lb. seaguar. I always use a 4oz. Jig head. Just because, ya never know when you are going to get a big grab. Just my opinion.

Need to add that this was my method for fishing on a boat.  If fishing off a kayak with heavy line or leader, and snagged on the bottom, make sure your drag is set  correctly, loose enough, or you could end up going in the drink.

6-8oz lead head (bullet or shad) with a 8-10" plastic swim bait, I prefer white or chartreuse, with a piece of cut squid.. Awesome ling killer.

6-8oz lead head

That sounds like a good workout!  You're a stronger man than me to jig that all day.

Thunk! 

Need to add that this was my method for fishing on a boat.  If fishing off a kayak with heavy line or leader, and snagged on the bottom, make sure your drag is set  correctly, loose enough, or you could end up going in the drink.

Very hard to break off any line heavier than 30# from a yac you are more likely to end up underwater than free your junk .

Thunk! 

It is nice and positive with weights over 3 Oz., can really feel the bottom, but expensive when you snag up. Seems like I can still catch fish with lighter heads but it is not as satisfying a feel, also sometimes need to paddle into the drift  or cast ahead.......kinda annoying.

when i took my brother on his first charter boat, fishing off of salt point... I was next to some guys rocking those huge ling bars...  they were constantly getting jammed in the rocks and losing those bars, they make a run back inside and buy some more which was super expensive. All I came equipped with was lead heads from 4-8oz. granted I lost a few.. but those same guys next to me were saying " he must have a good spot on the boat" after I  kept on getting big hits. Even my brother got hits too.. but those bars are even heavier, I dont think I can Jig those all day. Im no pro, but it seemed to work really well that day. Cheers!

On my first ling trip 2 weekends ago it seemed they would bite just about any color big hammer.  I had the best luck with motor oil and hot Karl.   

Don't forget to loosen up your drag after pulling a snag out.  I forgot that and almost got pulled over before my 40 lbs line broke off.  I suspect my knot was bad, but hard to tell.