DIY hollow braid Vertical Jigging Assist Hook
Check List:
Various braking strain hollow braid and Kevlar braid. Much depends on where you are fishing and what you expect to catch. In
Braid scissors
Fly Fishing bobbin threader (or self made single strand wire loop)
Fly Fishing bobbin holder
Length of 50 to 65lb braid (for whipping)
Superglue
Heat shrink tube
Assorted hooks
Fig 1. Fly tying bobbin threader alongside a self-made single strand wire loop.mThe loop shown is one that I made for making wind-on leaders
(I will cover how to make these in a separate blog).
Fig 2. Braid cut to various lengths. The length will depend on where you want the hook to sit and the length of jig being used. Cut them twice the length that you need the finished assist to be.
Fig 3. Insert the bobbin threader (or loop) into the chosen piece of braid.
Fig 4. Double the braid in half as shown.
Fig 5. Exit the braid about 1cm short of the mid point.
Fig 6. Insert the braid end into the ‘eye’ of the threader. The ‘eye’ will hold the braid tight to enable you to pull it back through on itself.
Fig 7. Pull the tag end back through the centre of the braid and exit.You now have a
a length of doubled braid. Continue to pull the tag end until you are left with the desired size loop at the other end.
Fig 8. Smooth the braid to remove any bunching. You now have a finished assist braid to connect to your selected hook.
A Jig and Assist caught GT – tagged and about to be released.
Fig 9. Match the hook to your target species. Those shown are extra strong for GT’s, Grouper
and Amberjack in sizes to 8/0. For UK jigging you would normally choose finer gauge hooks in smaller 1/0 to 6/0. Owner are my own choice.
Fig 10. You can attach the braid to the hook in several ways. Whipped, knotted or both. Thread the braid through the eye of the hook as shown.
Fig 11. If using a whipped finish a fly tiers bobbin holder is really useful. I fill mine with 50lb to 80lb braid. You can then complete a whip of the braid against the hook shank.
Fig 12. Whip from the eye down keeping the whip tight and neat by pulling the bobbin holder away from the hook shank. I whip the braid down the back of the shank.
Fig 13. Finish the whip by using a short braid loop to pull the tag end of the braid back
through. You place the loop (with the loop at the bend) next to the shank of the hook and braid and whip over it 6 to 8 times. Cut the whipping braid and place it back through the loop, pull the ends of the loop to pull the braid back through under itself. Pull tight for a neat whip finish.
Fig 14. Finish the whip off by securing the with a coating of superglue.
Fig 14. The completed connection covered with a short heat shrink tube for added protection. If you are fishing deep water you can use a luminous tube covering to give extra fish attraction.
Fig 15. Two completed assist hooks. One short one long.
If you decide to knot your braid connection to the hook first create an over hand loop as shown below.
You then slide this over the bend of the hook up to the shank and tighten down. Thread the loop through the eye of the hook as shown. Tighten the knot down.
Tie another two half hitches and tighten down. Finish by locking with a coating of super glue.
The finished assist ready to fish. The third way of attaching the braid is to complete one half hitch and snug up to the hook eye.Then whip the remaining braid down the back of the hook shank and finish as before. This is my favourite method when I know there is a chance of something really big! The half hitch just gives you that extra sense of security when hooked up to a fish perhaps 400′ to 600′ down!
Hooked up on a DIY Assist. At this point the fish (an amberjack is some 500′ down)
Cod like this are prime targets for vertical jigging.
