FAQ

Q. What do I do if my Wigglewood doesn't swim true?

N. Each Wigglewood is tank tested to check for correct swimming action. However, on rare occasions an incorrectly swimming lure can make it through to a customer. In this case there are a couple of actions you can take to try to correct it on your own. The first is to see that the line is tied to your hook in a centred manner. The hook can act as a keel, and if it is cocked off to the side can cause a lure to swim off kilter. The second thing to check is that the hole in the lure is centred. To do this, insert a regular round toothpick, or some small finishing nail into the hole. Then check for symmetry. If the hole is misaligned merely bend the toothpick to the side slightly. The yellow cedar of the plug is soft enough that your hole should become adjusted to the correct angle for the desired action. Do this from both the top and bottom of the lure. Finally, if you have taken these actions and the lure continues to swim incorrectly send it in to us and we will replace it free of charge. We will even refund your postage.

Q. How Can I best use the Wigglewood plugs behind a downrigger?

N. The Wigglewood salmon plugs can be effectively used behind a downrigger if some small adjustments are made to technique. Due to the Wigglewood’s natural buoyancy it will ‘blow’ into the downrigger cable if the incorrect technique is used. To adjust for this, simply speed up your trolling speed while you are lowering your cannonball, and lower the cannonball slowly. This will allow the Wigglewood’s natural diving action to keep up with the decent of the cannonball. Once you are at trolling depth you may troll at your regular speed. Alternately, what I like to do is simply attach a small (1 ½ - 2 ounce) banana weight to the end of my mainline, and then attach the Wigglewood’s leader to that. Then attach your line to the downrigger in the usual manner.

Q. Can I use the Wigglewood plugs behind a gang-troll when I fish for trout?

N. Though many people, including me, like to fish the Wigglewood without a gang-troll, some anglers prefer to use one and the Wigglewood is just as effective. Simply ensure that your leader from the gang-troll to the lure is at least four feet long. This length allows the lure the slack it need to work freely, and prevents the currents set up by the gang-troll from interfering with the lure’s action.

Q. What colour of the Wigglewood should I use?

N. This question really has two parts; colours for fresh-water and colours for salt-water. I will deal with the fresh-water question first.

While colour choice can change from day to day, and even during the day, there are some basic rules to follow when making the first colour choice of the day. In lakes consider the basic water clarity and choose bright colours for clear waters and dark colours for tannin stained waters. I also find that in Spring and Summer bright colours work better and dark colours in the Fall and Winter. For Rainbow trout I like to begin with lures that have red in them. For cutthroat trout I begin with something in yellow.

For salmon fishing the first basic considerations are the type of feed the salmon are on, and the depth one is fishing. When the salmon are on needlefish I would choose a blue shaded lure. If they are on herring I would begin with a lure that has elements of a honey colour and green on it. As for depth, if you recall your grade eight science lessons about the colour spectrum, you can determine the colours that carry at different depths as visible light decreases with the depth fished. In short, red and orange lures show best at the shallower depths and green, blue and purple show best at deeper depths. Of course this can be varied by the use of glow-in –the-dark lures, and those treated with a UV clear coat which are very visible to fish even where there appears to be no visible light at all.

Of course the best advice is if what you are doing isn’t working, change what you’re doing. This goes for colour choice too.

Resources