It’s absolutely vital that the jig hang on 4-pound line just about exactly 11⁄2 to not more than 21⁄4 inches below the flash lure. If it hangs down farther, the rig tends to tangle when jigged. Some anglers get to really thinking, get to really playing the Cool Hand Luke part of the equation, surmising they’ll catch more fish if they get the jig farther below the flash lure. Been there, done that, been fishing this rigging for 32 years, on the nose. Works best close to the flash lure. But then, all this was worked out long before I got to thinking about it and learned about the combo from other top anglers in the Great Lakes region of Iowa.

The original search lure or dropper rigging is of European design, which has been introduced and become popular off and on in North America a time or two over the last several decades. The Pilkie, originally introduced by Rapala, was the first Euro dropper design I used. Superb lures. One Pilkie model had a single long-shank hook below the flash body. Another design had a dropper made of light chain, with a small single hook, usually a #8, at the end of the chain.

A dropper chain (gold or silver) at first looks odd and one might presume would turn fish off. In fact, it just as likely does the opposite. Again, the angler adds maggots (or some other larvae) to the hook, and the flashing body of the lure attracts perch, which are then triggered upon moving closer by the maggots on the hook hanging on the chain below. A small portion of crawdad tail often works, too, if you can find such bait. Again, the length of chain’s critical. Not too long. Total length from hook shank to the bottom of the flash lure is rarely more than two inches.

Several years ago, Nils Master introduced a bait, the Hali, into the North American marketplace. The flash body on the Hali is narrower than on the old Pilkie design, but functions the same. Works superbly. I fished the Hali many times on good perch water in recent years and never failed to catch fish. Often I do considerably better than everyone else fishing a variety of standard baits. The Hali and lures like it, though, like all other lures, are just another fine option to add to your arsenal, not the only lure you need. The point is that our search lure or dropper design is a design modification of a standard European thingamajig that’s been catching perch for more than 50 years.

The best leadhead jigs have no dressing, that is, no plastic or hair; they weigh 1/64 or 1/32 ounce, with 1/64 ounce being the best choice in most instances. I do well with jigheads that aren’t painted, but its logical to try standard perch-attracting colors like chartreuse, pink, or fluorescent red. One of the best tiny jigs on tackle shelves is the Custom Jigs and Spins’ Rat Finke, which comes with a hook covered with a colored plastic body. Use a knife to remove the plastic body from the hook so you can get more maggots to slide on the hook.

It’s important that the jig hook be long enough to pack on four or five maggots. Some jigs have such a large head, compared to the hook, they have room for only a maggot or two. Part of the key is to keep packing on maggots, or in other words, to keep adding fresh maggots. Pack on five, catch a fish, pull off one or two, pack on two more. Once perch move close, the scent and taste from the fresh maggots apparently seals the deal. Keep packing. When in doubt after not catching a perch for 10 minutes—even though the maggots look fine—add fresh maggots. Think about sending a powerful chemical aura into the water surrounding the lure.