Jackall Timon Tricoroll GT 88MD Anti-sinking

This Fishing Test is dedicated to the review and comparison of the River Prince Jackall Timon Tricoroll GT 88MD-F and its younger brother Timon Tricoroll GT 88MD-S. The floating version of the Timon reigns supreme on our rivers, only in its third year, but it has stormed to the top of the best-selling river wobblers with such a bang that we can safely classify it as one of the most elite wobblers in the world. This popularity has not been influenced by its neighbours to the east or across the Atlantic, where it is a little-known wobbler. The Timon wobbler has become so popular because it attracts fish so well and, in the opinion of anglers, is superior to most of its rivals in the river minnow wobbler gap. It is worth noting that there are not very many of these competitors in Lithuania, as wobblers have pushed metal lures to the side not so long ago. I understand that some readers may wonder what I am dividing wobblers into river and non-river ones. There is really no clear line to be drawn here, and a whole separate article could be written about it. Simply put, a river minnow wobbler is up to about 10cm in length, far-reaching, and most importantly good at holding the current and actively working to pull it steadily. I think if I put these thoughts on the forum there would be a very fierce discussion, but as I said this article is not about that.

Outside and inside

The Jackall Timon Tricoroll GT 88MD-F (floating version) is 8.8cm long and weighs 10.8g (that's what my scales say). The Jackall Timon Tricoroll GT 88MD-S (sinking version) is the same length but weighs 1.6g more, i.e. 12.4g (my scales showed 12.6g). Their silhouette is that of the classic minnow shape, where the belly of the wobbler is flat and the back together with the tongue forms the top of a regular circle. The tongue is narrow, but slightly longer than that of the twitching minnow, and forms a fairly regular plane with the forehead of the wobbler, as if it were a continuation of the back. This type of wobblers is produced by a number of famous Japanese companies, and various flagiators who are not finding any success are trying to copy them, but Timon has taken the leading position in the land of battles, and it doesn't look like it is going to give up its position to anyone else.

The Jackall Timon Tricoroll GT 88MD-F is armed with a No. 5 size two treble hooks. The hooks are very sharp, but should be replaced when fishing for salmon. For salmon or sea bream, the existing strength is sufficient. And it can be safely exchanged for the slightly smaller but stronger Owner Bc-36 No 6 hooks.

Jackall Timon Tricoroll GT 88MD-S is already equipped with No 6 hooks, which are stronger and of high quality and do not need to be replaced.

So the exterior of the two wobblers is identical, but the weight difference is obvious, so I'll have to climb inside and see what's what.

The Timon balancing and distance casting systems are very similar for the floating (on the left) and sinking (on the right) Timon. They consist of one fixed weight at the bottom, in the very centre of the wobbler, and one large metal ball moving in a curved channel towards the tail itself. The difference in the systems is that in the floating version the ball is not tungsten and a magnet is fitted at the beginning of the system to fix the ball in its working position. A wobbler balanced in this way is practically silent. The sinking version, on the other hand, has a tungsten ball of the same size and the magnet is left empty. So the ball moves a little when the lure is fed and the wobbler rattles a little.

As we can see, the Jackall company has adopted a really simple solution, which does not require much investment or modification, by replacing the ball with a heavier one and removing the magnet. Bold, or is it genius? As they say, time will tell, and we will find out about some of the differences shortly.

The colour range of the Jackall Timon Tricoroll GT 88MD-F is really wide and has been chosen to suit our needs. This is the merit of the wholesalers importing these wobblers, who know the specifics of fishing and the needs of consumers. There are only 15 original colours for the Japanese market, but add to that at least another 20 colours designed specifically to catch our salmonids and you have what your heart desires. There are also plenty of natural colours that are more to the liking of salmonids. The drowning version has half the number of colours, but I have a firm promise from the wholesaler that more will be available this summer and should reach the shops this month. It is quite difficult to name the most popular colours, as there are many and they have been increasing year after year. However, I would venture to say that one of the most popular colours for salmon is Chartreuse Back Pearl, with an orange belly, pearl-coloured sides and a salad back, and a very similar colour, with a pink back and phosphorescent sides - Pink Back Pearl Glow. This colour worked better in spring. All the more natural colours are preferred by salmon anglers, but NF Stripe Blue, with its blue back, holographic silver sides and light belly, was the one that won the most praise.

Case quality, design details and coating resistance

The quality of both of these wobblers is impeccable, the much more expensive wobblers have far more problems, and I have no complaints about the Timon. The paintwork is quite scratch resistant. After longer fishing and more than one catch, the hooks do scratch the body a little, but not much. Another strength of this wobbler is that the tongues do not snap when pulling in a large catch or snagging on a snag, although the loop to which the line is tied is not connected by metal to the body. It was only when these wobblers were introduced that I feared that they might break, but that prediction has not been borne out, and it happens very rarely indeed, or not at all. I have not heard of this problem with the Timon Tricoroll, whereas it is common with several other popular wobblers. Another nasty problem with wobblers is the resistance and tightness of the body. There are apparently no everlasting wobblers here, but very few anglers can say that about the Timon. Of the many wobblers I have spoken to, only one complained that a Timon was pierced by a pike. In this case, dry the wobbler thoroughly and, once you have found the hole, seal it with a suitable glue or epoxy resin. You can also varnish the whole wobbler, but this will make the wobbler a little heavier and will change the way it works, albeit only slightly.

Another common problem with wobblers with a casting system is that sometimes it gets stuck, but again this does not affect both Timons. Despite the fact that it is a very popular and widely used wobbler, no angler has yet complained about this problem.

Inside the wobbler is perfect, outside the wobbler looks good too. There are no visible defects in the paintwork, but I can't give it the best score because the plastic is completely smooth and there is no texture on the lure.

Playing in the water

The next aspect that is very important for a river wobbler is whether all wobblers work equally. Here it is possible to give both Timon's a good mark. As long as you don't put on too heavy hooks and the tongue loop doesn't get distorted, you can rest assured that all models work identically. I have also tested several floating and several sinking models, and the take-off and sinking speeds are identical in the different models. The buoyancy of the floating Timon is low. It takes 8.6s to emerge during the 1 metre pause. The sinking version also sinks slowly. One metre is covered in 8 seconds. Neither the floating nor the sinking Timon has a wide "roll" (rolling from side to side), but a very expressive side-to-side roll. As it should be, the floating version does this more actively, the sinking version more passively. Both versions can also work well even in very strong currents, but the floating version is slightly shallower. Its working range in the current is approximately 0.8-1.5m, depending on the thickness of the line, the speed of the current and the direction of the lead in relation to the direction of the flow. The wobbler dives the most when pulling with the current and the least when pulling against the current. The Jackall Timon Tricoroll GT 88MD-S works slightly deeper. It has a diving range of 1-1.8m.

Casting test

The kit chosen for testing is a Tenryu Masterplan 96ML 290cm up to 25g casting rod, Okuma RTX 4000 reel and YGK G-Soul 1.2 (0,19mm) braided line. The same reel was also used to rig the shorter 2.36cm Golden Mean JJ Mac Air 7.9. As always, I'll give the average of ten casts and the best result.

As we can see from the test results the Timon casts really far, 41m is a very good average for a medium wobbler. As you would expect, the sinking version flies even further and I would call its result phenomenal, as it is rare for a wobbler weighing less than 13 grams to fly that far.

Application and recommended casting techniques.

Jackall Timon's entire range of wobblers is designed to catch precious fish in the current, and the Tricorol GT 88MD is no exception. However, our anglers were quick to point out that this lure is also perfect for our toothless river lightning - the salach. But let's keep it simple and start with salmonids.

The Timon Tricoroll GT 88MD-F has been among the most commonly used wobblers for salmon and smelt for several years. These precious fish are mainly caught in the Nemunas, Neris and Sventoji. They are less commonly used in the smaller rivers of Samogitia, where anglers tend to use smaller lures. This wobbler does not require much knowledge and is suitable for any current speed. The catching technique with this wobbler is standard. The most common method is to cast slightly upstream or across the current and turn the reel knob slightly, allowing the flow of the river itself to propel the wobbler down towards the bank. In order to check the perimeter of the river in more detail, which is especially important when catching spring chub, the fan principle can be used, where the wobbler is cast at about 10, then 12, 14 o'clock, and to check a little further out, the bait is allowed to float with the free reel for a little while and then the retrieve is started. In this way, we check more parts of the river by staying in one place. The Timon sinker is more suited to faster flows, deeper stretches and when you need to move the lure as far as possible. In a slow current or when trolling slightly upstream, this wobbler is too sluggish, but then you can try to reel it in. The Timon 88MD-S wobbler for red fish should excel in summer-autumn salmon fishing in faster rivers. In spring salmon fishing it is the best choice.

However, it is by no means always only precious fish that are caught in rivers; salmon is another equally desirable catch. For this predator, I would prefer the sinking Timon. It casts much further and works better in strong currents. However, there is one exception. During the dark hours of the day, the Saltwater likes a more aggressive wobbler and slower retrieve, and it will get much closer to the spinner. So the first choice should be the 88MD-S (sinking) version of the Timon Tricoroll during the day, and the 88MD-F (floating) at night. In salmon fishing, a variety of catching techniques are used. With the floating Timon you can try the same technique as for salmonids, with the sinking Timon you can do it faster and you can practice a bit. Targeted and very fast retrieves, this wobbler is perfect for that.

I can't fail to mention that the Timon swimbait has proved to be an excellent wobbler for trolling sturgeon in shallow lakes and ponds.

Recommended gears

When choosing a rod for river fishing, we choose rods according to taste. Some anglers prefer shorter, lighter tools to avoid hand fatigue and make fishing more enjoyable. Others want a rod that holds the fish well and makes it easier to handle the bait. The third, and most common category, prefers to cast as far as possible. When I fish in rivers, I usually choose a lure that I can cast easily and far, but I don't go to extremes and I don't choose a rod longer than 3 metres. I am not a tireless robot and I understand that the longer the spinning rod, the more force you have to use to optimally cast the lure, so I do not choose a rod longer than 3 metres and I do not recommend it, especially when fishing with wobblers.

As we can see from the results of the casting tests, the Timon, especially the Timon swimbait, casts much better with a longer spinning rod, but these results were not achieved immediately either. While the sinker casts well with different rods, the floating version unfortunately does not obey all rods equally. I have cast this wobbler with shorter shafts as well as longer ones and I soon noticed that when casting with the shorter shaft, it gets tangled up in the air a lot more often, while with the longer spinning rod, I was able to make good casts much more often. Then I started experimenting and trying to make the nose of the wobbler, i.e. the fastening system, as light as possible. And the experiments have been successful: after removing the Timon ring from the loop, as well as removing the swivel and reducing the clip, with a long shaft the wobbler flies almost without rolling, and with a shorter spinning rod, the number of bad casts has been doubled.

Availability and price

The Jackall Timon Tricoroll 88MD-F is very popular in Lithuania and can be found in most serious fishing shops. Meanwhile, the sinking version of the Jackall Timon Tricoroll 88MD-S, which appeared only last year, has not yet hit the shelves, but I believe it is only a matter of time. Only a few Timon colours and only the floating version can be found in foreign online shops.

The price of Timon in Lithuania is very attractive - shelf price 15 Euros, abroad 16 dollars.

Rating

Jackall Timon Tricoroll 88MD-F

Jackall Timon Tricoroll 88MD-S