Cory20

They are so slimy and never stop squirming! They've put so many trebles into my hand with that unexpected shake. I grabbed an old pair of gardening gloves from mom this summer. They give a non slip grip and some tooth protection, more for grip. I grab em right behind the head, don't squeeze too hard because sometimes they make a croaking sound...then I think they croak a little while after you release them.

Anyone else feel a little off about catching fish on beds? Or tournaments during this time? Is it that big a deal, or am I being over sensitive?

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1199259543/2#2

Looking good Really like the reel seat, can't wait to see the finished product!

My local Target has something called Catch of the day Rapala lures. Usually between 4-5.50$ for their DT series, not a great deal but sometimes there's a few good ones. I heard rumor that Wal-mart was pulling most of their fishing stuff because they lose money on it. Just a rumor, anyone hear anything about it?

To go along with what dan said about the spinning of the blades and ball bearing swivels. Have you ever looked at a slow moving fan and it looks blurry but if you focus you can pick out an individual spinning blade? Bass can do that 24 times better than we can, so who knows if the little bit extra speed obtained with ball bearing swivels makes a difference in how they perceive the blade. I can't comment on the durability comparison either .

Aint that the truth Muddy! I've seen lots of reading material that mainly focuses on impoundments with pelagic bait fish. Anyone have any good reads for natural northern lakes?

Thanks guys, this hobby kicks bass!

I live in an apartment and needless to say, it's not a place I want to start melting lead in. So hopefully someone will chime in about molds and pouring for you. As far as spinnerbaits go. Swivels: Ball bearing are the best and most expensive, crane are the worst. Janns has something called a roller swivel that are around 2$ a pack and a good economical/performance choice. Skirts: Do you want to put together your own colors or buy something premade? What material? Rubber, hydro-silk (extruded hollow silicone), and starflash (round silicone, not sure if hollow) have better action than flat silicone tabs. However, they are more limited in color selection and rubber breaks down/melts over time. With flat silicone there are more colors available in different patterns, ie. barbwire, and glitter combinations. You get less action but no risk of melting/rotting in normal conditions. It's less expensive too. Split rings: Ball bearing swivels come with, crane and roller do not. size 2 should be good. Wire: You can buy this in different diameters, on a roll, or pre molded. Thinner wire gives you more action/vibration but less longevity, thicker ...vice versa. I'd go with the fabbed wire, or getting a mold to bend the wire around. Bending wire by free hand is tough. Lead: A great source of lead is wheel weights from a tire change place. The metal clip needs to be pulled off and slag skimmed off the top. Collars: Black, red, white, seem to hold up better than amber. You can thread or wire tie for a sure non slip grip clevises: Haven't tried the quick change, they look cool. Wire, size 3 for 3/8 oz. Paint: Powder paint will gives you the best finish and durability. You can heat hot enough to paint and cure in an old toaster oven. 350° for 15 min. to heat hot enough to paint. Then another 350° for 15min to cure. Blades: For that weight I like size 2.5 or 3 for the front and 4.5 or 5 for the back. Colorado thump, willow fast and flash, indiana in the middle. Colors are up to you, most of the time it's copper on low visibilty and silver on high visibility. Hooks: I wouldn't go less expensive than a Mustad Ultrapoint. 3/0 for that weight. You might think about some trailer hooks, to add on for those short striking fish. Stuff you might have missed Beads: Hollow metal beads can act as a spacing material so the blades have enough room for both of them to spin. They also let the front blade spin freely and not hang up on tubing or long hollow bead if used for spacing. I like 1/8" or the size bigger. Round nose pliers: They kind of look like needle nose but are rounded. These guys really help in bending the eye to attach the swivel. IMO they are worth having even though you could struggle through with needle nose alone. 3D eyes: I think these really bring baits to life, whether on spinnerbait, crank bait, or paddle tail tube. They stick on and then you can put a thinned layer of devcon 2ton on other the top to secure them in place and give your bait sharp look. Trailers: Some guys like them, some don't. *.com is the best place to get them. Vice: If you're tying the skirts, a fly tying vice really really helps. Also a small clamp on table vice can lend an extra hand when bending. Copper wire or fly tying thread: for...well duh. 24 or 26 gauge copper wire. Can be found at Joanne fabrics in a variety of colors. Skirt making tool: These range from 4$ to way to much money. They all spread the collar to aid in making skirts. Stores: www.fishingskirts.com - my first choice for silicone skirt material. great colors, great owner. www.jannsnetcraft.com - They have all the hardware and skirt material/pre made skirts. http://www.barlowstackle.com/ - Another good store with hardware and skirt material. http://www.lurecraft.com/ - They have living ruber, hardware and premade skirts http://www.captainhookswarehouse.com/index.cfm - arrr hooks http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10267 A sticky about lead pouring and lead safety. A definite read if you're going to pour!!!! And that's been about my experience with making spinnerbaits. Good luck and post up some pictures when you get going. Cory

My favorite fish are: the few good ones that solidify a pattern the dinks me and my friends catch, dinks are 1 point, "nice" bass are 2 to 3, pickerel and sunnies are both -1. the northerns that seem to show up only during tourney times catching that pig that's been busting up the pads all evening 8-) sometimes you're on 'em and sometimes you're not

The chartreuse has a bright orange tip, camera's just put colors where they want to sometimes I swear! La Tigre de Fuego! Blueishgill It's getting warmer

I'm thinking that it looks good. 8-) How heavy, long?

I'm tying my own, but here are some guys to check out that are putting together a quality product: www.Karulures.com - sponsor with great products www.dirtyjigstackle.com - great colors http://micromunchjigs.homestead.com - high quality gammy hooks and hydrosilk skirt Big guys: War Eagle Eakins Evolution

What are the guides like on your 150$ carrot stix? and reel seat? I got a chance to take a long look at one at a fishing expo and those two things did not look to be of good quality. I would say my eye is untrained, so let us know. Maybe they're better on the 250$ line, but that's a whole different price range...

Have you looked on tackleunderground.com ?

A balanced rod will give you a more sensitive feel. AC68MXF

Oh yeah, just found this from the good people at TJs tackle Curing Times for Pro-Tec Powder Paint: White - 10 minutes at 375 F Yellow Chartreuse - 10 minutes at 392 F Green Chartreuse - 10 minutes at 392 F Blaze Orange - 10 minutes at 392 F Black - 10 minutes at 350 F Hot Pink - 10 minutes at 392 F Flame Red - 10 minutes at 392 F White Pearl - 13 minutes at 325 F Clear - 12 minutes at 340 F Bright Green - 10 minutes at 392 F Yellow - 10 minutes at 400 F Red - 15 minutes at 350 F Purple - 15 minutes at 385 F Glow Overcoat - 10 minutes at 375 F Brown - 12 minutes at 390 F Blue - 15 minutes at 375 F Silver - 10 minutes at 375 Gold - 20 minutes at 375 All Glow Colors - 10 minutes at 375 F All Transparent Colors - 10 minutes at 392 F Watermelon - 12 minutes at 390 F Pumpkin Brown - 12 minutes at 390 F 350 for 15 min is a safe bet

I've used un popped pop rivets, finish nails, aluminum foil twisted up and pushed in there, bamboo skewers. Probably a few others, what ever is in the junk drawer.

When you get a nub like that it means you're getting too much paint on the jig. I'm guessing that you're hanging the jigs upside down in the oven to cure. Those two combined are giving most likely giving you a nub. To help avoid getting too much paint on there: Make sure the jig head is hot enough. A few seconds with a torch, 15 minutes in the oven on 350, etc. Make sure the powder paint is as fluffy as possible before you dip. Dip just long enough to coat the lead. Forcefully tap the hook shank on the jar to knock excess off. After dipping and knocking, immediately cool with a dunk in a bowl of water. This helps stop the paint from "running" and sticking to something else. The nub when curing: Curing lead head up will make any excess paint run down the hook shank where it is easy to knock off. Depending on the size of the oven that you're curing in and how many jigs you're doing at once, this might work for you. Take two of the spring type clothes pins to make a sturdy base. Two pieces of metal clamped together could do the same thing in a neater fashion. I haven't found the metal yet. What are you using to keep the paint out of the weed guard hole? My attempts have all been functional, but clumsy. Good luck Cory

I was trying to figure out the same thing! Here's what I came up with. Way back when I had braces the orthodontist gave me a package of little rubber bands to hook up in my teeth. So I swung by the orthodontist's and picked up a pack, they were nice enough not to charge. The Impala is their smallest size. They're small enough to hold the skirt in place yet loose enough that they can be rolled off without messing the skirt up. Also adjusting the strands is easy too. cory

Some of my recent jigs. 1/4 oz - 1 oz poison tails 3/8 oz - 3/4 oz footballs 5/16 and 3/8 finesse fun, would be more fun if it was time to get them hung up tomorrow. cory

I was just going to say, ever watch Bill Dance Outdoors? Don't do what he does to land fish, unless it's catch 5lbrs out of a private pond. Then by all means, have a day.

Matt's recommending megastrike on his page. From a strictly lubrication standpoint, vaseline or other brand of petroleum jelly will work well. It's also tasteless and odorless. It eats latex, but we aren't talking bout that... You can make your own scent creation with vaseline too. Just be sure to use a lot of salt if you are putting craw or fish juice/parts in it. The salt will keep it from going rancid. happy cooking cory edit: I don't know if the KY was serious, but it's water based

lookin good guys, thanks

Here is the flat shad