islandbass

or less likely to lose? The more I fish, I think I am seeing that I am far better at hooking up when I don't see the strike. I rarely lose one when I don't see the take. When I see the strike, I think I tend to get too excited and react too quickly. This has cost me some really nice fish, including my first catch with my Joker crankbait. It's irksome to say the least. What say you?

I assume you're joking, yes? While you certainly could, it won't be ideal. I see people do it and upon seeing them I feel like walking up to them to slap 'em silly.

Thanks, String. Much appreciated.

Yeah, clear coats tend to do that to colors. Can this matrix stuff be hand brushed on and how is its durability relative to say something like Etex or Dev Con? BTW, I thought it looked good beforehand. That thing is too pretty to fish with now. ;D Excellent job.

Seaguar Invizx Cabela's No Viz Cajun Flouro - Pleasantly surpised it performed superbly, but I can get the upper two for less.

I've done it, but the greatest challenge for you would be how you prefer to have the epoxy underneath removed. I know that acetone dissolves epoxy, but I do not know if there are ill effects it could make to the blank such as weakening the graphite and I wasn't willing to find out. So I used sandpaper to remove it. It takes longer and if the blank is painted you will also wind up sanding off the paint. Some I think have used heat, and if not done right, you could weaken the blank. I can send you a link to how I did it if you're interested. Just PM me.

Yup, and not only that, they can even help in putting line through a baitcast reel's line guide too.

Thanks!

Holy smokes! If this is your first try at it, you are going to kick phanny. That is a beautiful paint job. What are planning to use as your top coat?

Maybe you can add back the 25-30 yards or so for the cast or max cast. That way, you'll be at 21 or close to that for the retrieve. Just a thought. It would also bring you closer to fuller line capacity for casting ease.

Rubba's advice is perfect. I've done this to two rods, one casting and the other spinning. It was a blast both times. Just a word of caution to those that want to sand any portion of cork for whatever reason. Cork sands off VERY EASILY, even with a fine grit paper like 120. So go slowly and make sure you are even in sanding. If you sand off too much, tough cookies. ;D

Not bad and better than me fo sho! ;D Anyway, I'd call one of your schemes starting with the third pic something along the lines of ultra-ghost or phantom. 8-)

Is DO short for dissolved oxygen? I apologize for not knowing what it stands for.

Welcome, fellow Western Washingtonian. If I may, I think you ought to consider looking at the Lamiglas line of rods. Their competitor series is excellent bang for the buck if the Certified Pro line of rods is a bit too steep. The Compres as Rooster recommended are ultra-solid and will not let you down. Don't know what part of West. WA you're in but if you're close to our Cabela's, Sportco or Outdoor Emporium will have the Lamis and Loomis rods. Whole Sale Sports, which was formerly Sportmans Warehouse, is the only place I know that carries the Compres. If you have to go the Cabelas route, I don't know much about the XMLs but I do have one of their casting Mag touch rods. I am not talking out of fluffy air with those rod recommendations either. I have lamis, certified and competitor, the Cabela's mag touch, and the Shimano Compre and Clarus rods and I wouldn't have recommended them if I didn't think they'd serve you well. As for the reel, choose one from a company whose reputation preceeds itself. Personally I would not choose the house brand reels unless they were "version" from like Daiwa and I wouldn't pick a reel based on some Pro's name either and that's just me.

JOKER BAIT UPDATE 09-16-09 A Series of Unfortunate and Fortunate Events I was fortunate to have the opportunity to give it a test run today after work this evening. It was unfortunate that it started to rain hard as I approached the lake. It was fortunate for me that it didn't matter if it were 15 degrees F outside because nothing was going to stop me from testing it out. It was unfortunate for me that my haste and excitement made me to neglect setting the cast control knob. It stays super loose whenever the reel is not in use, as does the drag. Thruuwupppp!!!! Yep, it was an overrun. I blamed it on the wind. Through the grace of God, I was fortunate to quickly undo the bird's nest. I made the first real cast and the lil' joker was wiggling beautifully. Yes!!! Another one works correctly! With about 20' of retrieve space left, I paused it to see its rate of rise. It rose like a Rapala DT. If Dr. Dre saw it rise, he would have said, Ahh yeah! However, I was unfortunate once again. A bass rose up and committed. But what did I do? D'oh! Did I follow the advice that I tell others, to let the fish take the crank and impale itself on the treble as I normally do? No Of course not; with the adrenaline and excitement coursing through my being, I pulled back as one would for a single hook lure hook set. Double D'oh! I turned the bass' full commitment into a nip. I felt and saw its lip just nip one of the tines as my action yanked the joker bait away. I was absolutely disgusted with myself. Victory was within my grasp and I let it slip away. Fortunately, there will be other opportunities and the joker bait is something the bass will want again. Unfortunately, this time the joke's on me, and the bass is laughing all the way to the bank. -ib Note: Just in case you're wondering about what the Joker Bait is, mozy on over the the Tackle Making Forum. 8-)

Definitely in the Jedi class, I am. (Yoda) I use the force and focus on the sound of the spool. If you hear the sound of the spool start to wind down, that is a tell tale sign that the lure is close to the water's surface, seen or not. Now if you hit a shrub or bush, that's a different story.

Those look really good. I like what you did with the eyes. I never would have thought to cut the stickers to create a different look for the eyes. The eyes have it! 8-) Great job.

One of my all-time childhood favorite superheroes is Batman, and so I thought I'd make a crankbait with Batman colors. However, I realized that Batman's colors were a bit dull. I figured his archenemy's colors (green hair, purple attire, red lips and black eyes, etc.) might make for an interesting choice. I had a little assistance from the Bush and Obama jokers. I have no fish catching expectations with this one, but you never know. Don't know when I'll get the chance to fish with it. Painting Techniques: What techniques?? I still don't have the skills yet. Both an airbrush and hand brushes were used. The airbrush was used for the green and the purple areas. The eyes and lips were done by hand brush. The crankbait was intentionally painted roughly but unfortunately, the camera didn't capture those details. Other: The bait was carved and shaped from balsa and it has a through wire inside. The top coat is Dev Con 2-Ton epoxy. This crankbait was enjoyable to make. -ib

I have the MGTC703-2 two-piece casting rod. I think it would work well with Jigs up to 1/2 oz with the trailer, as it would probably be closer to its upper limit weight range with the trailer. I have not had a chance to use mine, but I was surprised to see that the hook keeper was attached backward and the first guide of the upper piece was crooked. I have not had a chance to return it and I might not. It is a pretty sensitive rod, alconite guides, and is very convenient. Crankbaits - Wiggle is well felt with a DT6 Drop Shot - Sensitive enough to feel the feedback from the weight, even with 10# mono Jigs - You'll get a very good picture Buzz Bombing (think of it as a jigging type of spoon) for salmon - Caught without my salmon rod, I was forced to fish with my magtouch. With only 10# mono and a curado 101D, the MagTouch has sufficient power to stir some bigger than average pink salmon with me being about 20' above them. I was impressed. I really love the thin handle too. As already mentioned, it isn't any more slippery than cork but I did discover one thing. If they installed the graphite handle the other way, the gripping power of the handle when wet is 100x better. For those of you with mag touches, check that out. Wet the handle, grip the handle tight and try to make your hand slide. It will give just as cork would. Try doing it the other way.... Woh, nelly. Your hand won't even move! I truly love the convenience the 2 piece offers since it is my trunk rod. That is a major plus. Mated to a Curado 101D and this thing is money. One last thing. The end is metal. As such, putting it down on the ground and other rough surfaces is ound to scratch it up. I know it shouldn't matter, but for some reason, I just can't stand having scratches and marks on my gear. I added a small piece of cork to the bottom that was the same diameter and stuck it on with some light glue.

I apologize for my smart donkey remarks but how else can you fish a crankbait besides on a reel? ;D ;D ;D Bassn you could in theory fish it on one of those Cuban yo-yo spools that some of my cousins use. Or tie it to the back of a boat and drive around the lake. Man, I've seen some guys fish with a coke can as a spool and hand cast the lure amazingly well. In fact, I think I'm gonna try that just for the heck of it. I've got a spool of wally world generic mono in 12# I think. I'll put a heavy topwater popper on the end and whirl the lure out there. Wait! I've got one of those wrist rocket slingshots. Maybe I could hold the can between my feet and fire that sucker about 150 yards out to the surface frenzy. I can see it now. Try it. It's a blast. You will come to learn that your hands, bar none, are more sensitive than any rod on the market, GLX or otherwise. Just wait til you feel the waves push through your line. It's awesome. The one plus a rod gives though is line control.

The only thing I'd add to Raul's list is drop shot. Hook through the end or wacky.

Given the choice, no doubt the compre. No knock on the clarus, but if both are within your price range, err on the compre.

That is awesome! I do something very similar for my mouse sander.I buy sheets of sandpaper, and glue it to the backing of an older mouse sheet and it works great. I never would have thought to do that with my dremel. Thanks!

I thought the same thing. It shouldn't be surprising since Rapala bought Luhr Jensen. Hope the local vendors carry them. I am a DT fan.

This is the source of your backlash. And yes, you should stop the spool from spinning right before the lure hits the water or anything else. Also, it is irrelevant whether you feather it to stop or stop it dead cold. Just stop the spool from spinning.