islandbass

And you heard right. I had a 2-piece Clarus casting rod and really loved it. Took it with me to Mexico and while you can take it as a hand carry to Mexico, you can’t bring it back with you as a hand carry back to the US. ?? on Alaska. I wasn’t told this and had to leave it with a sister in law. Next trip back a few years later, it was gone*. ? The clarus line is just a solid, best bang for the buck rod for blank, guides and components. * to Mexico hand carry if rods is ok But back to the US, rods must be with baggage that goes in the plane’s belly. I left my rod case at home when the Alaska agent in US assured me I could bring it as a hand carry both ways. They didnt tell me this until we were boarding and therefore too late. I normally don’t get upset but it was aggravating. Lucky I had family to give it to but can you imagine if it were a Loomis or some mega bass rod? I shudder at the thought.

What kind of line are you using? Perhaps a thin braid?

I couldn’t find one but I searched for duffle bag sewing pattern and found this. https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2015/11/duffel-bag-patterns/ There is a small cost associated but definitely affordable. The easiest bag pattern was only $7.50. I bought my my wife a sewing machine about 10 yrs ago and it’s still new in the box in the garage. I do like to build/make things and Winter is approaching so...Hmmm. Lol.

@PaBassMan13: I had never heard of these lures before your reading your post and I would not have thought much more of it had it not been for your enthusiasm for them. I must say that your enthusiasm is responsible for piquing my curiosity. I looked into these The 48 thingamajiggers and man, oh man, I think they're going to fit well with my preferred type of fishing. Regrettably, they're out of stock at my local BPS and I don't like to order things unless I really, really, have to. Thanks! I plan on getting my hand of some of these soon.

That is a better option than screw eyes. Kudos to you for going that route.

That looks awesome! From the looks of it, I believe the placement of lead for ballast will be at the bottom most part of the belly. Basically, the place you will place the belly/bottom treble. I take it you’re probably going to go with screw eyes instead of thru-wire construction. If the wood is solid enough like pine you should be okay. If is more like balsa you might want to consider a thru wire construction. One last tip. It will be easier to drill the hole for the belly and tail trebles when you block is still square unless you have a drill press. Lesson learned for me because I don’t have a drill press, lol.

This is what I would do 1) figure out what applications my current rods do 2) determine whether I want my new rod to fill a niche I don’t have covered yet or pick a rod that will be an upgrade or improve over one I already have I cant recommend and rod brands though. I’m out of the loop so to speak.

Those look sick (snowboard days, lol). Trust me, it’s a very positive remark. ? kind of like how “bad” meant “good” in the 80s, lol. Do you tie this pattern with other colors of bucktail and accent material? Thanks for the instructions. I just might tie a few to keep me sane over the winter.

Awesome! Can you share your routine with us or at least a decent starting one for some of us who “haven’t been in a weight room” for quite some time? ? Thanks, A-Jay. This is probably the extra nudge I needed to get started. I’m a far cry from being in the shape where I could ride 130 miles in one day effortlessly and have a resting heart rate if 56.

Then just go with the wood you have. Also, perhaps the crankbait shaped like the rapala dt flat series might be the ideal for a newbie to try. The shaping will be less and you’d be dealing with a rectangular shape instead of something elliptical like a bomber crankbait. Good luck and hope you keep us posted.

I haven’t made them in quite some time but I have made poppers, prop baits and what I call a popper-prop. Imagine a popper with a propeller on the tail and that’s it. I also made one floating minnow and few that resemble somewhat the rapala dt flats. Just don’t really have the time anymore.

You’re in for a treat. I find it far easier to tie the whip finish with my own hands. I was clumsier with the tool. I bet there are good vids on you tube on how to do it by hand. Trust me, it’s easy to do by hand. These two vids show you step from varying angles.

You’re welcome! If there is any doubt in your mind you can call Lews to double check your reel is “saltwater worthy”. It should be unless it has magnesium in as previously mentioned. The reason I say this is because I was once going use my Pfleuger Trion casting reel in the saltwater assuming it should be alright but at the last minute my gimini cricket told me I should call them. I did and they told it wasn’t a good idea. Whew!

Sounds like a great ways to address potential for great line loss! When efficiency and time savings is paramount, I will also used some kind of snap, like when I am using spoons or inline spinners. I too have not noticed any loss in performance or received memos from the fish stating that they cared.

This is what I do: 1) Rinse the entire reel off with lightly flowing freshwater as a whole. That means all parts still together, sideplate ON. 2) Wipe away the excess and remaining water on the reel with a towel or cloth. 3) Now open your sideplate and clean out any water that might have possibly gotten into the reel. This is easier done with the spool removed. I will use a few q-tips to lightly dabbed with rubbed as I was taught from a shimano bc reel maintenance tutorial. I realize you don't have a Shimano reel, but the general principals should be similar enough. 4) Don't forget to also remove water from the spool if you find any. 5) Clean with a q-tip the and lightly lube level wind system. If your trip is short enough, you probably won't have to lube any of the bearings. If you are concerned about saltwater getting into the holes of a spool, then I suppose you can sacrifice/accept a heavier spool by covering it with painters tape. As one who has used my curados in the saltwater, I don't think I ever had any saltwater trickle down to the holes in the spool. BAM! You're done. Here is a link to the Shimano bc reel maintenance tutorial. I think you only need to focus on the first page. The second page is for a true breakdown. http://fish.shimano.com/content/sac-fish/en/home/customer-service/reel-maintenance-instructions/_jcr_content/bodycontent/download/downloadFile/file.res/Maintenance Tips- Baitcasting Reels.pdf It's not that hard, especially if someone like me is able to follow these steps. I do this after every saltwater outing, but I'm anal like that because I need my gear to last. I think the Curado 70 might be slight marginal on the short side of capacity, especially after a few possible long break offs or constant retying. Loss of line adds up and can affect castability to name just one thing. If I were in that situation, I'd bring more line to compensate. I've fished the salt with 300 sized bc reels and have had to re-spool on the fly so with a 70, I'm thinking, dang, lol! With that said, that was in Mexico that is probably a different scenario.

Maybe you can look up the density or buoyancy of both woods and balsa which quick google search would tell. If willow’s density is less than pine, my best guess is it might float better which means you can make bigger ones that would still float. Balsa from hobby shops can be bought as blocks and they are not that expensive. That is what I have used and all of mine have caught fish. Lastly, not all cranks have to float. The rapala countdown was designed to float so if your first one does sink, I’d still complete it. The thing/challenge you need to get right is determining the amount of lead you will need to make the lure balance correctly in the water. Good luck!

Made no sense. The ad creators pulled the wool over the eyes of the mars execs. It would been better if it ended with the angler on the shore out cold and two little kids taking a snickers bar out of his pocket. I too noticed the cast and thought, “what the...?” Well, at least the actor retrieved it in the proper position, lol. Ignorance sans bounds, akin to setting up a chess board with the king and queen placed on the wrong starting squares in some commercials or pictures. ?

Gammies ds hooks Owners mosquitoes They’re also the two most readily available in my area and have never failed.

I would say yes and I’ve used it, and like it, but nothing more magical about it over a comparable mono/fluoro. Any line, no matter how dense, if completely limp, won’t transmit feedback.

Vienna sausage? I haven’t those in ages and loved eating them as a kid. Note to self - couple cans of Vienna sausages next fishing trip. I know, some people think of them as something gross to eat, but that just means more for me, lol.

When I fish, I ain’t got time to feed pb and j is one of my favorites, but like you I like salami and other meaty sandwiches. For some reason, I phase out eating altogether while fishing. It’s after the fishing I suddenly realize I’m hungry. ?

Now that is a big bass. She puts the “P” Hawg.

1-2 hours is pretty darn good if you ask me. When my kids were younger, I usually chose lakes with playgrounds and brought junk, uh, I mean snacks along. Those things help. The right kind of “snacks” and pop they like can aid in lengthening their fishing time. Fish a bit, eat a bit, playground here, playground there, and maybe we just might catch some fish too. Live bait can keep you in the fish catching score column too. Night crawler on the drop shot is $$$$.

Now that’s what fishing is about. ??

Yup. I remember the first time I used the @ whoever here. All of a sudden their screen name looked cool, almost like a magic trick, lol.