The_Natural

It's not surprising in todays society. The parent is in charge of their child and should be responsible for what happened. I don't think the parent should be charged....anguish is punishment enough. Sending someone else to prison would be ridiculous, but not surprising. Lawyers are very talented at placing blame on anyone involved in any situation. You could fart in Kentucky and be indicted in an asphyxiation death in Texas.

I've got 6 Zillions; 4 7:1's and two of the limited edition red zillions. Obviously I like them, and an important fact is that you can pick them up for substantially under retail. For the techniques you listed; I'd go with the 7:1. For fishing jerkbaits, I like the ability to pick up the slack in a turn or two of the handle after giving my bait a couple of jerks. Plus, the red spool catches more fish....it's proven :)

That is a lot of fishing rods!

I'd buy a 783 IMX. I know you mentioned purchasing it at a local shop, but you can buy a brand new IMX on Ebay for under $200

I've gotta disagree with ya catt. Texas rigged baits are generally inhaled by fish on the fall....and when a bait is falling with an unpegged bullet sinker, the weight is at least a couple of feet below the bait. When your 'bait' hits bottom....it is actually just your sinker. Your bait is a couple of feet behind it and flutters down to the bottom after a few seconds.

I wholeheartedly agree that pegging sinkers can impede hooksets. I'm referring mainly to pegging EWG hooks. I first noticed it with the introduction of the gambler screw-lock weights. I still peg sinkers at times because it is needed, but use a harder hookset when I do, and try and use straight shank or offset round bend hooks. EWG hooks have a hook point in-line with the line tie, and generally stick bass closer to the lips. Straight shank hooks, offset round bend hooks, and obviously jig hooks have the hook point well above the line tie. When Texas rigging; a lot of times part of the hook is sticking out of the fishes mouth....meaning the eye of the hook and part of the shaft is sticking out of its mouth with the hook in his lip or roof of his mouth. If the sinker is pegged to the hook....that means your sinker must force the fishes mouth open, and can cause the hook to come out before it sticks. This doesn't happen every time, or even 'all the time', but extensive use of each has made it pretty apparent to me.

Yes it does. I just threw in the cb100 because I throw it a BUNCH....as well as the bds1.

Swim jigs generally have a line tie that is in-line with the hook, and a pointy flat head that glides through the water. The Booyah Swim jig's head even flares out a bit to help it glide. Just cast them out and let them sink for just a second before slowly retrieving it while gently pumping your rod tip to keep it swimming and gliding.

Spike-it Worm Paint is the only thing I have found that will actually 'dye' the color black. It really just coats the plastic or silicone...the dyes just turn black into a green tinge.

Flat mini DR would probably the closest bait. The DR is a little fatter and has a little wider wobble when compared to the MR or SR. The DR really only gets to 6-7ft. That said I fish the SR and MR more. Get one of each, as well as a BDS 1 and Moonsault cb100.

Some pros like Mono....Some like Fluoro. KVD cranks with the XPS fluoro. I have cranked with Pline CXX in the past; I just haven't felt the need for the extra 2ft that fluoro will gain me. However; this year I have cranked quite extensively with Trilene fluoro, but will probably go back to CXX and leave fluoro for my jig/worm/c-rig rods. If I was getting it free....I'd have the trilene fluoro on ever rod

Pompous? No. Mildly obsessed?... Possibly. :) ;D But my g-friend thinks I'm obsessed about fishing so that makes us even. I'm definitely OCD; I'm like with everything. Keeping a coat of car wax on your rods and using reel covers on your reels while they aren't in use is a PITA. I wish I didn't care as much. FYI if you are using a rod with black foam; I use a mild degreaser like simple green to clean the foam, and them spray it down with reel magic to protect it. The reel magic makes it look factory new.

You mean what power; I.E. M, MH, H. I prefer a heavy for most all my jig fishing, but do use a MH Zillion as well.

Nice observation; a thicker skirt will indeed result in a slower fall. It affects the full skirt jigs more than the finesse jigs, but does affect both. I just adjust the weight accordingly. My intent was not to adjust the fall rate; I'm just trying to make the jig more attractive. I didn't have a set number of strands I wanted to put on each jig when I started making them, I just added layers until the jig looked nice and filled out. I think a lot of other jigs look 'thin'.

That is the only way I know how to wire tie also. There isn't any way to keep your skirt in place and layered accordingly without using a collar to hold it in place while you tie the wire. It's a PIA, so I just use my little zip ties.

Like RW said, it is simply the law of dimenishing returns. You've got to pay to play with the best, even though the best doesn't equal good x3.

Those are the best photo finished baits I've seen. I really like that bluegill pattern as well.

They seem to hold up well. I've been fishing with jigs made this way for about 4 months now, and no signs of wear or slippage.

Thanks for the compliment....especially coming from a jig making elder

With winter quickly approaching, cabin fever is just around the corner. A great way to spend your spare time this winter is to make your own baits. I bet any of the guys who make their own baits, like myself, sat on the sidelines for a long time and wishes they started earlier. You don't have to whittle a crankbait or buy an airbrush; you can start by making jigs, which the components are readily available and cheap. There is also an excellent post by Jigman on how to make a soft plastic mold for next to nothing. Buying a gallon or so of soft plastic isn't a big investment, and you will really enjoy making your own baits. I started with jigs and crankbaits because that is what I throw most of the time, but pouring your own plastics is easy and rewarding. Making your own baits brings out the kid in you and makes you realize why arts and crafts ruled in school (whether you admit it or not!). Come on in...the water is fine

As said several times, a wacky rigged worm such as a Trick Worm is generally your best option. It stays in the strike zone quite a while, and you can finagle the fish into biting. A soft stickbait is also effective, and a great choice as well.

Not a lot you can say I suppose. Like you, I find certain soft baits rigged on a jighead are deadly (besides your normal shakey worms).....particularly beavers and grubs. For these baits, a shakey head isn't large enough. I have fallen in love with Chompers Rock Walker jig. It is a great design; boasting a round head with a flat spot making it stand up, and incorporates a much preferred horizontal line tie. The finish is excellent, and instead of a stiff fiber weedguard, you get a unique dual wire guard that is vinyl coated. The weedguard doesn't look unnatural like a fiber bushel, and I feel it actually adds 'whiskars' to your bait. Love'em.....

I really enjoy making jigs. I find it not only relaxing, but very rewarding. I'm starting to paint my own crankbaits, but I've got a lot to learn. Jigs are the only baits I can make that I feel are better than what I can purchase from a manufacturer. I hope to say that about my custom cranks one day, but I can't right now. Jigs are very easy to make, and I really enjoy brainstorming the different color combinations and layering the skirts just right. If someone reading this is thinking of making jigs....don't hesitate! Seriously...it really provides instant gratification and the startup costs are very low. I buy all my skirt layers from fishingskirts.com, and if anyone happens to want to duplicate a color I post....just PM me and I'll give you the formula. I'll generally make 10 of the same color, and decide what combos I am going to make before ordering. FYI all my regular jigs and footballs are 80 strands, and my finesse jigs and footballs are 40-50 strands. I use minature zip ties to secure my skirts, which keep the skirt strands in place where I organized them, and prevents the skirt from ever slipping down. As I've said before; I don't pour my own heads. I use All Terrain Tackle footballs, Picasso footballs, and I've used a few Outkast footballs. All Terrain's have a nice and hard finish, but the Picasso heads are airbrushed with a craw pattern, and they use gammy hooks. They are on sale right now at Cabelas. I recently bought a bunch of Cabelas house brand footballs, which use a Mustad hook, but a shotty weedguard. Anyway...here are some jigs....

I don't use a harness either, just curious what your technique is. I use a tungsten bullet wait with a cotter pin as my ballast, and then a cotter pen for the tail and either a wire or cotter pin for the nose.

Now you tell me . Good idea though....I'll work that into the rotation.