River Rat316

Tin bismuth is a little under 30% lighter I believe, tin is a little over 30% lighter. both would work but watch there melting temps, I believe they both melt a bit lower and dont know if powder paint works with either because of the lower temp. They also cost around $17 per pound last time I checked

Buy shakey heads with a stainless steel screwlock and it will solve that problem.

Heat up the screw lock with a lighter, then just push the bait onto it most of the way, give it a couple turns and it should stay put, same goes for the Zman baits that are made from the same material

Your not going to let them in on your other bait?...lol

1 line and 1 bait here, obviously baits with multiple treble hooks are allowed, but I doubt a multiple rig the a rig would be allowed in MN

Hair jigs, fished really slow, your choice of trailer, action or non action. I prefer a zoom salty chunk in winter or pork. Hair Jigs

I would like to make this also, need a seat and maybe a driving partner, we will see. MNGEORGE where are you?

Jigging spoons, if you can't use waxies or euro's, get some gulp maggots or small plastics. Most of my winter bass have been just off the weedline around inside turns. They don't completely shut down but there are really small feeding windows. A lake loaded with bass also helps. Dropshotting small plastics should also work, I am going to experiment with this this year.

Yes, they need to be stripped of there meat and tanned. It is really more of a pain then what it is worth, I have tried some deer tails and just buy them now.

over $70 per pound here in the states last time I checked, most of the tungsten is owned by the chinese so its manufactured over there. It is also a pain to work with, your not just pouring it in the mold like lead. Also for the non toxic crowd you might want to check the MSDS before you tout Tungsten as "safe" all heavy metals have there draw backs and tungsten has its also.

We had to take the plastics down,there is not enough time to do both, and as much as I like pouring baits I have more jig business than anything. Hopefully in the future I can offer plastics again.

I have found the opposite to be true also, you may get more bites with a finesse jig, but you get better quality bites by going big in cooler water. The only time I really start to down size is cold water under 40 that has been that way for a sustained period. So Missouri on south that would only be the dead of winter

lots do... including KVD

That blue craw will be a winner behind alot of jigs!

LOL< we usually have tenderloin and crab or shrimp for Christmas. I love ham but will take a nice cut of beef over any pig anyday! On the black friday subject I haven't bought anything yet, making a trip to Cabelas here shortly though so we will see!

My thoughts on this are bird populations are higher right now than ever, lead is a natural mineral, all heavy metals have there environmental draw backs, yes even tungsten. If anything should be banned I think it would be like single sinkers under 1oz, if a loon eats a 3/4 FB jig, first off it deserves to die from being stupid, second off if it does die its not from the lead it is more than likely from the hook tearing the crap out of its stomach. I would drop lead from my lineup in a second, if it was truly hurting the environment, I just think the "proof" is not there and this is more if a knee jerk reaction to passify a group of tree huggers who won't be happy until there is a ban on all fishing and hunting, and as always I am against giving that group an inch!

Thank you guys for the orders, BR members are always tops on these sales!!

You can now check offline payment processing if you are having problems. this emails me the order and I will then send you an invoice through paypal that can also be paid with a credit card or paypal account. You can also check for checks or money order, it gives you the company address and you can send a check (order gets held for check to clear bank)

Hmmm, just tried the shopping cart and it worked fine, if it is timing you out while you are going to paypal then paypal was down, but it is working now.

Yes, I will start pushing orders out the door right away, but I get over run quickly on these sales. Occasionally I run out of stuff or it gets back ordered but if this happens I usually ship the rest of the order and then ship what had to be back ordered when product arrives.

We are kicking are Black Friday sale off early this year. The sale will begin on Tuesday and go through Sunday night. It is a store wide sale, 25% off everything! On top of 25% off we are also offering free shipping with orders over $35 after the discount (select free shipping for orders over $50 on the shipping option page) And for orders over $100 we will give you a coupon code good for 20% off your next purchase! The Coupon Code for the sale is Black Friday You enter this code in the coupon code box at checkout! Check out NorthStar Custom Baits for all that we have to offer!! If you haven't already done so check out our Hair jigs, Both Green and Bronze bass love these things in cooler water temps and at sale prices the regular hair jigs are just over $2.00, that is for a hand tied hair and silicone jig, the Premier Hair jigs are $2.39 after the discount, and that is for a hand tied bucktail and silicone jig with living image skirting and a Light Wire Owner hook! Premier Hair Jig The Premier Series of jigs is also a big winner during these sales. The premier series includes a nasty Owner Deep throat hook, Double rattles, is a hand tied 55-60 strand silicone skirt and comes in every color under the sun! After the sale discount you get all this for around $2.90!! The Premier series comes in Alien (shown) Football, and Arky Premier Series Alien head Jig The value of the pro series jig can also not be beat. The Pro series includes a Mustad ultra Point hook, single rattle, and a hand tied 45-50 strand skirt. You get all this after sale discount for $2.01!! The Pro Series comes in Alien, Arky, Football, and shown in Grass Jig! Pro series grass jig Our Original Swim jig includes a regular wire Mustad ultra Point Hook, Light fiber weedguard, Multi coat paint process, 3d eyes that are glued then clear coated to insure they stay put, and a hand tied 35-40 strand skirt. These jigs are supremely balanced so they swim true and the paint process and 3d eyes give a lifelike appearance! Swim Jigs are also available in a Heavy Cover version which includes a 3x Mustad ultra point hook and a heavier fiber weedguard! Your sale price on these is $2.39! Original Swim jig Hidden Weight spinnerbaits are always a good choice, they feature a light super stainless wire, long shank Mustad Ultra Point hook, premium blades, premium ball bearing swivel, realistic hidden weight head that has a multi step paint process and 3d eyes that are glued and then clear coated so they stay put. They also feature hand tied 55-60 strand silicone skirts, for realism and flair! On top of all this you get to build your own spinnerbait with different blade choices and weights in the drop down menus!! Your after discount Price on these is around $4.49!! Hidden Weight SpinnerBait in Perch And also don't forget our shakey heads, wacky heads, weighted hooks, and bare jig heads that are at the bottom of there corresponding pages (Premier Jigs, Pro jigs, Finesse jigs, and Spinnerbaits!!)

When the bite is negative I try and use a big non action trailer, but I also will mess around with the fall rate to see if I can trigger some strikes, I think alot of the jigs appeal to bigger fish is profile and subtle secondary action that you are not going to get from soft plastics (the skirt). In cold water hair jigs can not be beat, the hairy craw has the perfect profile and the right amount of flair and secondary action from both the hair and the skirt, I have caught more fish in sub 50 degree water on a back hairy craw then all other baits combined since I started tying this particular version of it.

Just wanted to give you all a heads up that NorthStar Custom Baits are now online at (apperently a site that can't be named on the forums...lol but its initials are L*B*F*!) They will be adding more in the coming weeks, also if any of the BR members have a local tackle shop they are fond of let me know and I will do my best to get my baits in there. We are looking to expand our retail opportunities this year and need help doing it!! On a side note The Black Friday sale is looming over my head and I am trying my hardest to get caught up to make this years wait times not so bad!

Really? so you can fish a broken bait, or a suspending bait that doesn't suspend? People are always so worried about spending a couple extra bucks on quality lures yet will spend thousands on there boat, thousands on rods and reels, and thousands per year on gas getting to the lake, but yet complain left and right about $15 for a LC pointer when all you really need is 2 or 3 different colors and 2 different sizes

I personally do nothing to my weedguards, and I catch a fair amount of fish on jigs so if it ain'tbroke don't fix it