cadman

I will start by saying I am a die hard Snootie jig user. I tie silicone and round rubber skirts on that jig with no problem. I also use trailers on all my jigs. Yes the trailers sometimes do slip down the hook shank due to the lack of a wire bait keeper. I am in the process of putting in a wire bait keeper in the mold by carving it out. I will see how it goes. I use this jig as a swimbait and for hopping/dragging it on the bottom. Other than I like the smaller sizes of the Snootie, I think the Do-It Manic mullet would be a better choice. However this mold doesn't have an 1/8 oz size, but it has a ribbed collar that may hold plastics better. I will check tonight to see if I can put in a wire keeper in the Snootie mold. Will let you know.

That's a hard question for me to answer. If you can keep them dry and humid free than leaving them in the cups is fine. I've tried to leave them in the cups and for some reason, I am unsuccessful in keeping mine this way. They always clump up for me. I must be doing something wrong. With that said, I put mine back in my Gatorade container. For what it's worth it is easier to keep them in the cups, this way it is always ready to use.

I make the "R" bend spinnerbaits for friends, but for myself I like the twisted loop.

I have been using a lot of Eagle Claw hooks ever since they re-tooled and started to carry Black Nickle hooks. I've used the Gami 604 as a replacement for some customers, however that is for my molds. I don't know what mold you are trying to put that hook in.

I fish there quite often. Fall is prime smallmouth time. If you can find them usually in 20 to 30 feet. Small minnows and crawlers work really well on drop shot. If you want some spots PM me.

I've replaced all my mono on my spinning reels with 8 lb. Yo_Zuri. On my bait caster I have some with Trilene Big Game and the rest with Yo-Zuri in 10 lb and 12 lb. I like Yo-Zuri and have been using it for many many years.

I probably fish the same waters you do as I am from northern IL and fish S.E Wisc lakes exclusively. I can tell you this I used to be a die hard crankbait guy until I fished with a friend I met and he changed my whole perspective on jig fishing. Once I learned to jig fish, I caught more fish and bigger fish. I can tell you this, that not every day is a jig bite day. As I am a very confident jig fisherman, there are some days that I struggle with a jig. At that time need to change tactics. Also I will tell you this, that all the lakes I fish, I use a 1/8, 3/16 and 1/4 oz jig max, 1/8 oz being the preferred daily jig. With a trailer it ends up weighing about 3/8 oz give or take. I never fish any heavier jig unless it's 20 feet plus. Also with the lighter jig, the falling action is much different than using a 3/8 or 1/2 oz jig. What I suggest is going into the Fall season, you will get less bites with a jig, but the fish will be bigger. I would also wait till Spring next year and go out on these lakes with only jigs and trailers. This will force you to learn how to use a jig and see what the fish are doing. As dumb as this sounds, I learned to jig fish by feel. Cast your line, close your eyes and slowly hop and stop your jig as it sits on the bottom, waiting for a pick-up or line movement. This will help you concentrate and focus on what's going on. You will feel this thru the rod and into your hands and then into your brain on when a fish taps or picks up a jig. Once you master this you can cast and keep your eyes open as you fish. Concentrating on what's going on and focusing on your line is key. I hope this helps some. Finally, if you want to PM me about some of the lakes you fish, I would be more than happy to discuss some techniques. Good Luck.

There are many places on the web, however if you can find it, I stick with Dupont, Sherwin Williams, IVC and a few others. CS Coatings is good powder but they are expensive. Depends on how much you need.

I clean all my reels and my friends reels and never ever grease on an AR bearing. Dip cotton swab in alcohol and then keep cleaning until clean. I don't coat with anything after it is clean, but in the past I have used a light film of oil.

I keep all of my boxes as well. Like mentioned above many guys won't buy a reel without the original box. When I was looking for a Gen 1 and a Gen 2 Revo Aurora, I had to have all original reels in their boxes with all documents. These reels are worth a lot more in their original box for the buyer and the seller.

I find it as a convenience. I have a lifetime IL fishing license that I purchased in 1992 for me and my wife. Its' nice not having to get one every year. Also when I purchased ours it has already paid for itself., which as the years go by the licenses have gone up. I believe in '92 the licenses were around $9.00. It works for me.

Bismuth is easier to pour with lower temp in the pot. However, even with Drop-Out, it can be a problem to get the jig out of some mold cavities. Also, it is very hard to file out the sprues compared to polishing lead jigs. Finally powder painting can be an issue, as you usually need to heat a jig a lot to get the powder paint to stick. With bismuth you have to be careful so you don't melt the jig before you dip it in the powder paint. It is definitely a learning curve.

Volunteering started for me in 1992, when I used to belong to a local fishing club in my home town. The club held a three day event for anyone that wanted to volunteer to help disabled people go fishing. It was sponsored by Fishing Has No Boundaries which was based out of WI. The event was held at Haleys Marina in Fox Lake. My wife and I weren't sure we wanted to do this but we decided to do it. Anyway, day 1-3 they would bring in disabled kids and adults on a bus. There were 4 buses filed with people. We had people in wheelchairs, blind people and many other people with other disabilities. Fast forward, all the people were loaded on pontoon boats. We took them all out on the water and helped them cast and also reel in fish. You would think that a blind person cannot cast, very untrue. You just give them a little guidance and once they cast they could feel the bite with the vibrations from the rod to their hands. Their senses are much more attuned to everything than ours are because we visualize everything, the go by sense of touch. Anyway, we volunteered for 2 days 10 hours each. We helped them fish, load and unload people, handed out door prizes and so on. I couldn't tell you how good of a feeling my wife got from helping others less fortunate than we were. You never heard them complain about anything. They were glad to just get out on a boat and go fishing. When we were done helping them, they all thanked us for taking the time and going out fishing with them. I never felt so rewarded internally for doing that two day event. Fast forward to several years ago, when Slonezp ask for volunteers to help do a one day event with kids showing them how to fish. My wife and I jumped at the chance to do this. It is a one day event to volunteer yourself to help show kids how to fish. This isn't some high tech fishing challenge. You basically show the kids from all ages how to cast a fishing rod. Many of these kids don't have a father or those that do, the father knows nothing about fishing. When these kids come to us they don't know how to hold a rod, when they leave they can cast and if lucky they catch some fish. There is nothing like a feeling my wife and I get from seeing the innocent smiles on these kids faces All they want to do is to get a chance to learn and they do for those 20 or 30 minutes they are with us. Many of the kids leave thanking us. You cannot help but feel really good inside for doing something like this. I encourage anyone and everyone who is in our vicinity to join us next year. For those further out, get involved in helping kids and adults learn how to fish. Once you do you will get the greatest feeling deep down inside of a sense of accomplishment.

If you are doing your own, the best way I found to do thorough maintenance is to have two identical reels. Only work on one reel at a time. Slowly take it apart, lay out the parts, take a lot of pics. Then clean it and put it back together. If you run into problems look at your pics. If you still have problems, open up your other duplicate reel and see how it is put together. If you have only one model, then take a lot of pics and try not to get distracted. Take it apart, clean it and put it back together.

For a fall day yes it was a great day out. Browns Lake is a tough lake to get a 16" (minimum for the lake) in the summer. I was really surprised. It seems the colder water 52 deg last week brought out some nicer fish. I don't have a problem with that. Unfortunately time to put the boat away and try some shore fishing. Where are you going this morning?

I went with my wife to Browns Lake last week for a final fishing /boat ride of the season. The weather was a beautiful Autumn day in Wisconsin with the leaves already changing. Fishing wasn't fast and furious but we did manage to get 8 bass and 4 small northern pike. The bass were 15-1/2", 15" and (2) 16"ers. The other 4 were 14". All fish were caught on a custom made 3/16 oz jig with a plastic trailer. Below are some pics.

There is still open water and some fish to be had. I am going tomorrow to do some fishing in a pond by my house. I do know last week they were catching bass on live bait. We'll see how it goes. How do you like your Metaniums?

Very nice.

Same reason Illinois is in the North East. Oh wait shouldn't that be Midwest?

Say HI to your dad from the both of us, and hope he gets better. Please keep me posted on your dad. PM me with any info on how your dad is doing. PS: My wife and I will do the kids contest with you next year. Count us in. Take Care.

Went out to Little Muskego this last week. Fishing was slower, but quality of fish is better. I got 2 largies at 17-3/4" and 1 at 16". Also got some smaller fish about 14" and 4 northern pike from 22"-26". Attached a couple of pics.

I've fished them both and out of the two, Long lake has a better ramp. Round lake ramp is short and if you have to go deep to launch, your tires fall off the ramp. I have a tandem axle and it is a problem especially in Summer. Supposedly they are going to lengthen it but I don't know when. Spring may not be too bad since the water levels are usually higher.

My wife and I enjoy doing the yearly 1 day event with @slonezp. I like to teach the kids how to cast and properly hold a fishing rod. It's just nice to see how anxious they are to learn. Also many of them don't have anyone to take them or teach them, so it's a good opportunity for them to get outdoors and experience something new. Every year I personally take out one young child and one adult on the water fishing. They both seem to like the new experience, especially the kids

I'm in the Libertyville area. I would like to do a group meet maybe next year in the S.E. Wisconsin waters, or Northern waters in IL. We tried this several years ago and it just didn't work out with all the different anglers schedules. I haven't been posting a lot, been doing a lot of fishing and fishing related things. I mainly fish S.E Wisconsin waters. Browns, Powers, Beulah, Como, Silver, Twin Lakes Geneva, Delavan and so on. If anybody needs info on these lakes just PM me and we can talk.

Like mentioned above. If you are going to make 25 to 50 jigs a year, buy your raw jigs and don't bother pouring. If you want to customize your jigs and tinker then start with one mold maybe some different size hooks and so on. There is really no savings unless you pour a lot for several years. With the cost of molds, lead pots and all supplies going up, it can get expensive very quickly.