cadman

Went out Sunday to do some pond fishing for an hour. Got a couple small fish on a 1/2 oz Rattle Trap. Fish aren't hitting jigs yet in this pond. Going today for about an hour later.

I have a lifetime IL license so I never have to buy one. However many of the guys I fish with take a pic of their license and keep it on their phone and have a paper copy. I got stopped in WI last year and I gave the warden my phone. He said that is fine but I also need a paper copy. I read in a WI forum that you have to have a paper copy with you at all times when fishing WI. I don't know if that is because I'm not a resident or is that for everyone. I have phone copies of all my licenses and paper copies. If they want to check my license, they can scan my number off of my phone.

Freelancer if you remember, I bought the MGXtreme from you last year. I use it for all of my 1/8 oz and 3/16 oz jigs I toss. Between the MGXtreme and the MGX I have all of my bases covered.

I am a big Revo fan and I only fish with my Revo MGX and Gen 1 MGxtreme. Both reels are very light. Cast extremely well. In my opinion, the MGXtreme is slightly smaller than the Revo MGX. If you want some pics or need some dimensions, PM me and I would be more than happy to help you out. You won't be disappointed if you get the MGXtreme.

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I used to live in Cook County and now live in Lake County. I've spoken to DNR in Cook years ago and he said that there is no wading in rivers and lakes. I have heard the same about Lake County. For the same reason Scott F mentioned above. It is dangerous in rivers and lakes due to deep holes, moving water and garbage in the water that you cannot see.

Yep still ice on many lakes up here. I was out shore fishing a small pond yesterday. Ice out was Monday on this pond. Water is still cold, no fish pics yet.

Like I mentioned, it is probably for a 20 or 30 year old. I bought mine when licenses were $9.00 (I'm not sure what they were exactly in 1992. But if you figure licenses go up every year, in 10 years, they will probably be $20/year or more. You are probably right in regards to living in IL. I intend to move in 6 years, so my license won't be any good, but it has paid for itself.

I bought a lifetime Illinois license for myself and my wife in 1992, it was $200 each back then but I never have to buy a license anymore unless it is for Lake Michigan or a trout stamp. For those of you who are younger in their 20's, 30's, it may be worth looking into this as it is still available. Lifetime Illinois resident license is $435 dollars and yearly licenses never go down in price. Just a thought.

For baitcasting Revo MGX or MGXtreme For spinning Stradic Ci4+

Thread is hard to tie on a jig with a weeedguard. If it were me I would either use wire or if you insist on thread, I would pull the weedguard out, tie your jig and glue in a new weedguard. Just my opinion.

Is your dilemma, tying on the skirt with the weedguard in place? If so I do that all of the time and never have a problem. However I wire tie. Are you wire tying or tying with thread?

Clean out the hole really good from the old glue. If you have Loctite-gel super glue, use that and let it dry for a day. You have a PM.

Yes it is OK. I use Devcon 2 Ton 30 minute epoxy. I personally like it better than Loctite gel Super glue. But either will do depends on what you are doing.

As far as pourability (is that a word?) the mold pours fine no problem. If you are placing an order for items, I would definitely get a can of "Drop-Out" . It is a mold release and it works wonders. It also helps the lead flow freely and fill better. Now detail on the Ultra-Minnow is fair. the reason I say this, is because you can get a mold that was cast really well and the detail is great, or you can get a mold that was cast ok and the detail is ok. However you will get detail. As far as hooks go, the Mustad 32608 are really sharp hooks, they are worth there money. I believe the Ultra-Minnow mold is cheaper at Zeiners, however I don't know what there other components cost. Good Luck

I would definitely look at the Ultra-Minnow by Do-It. Slim profile and gives a lot of flash because of the flat sides of the body. If you want some better pricing on molds, check out Zeiners in Wichita, KS

You can use course steel wool, or I use 400 grit sand paper. The main thing is to lightly scratch the surface so it looks like the blade has a grain direction. Just make sure once you are done, wipe off the sanded surface with alcohol, to get any brass particles off and any oils from your fingers. I would use latex or rubber gloves when wiping the blades this will keep your blades clean to accept your paint job. Good luck.

I will have to agree with bluebasser. Unless you have unlimited funds to protect your idea, even if you have the greatest bait on earth you will lose to people stealing your ideas. If it doesn't happen in the U.S.A., China will knock it off and sell it for less than 1/2 and you won't win that battle. Like mentioned, try to sell your idea to a big company, take your money and go home. Here is another scenario. If you decide to pursue this, I would suggest to make sure you have enough product to flood the market before anyone has a chance to copy it. By the time they do, you will have made all the money you will probably get on the initial concept. The problem with this idea is you will need a lot of product and product cost money. Another problem is you don't know if this will even sell. Just because it works for you in your area doesn't mean it will work for everyone, and if it doesn't sell you are stuck with product that you already paid for. You also have to pay to market it. Word of mouth isn't going to cut it unless you are a professional fisherman and have your own TV show. Not to be negative, but there are a lot of things to consider here. If it were easy everyone would be doing it, however you may have the next "Flying Lure" or "Chatterbait" idea. Good Luck.

Here are set of Chicago team spinnerbaits I've made in the past for a friend

If I remember correctly the nickle plated blades are just brass blades with nickel plating over it. Brass is softer than the nickel plating. In the end it doesn't matter lightly sand both to scuff them up and then paint over it. I prefer powder paint because once you bake it it is really durable, but nail polish will work. Below are a couple of pics of powder painted blades one side.

You don't have to buy the best to catch fish. You can buy many other reputable brands that do the job ( Abu, Pflueger, Lews etc. Buy what you can afford. The most important thing to learn is to find and catch fish. A $600 reel doesn't catch any more fish than a $150 dollar reel.

I don't have any shields on mine. It is easier to clean and maintain bearings without shields. I've never had any problems doing it this way

Round head , socket eye head, or aspirin head, something I can put eyes on. Body would be a curly tail. Arms would be preformed ready bent, no bending. You have a PM

What is the brand of epoxy? If it is Devcon 2 Ton, you can use denatured alcohol.

Wow, beautiful paint job. ?