bird-dog

To tie skirts on my jigs, I use very thin stainless wire and a Wire Twisting Pliers. There is a little bit of a learning curve to operating the pliers, but once you get it down it’s a snap to tie skirts.

Terminator T1, in “Blue Shad” ¼ to 3/8-oz, 2 willow or willow/Colorado blades in silver or silver and gold, and I do use a trailer hook. I use these about 90% of my spinnerbait fishing. They track excellent, hold up well, except the paint on the head, but that hasn’t stopped them from catching for me, they have quality components and for me they just flat out catches them. War Eagle, in “Gold shiner” ½-oz, gold double Colorado blades for winter fishing the pads and I do use a trailer hook Track excellent, hold up well and catches them in the salad in cold water. Micro Pond Magic, in “Alpine White” 1/8-oz, silver Colorado blade and I do not use a trailer hook. I mainly use these for pond fishing or when the bass get finicky and use for finesse fishing. Track well but skirts have fallen apart quickly. Jay

I use Danville 140D Denier flat fly tying thread that is un-waxed, good quality saddle hackle, either a skin or strung, Flashabou and after tying the thread off, I finish the thread wrappings with Sally Hansen - Hard as Nails, in clear. Get a decent vice and a good bobbin and you will be ready to go. Jay

Ganggreen, did you ever make a decision on where you were planning to move? I too have begun to look at Tennessee. In 2016 I purchased a house on Currituck Sound in NC as a retirement home. Shortly after I found out that NC changed its tax laws and taxes retirement. My wife and I have decided to turn the NC home into an Airbnb and use it as income and a free vacation home. Recently, I have begun researching the Cherokee Reservoir area. It seems like a nice area. My wife and I will need to plan a trip to check it out. One of my prerequisites is that I would like to be around a ½ from a hospital since as we get older we will become more dependent on medical services. We would like to get a house in the $300 to $350 range that has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Is there anything that anyone can add as either Pros or Cons for the area? Appreciate it. Jay

I remember my Dad always talking about Gadabout Gaddis and his lures. For me the TV personalities that influenced me were Jerry Mckinnis and his TV show "The Fishin' Hole" followed by Hank Parker in his earlier shows.

Cool stuff. Thanks .ghoti. Jay

.ghoti. What are you talking about when you say put a decal on it?

I do not believe any fibers are cut, but I will check. From what you proffered, what would be the best way of fixing this issue? I will have to take it to a professional to do so.

First I want to say that I know nothing about rod building or repair. I have a three piece, 12-foot Surf Fishing rod that has some damage to the finish. This damage was caused by a friend who borrowed it for a while and had the three pieces disassembled and held together with a rubber band while traveling and one of the guides apparently had scraped/scratched the coating. It appears that the coating on the rod has been scraped/scratched off, but it doesn't appear that the rod blank was damaged. My first question is; should I use this rod in this condition or will it possibly break? The second question is; if I purchased some flex coat and touched up the area, would that resolve the possibility for the rod breaking at that location? And lastly, is it worth even trying to save this rod. I will post some photos once I get to my beach house to take them and then I have to figure out how to post them. I know this isn't bass fishing related, nevertheless I know there are some very talented rod-smiths here that may be able to offer some advice. thanks in advance. Jay

It is a Juvenile Tiger Muskie. Pickerel and Muskie are all in the Pike family.

I haven’t made my mind up yet on which one I will get. But the advantages that I see are that you can deploy them quickly and you do not need to move from your place in the boat to anchor. So let’s say you are working a bank and you hook up with a fish on some submerged cover you didn’t know was there, you can deploy the anchor with minimal noise and under waster disturbance while never having to do anything but fight your fish and push a button. No moving around on deck getting an anchor from a hatch then setting the anchor. I fish Aquia Creek in VA and I am always fighting current from the tides or from the wind. I continually have to work the trolling motor to stay in one spot to dissect a piece of cover or structure. With this type of anchor you deploy it and forget about it till it is time to move. Again you push a button and away you go; no pulling up wet dirty anchor/ anchors onto the deck. Jay

Good points on the Power Poles. Would I have to install a jack plate to put on the Power Poles?

That makes sense. I will go no further then 1/4 of the way with mono and the rest will be braid.

How much mono do you use? Just enough to cover the arbor of the spool or do you fill the spool ¼ or ½ way with the mono and then top off with the braid? Jay