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

I just bought some Power Pro braid. I have never used braid before. So how do I tie it to my reel? The guy at Gander Mt told me to wrap a piece of duct tape around the spool. Then tie the knot around the taped spool, and then wrap another piece of duct tape over the spool again. He said this prevents the braid from slipping in the spool over time. Is that what I should do or should I do something else? Any help would be appreciated, Jay

I call my boat the Aluminum Cork; in a slight breeze it is moving. Where I fish most often I seem to always be battling the wind and tidal currents. I would like to be able to drift and then stop fish a piece of structure then continue on my drift. My intentions for getting one are to be able to stop and fish a productive area without having to constantly play with my TM. After reading this thread and the advice given, I think I may go with the Talon. Actually, two Talons sound like what would work best for my application. I also like that the Talon is all electric, so no hydraulics to have mounted inside the boat. My Tracker doesn’t have enough room to store a gallon jug of 2-cycle oil with the batteries, fuel tank and such. I also think I can install and mount the Talons myself. Not to mention the price is cheaper per Talon then for the Power Poles. Thanks everyone, Jay

Mine was a Ryobi V-Mag 3 and I still have it and use it. It sits on a Diawa Samurai rod from the same time period. I bought the reel at SEARS when I was about 14-years-old. I knew nothing about bait-casting reels, so when I bought mine I got it with a left hand retrieve. I thought that was the proper way because that’s how my spinning reels were. As I watched others use a bait-caster, I could never understand why people would by a right hand reel then have to switch hands after the cast. I used to think they were doing it wrong. Little did I know I was the one who was wrong. Well it is 29-years later and I am still fishing with lefty bait-casters. Jay

I am trying to make a decision on which shallow water anchor to get. I have a 2008 Tracker 175TXW. I am leaning towards the Minn Kota. Besides the obvious, electric v hydraulic, which is better the Minn Kota Talon or the Power Pole? It seems the Minn Kota is easier to install and has a cheaper price tag. If I do go with the Minn Kota should I have two or will one be sufficient? Is either of them something I can do myself or will it require a shop to install. Any help is appreciated. Jay

A gun without ammunition is just an expensive club. I have lots of ammo in each caliber or gauge that I have a gun in.

I would suggest a Luepold VX3 3-9 power scope. Cheap scopes are just that cheap. The clarity of the glass and lack of any form of distortion, the ability to stay zeroed and warranty make them worth the money. I have used Tasco, Simmons, BSA, Bushnell and Nikon and I don’t think they compare. I am currently replacing all my scopes with Leupolds including the one on my crossbow. Just my two cents. Jay

Agreed, but if you do shoot someone you never say you shot to KILL the subject, you say you shot the subject to stop him from his attack. Judges and Juries do not like to hear people come into court and say I shot him to kill him. It will not bode well for you in trial. I carry a SIG P290 concealed every day as my off duty weapon. It is small enough for pocket carry and it is chambered in 9mm with 6 in the mag and 1 in the pipe. Jay

I have used Hoppe’s #9 to clean and Hoppe’s gun oil to lube for the last 29 years. I hunt and target shoot and have never had any issue what so ever. Hoppe’s says it lube will not harden or gum. I personally have never had it thicken in cold weather while shooting or hunting. Then again I like to apply lube sparingly and clean and re-lube very often. After every day hunting I will wipe down and re-lube my guns. Jay

I have caught many of them in Aquia Creek in VA. The biggest was 8 pounds 9 ozs that my fishing buddy caught. I have never eaten one but my give it a try this year. Jay

I was wondering how many of you drill a small hole on the tail end of their Spro frogs to facilitate the emptying of water that fills the body cavity while fishing the lure? if you do have you noticed any draw backs to doing so? Thanks Jay