Chris

http://www.bagleybait.com/5.html You can tell by the hardware. Original Bagleys have brass wire. The company changed because of the corrosive factor and many anglers changed lures because of it. Old guys who liked the brass wire started collecting them and winning tournaments on them. Now the newer baits have the same brass hardware. (brass 70's model) http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-BAGLEY-Lure-MINT-on-CARD-SDKB1-LSB-Brass_W0QQitemZ170416896299QQcategoryZ794QQcmdZViewItem (80's model) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=280435047522 (Newer package) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=130350299037

Blade baits like a silver buddy or tha zip lure also work well in your situation.

If you make a lure light up, flash, shoot a laser the effect of this bait drawing more strikes is slim. You take the same lure and night fish with it you might find a difference. I had to field test a spinnerbait one time that the head would light up. After throwing the bait a few times I was not impressed so I figured I would fish it again that night. The bait looked like I was throwing a glow stick as it sailed across the dark sky. I got strikes but wasn't hooking fish. I bent the hook down to open up the gap figuring the hook was to small. Still was getting strikes but no fish. I stuck a trailer hook on it and made another cast. When I brought the bait back it was missing the blade. What was going on was the head lit up the blade and the fish where striking at the blade instead of the bait. I put a new blade on the bait and took a sharpie and colored the top of the head so the light didn't reflect off of the blades and colored the blades. I finally started catching fish on it. When I handed the lure back to the company who made it the guy couldn't believe how much I had to alter the bait to catch fish. If you look at its website the company refers to the fact that when he took a laser pointer and shined it into a fish tank the fish went nuts. Fish are curious and view that red dot as food. The fish think it is a bug or something along those lines. If the dot moves the fish thinks it is alive. If they built the lure so that it appeared as if the crankbait is chasing the dot they might be on to something but I doubt the bass will see the whole picture. Remember the fish was chasing the dot in the tank when the inventor had this brain storm not the pointer itself. When you point it so that the lip lights up what would be the difference in the day time of a red bill crankbait. The bait by itself will probably catch fish without the need for the light.

When I grew up in Florida. I spent my time after school working in a bait and tackle shop. Many of the B.A.S.S. tournaments that was going on at the time would trickle in Pro's at this shop. Many trying to get details about this and that water. Because most of these guys not all where not from Florida they came to us to get a little inside information. Most of it was about where to go and what was working. So at a young age here is this teenager (me) shooting the breeze about fishing with some of the top pro's in the business. I remember one time Peter Thliveros was fishing a St. Johns tournament and was asking Greg about a old dike that was on the river that Greg had won on. It wasn't until a hour into the conversation that I realized who he was talking to. The guy who owned the shop at the time was a well respected local tournament angler so for me the job was more about the education than the money. Up the road from that shop next to a lake I fished quite often was another tackle shop that was owned by B.A.S.S. Pro John Bitter and run by local Pro Doug Gilley or John depending on the day. I spent much of my time if I wasn't catching anything picking their brain about fishing one bought lure at a time lol. John and the other shop owner where friends so over the years got to do a lot of brain picking. Later when there was a lure company who was just starting out that myself and Greg took under our wing to show him how to break into the tackle business. Part of his line up was Lee Sisson products that he sold to other companies. The company took on Charley Youngers as their Pro. The company was making crankbaits and I got to pick Charleys brain quite a bit while he was remodeling the tackle shop. I also had the chance to meet Tom Mann as a teen and got to pick his brain about fishing plastics and Roland Martin while at a boat show. Jim Finley who fished B.A.S.S. tour and also moonlighted as a camera man who filmed a few of Shaw Grigsby shows and others came to our shop. He actually taught me to tube fish among other lures. Greg MacIntosh (The shop owner and not a Pro but should be) taught me to spinnerbait fish and worm fish. We spent hours pitching into a cup to pass time and played a game that we called the world of oz where we thought outside of the box about bass fishing. It was in these long conversations about technical bass fishing as a teen that educated me about bass fishing. Other Pro's I have had conversations with through the years that have I learned a lot from where David Fritts, Larry Nixon, Guy Eaker, Dion Hibdon, to name a few.

thank you

Many anglers use a form of cranking called bumping the stump or bumping cover. As I mentioned many anglers try to overpower the depth they are fishing to maintain in contact with the contour of the bottom. If you understand the dive curve of your lures you can present a crankbait in such a way to ram a key feature. This is why I say learning the dive cure is more accurate it is possible to make a cast and reel the bait down to hit a feature you have seen on your depth finder. Why would this be important? Well many times you will find structure that is not the text book kind that has a slow slope of a point. Maybe you will have some sort of bottom cover like a rock pile or brush pile or something that will hold fish. If you just followed the contour of the point itself you would never hit the key feature because the lure would not have enough room to reach the depth needed. By positioning the boat and your cast you are still able to reach the key feature. You just going to need to change your angle. Instead of casting and following the point by bumping the bottom you make an angled cast in the open water next to the point. By running the lure this angle you give the lure time to dig to the depth needed to reach the key feature that otherwise would be missed. Next you need to position the boat so that the lure reaches its max depth at the point where the key feature is. Sometimes your line might lay across the object which will give you an indication when you are about to strike it if you are using a deeper lure than what is required. You can feel when this happens and the vibration pattern will be different than when the line is not across something. Some anglers (bottom bouncers) use this technique of laying the line over the object to help make sure you are on target to strike the object to draw a strike. Other anglers (zone fishermen) use the dive curve to hit the same object. Then you have other guys who will weight down their crankbait to where they can just count the lure down to the depth needed then run the lure in line with the same object to strike it. For myself I like to use a crankbait that has a slow rising float to it because I feel I can gain more depth than a high floating lure. In contrast a high floating lure tends to float off stick ups more so than a suspending model so owning a lure knocker would be wise. With a lure that has near neutral buoyancy the lure is not fighting the floatation to achieve depth. The difference might be only a foot or two but in the cranking world it might make the difference. Your going to naturally have the drag of the line cutting through the water that also play into a lures max depth. Many anglers use all the different variables that make a lure loose depth or gain depth to help fine tune depth control. Many anglers only list what prevents a lure from reaching its max depth but few ever take into consideration that it is also the same variables that help to refine your depth to hit a depth zone like suspended fish or objects like a hump or stump. You hear about it when it comes to shallow water fishing around weed flats and rattletraps. But the same holds true with other crankbaits and zone fishing. Also when you do make your cast remember that the distance that you cast and effects how much room you give the bait to reach its max depth. So another way to fine tune your depth is to change the point where the lure reaches its max depth by changing your casting distance and your boat positioning. You give the lure less room to run you loose depth. You change the distance you are positioned to the object you change the point where the lure digs and starts working its way to the surface. It is a means to fine tune your depth to hit the object. In plain English you can use the same lure for different depths by just changing the way you cast and how far away from the object you position yourself.

Had I known this post would have rubbed people the wrong way I would not have presented it the way I did and I am sorry. I know cart that my words and a little smallmouth are not that impressive. I am not a outspoken person who shows large catches on here or have an avatar holding up giants with a tournament shirt on. I am not one to have an ego or to look down upon anyone who is just starting on their bass fishing quest to learn. I many times take the time to answer questions on here that few want to answer from members. My post count next to my name I would guess 80% of them came from answering a new guys question and many of them where hard questions. If they where not hard questions they where basic mechanics questions that many felt to proud to answer or where beneath their skill level. I couldn't begin to tell you how many times I broke down step by step how to fish a jig or a number of other lures. I took the time because I felt that teaching a new guy to fish was just that important. Long before this forum became what it is today it was guys like me that took the time to teach what they knew about bass fishing that set it apart from other forums. It was guys like me who didn't care about going to the grave with a trade secret who was willing to share knowledge. Many tournament anglers, like you say keep it for the guys who are willing to pay. But if it wasn't for guys like myself and others who are knowledgeable about bass fishing and tournament fishing and willing to share most of these members wouldn't be here. Remember most tournament anglers have the idea that if you knew what they knew then you don't need their knowledge anymore. Also if I taught you everything I knew about bass fishing then I am training the next person who will take money out of my pocket at the next tournament. KVD is a product in his own words of bassmaster magazine and show. So details about bass fishing become less descriptive in most print. They would like to maintain the gap that they have established on their knowledge. To be honest many tournament anglers really do feel this way. You take a issue of bassmasters these days and compare it to an old subscription and you are going to find a difference in how much the angler does reveal about fishing a technique or look at some old bassmaster shows for that matter. I remember when Stanley Jigs was a sponsor of Bassmasters or at least a tournament and everyone in a Congo line all said they caught their fish on his lures. When they got to Rick Clunn and Ray Scott said what did you catch them on a Stanley Spinnerbait? Rick said a spinnerbait but not Stanley's and talks about how he caught his fish on points. All the video that was shot was of him running around throwing a red rattletrap. Now everything he said would work for a spinnerbait bite and I am not saying he didn't use a spinnerbait to win that tournament. But what I am saying is that the same bite and vibration pattern that was described by him would also coincide with a rattletrap bite and vibration pattern. If you where him and had the edge that helped him figure those fish out would you be so inclined to help the other competitors learn from their mistakes for the next pre spawn tournament. Just a thought considering at the time most of the tour because of how it jumped from state to state landed in spawn, pre spawn and post spawn time frame. Many tournament anglers go through great lengths to give you the alternate pattern that could work but are a little more fuzzy when it comes to details when your talking money. Like I said I am sorry if I ruffled a few feathers that was not my intent and I have edited the whole post.

I agree and I changed it. Thank you for pointing it out. I also changed around some of the post because I can see how someone could get the wrong impression.

Her favorite color is chrome Chrome Most crankbait anglers like to use chrome colors in clear to stained water. Many chalk up the success of this color to the fact that it mirrors light and gives fish a flash of light that draws the bass's attention. Many think that what they see above water is about the same as under water. But is it? Above water remember color is light wave lengths and the deeper you go the more light is filtered out. When you view chrome above water you see all colors that is why it has a mirror flash. Under water the lure will take on the color of the sky above. If you took a look under the lure while it is running the lure might reflect the image of the lake bottom. When looking at the same lure from the side you are going to see the reflective light or flash as the light bends as it moves. It will also take on some of the surrounding color. So around different cover or surroundings the bait will constantly change colors. Now if you ever watched baitfish they tend to try to blend into its surroundings to make it harder for predators to pick it out. Chrome very closely mimics this. Clear Cranks Remember I said that baitfish like to blend in. Clear lures also blend in and take on the lake bottom colors. Clear lures also change colors depending on lake bottom and how much light or direct light hits it. When skies turn cloudy or water turns dirty this effect fades and the lure becomes harder to pick out. Clear lures that have metal flake in them also add to the effectiveness in stained water by throwing off a flash. Clear lures because it takes on the surounding colors looks like a real bait.

Bass position on structure to either chill out or to intercept food. With most structure there is a natural flow of bait. Meaning that the bait normally moves through the structure at a certain direction either coming to the structure like a point or leaving the structure like when a shad school follows the edge of the point to move off to suspend in deep water. Each time you strike the object at different angles the bait reacts to the structure object different. Many times if you find either the right direction because of bait flow or the right direction because of the way the lure deflects off the structure both need to be explored and can make a difference in getting a strike or not. When you lower your rod in the water you also loose feel because the rod is not able to vibrate as much as the lighter open air medium. When fishing close to objects this technique works well at getting extra depth. If your making a long cast where the depth is gained is before the lure makes its upward climb. It changes the point where the lure stops digging and starts climbing.

The wider the wobble the more time it takes for the bait to reach it's max depth. Many anglers use the wobble to telegraph when a fish strikes. With a wide wobble the line is moving from side to side at a set distance which is the thump you feel at the rod end. You catch more fish when you can feel your vibration pattern at a distance then at close range. Lures that tilt from side to side have the same telegraph vibration as the wide wiggle. The problem with equipment is that it makes it hard to tell the difference between the lure vibration and the structure. They both feel the same causing you to miss fish. Then you have some who say fish hook themselves which means they really didn't have good contact between the lure vibration and what you feel in your hands. I use deep tone rattles to give off the sound of a larger prey. The deeper you go the less light penetrates the water so it would be like fishing stained to murky water even though the upper layer might be clear. The lower frequency travels farther under water than high pitch frequency rattle. Paul uses the vibration pattern I use rattle frequency. I choose a medium wiggle because it offers less resistance in the water and dives quicker which means I waste less time reeling to a depth and less effort. Also with a thinner bill in the front cuts the water better with less resistance than the bait he mentioned. By the same token the Manns lure is better to bounce the bottom because the lip stands up to the abuse. Many times lures with the longer bill work well in heavy cover because the lip strikes first and helps shield the hooks. Paul's fishing style is bottom bouncing and this lure stands up for that application. My style differs because I try to hit zones so my choice in lure will differ. The faster you reach a depth the more time you have to fish the depth before it makes its climb back to the surface which fits zone fishing. Many times after catching a few fish the bass might seem to become wise to your lure. It is the change in vibration patterns that draw strikes. If you run a crankbait the same way all the time what makes it different. What makes this cast different then the ten before. When you strike an object you change the vibration pattern and sometimes the direction of the lure for a second. If you don't know at what point you will strike the object and just bottom bounce to the object nothing has changed. The bait will react to the structure the same giving the same presentation until you change angles. If you don't understand your dive curve you might miss the object. What I do is slow the bait until it is about to hit the object then smack it. Sometimes pausing the bait then make the lure smack the object. You are also better to change the lip you use to also change how the bait deflects off the object. Some guys just adjust their cranking speed or move their rod to change the vibration pattern. If you slow the bait enough it will stop vibrating (use a slow floating model) and you can sneak the lure by the fish pause it then jerk the rod for a strike. It is the vibration pattern that makes the fish think the lure is a healthy baitfish and active fish will bite. When you toy with the vibration pattern offering the bass something different you force the other fish to strike out of instinct. Many people like to bottom bounce a crankbait off of the bottom. Each time a lure hits the bottom it sends off pressure waves. Much like how spinnerbait guys use a Colorado blade you can use a bottom bouncing bait to give much the same thump vibration pattern outside of the wiggle.

Most anglers don't understand depth control. It is not a factor of being lazy. When you learn about cranking the key is learning the dive angle and at what point the crank bait will reach it's max depth. Many don't understand that a crankbait reaches it's max depth about a good pitch with a jig away from the boat. At that point the bait makes it's upward climb. Depending on the lip angle and how steep the lure digs depends on at what point the bait hits it's max depth. If the bait slowly dives it is going to take awhile to reach its depth if it ever does at all. The shorter you make your cast the less time you give the lure to meet its max depth there for you lessen the lures ability to dive. Off shore bass are easier to catch because most people don't fish for them. When fishing with crankbaits it is just a matter of angles. A cast this long will give my bait this much running room to reach a target. You now position the boat so that your target is not at the point that my lure makes it's upward climb. When you know what depth your bait runs and how long of a cast you need to make to reach a certain depth the rest is just boat positioning. The hard work is watching your depth finder to find the structure. Many people have this vision of a guy out in the middle of the lake catching bass. More often then not they are fishing the same stuff the bank beaters are just deeper. One angler hits the first 5ft of a point the other crankbait angler fishes the whole point. Then they narrow down where the bass is holding. Anglers use lures that dig the bottom because they don't know what depth their lure actually runs. To compensate they run the lure on the bottom to maintain contact with the bottom contour. Lures that bounce the bottom speed up and slow down and cause a strike. Now what is going to happen when your point is filled with weeds. Understanding the diving curve and running depth is more important and more accurate. Many times bass will suspend on structure in the thermocline. If your still playing the bottom bouncing game all the way to the boat your lure might only be in the active fish zone for about 10 feet of your cast. If you understand your lure and at what depth the lure hits a certain depth your lure is in the same zone most of your cast. Some anglers look for gentle sloping points to maintain contact the whole cast. The more productive points will be the ones that slope within the thermocline. Bottom bouncing then becomes the more productive method because the contour follows the thermocline. If the point or structure because of angle only has a set portion sitting in the thermocline layer then knowing the dive curve gives you a more accurate presentation to catch these bass. Some potions the bass will suspended up in the thermocline where the thermocline meets the point the bass might be tight to the point. Bass will move as the thermocline moves which changes throughout the day. I use glass rods for beating the bank because when I play a fish to tire it out most of the fight is near the boat and the rod aids in preventing the hooks from coming free. Glass has less vibration transfer then graphite because it is like using a wet noodle. Many anglers reel the bait in with their index finger under the line to compensate for the lack of feel. For long distance graphite gives you the best feel and long distance vibration transfer in the rod. Many use glass for deep cranking because the rod loads better and you can cast farther. Composite is the best of both worlds. Fluorocarbon because it is denser will telegraph vibrations at a distance better. Here is some science http://www.bigindianabass.com/big_indiana_bass/the-truth-about-fluorocarbon.html When you use a crankbait that dives deeper then the depth needed to overpower the depth to remain in contact with the bottom line size is less relevant to achieve depth because you are using a deeper lure than the depth needed. Many times anglers use line diameter to gain extra depth also consider that different companies have different line diameters for the same pound test. There can be a vast difference in the depth your lure runs between line company (a) and line company ( because different diameters. Thinner lines produce less drag on your lure and help gain depth but if one rod has 10 lb line that has the diameter of line company ('s 12 pound line it is going to effect your depth. So it pays to read the diameter and choose the thinner line. In the larger pound lines the diameters between company (a) and ( can become more dramatic. Most guys who crank deep have their drag set tight because when you run a crankbait the drag will slip and you loose depth. It also aids in driving hooks at a distance because of line stretch. When bass make a quick lunge many times anglers have trouble with bass becoming unbuttoned. This was the reasoning for David Fritts building the glass rod he had. The rod absorbs the pressure of a fighting lunge while maintaining the pressure that keeps hooks stuck. This also is why Rick Clunn's signature rod is composite rods. The key is that the rod will apply enough pressure on the fish not to tear the hooks or wear larger holes in the fish. With graphite you rip more hooks because of the pressure you unknowingly put on the fish close to the boat. Style hooks, hook gap, size of the wire all effect how the hook wears on a fighting fish.

Have you ever fished those two draws west of the dam down from that feeder creek? Thought it looked interesting. I would start there then move up the creek above it. On the south end of your map where the creek comes in I would guess that in front of that Gravel Hill rd would be interesting to fish. Judging by what the visible creek looks like. I would fish around there then move up the creek.

There are two kinds of weeds emergent and submergent. Emergent is the weeds you can see above water like cattails, pads, topped out hydrilla or coontail. Submergent are the weeds that are under water that don't break the surface. The same kind of weeds can be both under and above water depending on the stage of growth. Many of the weeds have either a set depth that they can grow in because of lack of sunlight penetration. The deeper the depth the less sun can reach it so it will have a defined edge. Other plants will become more sparse because of depth or stage of growth. When fishing floating emergent plants like water hyacinth, pads, duck weed, topped out coontail, or hydrilla it is not whats on top but what is underneath that is important. Bass love to get under overhead cover because it feels protected from overhead predators. It also gives the bass a area that they can grab anything that might scamper across the cover. Many fish topwater frogs around this kind of cover or fish submerged lures like a spinnerbait or soft jerkbait along the edge of the cover. Areas that the weeds stack up or become thick anglers also flip lures with a heavy weight to punch through the cover. In the case of hydrilla and coontail many times the tangled mess you see above water is not what is underwater. Many times because of depth change like a depression or old creek channel or from drainage pipes can cause a void of cover under water. Many times there will be tunnels under the topped out weed growth that bass will use and are best attacked with a flipped lure. Other submergent weeds that are found on weed flats are best tackled with lures that either cruise just above the cover or lures that can be ripped out of cover. Many times the ripped lure will create strikes. Lures that just cruise just above the weeds can be reeled so that it just ticks the weeds. This creates more action to your lure and will also draw strikes. Another technique that works well is to reel down the lure to touch the bill of the crankbait to the top of the weed growth and then let the bait float up off of it then drive it back into the weeds like it is feeding. Emergent weeds that form a wall like what cattails do bass will cruise up and down the wall in search of food. Bass also use the weeds much like any vertical cover and will move up and down to adjust depth if conditions change. Anything irregular like a depression in the cattails or where it forms a point will draw fish. With cattails and pad fields areas where the weeds become sparse or where you have groups of isolated weeds will draw fish. Many anglers use crankbaits, spinnerbaits, topwater lures, to name a few to fish the edge of this wall of weeds. Isolated weeds and sparse weeds are better tackled with plastics or spinnerbaits. Hope this helps

You should build one.

This bait runs about 5ft deep. The more you restrict the lip from moving side to side the deeper it runs.

Get a shotgun and a flashlight and act like your frog hunting. I am joking. If the pond is large enough I would doubt you would see much of a decline in fish populations. Turtles, Herring, eagles, turkey buzzards (can't remember the correct name off the top of my head) and gators all eat fish and all effect fish populations. Most of your older fish tend to be left alone because they are harder to catch.

Wood is a little more forgiving than plastic as far as keeping a bait tuned. As long as the wire on the back side is straight and also the back plate the lure will run perfect. Just make sure all your holes you drill are in line. After messing around with it I also noticed if I put the line tie off center the bait hunt or searches more than if you have it set like the picture. You can also off set the back wire to accomplish the same thing. The other version of this lure I made a swim bait where I used the same lip as a hinge. This did away with eye screws.

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Also how far you space the lip and the plate effects the side to side action.

It actually runs straight and each time the lip smacks the plate it sends off different pressure waves. It looks like a jointed bait between the lip and the bait moving with a tighter fluid action. Because the lip moves from side to side you can really feel the bait up the line. Under water it makes a click, click, click, noise. I made it about a year ago and hung it on a shelf. Thought I would get some imput on what every one thought about it.

I fish no rattles most often unless I am fishing in and around heavy cover and I need to get their attention that the bait is drawing near to them. Baits that I run with a standard chuck and crank I like low frequency rattles. Cranks that I rip or jerk from time to time to draw strikes I like a higher frequency BB rattle like what is in a CC shad. In most other situations I just use the right vibration pattern for the water I am fishing.

Transparent and see through color cranks work well in clear water because the fish are not able to get a good look at it. Even though it is clear bass can still see it and feel it.

a closer look at the lip

The lip moves side to side and the back end of the lip smacks the plate.