Jigfishn10

I think the advice @Tennessee Boy gave you is very good advice. I like a lot of different lines out there but when I get a window to go fishing, it's usually on the way home from work and I'll bank fish for a couple of hours. Mono is very easy to use if you're switching lures. It's a great starting point that you can always go back to. Try it in different presentations and then make your determination as to using something different.

When I first started building rods I always found the spine. I read and was taught (I may have this backwards) that the spine was the "strong" side and opposite was weaker. On a casting rod you would put the guides on the spine side if you were using the rod as a worm or jig rod. There would be less "give" and a more solid hookset. Conversely, if you set the guides on the opposite side it would be best used as a crankbait/spinnerbait type rod. I've bought a few rods and just for the heck of it I found the spine and noticed that none of them had guides installed along or opposite and the rod still performed well. I now save myself the time of finding the spine and now do what others on here do.

Couldn't agree more. I had the same symptoms back in '09 and the first thing I got check for was stroke...Don't screw around with this

"Last year I went fishing with Salvador Dali. He was using a dotted line. He caught every other fish." Steven Wright

15" of snow, 41*...C'mon Spring! So with the snow and frigid overnight temps we're gonna be in a winter pattern for a few more weeks, I've decided to try my hand a making soft plastic baits. I'm hoping to make a mold for a swim senko. Hope to give it a go this weekend. I maybe looking for a field tester or 2. Will post the mold next week.

Why yes I did. I wanted the head to be small in diameter to make sure the blade spins around it. Not much of an issue with a Colorado blade, the Indiana and willow leaf (not shown) tend to spin closer to the body. Thanks for your interest.

Something different, some bass inlines:

Ever since that vermint poke his head out of it’s hole we’ve been getting snow and frigid temps. More snow on the way tonight and single digit temps this week for our nightly lows. hip hip hooray

I actually think you're right there with the 5. Maybe on the line of too much blade. If I know you, you'll have a soft plastic trailer of some sort that will help it run true. Great job. Want a zonker strip on one...LOL...J/K...Good Luck

That'll get em. Looks like it'll run pretty quick, but without knowing the weight of the head it's hard to tell. Even if it does run too quick, you can always change the French blade on the arm for a larger one. If you really want to experiment, try putting the small blade on the swivel and large blade on the arm....My my my Nice job.

Canton Res is about 2 miles from me and Ponkie is maybe 5, so either one works. Would love to meet up. Weekdays are best, once my son's baseball schedule starts up, weekends are gone til late July. We'll keep in touch, I don't spend a lot of time on this site, but will peek in from time to time on this thread. I'll PM you my cell

It's amazing @DogBone_384 that these little ponds hold big fish. I hope to meet up with the active anglers on this thread at some point. I'll be looking into a Kayak soon and would love to get out with ya all. Until then, have a great season fellas.

Aluminum Master Cut-out Smoothing and Final Shaping. Master Transferred to Nickel-Silver Shaping, Bending/Curving Tool Final Spoon w/ hardware attached Just shy of a 1/2 oz and 2 3/4". Replicated after Lil Cleo.

That's a great tip, I learned this the hard way...?

A year prior on Easter Sunday a few weeks after ice out I got my then 5 1/4. I love fishing after ice out and September/October. A 4-11 on Blue Hills Res is a trophy for sure! I can honestly say that of the handful of times I fished there I got skunked every single time. My hat's off to you! :)

I was hoping to make a trip to Houghton's on my way home next week, but that pond takes it's sweet @$$ time opening up. My 7.5 lber came outta there a week after ice out a few years back and I will be looking for those pigs after ice out this year. Have you been by there at all @DogBone_384?

In 1997 on Memorial Day weekend, I fished a Zell Rowland signature Pop R (Internet Image, not the actual Lure)

You must be my brother from another mother....another good tip....

That's a great tip! I used a different material when I did my lipless crankbait mold and didn't have to do this step. Thanks a million, I never would have thought of that.

Now I got the itch. I just came back from FLA. I was able to get a guide for my last day and was only able to get in a very productive 2 hours. 10 Fish landed, nothing huge but the action was great. I had an additional 3 come unbuttoned and had 3 more nail my bait right at the boat while I was reeling in. The 10 fish I landed were about 3.5 lbs and down. No scale, best guess between the guide and I. All but 1 fish was caught on and around a hump - 6 ft to 22 ft - no particular location, up, down, middle. 9 were caught on a 5” swimming senko, t-rigged w/ 3/16 oz bullet weight and one on a fluke t-rigged weightless. Color didnt matter, I used white, black, watermelon, pumpkin and a motor oil color. I’m not sure what Yamamoto actually refers them as, I’m just getting back into the fishing game. My guide caught 4 using a lipless crank, a lipped crank and t-rigged worms. Again, color didn’t matter. I just picked up my license and hopefully will be getting some open water soon. This weekend it looks like snow removal will be on the menu.

I tip like @roadwarrior mentions in his post, like I would at a restaurant. I just came back from FLA and tipped my guide about 20%. He was a lot of fun to fish with and gave my son and I a lasting memory.

4" Yum tubes t-rigged as light as possible. Fat Ika is a good substitute.

Couldn't agree more. Between that and a lil cleo, you can have some serious fun.

Hey guys, was hoping I can get some help. I want to replicate a soft plastic bait and will be making a mold out of plaster and have the following 2 questions: When you embed you soft plastic bait into the fresh mixed plaster do you lubricate the bait prior to embedding? If yes, what would you use, vegetable oil? After the first part of the mold is cured and detailed, would you lubricate the mold and bait? Again, vegetable oil? Sorry, it's been about 8 years since I made a lipless crankbait mold, so I forgot a few steps. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Easy there cowboy, not all is attributed to transplants. That city has had a congestion problem for many years and not all is from transplants. I worked in St. Petersburg back in 2017 and took the red eye out every Monday morning for 5 months and landed in Tampa at 9:30 AM. I climb into a rental and make my way across the bridge standing over Tampa Bay. It was a scary drive the way I saw those FLA plates speeding pass me switching from lane to lane. Point is, every state has their fair share of bad driving going on. We should leave it at that. ?