Jigfishn10

Hey Red Earth, airbourne_angler has been a member here for a long time and I've read a lot of his posts, I don't think he's bashing a product or is at fault in any way, just passing along his experience with the products he mentioned...No need to call him out on this one, Bud. I'm sure there are a lot of other things that can be affected out in the AZ heat.

To give you an idea of what's inside, here's 1 of 2 spots I sacrificed while trying a new lure build technique: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/118872-lipless-crankbait-build/ 4 brass bb's in the head for weight and 12 steel bb's in the body for rattle

Well I was able to get out of work early, so I decided to first hit the pond for some topwater action and manage 3 on a Skitterwalk and 3 on a lipess crankbait before the rain came. I came home and could wait to try casting my first plastic bait on the mold I had just built. Here it is: The mold in the clamps ready to pour: After a 5-7 minute wait, I pulled the mold apart, extracted the pieces and cleaned them up: This is what it will look like after I assemble: Now just balllast, rattle, paint and fish!

I find that Spots are a little more buoyant than most lipless cranks on the market, so if you're in a situation where you want to tick the top of weeds in fairly shallow water, then the spot is the choice for me. If I want to slow roll along the outside weed line, then I would opt for a different type of lipless crank.

Some Pics from yesterday: Thanks again grampa!

With all the fish I missed, I think you sent the bass an e-mail as payback! LMAO

grampa1114 and I fished Cochituate today from 10:00 am to about 3:00 pm. I must say that fishing with grampa was pretty boring...He caught all the fish and we had a lot of laughs. Alright so I told a white lie, I had a great time and couldn't be happier with the outing we just had. I had 3 fish come off a lipless crank and 3 missed fish on a jig. I did manage 1 bass on a jig and 1 pickerel on a lipless crank. grampa cleaned my clock as he got at least 6 or 7 bass, 4 or 5 crappie and at least that many pickerel. He fishes with a 3" Fluke on a 1/16 oz ball head made on a #4 hook. I would have never in my life would have thought that a rig that small would entice the bass and pickerel sizes he caught. My hats off to grampa as I have learned a great deal today watching him fish such a light rig. Thank you grampa for fishing with me. I had a lot of laughs today and had a great time. I'll post up some pics later tonight.

Sacrifice 2 lipless cranks by cutting in half: Embed a left side and a right side in a clay bed: Form a box around the clay bed: Pour Silicone RTV to make an impression of 1 side: Remove the bottom of the form and remove the clay: Pour Silicone RTV to make an impression of the other side: Remove the forms and peel the 2 halves apart: Get ready to pour your hard plastic resin, assemble, finish and fish! Pic? Well, I won't be able to get to the last part until Memorial Day.

Happy B-day JF

Thanks grampa, I was just going to PM you to ask how you did and to get info on the spawn...oh well, I guess I missed the spawn again this year. It's great to hear you guys got out yesterday, I hope you had a great day. Take care all

I could be mistaken, but I thought I saw a couple of beds today...what are you guys seeing?

I'm not defending nor giving an opinion...just picking out some flaws in your statements. It's hard to just say "jig" is the best or "spinnerbait" is the best and I mean more versatile, it's way too broad of a description, so I'll take the most vesatile piece of equipment I have along with me every time out and that sits on top of my shoulders.

disadvantages: not great for the LMB spawn; it cannot be fished still - Why not, it is a jig with bling? cannot be pitched in cover - Why not, Ken Cook did very well pitching a spinnerbait cannot be skipped very well - There are a lot of jig head design in use today that can't skip well - have you ever skipped a football head - not very easy catches wind = backlash - The higher the strand count, the more the lure catches wind and causes a backlash, so you could say that is a wash

WTG! Great report and post...Congrats on your day!

Yeah, I've been fishing that jig pretty hard this spring. Believe it or not, that grub is still in great shape after 10 plus fish. I keep dabbing on a little megastrike and keep fishing. I can't believe how durable those grubs are. Thanks for the kind post cadman. I see you're still putting out great looking jigs, keep up the great work. As always, I wish you nothing but the best of luck, have a great season my friend!

They look great keith71, I never thought of using Krystal Flash on a jig...great idea Bud!

Here's one of the many I tied this past winter and has really produced for me this spring: The skirt is tied with thread on a lead free Siebert Outdoors head. I know, pretty generic, but a great producer. As you can see, this jig has been fished a little.

IMHO, I would stay out of the muddy parts and fish the "normal" waters where you would have better success. Generally, the temporary discolored water will give the fish lock jaw. That's not saying that you won't catch fish in there, but to give yourself a better chance, I would fish the "normal" water conditions. A good spot is the mud line - the transition from mud to clear water. Cast into the muddy water and retrieve back into the clear(er) water. I've experienced a lot of success on that pattern and I will thank Denny Brauer for writing that one in his book.

Am I reading the op wrong? I'm reading that some sections are muddy and some are clear? The muddy sections just recently got that way, which is not the normal water clarity? Or, there are no clear sections, just muddy. I'm confused.

Keep the lure selection and fish the clearer water.

Well done John. Great plan and very nice pics! Congrats to you all on your great day.

Those are some sweet looking fish for sure! Man, after the winter we've had it's nice to get out there and hook up with a few. I hear your winter was pretty much like ours here in the Beantown area, so you must be happy to get out and have fun as well! Man, today we had an absolute gorgeous day and I wound up painting 3 ceilings in my house...LOL...It was either that or rake...tomorrow I rake...LMAO Congrats my friend, it great to see you posting those oinkers!

Nice gramps, you guys certainly picked a great day to fish for sure. I wish you and Tate nothing but the best of luck! Thanks for the kind post and I'll pm you later in the day when I fire my computer up.

I ended my work week at Houghton's for 1 1/2 hours today. Earlier in the day I noticed some snapping turtles sun bathing, so I figured that it would be worth the stop. The water surface temps were a lot warmer than last Sunday when Dillon, my son and I went last. I decided to throw a lipless crank with a rip/reel retrieve. I was able to get a couple of pickerel and a nice LMB: I didn't get a weight on her, but she was a lot of fun none the less. I saw her come out of the water and I could't tell if it was a bass or not, so I threw over in the general direction and "thud", no doubt about it, it was a healthy bass. I was purchasing some skirt material from Janns Netcraft and noticed that they had a new line of Lipless Cranks on sale for $2.15/ea so I picked up 4 along with some #4 hooks for the belly and #6 for the tail. They have a triangular weight that fills the whole nose of the bait from about the gill plate to the tip giving this bait a real nose down attitude. I figured for $2.15/ea why not? Man, that was a real nice bait that caught the above fish. Here's a pic of the lipless I used: (this was uploaded to my gallery, anyone know how to get rid of the BR logo?) If your in the market for some lipless cranks, I highly recommend these. They work very well on a lift drop retrieve because of the nose down attitude, they can be fished slow and fast with no problems and they have a bit of a "hunt" on the retrieve. Give em a whirl! Good luck all!

Sounds like it was a fun day, grandpa. Nothing like getting out on a day like this and wih your better half. Congrats to you both!