Will Wetline

I started fishing football swing jigs last year and tried out different hooks and hardware to keep the bait from sliding down the hook shank. These all worked okay but I really didn't want to mess with the Owner Centering Pin Springs or split rings. And I wanted to stay with the Gamakatsu 584 EWG hooks that I have been using successfully for years T-rigging. I fish Quabbin's crystal clear waters with 10 lb. and sometimes 8 lb. copolymer or fluoro line and I prefer a "standard" wire hook rather than a heavier gauge wire. Over the winter I checked my stock to see how many more of Do-It's Swing Footballs I'd need to mold for the 2015 season. An Aha! moment flashed by: Position your bait (Gene Larew's 4.25" Biffle Bug shown in photo below), slide the rubber skirt collar you've cut in half onto the vertical section of hook shank, rig the aft end of the bait and then apply a dab - no need be heavy handed with cyanoacrylates! - and press the rubber and plastic together for half a minute or less while the super glue sets. This pic illustrates: Cut a few extra so you'll have them on the water. One more tip for the well-prepared bassmaster: keep your super glue chilled in your lunch container rather than heating up in a tackle box on deck. A few days ago these two bass chewed on my secured Biffle Bug and maybe next trip out I'll land a third - on the same Bug.

You might try Owner Twistlock Finesse hooks, available in sizes #2 - 1/0 https://www.ownerhooks.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=210&osCsid=4nk0j8ghi5q80tkodl7g4v3fj2 and VMC Spinshot hooks. https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS503US517&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=vmc+spin+shot+hooks&tbm=shop

A fine trip indeed!

How 'bout a smallmouth and a largemouth?

Beauties all! Well done.

I have fond memories of Mann's Jelly Worms - can't remember the length - from the early '70s. Think I used an Eagle Claw hook with a wire weed guard. Had Hellbenders and Bombers too.

This photo was taken in 1994: and this a few years later:

Don't tell my creditors please, but this season I'll be fishing Seaguar Tatsu. I first learned about this superior stuff from RichZ's September 7, 2009 Bass Blog in which he said, "Seaguar just announced the release in the USA of Tatsu. I don't know what it will cost. But from an end results/fish in the boat standpoint, it doesn't matter." High praise indeed from a well respected bassmaster. The product description on ***.com reads as follows: "Like the flexible, lithe, and armored scales of a dragon (tatsu means dragon in Japanese), Seaguar Tatsu Fluorocarbon has a tough, but soft exterior, which hides incomparable inner strength." This really fired my imagination. Would I like to battle bruiser smallies with a dragon protecting my presentation? Of course. Would I care to spend $36.99 for 200 yards of reptilian ruggedness? Uh, no. How about on sale for $26.39? That I could rationalize - barely. With guilt I clicked on add to cart for a spool of 6 lb. And, hand to forehead, a spool of 8. Well hey, let's go fishing. The day started cool and gray with Quabbin's surface mostly unruffled. I had the pleasure of fishing with Bassmaster Brad again who is both a gentleman and a very savvy smallie guy. We spent the morning fishing Brad's spots which you can access from either Gate 43 or Gate 31. Brad, using a Silver Buddy was having a multi-species morning featuring smallies, lakers and Yup. That is a landlocked salmon. I too had been throwing a blade bait but neither the fish nor I were getting good vibrations. Hmph. Can't say that Brad was front ending me (not that he would under any circumstances) because we were fishing flats offshore mainly, working 10' - 20' depths. I decided to try one of the baits I pour, paint and dress. I liked the looks of this jig head from the 3/16 oz. cavity of Do-It's Tapered Tube jig mold. To fish legally in Massachusetts I used the 281 alloy from rotometals.com which is 58% bismuth and 42% tin and weighs about 25% less than lead. It's dressed with bucktail and a few strands of pearl Krystal Flash. And I'll tell ya, with that Z-Man Elaztech Split Tail Trailer, it sure looked sexy undulating through the water. Here's a bass that thought so too: This fish came unexpectedly. I had switched my rod to my left hand so I could grab the net and hand it to Brad. While doing this, the rod came to life. So now I know a smallmouth will pick up a jig dragging bottom. Why not try the 1/8 oz. (alloy = 3/32 oz.) ball jig with eyes. (I like the eyes - I don't believe the fish care one way or the other.) Pleased to meet you! There are two grizzly hackles running down the top of this jig. Feathers can be fragile but these stood up to five smallies chewing on them and will fish another day. Brad tied on a black jig with a few strands of Wapsi Flashabou Accent. And so it went for a couple of hours mid - late morning. Unfortunately I was not able to reciprocate with fish on my spots. Maybe next week when the water is a few degrees warmer. Today we fished 47º - 51º . . . slowly. Considering the lack of wind and not much sun, I was well satisfied with the day's net results. Thank you, Bassmaster Brad, for your excellent company and fine net work.

That's one stout smallie.

Terrific start to your season, Mainebass! Am looking forward to more reports of your hawg bustin' adventures. WW

Well done, A-Jay!

I'm expecting the water temp in Quabbin Reservoir to be around 50º when I get out for my first trip this season so I'll start with vibrating baits (as Barlow's calls a Silver Buddy type lure). I'll be throwing hair, swing football and Bio-Silk skirted jigs as well. The Duo Realis Spin Bait 80, a slow moving bait by design, produced very well for me last year and I'm thinking a few chilled-out smallies might catch up with that. Of course I'll be carrying 4" Senkos to wacky rig and deadstick if the smallies are in a sulky mood. The 3700 box labeled "Topwater" will be staying home until the water temp. nears 60º.

That's a meticulous tie. Thanks for the recipe.

Reread what smalljaw67 said. Every word is true. You must be patient and keep at it. If you get frustrated when your first few turn out looking like a haircut on a punk rocker, don't throw the vise out a closed window, just leave the bench for a while. The most difficult part of tying is applying the right tension initially to spread the hair around the shank. You want to be relaxed but alert at the same time. Work slowly and observe what your material is doing. More tension needed? Less tension? Once you've got the hair where you want it, increase tension with each wrap. My preference is to do each jig in four segments: top, each side and then the bottom. These are the very basics of tying but as you go along you will pick up the finer points, your speed will increase and you will proceed with fluidity. When you sit down to tie, go with the philosophy that "It'll be done when it's done." Be patient with yourself and believe that repetition is a key to learning.

Quality fish! Well done.

I have been using the "regular 80s" and have enjoyed considerable success with them. I'm curious how the OP does with them. Anyone interested in this strange looking little bait can read through this post from last season to see how I set up with them to maximize their magic. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/140083-clear-water-smallies-on-the-first-day-of-summer-62114/

Let us know how you do with the Spin Bait 80s.

I use several: [expletive deleted] and [expletive deleted] and [expletive deleted] .

I haven't thrown them much since I tried LC Pointers, but have done well with Bomber suspending jerkbaits. They cast well on baitcasting gear with 10 lb. copoly and you can buy 3 for the price of 1 Pointer. Try 'em.

Those look good.

I know there are 7 lb. smallmouth swimming in Quabbin Reservoir . . . If it's not asking too much I'd like to catch one on one of the jigs or blade baits I've made.

I haven't fished the Structure Bug but the Biffle Bug appealed to two smallies in the 4 lb. class last year (along with a few smaller ones). I rigged it on a football swing jig for rocky bottoms and T-rigged to get it through weeds.

I mold my own cylinder shaped ds weights but the standard line pinching swivel is a low quality piece of hardware. Before molding I check each swivel to ensure that it doesn't stick at some point in its rotation. Even a good one does not spin all that freely. I'm running expensive Sunline fluoro on my reel and to ensure that it doesn't get trashed in a hurry, I tie a size 10 Spro-Gamakatsu swivel about a foot above the bait. With this arrangement I have no worries. http://www.barlowstackle.com/SPRO-Gamakatsu-Power-Swivels-P858C122.aspx

Deepen your inventory of go-to baits. Say you're down to your last bag of GYCB 5" Hula Grubs in color #176, why don't you get two more bags? And how about Gamakatsu 1/0 Octopus Circle hooks for wacky rigging? Got enough? And hey . . . maybe now's the time to try spybaiting so you'll want a Duo Realis Spin Bait 80 in the Komochi Wakasagi color. Of course you'll want to optimize your presentation of this amazing little offering so you will need a St. Croix 7' ML rod and a Shimano Stradic 2500 which you will fill with Sunline Sniper FC - 6 lb. What was that amount again? $500.00?

Before the 6.0 lb. smallie in my avatar pic had her photo op she had a wacky rigged 4" Senko in her mouth. Color #297. #194 works well too.