smalljaw67

You can swim any jig and it will work fine but a specialized swim jig is made to go throught cover and the 30 degree hook that most use allow the jig to comethrough the water fairly level while a flipping style jig may run a little different. The most popular styles for swimming are the bullet shaped heads and the modified round head which is simply a round head jig with detailed sides and using a 30 degree hook, it is the hook position that makes it ideal for swimming but any jig you like to swim will work.

I have a bunch of floating plastics, I even have a few bags of the Terminator snap back plastics that really float but don't get them near another soft plastic. That said I don't use the floating plastics too much and when I do it is only the warm weather months that I do and there is good reason. Floating worms can be fantastic but I've also had them hurt my fishing and I proved it to myself by switching out to a sinking type worm and I started hooking fish were I was missing them, what was happening is the fish often will grab the tails of a floating plastic. Yes, they work well but worms loaded with salt are still around for a reason, and it is because they are tools just as floating worms are so don't concern yourself with worrying about how well a worm floats, try it out and see if it catches fish in the situations you want it to catch fish.

I use a fast reel for lipless cranks as I like to yo-yo them so I need to pick up slack quick but a 5.5:1 can be used for anything, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits as well as shallow diving and square bills. I remember when 5.1:1 was considered fast but in all hoesty I do all my cranking now with a 6.3::1 reel but my deepest cranking is only done with a DT 14 and a DT 16 which is rare, and there are pros like Randy Mcabee who use a 7.1:1 for all their cranking. The reason for the low gear ratio is they have more torque so it makes it a little easier but todays reels are much smoother so they don't ever get too hard to crank.

The KVD 1.5 is great for fishing shallow points, especially if rock or wood is on them, I like those on shallow points as the 1.5 and the 2.5 dive deeper than a lot of square bills, they run a little better than 4' deep. For stump flats and around rip rap I like the Rapala DT Fat 3 and in colder water or high pressure situations, the Rapala DT Flat 3, both of those are killers as they deflect off cover really well and the Fat really displaces a lot of water. I really can't say one is better because to me they are 2 different tools for different jobs but both are great.

Tackle Warehouse has them, they are fantastic binders.

Here is what I think you should start with as it will cover you pretty good especially if you are fishing from shore. Get a single blade buzzbait like the original lunker lure and a popper, a good one to get is the chug bug and there is a reason. This selection will give you both a fast moving bait and a slow bait that you can work quick once you learn how to use it. The reason for the chug bug specifically is that it is a quality bait that won't break the bank and the most important thing is that it is a popper that will also walk the dog and it will do it fairly easy. Yes, there are really a lot of other great brands and better baits but to learn, these will be perfect I would think and I like them so much I still use both Lunker Lure buzzbaits and the chug bugs, well I have a box with just those so I really like them. Anyway, you will learn to walk the dog quicker and easier with keeping the cost down and you'll have effective baits.

This is great advise, the medium light is great as it will handle the small baits and will be fun to fish but it will also handle a larger fish should you get one bigger than you expected.

For me it is a combination of things but if I'm fishing light pads or brush with a 1/4oz or 3/8oz jig I'll stay with a MH but if I'm going to use 1/2oz jig or heavier then I'll go with the heavy. I'll also use the heavy is I'm fishing a 3/8oz jig around dead falls that have a lot of limbs, the reason is I'll be using heavier line as the limbs are pretty strong unlike the britte and whippy limbs on brush. If you think you'll need to really horse a fish out of cover using a heavy jig then you may want to use the heavy power.

I use a solid black jig a lot, in fact I even tie all black hair jigs because it will work in clear or dirty water. I call black and white universal colors as they work in all water clarity and they are both natural colors but I prefer the black when it comes to bottom contact baits.

I use my Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth 6'9" medium power extra fast action spinning rod for throwing senkos, the rod loads up perfectly to make casting and skipping effortless and it is very sensitive and the extra fast action makes it great for hard hook sets to drive the hook home through dense plastics when texas rigged yet still forgiving enough to keep fish pinned when hooked with a small octopus hooks used with a wacky rig. The best part is you get a high quality rod without breaking the bank.

Ike is still using Veritas rods, in fact I even saw 2 Vendettas on his deck but I never saw him use a Verdict or Villian so I guess they stick with what they like.

The first thing to do is get a tax i.d. number from the i.r.s. , once you have that it will allow you to buy supplys direct and save money, the downside is you will need to incorporate the excise tax, which is 10%, onto every thing you sell and if you sell through a middleman you'll have to leave room for him to make at least 30% to 35% which is pretty much the standard which means you don't really make too much money compared to how much work you put into it. I also hate to tell you this but if you are pouring lead and manufacturing the baits at home, well you may be ok for awhile but eventually the local authorities are going to get involved and then you'll end up with zoning issues, they might say ok to small scale manufacturing but if you are going to be doing things like spin casting well they will shut you down quick and force you to find a place in an industraial park or some other area zoned for manufacture. Your best bet is to stay small and put the money up front and get the tax i.d. number and get a website and pay for the ability to take credit cards and sell direct, the reason for that is you'll make more over time on a small scale as you won't have to sell at 35% less for a tackle store to eat up your profit margin but the tackle shop will get more attention to your product in a short amout of time so you may want to do that at first, just don't sign an exclusivity contract or any contract that you have to provide them with tackle first, give yourself the ability to get out if you can't make money from the retail shop. Good luck on your venture to the next level.

Jigman has you covered, the only thing I'll add is that when you glue the weedguard in you will do better with super glue gel, the regular stuff like crazy glue has a tendency to wick up the fibers of the weedguard but gel works great.

There are 2 different kinds of Cordell spots, there are ones that are packached in a bubble pack on cardboard, those are just the Cordell spots that are always at walmart, Dicks, or Academy sports on sale and then there are the super spots that are in a box and sell for arond 2.99 each. The super spots are denser and sink better than the cheaper spots and they are louder. I prefer the Xcalibur one knockers and the Rapala clackin rap but when I need the rattles I reach for the super spot, they use few but slightly larger BB's which make it sound different than a rattle trap. For sizes I prefer 1/2oz to 3/4oz for the one knockers and 1/4oz for the super spots, there are a few reasons but the details will bore most here but of you're only familar with the spot sold on the cardboard bubble pack then do yourself a favor and try the super spot sold in a box, royal shad and chrome/black back are the only 2 patterns you'll need.

I have a RAM 1500 quadcab with the 6.4 bed, what I do when transporting them is I use a cargo stop and I mount it forward toward the cab leaving about 8" from the back of the bed. I have it in there so the stop is just below the bed rail and when you have it like that you can put the butt end of you rods on the floor of the bed by the tailgate and then prop the rod tip up on the cargo stop so the rods will be at a 45 degree angle. Once you have that you can use bungies with a towel and secure the rods so they don't slide around and just so you know, a cargo stop is a simple rod that adjust to fit tightly against the sides of the bed, top keep loads from sliding around.

The 8" you can use a 3/0 to 5/0 and a 12" worm you could probably go up to at least an 8/0 but for my own preference I use a 4/0 on any worm over 7" and a 5/0 on a 10" worm , I don't use over a 10" worm but if I did I would go with a 6/0 only because I know I could go with a larger hook on the 10" worms I use.

I'm not sure the wind is a factor when it comes to using a rattle but the rattle version may weigh more making it easier to cast. I hate the wind when it gets going but some of my best days with a jerkbait was during windy trips with a good chop on the water. In the warmer months the wind circulates and oxygenates the water and moves algae which gets the whole food chain moving so sometimes wind is a good thing.

The above explanation is spot on!! Swimbaits that are ultra realistic are great when you are in clear and/or heavy fishing pressue situations. When fish see all kinds of swimbaits in a day they become conditioned but the ultra real looking one may just be the ticket to get a bite. The big hammer tails have a thicker boot with a square shape, that shape really catches the water giving it a bigger kick and body roll and that displaces more water so in a situation of fishing stained water or fishing fast for a reaction bite the big hammer makes it easy for the fish to find it and set up ambush as they know it is coming from a good distance away.

Super glue gel is what I use on small weedguards and after that anything else is 2 part epoxy just because it is water proof and has superior holding power. That said I do use regular super glue also, I use ie when I tie and jig that has hair, what I do is when I sttart my thread I make about 5 or 6 wraps and then I put a drop of regular super glue on the threads to lock them in place but after that I really don't have any other uses for it.

This is excellent advise!!! The main factor for me which dictate whether I'm using a jig or T-rigged plastic is the water clarity, dirty water is almost always a jig but if the bite it tough I'll switch to the T-rigged plastic. I've also had days in clear water when all I was catching smaller fish on the plastic so I opted for a finesse jig for a slightly bulkier presentation and it worked, it cost me some numbers but quality improved. There is no rules when it comes to fishing but Big-O gave you the best explination.

The Speed spool is a better reel, when it comes to casting reels, anything at the 100 dollar price point will be head and shoulders above an 80 dollar reel. If you had a MH $350 Loomis and whipped a sidearm cast into another rod you would either break it or damage it significantly, even though it is a Berkley lightning rod it is still graphite, not a fiberglass rod which would take more abuse. That said, return the reel and the rod and you should have $120 or so which can get you a decent rod, you just need to look at what you are going to use more as you aren't going to do well trying to run crankbaits with a MH-F rod nor are you going to fish texas rigged worms with a fiberglass granking stick or a moderation action graphite stick.

The 4" fluke I use a 3/0 "j" style worm hook which is what all worm hooks used to be until the EWG style came along. The regular worm hook in a 3/0 rigged texas style with no weight is a good way to fish them with plenty of hook. When slug-o baits came out in the '80s I was using the 4.5" and the fist time out I was getting bit left and right but I would only hook 1 out of 5 because I thought a 2/0 hook was bit enough, so I switched to the 3/0 and I was still getting bit like crazy but thise time I was catching everything that hit it and you'll do well too with the fluke once you go with a 3/0 or 4/0. I use the 4/0 and occasionally the 5/0 in the 5.25" super fluke so go a little bigger on the hook and you'll be killing them in no time!!

I have a stash of them myself and I also have nice collection of the Manipulator worms. The Augertails I have in 1 color, motoroil and while I haven't used them on a dropshot I have caught a lot of fish on it with a shaky head. The only reason I wouldn't use it on a drop shot is it doesn't float so that big tail wouldn't have too much action but not having tried I couldn't say for sure but on a shaky head all but a few fish came when I picked it up and let it fall, not many just using the shaking method so the tail action is what makes this worm attract fish but if you try it let us know if you have success.

Welcome!!! I'm in PA also, the east central area.

Don't go by that specific lure deal on those rods, they are all s-glass rods with identical actions with the only difference being the length and power so if you want to throw 1/2oz lipless cranks then go with the MH square bill rod that is rated 1/4-3/4, this will handle just about any type of crank except the really deep diving models like the DT 16 or anything deeper or heavier. The only word of caution is that if you never used a glass cranking rod before, you need to fish with it before passing judgement as these are heavier than graphite rods but a good margin and they have a dead feel to them but they can't be beat for fighting a fish hooked on trebles.