smalljaw67

Barlows Tackle, LPO (lure parts online), Janns Netcraft, Hagens, Zeiners Bass Shop, and Lure Craft and Luremaking.com, that is just to name a few.

I only use silicone skirt material for spinnerbaits, what you probably heard is rubber material has more action, and it is true, rubber will "breath" on a stop and go retrieve much more than silicone and it seperates faster in the water but silicone flows better. What I mean by that is if you have a spinnerbait and you want to throw it in weeds the silicone is going to flow back and keep a slimmer more natural profile, there are pros and cons to both but the one thing I like best about silicone is you don't need special storage and you don't get the clumpy mess the first time you pull the jig or spinnerbait out of the box after the winter. I was on board with silicone when I found out it doesn't melt and clump together.

To flip you need a longer rod and if the cover is thick you should move up to a heavy power. I often fish pads with a 6'10" heavy but I'm roll casting from 30 feet away because of clear water but flipping is a long rod technique.

Suspending jerkbait or a hair jig, it just depends on water clarity and temp.

Very addicting and while I don't make soft plastics I do pour jig heads, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, and I tie hair jigs with the jig heads I pour. I started with a little hot pot, a spinnerbait mold and some ready made skirts and blades and now I have 30 molds, a bottom pour pot, a pot just to melt lead and make ingots, thousands of blades, pound and pounds of skirt material and thousands of hooks. You will not save money because your free time will be consumed trying to invent the ultimate color of softness, you'll end up with more molds than you can count and you have every color of glitter made in every size available, you will go to sleep thinking about making baits and everytime you see a cool car color it will translate into how you can get that color into a wom, yes, you will get addicted and spend more money than what you would if you just bought your baits.

5" is the winner, I use them for smallies and a lot of guys that were using the smaller 3" and 4" have now caught on to the 5" as it is the perfect senko size. Reason being is the bulk and length of the bait will attract a bigger bite for sure but it isn't so big that it turns off the quality 14" - 17" fish from hitting it.

6'3" to 6'10" is the range for me when it comes to topwaters with treble hooks and jerkbaits because I tend to slap the water or side of the boat with a 7' rod. I also feel like I can control the bait better using the shorter rod but one thing is I tend to use a medium power if the rod is a fast action, and the reason is flex. A medium rod is more forgiving so it will help you out fighting a fish hooked on trebles, you can always go with a moderare rod but too much flex and you lose control of the bait so I like to stay with a fast action. A moderate fast action rod that is close to fast is a rod that I would use in a medium heavy just because you get the added flex along with the added strength so it works out but I think you can get a good performing rod for topwaters in the $100 to 150 range and if you aren't finicky you can get some decent rods less than a hundered. I have a medium 6'6" 1st generation Vendetta and it is awesome for topwaters, I use it as an all purpose set up in the jon boat were I can't take 6 or 7 rods so I use 3 rods and the vendetta is one of them and I don't worry about it breaking, that is the best part!

If you are going to be using like 1/2oz and under and like the shorter rod then look at the Fenwick Elite Tech smallmouth casting rod, 6'3" medium power, medium fast action. This rod is awesome for topwaters and jerkbaits, accurate caster and it has some surprising power that will let you work a 1/2oz spook jr with authority and still have the added flex to keep that barely hooked fish pinned. If you want a more powerful rod with a little more casting ability then look at the 6'10" MH - MF in the same Fenwick Smallmouth series, that is the rod that I currently use and it happend to be the most versatile reaction bait rod I ever used.

That is my favorite length, power, and action for spinnerbaits!! You can be super accurate with that length rod and if the sensitivty is ok, which I heard the crucials are preet good in that area, then you have a good senk rod. That length and power is what I call the "all purpose" rod but I use my 6'6" MH as a spinnerbait stick and another as my senko rod, I like it for clear water were I have to be back away from the cover to avoid spooking the fish so I'm too far for pitching yet I still need an accurate cast so the 6'6" is perfect for that kind of duty.

spinnerbaits are my favorite bait to use hands down day in and day out. After I learned how to really use the bait I could find one that had everything I was looking for so I started making them myself and it is what started me making lures. At first I tried the bullet and then the banana and the style H but it wasn't until I tried the Ultra Minnow that I found the right bait. The Ultra Minnow is one of the better designs I ever used, it comes through grass really well and it runs deeper than other baits that weigh the same. I can keep my spinnerbait near the bottom in 8' of water reeling as fast as I normally would go with a 3/4oz bullet head spinnerbait. The other attribute I like is the recessed eye sockets, I really believe in eyes on my baits and while they may or may not be the reason for a strike I still like to use them as I have confidence in baits with eyes. so I would say got with the ultra minnow mold, and if you need any help when it comes to components or any other question about building spinnerbaits, just let me know and I will be happy to help you.

Go with 4 power rod as it will handle your heavier jigs and T-rigs.

HookSetDon, you really can't make titanium spinnerbaits at home, at least not like a terminator. The reason you can't is titanium has to be tempered to get the "snap back" quality that a lot of anglers like because you never have to retune the bait. Think about it, if it snaps back then how do you bend it? The answer is you don't, and the same reason when you see a terminator with a loose swivel loop, you can't fix it, I used terminators when they first came out in an infomercial and I remember making a cast and the blade and swivel came off so I went to put a new one on and found out that you can bend them closed. The tempering process is complicated and requires high heat like that of a blast furnace so it is pretty much impossible for the home tackle maker.

My normal size tube for smallies is a 3.5" and that is because I like using them with the insert jighead. I will drop to a 3" when it gets tough and I even started making jig heads to fish a 2.5" and a 2.25" tube. I get my tubes which I believe to be the best tube I ever used from a small company called River Rock baits, they have a standard tube and a pro series that is super soft, so soft you could fish them on a snoopy rod and not feel the bite for 20 seconds and the fish won't spit it in fact it is the only tube I used in 35 years that you have to be careful as the fish will swallow it.

Depends on the use, I fish in cold weather and I don't trust the magnesium frames on reels like the MGX or the Steez. Yes, they are very good reels but I still like aluminum as I don't understand the whole magnesium, zaion and other forms of carbon, I hear guys that work in the business that say it is cost saving material so I don't understand the expense but it doesn't matter. Go with what you feel, if you want the magnesium and a more refined reel then go with the MGX, if you want a more conventional workhorse reel go with the Smoke. A lot don't care for Quantum but I have 2 Smoke reels for 2 years and I like them.

I can't say whether good or bad but from what I understand they all have slow actions and I really dlon't like work fishing with a parabolic rod.

Most of my rods are between $120 and $400 with my cheap rod being a $79.99 Abu Vendetta and I really like it, a good all purpose set up that I use in the small boat. That being said I found the villian on sale on Amazon for $117 but my friend told me not to do it and he let me use his....not good. I wouldn't call it junk but I like my cheap Vendetta a lot more, the reel seat feel ok on the Villian but I'm not sure it helps as there isn't much feel and it is heavy considering they claimed it was going to be mega light, it isn't. Quantum gets a bad rap from people, I even know guys that bust on the brand who never used it but I will stick up for them for a few things, in this case I won't, the EXO rod isn't what I would call fabulous, it does have better sensitivity and is light years lighter than the villian but over priced. If you can olny choose between the two the EXO would be a better choice, if you can choose something else then go that route.

X3!!!!

What is happening to you is all from improper heating and that is why I use a propane torch and I know the heat gun works better but for me the tourch helps as I can see the flame and where the heat is applied. What you need to do is begin counting in your head and remember what it was when you get one that comes out good. So, here you go from beginning to end, first, fluff the powder really well by shaking, grab the jig however you do it and hold over the heat while rotating it side to side and count, start with 5 or 6 and if you dip in the paint and find that it is stuck to the head but not glossed over then hit it with the heat and it will gloss over, then inspect it for areas that didn't take. A fluid bed helps a lot once you get the heat down, maybe it has happened or perhaps it didn't but eventually you will overheat one and get too much paint and when you cure it you will get a nipple on top of the head, a fluid bed really helps in preventing that. That is all you really can do, the rest is practice and time.

I thought only the shaky heads had the flat top? The football shaky head is the only mold I saw that uses a Trokar hook exclusively and that has a flat top, the regular weedless football head look like is has a recessed hook eye but no flat spot but I can't really tell from all the pics.

I agree with this statement, I was looking at the rods when Cabelas began selling the brand. This may get me beat up but cosmetics and balance are exactly what the Savvy offers, the blanks isn't great and for the performance it is way over priced. If you want to get into the Dobyns line then at least go with the Champion series, you can get the savvy performance from rods that cost a lot less.

You're even giving him grizzly hackle.....Maybe you should do mine instead of me doing them, I just use plain hackle.

That is pretty cool, if you stroke the jig the blade spins and you got a spoon basically but the blade would really move water behind that jig and get some attention, I like it. I bet if you could somehow weld a hook to the blade you'd have a dangerous combination!!

That is a custom mold and Barlows sell the jigs like that and I hate them, They are ok for swimmin in an around grass but if you are fishing them around wood such as limbs and dead falls well don't stop reeling. They do indeed fall flat and because of that they get hung if you stop them or in my case, try them as a flipping or casting style jig. I got a few heads thinking if they were good I'd get a similar mold cut but I saved money as I didn't like it. The same for spinnerbaits with the hidden weight, they aren't very good if you don't like using trailer hooks which I don't use.

Oh no, you are now in trouble, the next thing that will happen is you are going to get tired of buying heads so then you'll get a bottom pour melter and a couple of molds. Then you will start buying hooks by the 500 and 1000 ct boxes and have pouring sessions for 4 and 6 hours at a time then you'll be getting fluid beds and pounds of powder paint or vinyl or airbrush paint and then you'll be divorced and the only criteria for your next home is that it has a basement or work shed for you to keep maiking baits. Yes, this is an addiction that will spread and just wait until you get into hair jigs and then you end up with bucktails, thread, marabou, hackle, craft fur, and rabbit strips and so on and so on...... Welcome to the madness!!!!

I'll answer the only thing that hasn't been answered, and the answers is yes, there is a big difference between living rubber and regular silicone skirt material. Living rubber can be flat or round but nowadays most rubber you will see is round, it has more memory than silicone and it seperates or flairs out faster than silicone does when it goes into the water and which is why a lot of guys like it. The bad thing with rubber and why it has been replaced is number 1, it melts, if you store your baits in a box in the winter, it will be clumped up and a mess when you pull it out tio use again and the number 2 reason it was replaced is the colors are very limited, typically you get brown, blue, orange, yellow, red, and black but all base colors and when you see it used today it is usually a few strands of it along with silicone. I found some like rubber silicone but it only comes in a few colors but you don't have to worry about melting as it is silicone but it acts like rubber in the water and only one place sells it so far. It is call "bio-silk silicone" and it is sold by LPO or lure parts online, I use that with regular silicone for some extra action on my jigs but you need to buy at least 100 pieces of it to get a good price.