smalljaw67

Every single jig will fall over, even the ones that have flat spots for the head to land on. There is no reason to worry and if you really want to see how the jig is going to perform, do the tank test but once it hits bottom count to 3 and then give it a hop and see how it falls and the way it lands, that will tell you all you need to know. I make a flipping jig that is a wedge head design, it couldn't stand up even if it was on a perfectly level surface and I don't expect it to, what it does for me is all on the fall, it falls a little different and 99 times out of 100 the fish is going to hit the jig as it falls. I thing the stand up jig is over rated, but it is because I don't dead stick a jig, plastics yes, jigs no. When the jig I'm fishing hits bottom I wait for 3 seconds and give it a small lift and drop or a shake and then bring it in for another cast, but the most important part of the presentation is the fall. When I'm using a football jig, I'm dragging it, I use heads that have a 60 degree flat eye hook so the line tie is pointing up and as I drag the jig I'm actually pulling the hook down forcing the back of the jig to periodically move up and fall down as I stop. The jig you have will work you just have to realize that the fall is more important, I even select trailers to determine the fall rate of my jig. For example if I'm fishing a 1/2oz jig around a laydown I'll probably use a beaver type jig trailer for bulk, if that doesn't produce a strike I'll change the trailer to a chunk like a strike king denny brauer or zoom super chunk, what this is going to do is make the jig appear less bulky and give it a smaller profile but it is also going to let my jig fall a little faster as the chunk doesn't create as much drag as the beaver style bait. The smaller profile and faster fall is meant to cause a reaction strike, the fish sees a smaller offering moving fast, it has to let it go or hit it and usually it hits it. So don't worry, most jigs do fall over, just concentrate on the fall and you'll catch them.

I use on that is 7.0:1 with 28" IPT and I love it but I also love burnning spinnerbaits (which happens to be myy favorite bait). I have also used my Quantum Smoke 150 7.3:1 34" IPT and I really like that one too. The reason is like I said before, I love burnning spinnerbaits but my older hands don't like it so much so the faster reel are great as I can reel the bait at a normal pace and it is still going pretty good and I don't think it feels weak or strained in any way even but the spinnerbaits I use for burnning have downsized blades.

I've fished jigs with and without rattles and while I'm not sure of any real difference the rattle makes, I still like them for dirty water conditions. Like I said, I'm not sure if they do help but I do have more confidence using a rattle in dirty water and that makes a difference so I will use them for that purpose. I know guys that use them all the time and others that don't use them at all and it comes down to being confident in what you are doing, if you feel you get more bites using it then keep on using them, it may or may not make a difference to the fish but it will make a difference to you and how you fish.

I hear you on that, the color part isn't as bad as there are a number of good painters who can duplicate colors for you but when a bait goes it is hard to replace. The only thing is plastic baits can be done pretty well by the right person, I really liked the Guido Bug craw baits, they were the best flipping and pitching craws and they got discontinued but a friend on mine now makes them and they are identical to the original.

Nice build!!! I loike the reel seat and guide choice, and the reflective tape is a nice touch that probably helps a little bit with balance. That is some really nice work, great job.

Cadman, that is a custom color skirt, it is rootbeer with green pumpkin striping and red and green fleck, the same thing with the craw, it is a custom color, medium green pumpkin with blue claws and the color blue happened by accident when I was working with the company to make it for me. They had some green mixex and added some blue and shot it to see how much more blue I wanted and it came out perfect! As for the Snootie, well the smallest size I make is the 3/8oz, I do want to get the other mold but things keep getting in my way and it gets pushed back.

I use a bag with utility boxes, this is the best system for me as I add and subtract boxes depending on where I'm fishing. For example, I have a little more than 2 doxen 3700 series utility boxes that I store my lures in at home and I actually have boxes made up according to seasons. Right now my traval bag contains 3 boxes that I have labeled "Spring", one box has finesse jigs and flipping jigs along with trailers, the 2nd box has nothing but suspending jerkbaits, and the 3rd box has flat sided cranks, square bill cranks, and finesse cranks like the #5 and #7 shad raps. In a week or so I'll switch the suspending jerkbait box with a box labeled "Transition", that box contains floating model jerkbaits like my Smithwick Rogues, Rapala Flat Raps, and Yo-Zuri Crystal minnows along with a few topwater baits like poppers and walking baits but the smaller versions. As the season progresses I will switch out boxes that contain the baits I need based on water temps and seasonal patterns and by having a bag with seperate boxes it saves me a lot of time as I don't have to stock and restock a hard box, instead I simply switch out boxes, this keeps my tackle selection down to a reasonable level so I'm not taking the kitchen sink with me.

This is a picture of a new finesse jig I'm making right now, this one is a 1/8oz round head but I also made one in a 3/16oz. The color pattern is what I call early craw, the craw trailer is a Jakes Craw from River Rock Baits, this looks killer in the water.

What has been working for you? Have you caught any fish with them yet? I ask those questions because if you don't narrow it down you'll get thousands or answers as we all have our favorite crankbaits. If you are just getting started with cranks I think you'll want to go with shallow running baits and progress to deeper offerings as you get better using them Any of the liplees variety will do well for you, I prefer one knockers like the Rapala Clackin' Rap for colder water/spring and the Bill Lewis Rattle Trap for ripping through weeds in the warmer months. Good shallow running cranks to get are the Manns baby 1 minus, the Manns baby X, Strike King KVD 1.5, Rapala DT Fat 1 and Fat 3.

Goose52 summed it up perfectly, yes you aren't going to take 3 scales and get exact nubers but they are close enough for the purpose. If I catch a big bass and weight it on my Rapala digital scale and it weighs 7lbs. 8oz. on the Berkley scale it may be 7lbs. 10oz, either way I know the fish was 7.5lbs as I know it is within an ounce or 2. Now if catch a record you need to go to a supermarket or post office in order to get a reading on a ceriticed scale but that is a different ball game and the other thing is if you bang them around it will throw them off, I take care of mine and check the accuracy after every trip that I use it.

The line is an area you need to look at and I would use a split ring, no snap. The other thing is to work the bait on slack line, and while I can't walk the dog with a cranking rod it doesn't mean you can't but I prefer a fast action rod as I have more control but I do sacrifice some fish but I feel I get more strikes as I can work the bait better so it is a trade off.

I've witnessed that too and last season I lost one at the boat that was half and half, the front was normal and from behind the dorsal fin back it was completely black! My heart was broke after losing that fish as I've seen the spots but never an entire section.

I just gave my grandson the exact same rod, SJR722 GL3 and it is great for skipping. Another rod to look at is the Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth 6'3" M-F, they also have a 6'3" MH-F but the medium is more versatile and I bet it would be a skipping machine!

I have no problem with foam, the new foam is much more dense and I doubt it is any more absorbant than cork. My earliest rod with foam is from '07 and it is still in great shape but it wasn't cheap either so I know for a fact a good grade of foam will last a good while.

X2 !!!

I have an XML, an XMLTi, and a Fish Eagle 2 and all of them are very good rods. Cabelas does a great job with service also, you break a rod or just don't like it then take it back, now if you don't like it you only got 60 days but rods like the Fish Eagle have a 20 year warranty on defects.

I know a lot like glass but I just can't get past the weight, especially if you're working a jig or a worm and something happens and the bite turns on and you pull off the bank and pick up that cranking rod. If you don't think it sounds like a big deal fish a good graphite rod for 1 hour and then pick up a good glass rod, the difference on paper doesn't seem like much but when you get use to that light weight rod the glass will feel like 10 pounds. Do the same thing only fish with the glass rod and then pick up the graphite and see how accurrate your cast are. I tell you this as I was looking for a cranking stick and my friend swears by glass so I went out to see how well this glass rod was and it did the job, the fish stayed hooked up and it was pretty good until I picked up my graphite worm rod, my first 3 casts sailed about 20 feet past my target, the worm rod felt like it weighed only an ounce so that was it for me with glass, just too plain heavy.

What I found surprising with these relatively cheap digital scales is they are all fairly accurate and when I say accurate I'm talking within 2oz most of the time. I used to be a technician testing material that goes into concrete like sand, and stone and I used to have the bureau of weights and measures in all the time to certify the scales I used and when they would get new equipment I would get the old calibrating weights which were still good but the state says new equipment new weights so it was a win for me. Anyway, I found that the most accurate of the digital scales was the Rapala lock and weigh, it averaged to be within less than an ounce based on 1 lb, 5lb and 10 lb weights, the next was a Berkley lip grip with was almost the same as the Rapala and the worst of the 3 was an X-Tools scale but it still was within an ounce and that is pretty good for digital scales less than 100 bucks.

I have a 6'6" M and it was purchased as something I can use as an all purpose rod when fishing out of the small boat so if it got broke it wouldn't hurt too bad but it now goes with me on all my trips. It is a good rod no doubt and it fishes well above its price point, not too many rods you can get at that price that perform as well.

It is true you don't need to spend $300 dollars on a casting reel to learn with but I do suggest a good one, something in the $120 - $200 range. The reason is simple, it doesn't require a lot of arm movement to get a decent cast with a good reel and that is the number one problem I see with beginners, they try to "throw" the lure like you do with a spinning reel and the end result is a mess. There are a ton of things written about setting brakes and all that you can find to help you get started but the main thing is get good equipment and use less arm. I don't want to offend anyone, but I fished with a friend who has an Abu Silver Max, it is ok but that is for someone experiened, to someone starting out I wouldn't even consider it and the reason is the same with most value priced reels, in order to get good casts you need to really lay off the brakes as the free spool isn't great and that is a backlash waiting to happen for a new angler, the better reels have much better spool start up and free mode so extra brakes help with the backlash but it still lets you get a little distance. I also recommend practicing for a few hours in your yard or where ever you can besides on a body of water as you don't want to go fishing and spen a day frustrated insted of enjoying. Todays reels are more user friendly than what I had to learn with 30 years ago but there is still a learning curve, if you are willing to spend a few hours practicing it will help you become a more well rounded angler but there are a lot who are completely comfortable using nothing but spinning and thats ok too, but just the fact you are wondering about casting tells me you want more out of fishing and you have come to the right place.

You could ask on the websire www.tackleunderground.com in the wire baits section or you could go to www.tjstackle.com and get one of his with the pump for about $10 dollars more than what it will cost you to build one. Trust me, the one Tj's sells is made well and it saves a lot of time and it isn't expensive, that is the big question as I've seen them selling for over 100 bucks but not at Tj's.

I'm betting the problem is the rod. You say you have a medium action rod, I have heard that phrase so many times that it makes my ears bleed when I hear someone say it. What I bet you are using is a medium powered rod and most likely a fast action, kind of like what I use for jerkbaits. The problem with that is the fast action of the rod will cost you fish, especially if you are'nt experienced in how you need to use the rods leverage to keep from pulling the hooks free and that is were a crankbait rod is so nice as the parabolic bend keeps pressure on the fish without fail. A fast action rod makes it tough because you only get a little flex before you hit the backbone of the rod and it makes it real easy to overpower the fish and just pull the hooks free from the fish no matter how good the hook set, the medium power is a little more forgiving but for someone who doesn't have a ton of time with treble hooked baits it doesn't make it any easier. A crankbait specific rod will really help but if you can't afford one don't worry, there is still more that you can do but first you need to get rid of the line you have, good flouro or braid with crankbaits on a fast action rod is asking for trouble, get yourself a good mono, the added stretch of mono is a good thing in a case such as yours because when the fish surges and gets to the backbone of the rod the stretch in the line will provide enough give that the fish will stay hooked, you'll still lose the occasional fish but it will be a lot better than what you got going on right now.

There is no single retrieve, size or color that is best, instead you match conditions to what is needed at the time. Take those big colorado bladed spinnerbaits and fish them in clear wat, I've watched guys do that and then claim they aren't hitting a spinnerbait so I tie on a double willow leaf model and burn the bait about a foot under the surface and a 3lb smallie hammers it. Ever wonder why wind makes for a good spinnerbait bite? There are 2 reasons, one, the wind produces waves and it moves the photoplankton around which gets the baitfish moving around and that generally makes the predator fish move also. The other reason has to do with the wave action again but it is ripples affect on light that makes all the difference. I really believe that not only does the ripple action break up the outline of the spinnerbait, it also makes for some massive flash as the light hitting the blades comes from different angles due to the waves and because of it the flash due is sent off in different directions so you get a look of a school of biatfish or maybe the scales shimmering from an injured fish, either way it does get them to bite. Those big colorado blades are great in stained or dirty water, the added vibration helps fish hone in on the target and there fore will generate more strikes than a bait made to produce flash since the light penetration isn't as great in stained water the vibration will be what the fish sense first, not the visual side which is flash. In general a 3/8oz bait is something you can use all the time and a double willow for clear water and a colorado for dirty water, you can even go with an indiana for just stained water as well as clear but there are to many variables to have a single best spinnerbait or retrieve or color period.

I never have done that as presentations vary a lot between seasons but I can tell you I fished a specific body of water about 20 times in a season and not once did I use a soft plastic bait. 2008 I got a late start to the season as I was undergoing cancer treatment for quite some time and by the time I was well enough to fish it was mid spring and the jerkbait bite was on, after that it was post spawn and during that time the fish are spread out so you almost have no choice but to use moving baits as the only way to find fish is by covering water. Once the summer hit I fished the river most of the time and found a lot of rain made the water dark so it was single blade spinnerbaits slow rolled on the bottom and it stayed like that right through the fall and it was back to jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. On small bodies of water you can do that very easily and what will happen is you will start to see patterns of where you're getting bit and where you aren't, you'll also find cover you didn't know was there as it is submerged and then you can slow down when you find those spots. I know you think you need that c-rig to search but thruth be told, it is slow going because even though the bait is moving, it is doing so by means of a slow drag followed by a pause and another slow drag. It will help you find fish but not nearly as fast as a spinnerbait or crankbait will and don't forget topwater, buzzbaits draw a lot of fish to the top and while you may not ccatch all that hit, it will give you a clue as to the location of the fish.

When I find baits that work for me I'll keep a bunch on hand and if I hear of one getting discontinued I'll buy up all I can find so I have enough that will last for a few years. I just found a new craw that works really well on my finesse jig set up and since it is a small company I got 50 bags so I don't run out for at least 2 years.