bassman1282

Any updates on the bass fishing from anyone who has been out in the past few days? Looking for some advice for the big bass bash this weekend. Thanks.

Thanks for the response. Even with the rebate, dang that's an expensive transducer. Maybe I'll just buy the new 7 HDI which comes with the transducer, move the HDS-5 to the bow and not worry about having SS/DSI up there. Thanks!

yeah, I saw that video too...now I just need some help on what I have to do to make mine work like that...anyone???

I have an HDS-5 Gen 1 on my boat currently using the standard transducer that came with the unit. I bought the unit when the HDS line first came out several years ago and structure scan/down imaging was not available on anything. I was under the impression at the time that the units would later be able to support structure scan with the purchase of a different transducer. I don't know if that understanding was correct or not. Here are my questions: Will my HDS-5 gen 1 support structure scan and/or down imaging at all? If so, what do I need to purchase/do to make that possible? Last, if possible with the purchase of a different transducer, is that transducer going to be a transom mount or does it have to be thru-hull? Thanks for any help guys.

baits look good, especially the bluegill. But my question is, where did you get the thing you've got holding the bait in that one picture? That looks a lot easier than me holding it by hand and painting with the other.

im painting suspending jerkbaits, so I want to take as much of the stock paint off as possible before adding my own plus a heavy epoxy topcoat

anyone have a trick for removing stock paint from a hardbait other than sanding it?

The mold makes no difference, the problem is in the pot. Soft lead. I use a standard 10lb Lee Melting pot. I usually have the heat turned up all the way, so maybe I am just getting too much heat. Also, I will give the fluxing a shot.

For you melters and pourers, I am hoping you have run into this problem because the explanation is going to sound weird and it is pi#$ing me off to no end. Recently I have been having more than average problems pouring lead out of my pot. It gets clooged a lot more and it seems like when I do make a head, the lead looks purple-ish or yellowish in certain spots and is not the same good hard consistency as lead. Also, when pouring, sometimes the stream of lead will literally harden in mid air and kind of look like a piece of tinsel or something. There are times when the "good" lead actually drips from the spout through a "skin" of this crappier looking stuff. Also, when I pour it into bars, the bottoms of the bars look all purple ish and grainy and dont look like good smooth lead. Finally, I seem to scoop a ton of yellowish stuff off the top of the lead pool inside the pot. I realize that it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that I have probably got a bad batch of lead, but its the same stuff that I have used for some time without these kinds of problems. Is there any other explanation for this? And can I do anything to "purify" this stuff? Any help is greatly appreciated, I am really on my last nerve. Thanks.

thanks

another question for you long time melters/pourers......I have a Lee melting pot with the spout on the bottom. The fist few times I used it, it worked great. About the 4th time, the metal starting dripping from the spout, and then all but quit coming out when I lifted the lever. I know that the metal was hot enough because it was just about red hot and the melter was turned up all the way. My suspicion is that some impurities or sediment from the lead is clogging it up. This creates two questions: Most importantly, what do you guys do when you have this problem? Also, do you ever completely empty your pot to clean it? How do you do that if the metal wont come out the bottom, and how do you clean it out? Any other help would be great, thanks guys.

i just got back into pouring jigs and shaky heads in a big way...the only thing I hate is having to trim the excess lead off the top of the head and then filing it so that there arent any points from trimming. Anyone found an easier, more efficient way?

just to paint a regular production crankbait or one of the bodies you can get from Jann's, i estimate paint, epoxy, hooks and other hardware to cost around 5 bucks. That is with good hooks and it doesnt include the cost of the actual bait itself. Honestly, it isnt worth it price wise, but not many hobbies are.

Yeah, thats Beeee-utiful. Nice job.

Ernel, funny to hear you are just getting back into it. I'm doing the same after taking off for the summer and a little longer. You mentioned glitter, do you put your glitter in the epoxy or topcoat when you apply it, or how do you get the glitter on your baits? Those look really nice btw, gonna try something like that tonight