M-D

If you have not found this yet on rodbuilding.org, here you go... http://www.rodbuildi...y/buildjig.html I built mine based on this design, it is not 100% finished in this photo, still had to add the felt lining, rod tensioners and eyes for the thread... If you go to ebay and put in rod dryer in the search bar you will find a guy that sells rod dryers for around $30, I bought one and so far its working flawlessly. It comes with a chuck and one stand, he will sell you additional stands if you ask for them. I would suggest at least 1 additional.

Just my .02 worth... I have spoke with a couple of different users of the Ardent culling balls and both had them come apart in the livewell. I too was looking at them and the one big negative for me was the fact that you still have to either write down the number and corresponding weight or dig around in the livewell to figure out what one to replace. I don't want to be in my livewell anymore than absolutely necessary. I searched around and ended up going with Accu Cull. http://www.accucull.com/ I feel like the price was just a tad too much but it has performed to my expectations so far. One thing of note, on their website they advertise mounting it on the livewell lid but again this makes you spend too much time in the well. I came up with a mounting setup on the bottom of my rod locker lid that I think is a much better setup. I have the accu cull, scale and rule all together. The numbered float balls are lying loose in the bottom of the locker.

I prefer my jigs with rattles...

IMHO, color does not matter too much unless dealing with gin clear water. I prefer white as I can keep visual contact with it the best.

I have used guides many times over the years. Most of them were worth the expense...we caught fish, I learned some things about the lake and we all had fun. There have been a couple that I cannot say the same for. You need to do some research on each guide, ask them lots of questions, get recent references and CALL the references. Ask the guide about cancellation fees and issues such as using their equipment and bad weather issues. For the most part all the guides in a close area will conduct business alike but not always. For example, most guides will charge half or full day fees and that is based on a certain number of hours but one time when I was at Lake Fork I hired a guide for a full day and he told me that he would fish until I got tired of it...well guess what, we fished from sunrise till after sunset on two different lakes before I got tired!

I have a gen 1 and 2 and have no trouble with them.

Another vote cast for the Berkley XL / XT products.

+1 very well said.

In my experiences...mono or braid is preferred. I like mono, it floats. Go heavy on the line too if you are fishing in heavy weeds / mats. Early, late and periods during heavy overcast or rain are when I have my best results. Poor results during bright conditions. Action...I've had times where they want it worked very fast and other times where I had to throw it out and let it sit long periods with an occasional pop or two then sit until you can't take it any longer. Hope this helps, YMMV.

I like the Spro popping frog in white. It has great action and easier to see that it has disappeared than other colors. They do get water in them so you just have to squeeze them every couple of casts. I wish they could make the paint finish last longer too. I also like the Koppers live target frogs, they don't tend to get any water in them and the finish will last a long time but, IMO the trade off is essentially no action.

put me in at 40...thanks for the fun!

I use LH reels, made the switch many years ago and glad I did. Only way you will know if it is right for you is to try it.

Tackle box on wheels?

I am in the beginning stages of jig building. I bought pretty much everything needed to build them except the lead pot, borrowed from a buddy, which will run you $50 - $100. I only got one powder paint color, 100 hooks, one mold and enough skirts to make more than 100 jigs, wanted to play around with some different color schemes. I already had a toaster oven for curing paint and I built a fluid bed too. All totaled I now have about $250.00 wrapped up in it. IMO, You can do it a bit cheaper by finding one of the regular jig makers here and buy the jig heads already poured and or painted then do your own skirts. For me though, I wouldn't be happy until I tried the whole process for myself and I am now glad I jumped into it! Good luck if you decide to try it! Lots of knowledgeable folks here to help you along the way! BTW...nothing quite like landing a lunker on your own jig!

I really like these frogs but the ??paint?? finish is not very durable. Anyone know what to use to touch up the finish? Just looking to do white and yellow.

Agreed, a very nice place to fish. Lets hope they do a great job with the whole process.

This can be rather difficult some days but, I try to wait until either I feel the fish or I see the line moving. If neither happens the fish missed it and I am still in the zone of that fish and maybe I can entice another strike. I like to fish with a line that I can see. I prefer to use heavy mono.

Here is a little article I found on this. Sounds like the rough fish are back in unacceptable numbers again. If so, this will make the lake much better for game fisherman again. http://m.washtimeshe...ntguid=kexSfI8W and this from the DNR, http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/7418.htm

I could be wrong but, I thought the last time they did this they tried to save as many fish as they could to return back to the lake. Please no offense intended but, we really need to know more about what the plan is before declaring it a problem. IMO, after they drained the lake it made the bass fishing much better. I walked much of the lake right after they did it and the number of dead rough fish laying on the bank was unbelievable! And yes, they didn't get all of the game fish as I saw some nice bass laying about too. Please do keep us posted on what you find out.

What are they planning to do with all the fish in it now?

Hard to say. In my experiences, the best odds are if they completely miss the lure. If they get a hold of it and you take it away from them then most likely its over. Always have a fluke or worm at the ready for a quick followup.

Thanks for the thoughts all. My live well is 30 gallons and I have never had any issue with losing fish due to livewell problems. We have had unusually hot weather lately so I was just trying to be prepared with options.

I have both a recirculating and one for puming in lake water.

I saw the Doug Hannon video about Hydrogen Peroxide usage in the livewell. One thing I am curious about is how often to dose the livewell? Am I to only dose once a day or can it be done a couple of times a day? My thinking is I would dose once an hour or two after putting fish in the well and then maybe once more latter in the day. For those here who have experience with this, what do you do and what is safe for the fish?

Looks like you nailed it to me!