spartyon8

Started at the Riverbend boat launch off of 16 and went up to Buzzard Rock area. This was my first time on the lake and I hit every creek/cove on the east side up to Buzzard Rock. I tried everything. The two roamers wouldn't even turn a head at my lure. Water temp was 67/68*. Left the lake at 2 as I was getting a bit warm.

Went to Mountain Island Lake today and got skunked. Saw a bunch of bluegill around docks, a few small bass roaming the shore but couldn't even get a sniff. Might hit up High Rock tomorrow on my way back to Winston.

Thanks! My old man lives in Concord and I invited him out. He brought up Mountain Island Lake so we shall see. I appreciate it!

Thanks! Does it fish traditionally like High Rock?

I am thinking of taking off work to fish Thursday/Friday at Badin. Coming from the winston salem area, what boat ramps do you recommend? I googled them and one up on the north end had reviews of it being extremely shallow (not the best for my boat, and one on the southwest that looks more like a park/swimming area.

I just started into the swimbait world and one video I watched said it added a "crunch" to the bite. The angler thought it was then more realistic to the predator fish.

Last week I was fishing Lake Norman and then Watauga Lake in Eastern Tennessee. I was catching some big girls in full blown prespawn with some about to burst. I have a feeling TN Boy is right, there will come a moment when they say just drop wherever/whenever. None of my fish were under 3lbs so it's time! I did find one bed on Norman but there wasn't any sign of life around it.

What did the hat say to the scarf? You hang around while I go on ahead.

2012 G3 185F Yamaha 115 Pros 1. VERY stable 2. cuts through rough water really well 3. comfy helm and full windshield is nice on cold/wet/windy days when running across the lake ...have more Cons 1. it's a windsail which makes it tricky to load on windy days and sits really high on the trailer (my knees hurt loading alone and putting the cover on in the driveway) 2. both rod lockers only go to 7' and both have a wall at the end of the tubes so taking them out does nothing 3. front deck is a bit small

I would start chuckin' a Magdraft anywhere and everywhere. Here on the western Piedmont/Mtns they are in full prespawn dinner mode with a bunch already spawning. Just went with a buddy up to Watauga Lake for two days and caught a few 4s, a 5 and one that I swear was pushing 7. My biggest was on a 1/4 lipless but his were all on the Magdraft. On Norman, I have been doing well with a ned rig around docks. Unfortunately, I don't really fish much east of Norman.

My go-to was a Red Eye Shad until the Berkley Warpig came out. A chrome/blueback Warpig is a killer for me. Since getting into painting lures, I got to try some Raid Level Vib knockoffs and really like the nose heavy head. Makes yo-yoing or jigging methods better.

It's funny to me that many will say shallow and tight to cover but I fish those things 99% and struggle mightly in muddy water.

I have an ulterra and find that I used the remote more. Either way I am fine with both. The remote makes simple adjustments easier on straight banks I feel.

I caught this guy on Lake Norman last month. Water was rough. Found him hiding under a collapsed boat house. Otherwise, caught nada. This made for a better end to the long day though. Like you, I hate muddy water as I can't seem to find fish. This guy was a fluke.

Sorry, misread the problem.

Welcom from the Winston Salem area!

Here are some of my latest paintings. I also tried my hand at my first carved jointed swim bait. Carving gills and fins is extremely frustrating. So much so, that I fille them in and tried with a Dremel tool and that dug in to the soft cedar.

Hello from Winston Salem. The furthest east I get is probably High Rock so no help there. I did really well at Falls Lake by Raleigh but that was probably 6 years ago.

While I haven't used the flat side, I love their squarebills and pretty much any Academy branded item.

I guess while I posed the question, does any one have any alternatives or preferences to the following jig hooks for my finesse swimbait heads? Victory 10111 Gammy 111 Mustad 32746 I am liking the hookup ratios of the sickle style hooks but not sure if they are best for a swimbait head. If so, maybe the EX 635?

Yes, I saw that Barlows had some suggestions for various hook alternatives but my example of using the EC Lil'Nasty wasn't one that they said works with the mold. However, it does work with the mold. It was just a thought...

Thanks everyone. I am going to see how the winter goes and if they start clumping I will return to original containers. One a side note, being new to pouring jigs is a bit confusing with hook options. For example, my research led to a handful of people who don't use the recommended hooks from the mold manufacturers. I took some advice from searching ned heads here and am using the Lil' Nasty hooks by Eagle Claw. I am really liking them so far. Is there a thread or website out there that compiles hooks that work with different molds not originally intended for? If not, maybe we can start a thread/sticky here to compile info?

I love the double wide SpeedBags and have been searching over a year for them to no avail. All I can find is the small size. That doesn't work for me when I categorize bags and have a baitmonkey on the payroll.

The Christmas gift to myself this year was a few molds to get into jig making. I have to say, like painting cranks it is very addictive. I built an 8 bed setup and it is working wonderfully. I just finished my first "professional" run of 16 ned heads in PB&J and they look phenomenal. Those of you who use a fluid bed, do you keep the powders in the cups or return to original container? I am wondering if moisture from the air pump and paper filter would ruin the powders.

I am making my first set of jigs as we speak (ned heads) and I used a heat gun in a vise. Worked well for me and they are currently curing in the toaster oven.