OntarioFishingGuy

I recently purchased a Griffin Montana Mongoose tying vise for my fly and jig tying. First impressions: This thing is awesome! Holds a hook ridiculously well, solid pedestal base, well made c-clamp, rotary function is spot on, and there is absolutely no play in the vise while tying. The vise appears to be built very well and seems like it will last a very long time. It holds a wide variety of hook sizes as well. I have tried from a 16 to a 3/0, and it held them all very securely. I am sure you could go smaller or a bit larger without any issues. The cam lock is very smooth and easy to operate, as are the rest of the adjustments. Most of the features on the vise are adjustable, and once you get it set up the way you want, they will stay in place nicely. It came with a pedestal base, c-clamp, stem extension (to use with the c-clamp), bobbin cradle, materials clip, hackle/hook gauge, ceramic bobbin (awesome as well) and of course the vise itself. It came in a black carrying case, which will be handy when transporting the vise. The only things I did not like about the vise were that the hackle gauge was not very well made, and although the sizing was accurate, I do plan on upgrading it. (Maybe to a Whiting gauge). Also, the case was made of cheap plastic, but if you would like a sturdier case, I would imagine a large foam lined reel case would work well. I will probably end up doing that in the near future as well. After using it for a while, I will make a more detailed review of the vise. Here are a few flies/jigs I have tied on it already. Size 16 nymph: Size 6 steelhead jig: Size 8 stonefly nymph 3/4oz salmon jig (bucktail):

Haha thanks, you guys rock.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know how much a 5'' Yum Dinger weighs? Thank you!

Those are some great ties! Incorporating the hackle feathers into the jig gives it a nice fluid motion underwater. I also really like your placement of the crystal flash in the jigs. The different colors of bucktail also add a dimension to your jigs. Very nice!

Nice fish! Zone 16 opener this weekend, but with all the rain the rivers are gonna be super muddy.

#0/#00 mepps spinners. I also love fly fishing, so my favorite fly would be a stonefly nymph, zug bug or Walt's worm. I also love swinging a peacock and partridge wet fly.

I have wanted to try this for a while now. Are you fishing on bottom or are you suspending your bait?

I caught walleye last summer punching mats in 3 feet of water. I remember seeing a video of Dave Mercer flipping laydowns for walleye as well.

I have a discontinued 5'6, but use it to skip floats under docks and trees. I sort of with I got a longer one, but the shorter length is nice when walking through trees and brushy shorelines. If it is strictly a float rod, a 7'6 would be perfect. If you want to use other lures or fish really small waters, a 6'6 might be a better choice. Either way its a fun rod.

That's what I use mine for, it works great. Panfish are loads of fun on an ultralight glass rod. The fight of the fish is relative to the gear you use, and this really bends when you hook a panfish. I caught a small musky on it a few weeks ago and it fought like crazy.

I fish some streams where lead fishing weights are prohibited, and split shot are the best way to get down to the bottom. I find the tin split shot to be too large and intrusive when fishing in small clear trout streams.

Its just a pale largemouth, nothing special.

Tungsten split shots, I would be interested as long as they aren't crazy expensive.

Bps microlite glass. The glass is less sensitive, but a lot more fun to fight fish on. They also have a graphite model, but I don't have any experience with it. If you are looking for a sensitive rod it may not be the best option.

Nice job on the walleye, they are a blast. We ended up catching a variety of small fish, including rainbow trout, creek chub and sucker. The rain just held off, and we had a blast.

The M/F is what I would choose.

It's fathers day tomorrow! Have a nice day everyone, and thanks to all the great dads out there!

Taking dad out for trout and smallies tomorrow. UL rods and small lures, just like when he taught me to fish. Forecast of rain, but we'll still have fun.

Go barbless. It makes it easier on the fish (and yourself).

FWIW, Rattlin Raps are pretty good and not too pricey either.

Welcome to the forums HeartlandBassin! I like fishing small water. Really, really small water. Tiny creeks are my favorite to fish. I can catch smallmouth, rock bass and trout. I really enjoy the stealth aspect of it too, walking through the brush, reading the water and current, making the perfect cast to the fish and watching him fall for your presentation, that is pure awesome. My favorite techniques to use on the small creeks are casting small spinners and jigs on ultralight spinning rods and fly fishing. I am also growing to like lake fishing more, because of the wide variety of species to catch, and the many techniques you can use to catch them. I also enjoy the challenge of finding fish on these larger bodies of water. My favorite techniques to use on lakes are tossing bucktail jigs to weed pockets and edges for bass and walleye, and casting topwater lures over rocky areas during the evening and early morning hours for smallmouth bass.

I found an earlier version called a twitchin rap at an expo and bought 2. I still haven't tried then.

The pike were pretty active Sunday, saw some bass and carp cruising in the shallows.

I carry a frabill trout net with me when steelheading, and it is a quality product. I want to get a smaller one for creek smallmouth. It would certainly work well on a kayak.

I like going small during the summer, glidin raps or #6 Mepps works good. #8 cowgirls are pretty good too. And top raiders rock.