PourMyOwn

Just went through this last February with my 13 year old Springer, Hazel. She fell apart in less than two weeks time. CBD treats were a big help for her.

This is my girl Missy. She's my 4th Springer since 1985, a heck of a hunter, and a doll inside the house.

I doubt I'll ever save money making soft plastics. I love making them, and I only pour baits that are expensive to buy, or that I can't find (really soft tubes are hard to get)

I want one of those Zillions so bad. Please tell me how horrible they are.

I still smile whenever I chuck a 5/8 oz jig with a 20 year old TD Zillion. I can only imagine what the new one is like.

I used to watch, then my life got busy and I never went back.

I'm a HS teacher and my students know I make baits. My school is small (less than 300) and fairly rural. There's about 10 hard-core anglers who talk fishing with me all the time. It's pretty great.

My 07 Tundra has crank windows, manual locks and a vinyl floor. I had an 86 Toyota pickup with more options!

Points ignition. I've bought a lot of tractors off of young guys. Their father (or father in law) give them a 1970s machine, then in year two it doesn't magically work and they want it gone. I file points and drive it on the trailer.

Torpedos are amazing- if you look around the Denny Brauer signature Torpedo is the one (or 40) to have. Put good hooks on it, and make sure the hardware is secure. I lost a 6 pounder due to the front hook holder pulling out. I glue them in now. The originals are worth owning too, smallmouth love them.

Yep. Fly that thing all year, your boys won.

I'm all over Michigan vs Penn State at noon- I'm a Buckeye so I'd like to see both teams lose...and I think Bama could be in trouble today. They seem mortal this year. USC vs Utah at 8 should be entertaining as well.

I have a few old Lews Speed Sticks from way back in the day-5'6"-5'8" with Fuji guides. I use them for light cranks and smaller square bills. I love using them, but it's not something I would use for more than a few hours. Eventually my wrist takes a beating.

Great choice on the rod and reel. I'm not a Shimano guy but that's like having Miss America be your first girlfriend. For the most part, a MH rod can handle anything you would use. A heavy action for me is for power fishing in heavy grass or for big swimbaits. I also use 6.3:1 reels for the vast majority of my fishing. Best of luck!

10 pound mono or copoly for me. I'm also a big believer in fiberglass keeping fish pinned on treble hooks. As much as I'd love to buy a new glass rod, I'm still a big fan of my old Rick Clunn fiberglass rods. As Columbia Craw said, you don't have to spend a lot.

A pointer would help you, my Springer doesn't give much advance notice!

If I had to pick an all purpose ratio- 6.3. That's mostly what I use, with an 8.1 for frogs and buzz baits, and some 5.1s for big cranks. A 10 to 1 would be good for buzz baits and getting your bait back to the boat for another cast. I'd have to focus too much on slowing down with a reel that fast to use it for anything else.

I usually pass out watching TV in my recliner anywhere from 8-10:00 and get up between 3:30-5am. The Mrs is a big fan of being woken up by me making coffee at 4:00 on a Saturday!

Added a little red glitter to some green pumpkin remelt.

90% of what I use I pour, so I'm pretty quick to take off even slightly damaged baits. At the end of the day I toss them in a container to be remelted.

I always used a snap swivel using spinners-no leader needed

I'm 45 and fully expect to put my TD Zillions in my will.

DD22 Bandit 200 Bomber Model A (all versions catch fish) Anything that Rapala makes Sadly, even these baits are creeping up in price, but what isn't?

In the interest of not going on a political rant about how my state is run, I'll just say "yes."

I dropped $785 in 2002 for a lifetime license here in NH- I was 24. It's now 45 dollars a year. Seniors over 68 pay 7 dollars a year-no free licenses at all, which is a shame.