harshman

Personally I like wire tying now better than rubber collars. I do however put the skirt in a rubber collar to start out with then slide it over th ehook to help hold the rubber in place . I then put it in a vise and pull out a 5"-7" piece of wire. I get small strand diameter wire from BPS Fly Tying section. Wrap the skirt 2-3 times then twist the wire and clip it about 2-3mm away from the skirt . Then clip off the rubber collar and your done. I think the wire makes a better looking bait and it holds up better under the conditions. I usually get my skirts from stamina, but recently they have been behind on my orders so shop around. Harshman

Keep up the good work. Harshman

Sorry for misunderstanding, to make the scales on the baits I use wedding veil that you can get from any material store. There are many different sizes to choose from depending on how big you want the scales to look. Most people just take the bait and tightly wrap the veil around it and spray off the area you want to have the scales. You can use clothes pins to pinch the material together while painting. This is where an airbrush comes in very handy or even plain ole spray paint works great. I on the other hand try a different tactic, I use a needle point hoop and stretch the veil over it. With the bait laying on a table I press the hoop over the bait and paint. Then let dry and roll to the opposite side i want paint on and repeat the painting. This leaves a stripe down the back usually unpainted where i usually just like to fill in solid with whatever color I am using on the scales. I hope this helps. Harshman

For eyes I use two different methods. First is the nail head method mentioned above then use a smaller nail head with darker color for eye pupil. second is stick on 3d eyes then when I seal the bait with epoxy they don't fall off and it gives them that extra shine. I highly reccommend devcon two ton epoxy for a sealer. When mixxed right it gives your baits a rock hard crystal clear finish. Carefull when using epoxy though you have to have some way of turning the bait while it is curing or all of the epoxy will run to the lowest point on the bait and ruin hours of hard work. Harshman

I have a similar boat only mine is a Bass Hound 10.2 and love it. The trolling motor you are asking about will be fine as long as you yet a good battery. My local Wal-Mart has a Everstart 29 series for $60 and that is plenty big enough to run my motor and livewell all day. I run a 33lb or a 27 lb on mine and they work great. My only precaution would be the trailer, check with manufacturer, mine reccommends not using a traditional boat trailer with bunks on it. The bunks will cause pressure points and could crack the plastic. I just have a small utility trailer that i have modified to be my boat trailer Harshman

nice looking bait for a first timer, like mentioned above be carefull tackle making is addicting. I first started out making top water and have since added spinner baits and jigs, now I'm looking into learning how to make my own soft baits. Here are a few pics of my firsts.....I had an advantage a retired conservation agent who is amazing with carving baits helped me get started. Harshman

You have a couple of options: 1. Buy more rods for specific applications while on the water. Even if you buy 1-2 lower end rods and reels a year it won't take long to have alot of rods. I've bought several $60 diawa combos on sale that work really good at BPS 2. Learn how to tie knots quicker 3. Use a swivel, personally I don't like to cause it gives me one more thing to blame when I break a fish off , and some guys would even tell you that it will take action away from some of your baits. 4. Be specific about what you are going to fish, which means you might have to passs up several fishy spots in order to get to one that will fish what you have rigged. Just my 2 cents worth Harshman

Try giving www.airbrush-depot.com a try. I've gotten many of my parts and my compressor came from there. Reasonable prices and great customer service. Harshman

Are you curing the jigs after you dip them by baking them in an oven ?? They will finish heating and give you a nice shinny finish if you didn't get them hot enough on the initial dip. I have had jigs that I have dipped where the paint barely melted when I dipped it and remained sort of powdery but once I cured them they looked like every other jig I did the right way. Harshman

Thanks fopr the Promo Bass XL, I do make shaky head jigs that I call Harsh Hedz check out my website for pics and how to order them if anybody is interested. my costs are reasonable and I only charge you what it cost me to ship the order not some over inflated shipping and handling fees

my only advice is if you are making jigs as a hobby don't let mass production over whelm you and make you hate your hobby. Other wise good luck with sales. Harshman

Your lead might not be hot enough to fill the mold properly. Also have you smoked the mold this helps the lead distribute evenly in the mold . I've always found though that most incomplete pours are temp related. Harshman

Sorry to discourage you to but I agree with all of the above. Get to know how to make your baits first and make your own twist on them that makes them different from other baits and a little proof that they catch fish never hurts either. I've been making baits for 3 years now and I don't feel that I am anywhere near starting a business. Yeah I sell alot of baits to my friends and other Bassresource members, heck I've even made my own website, but I'm not ready to go to the big show yet. Harshman

Got my baits from Whittler last week and they are awesome. I can't wait to get on some crankbait waters and try them babies out. Harshman

also try www.staminainc.com Harshman

Thanks for organizing the swap. Harshman

Whittler, Have you checked the last sign up sheet? I have seen alot of guys signing up there and not sure if they all made it on the list? Harshman

Medium hitch hikers are what works best. harshman

You shouldn't be getting dust or bubbles for that matter, might be to much air? All you want to see is for the consistancy of the powder to turn almost liquid if you are stirring it with a small wire or spoon. Slowly add air and stir and you will see what I mean. Harshman

I second the motion for the Lowrance H2OC. My wife and I got one for christmas and it is so easy to use a caveman could do it . I also have a Navionics USA Lake Map card and it was well worth the money to show lake details , I espically like it to run river channels on unfamilar water. Just my thoughts Harshman

Count Me IN Harshman

I was able to find ultra fine wire and use it like nylon string to do a jig wrap. I was even able to do a whip finish. Here's a sample Harshman

Uncle River Warrior where is my rod??? Great Work that is one lucky nephew Harshman

Just wondering if any of you guys use wire to wrap your skirts on a jig instead of a rubber collar. I was wanting to try this on some finesse jigs I am making but don't know the first thing about it. Is it similar to tying with nylon string? I can do that so I am hoping that it is just as easy. Harshman

You can build your own drying rack out of parts from a bbq rotesserie or any low rpm electric motor. other wise I'm sure you can find one somewhere on the internet. Not sure if that is a netcraft item or not. Harshman