DoDFire

40 years now.....Saying that makes me feel like an Old Fart. Fish are still smarter than me, that's what I've learned in 40 years. Hahaha

Alright, first purchase has been made in this process. I spent all day yesterday, past several days actually reading and watching videos and taking notes. I think it's starting to come together now. Looks like to me the biggest problem would be how much I want to complicate it. I can and always do make things harder than it should be. With that in mind I'm still going to read and watch all I can. I figured around the new year I'll make the purchase for a brush and compressor and a few of the basic paints then I'll learn the equipment and setup Then head into practicing airbrush control and doing some of the exercises until I feel comfortable shooting the plastic blanks. I'll try my best to resist the urge to paint the blanks right off the bat. <---- you know what's gonna happen, Right.... Anyways it's starting to click with me and I do feel that if I take my time and pay attention all should be well. Thanks again for the pointers. Spro Little John MD copy and a 2.5 square bill from Shelt's.

Welcome to Bassresource.com, you will love this place. Thank You for your service as well. Lots of knowledge in here and they share it, you can't beat that with a Xtra heavy rod.

Thanks for that info and the pics you posted look wicked, I love how the flame looks like it is jumping off the work piece with the shadowing.

Thank you much for the info. I'm going to read and watch all I can and buy the equipment and supplies along the way until I have the basic set up. I have patience and I'm in no hurry to just go out and start buying everything under the sun since I have no clue right now. This will give me time to absorb all the basic info and get the process and steps into my head so I can enjoy it instead of getting frustrated. I had an account on tackle underground a few years ago and was in there with the other jig guys, I'll get back on there as well. I may have questions later on and if ya'll don't care I may holler at you guys to steer me straight. Thanks again. When I do paint one I'll post up a pic so you can get a good laugh. I'll go ahead and name it......Fruity Pebbles......Cause I can see it now, color everywhere.LoL

I fished places in the Piegon River that were waist deep at the deepest and it was always in June-July when we would fish it and usually between 4 pm till dark. Most of the fish we caught came out of knee deep water and they would lay right in the seam of the slow moving water where the faster water would meet the slow. They would lay there and wait for something to come down stream to them then run it down and kill it. There was always deep (waist deep) water near by so it was a nice little set up on this stretch of the river. If we didn't catch them in the shallow runs we would catch them in the deeper pools but there had to be something like a boulder or shopping cart (no kidding) in the hole. If they were hiding behind the current break we would do a controlled drift and make the fluke swing towards the back side of the structure, as soon as the fluke would start to swing into the spot they were all over it. That stretch of river was always good and just about 1\2 mile long stretch. That was the only place I have ever caught 40-45 smallmouth in 3-4 hours of fishing and did it several times a month. I'd say it's been 8 years since I have fished it.... man I miss that place. I never fished it in the fall or winter but I know they move out of that area and head down to the deeper holes in the winter. There are a couple of guys that I have heard about that fish tournament's in the winter (Tennessee River) and they run from the dam for an hour or so to the French Broad river. They take the bass boat as far as they can go till they can't go any further up stream and fish the deep pools they can get into.I've heard checks were cashed from the spot and I have heard it's the "monster" smallmouth that helped cash the checks. The water we fished on the Little Pigeon dumps right into the French Broad and I bet all those deep spots have some fish in them right now........See what happens when you don't get to fish and have to talk about it on a forum. I guess you can tell I don't know how to shut up when it comes to a silly brown fish. Anyways..........A river, some brown fish, cold water, and a few deep holes with a slow presentation I think it would be game on. I'll hush now till the next person brings something up about a smallmouth.

All I know is I want to go fishing where you fish.......After looking at all your pics all I can do is shake my head, and wish we had smallmouth like that around here, good night ya'll catch some pigs. Those are the big gals a bunch of us guys dream about.

Location, location,location........It happens here on the little pigeon river, they are in different parts of the river during certain conditions and seasons. The hunt is the fun part, we smoke their hind ends on a Zoom fluke (Arkansas shiner) Rebel wee craws (brown orange) and tiny torpedo (green back yellow belly with a little orange) This time of the year they pull out of the shallow little pigeon and hit the French Broad which is a little deeper river. If the water you fish dumps into another deeper river or deeper pools I'd bet they have migrated down stream to the winter pools. I always did well casting up and across stream and working the lure down the current seams. The current seams where the water runs slow and meets the faster moving water was always the ticket during the warmer temps for me. Learn to read the current and you can just about point to the spot where you will stick one on the next cast. I bet if you found the deep holes right now and slowed way down (Ned rig, hair jig) you could put a whoop'n on them.

More than welcome, I'm no expert but I got my set up with the medium light rod and that light braid dialed in for my style of fishing and it is smooth as silk and cast a country mile. One of the "micro" lines that I'm not real sure about is the Ardent Gliss, I have some spooled up but I don't like what I'm seeing so far. I know a bunch of folks trash the nanofil but for a finesse application like we are talking about it is excellent line. I've had it spooled for 2 years now and not the first issue with it. I have the Suffix nanobraid also and love this line as well. Gliss, is coming off in the next day or two, I just can't do it. My hair jig rods are the only braid I use, I can't get into any of it over 8#'s I just don't have the need for it where I fish and the way I fish. I have tried it but I am stubborn as well and didn't like it and I'd say we think alike.........If it works, why bother with change'n it.

Don't forget to take into consideration the setup you are using, head size, hook size, rod action, I was on a local forum a few years ago and was always talking about hair jig fishing in the winter. One of the members got the bug after reading some of my post and seeing pics of the fish I was catching, he went out and bought a new rod in light action and spooled up with 6# line then he bought a hand full of 1\4 oz. hair jigs with a 2\0 heavier wire hook. I ran into him on the water and he was about ready to throw the whole setup into the lake. He was all kinds of miss matched and really frustrated. He finally asked me about my equipment and I'm pretty sure he duplicated my set up as far as line and rod action, I gave him 1\2 dz. of my 1\8 oz jigs with the #1 hook and he was catching fish the last time I seen anything over there. If you are using the 1\16-1\8 oz size jig it's hard to beat a 6'10" medium light, extra fast rod with a 8# line such as nanofil, nanobraid by suffix, or fireline with a 6# test fluro leader and a light wire hook. Not saying go out and buy a bunch of stuff, just try to match everything up in your system and you will be one happy fish catch'n dude.Dont worry about light line either, if your set up is right the rod does all the work for you and hook sets are just a flick of the wrist. We have caught and landed 20# striper on 6# line with a light wire #1 hook. Also if you do go to super line and leader I would recommend the FG knot for connection knot. You can always just use straight fluro as well, you don't have to use braid but in this application of finesse fishing it is the cat's meow. Hope you get dialed in soon, nothing like a winter fish on light line and a hair jig.

I'm not much on reading books but I did download this several years ago on a Kindle and read it at night throughout the year while lay'n in bed. Nothing like a good bed time story for a grown man. The Last Smallmouth by Tony Bean If you like to read about fishing especially smallmouth this is a good one, I have used a lot of info that is in this book and apply it to my winter time hair jig fishing. Check it out and sweet dreams.

River 2 Sea S-Waver..... Bone and Gill

I'm blaming this on Bassresource.com when the wife comes at me with a fry'n pan.......I took this pic 2 hours ago, I had to go help my mother and on the way home I stopped at a tackle shop near her house. Now there are 2 Strike King 2.5's (chili craw) added to the collection that are not pictured. The St. Croix is 20 miles away at the Fed-Ex terminal, be here tomorrow. And the Lews Get'r back lure retriever will be here next week. Guess I will be sling'n crank baits in 2017 just got to make myself lay the jig rod down.

Great little head and you would be surprised how snag free it is in the rocks. That is my dragging head for the 1\8 and 1\16 oz hair jigs in winter, I use it in 1\4 oz during summer nights.

I actually have another mold that I bought to replace the modified mold so I pour regular poison tails with it. I only use the modified mold for the vibrating jig. I don't pour but 4-5 of the vib's per year. I tell ya' those molds are tough it was a pain with a dremel tool and a cutting wheel to cut that out. I chain drilled then cut with the wheel. I do get some over pour with the lead and have to clean it out but it's not to bad.

Thanks guys, I love this site and will probably live on here. I know one thing if I keep reading certain forums the wife is going to skin my hide. I have taken recommendations from here and built a crankbaits setup to get my mojo back that I dropped 10 years ago. Let's just say Christmas for me is covering the dinner table right now with all the "stuff" I have bought in the past week.

Thanks for posting this, I'm getting back into crankbaits and have been flip flop'n on what to use for a retriever a pole or the knocker style. I like this concept. Thanks again for the info.

Never glued a knot but it has crossed my mind until I started tie'n the FG knot. In the back of my mind I always thought about the chemicals used in the glue and if it would degrade the line. I know glue secures or bonds materials but that is some harsh chemicals used in those products A well tied knot should perform it's duty without the aid of other products......gotta have confidence in your knots just like you do for the rest of the system That FG knot is the ticket in my book.

What kills me us watching the "Pro's" flip them over into the boat on the carpet then pick it up and give it the shaken baby syndrome while hoot'n and holler'n loud enough to be heard across the lake because it's a big fish, potential money fish....All that right before they slam it into the box and haul it around all day. Watch'em and see if I'm full of it. They don't seem to give a flip or it sure looks that way to me. I can't say squat I guess, because I'm guilty of lipping for a pic, then again I don't catch many over 5#'s

My boat has been wet 5 times this year.......I have been fishing since I was 5 and fished every chance I had as a kid which was a bunch since there was a pond right across from where I lived fished by myself at age 10-11 I say by myself but the best friend was there as well just no Dad or Mom when we hit the pond then I started driving and was always fishing every free moment I had. Got married and fished the evenings 1-2 nights and all day on Saturday with my brother uncle and cuz. Had kids and fished every Saturday I could and a few evenings per month. Now I have no job and can't get off the couch due to back problems for the past 9 years and now I'm lucky to get 5-10 days a year......It sucks......I want to fish so bad right now it's not funny. This is smallmouth time and I'm married to this frigg'n couch.......You guys that fish day in and day out better not take it for granted because it can be taken away in the blink of an eye and take care of your health. Tie'n jigs when I can sit and being on a site like Bassresource.com talking about fishing is the only thing that gets me through the suck. The H2O temps are getting right for hair jigs around here and I'm take'n little man out come hell or high water in the next week or so. Fish On men, Fish On.

They work in warm weather for sure, I catch smallmouth in 89°-90° H2O temps every summer on a 1\16 oz minnow head jig tied with fox or craft hair or a 1\4 oz aspirin head at night tied with bucktail just change up how you fish them and where. Fish are fish and they will eat a hair jig 365. Hair jigs are great in extreme weather conditions Cold and hot.

8 pound nanofil, suffix nanobraid, gliss (those micro tyoe "super lines" ) with a 6 pound fluorocarbon leader. You will never look back and hook 98.97℅ of the fish the ones you miss you would have never caught anyways LoL........All this with a light wire hook I like a Matzuo sickle hook size #1 for my small hair jigs. My 9' gets nanofil and maxima fluorocarbon in 2# or 4#.

I have tied it all, bear hair, craft hair, bucktail, foxtail, rabbit, squirrel, kip tail, dang this list could go on for a bit. I really like the craft hair for summer and I absolutely LOVE the foxtail for my winter jigs. If you ever get into the foxtail check out a site called Etsy, kinda like eBay without the drama or hassle. I buy all my fox from there, I can buy a whole tail for 10-20 $$ where fly tie'n shop want s 5-7$ for a little medallion shaped section. You can find some nice colors there as well. One thing to remember when you tie hair......NEVER cut the tips of the hair......That's the life of a hair jig. If you need to thin or shorten a jig just pull the strands out, hold the head in one hand and with the other pull straight back from the tips until you get the size/profile you want. I have seen a few messed up jigs where a person took a pair of scissors and just wacked the ends off. Post pics when you tie some up. Thank You.....That thing is a beast. That is not like the "big" hair jigs you see being sold today. To tell you how much hair that jig gets I can only tie 3-4 jigs with one bucktail. It glides when it sinks.

Just wishing it would hit 55 h2o temp and steadily drop. Hair jig time. They had been catching a few on RK 55 Rock Crawler in red and a few on spinner baits, that was a week or so ago.Going to be cold and maybe wet Sat. I may try to go just to see where the temps are, last Friday it was 58-59 around Hickory Star from what I seen somewhere else online. Hope you get on some if you go.