Bdnoble84

20lb braid on my medium power bc, 30lb on the mh’s. Typically 10-12lb fluro leader unless top water then i go mono. For spinning 10lb braid. 8lb seagur invisx leader. I use power pro. Super slick is amazing stuff but regular old powerpro works fine.

First smallie of the year. 3 way rig bucktail fly.

Got tired of making hardbaits so i bought some blanks to try out. These paint jobs came oht pretty decent. Jerk bait im calling bling lol

Thats my go to ned style. Stock the hook eye doesnt really stick out far enough for tubes. However…. You can always modify it by dremeling the hook slot and using larger 3/0-4/0 hook with a longer eye shank. now that i thing about it im going to have to try it. I did this with my walleye jig mold not anticipating how much farther the eye would stick out. Not really what i want for that mold but could be a tube thing. I’ve had issues with collar as well but what it comes down to for me is having good clean lead with a good flow. It clogs before it can fill the barbs otherwise.

First fish of the year, Walleye havent moved up quite yet. Boy also got to try out his remote control boat.

I think you might have more luck in the rod building forum

Illinois as well!

I have had some nice luck with both x-raps and husky jerks but it seems hit or miss if they achieve nuetral boyancy. I have a couple that do but also a couple that dont. Clown is an absolute killer on river smallies.

Ive seen them but havent given them a try. When it comes to swimjig trailers, I dont get to worries about color. Just get something close to the skirt.

I should add not to sleep on the kalins lunker grub, particularly 5”. It has a fairly big tail thump for a grub and there are days when the bass and northern cant stand it. My favorite by far is blue pearl salt and pepper.

Those actually look really good.

Keitechs or other boottails like that are a decent option. I am really likibg the 3 and 4” Storm Largo shad. They have a ton of body roll that imparts a great action to the jig. Experiment with sizes to see what works with your jig.

I favor poisontail head jigs with a hybrid tie of rabbit zonker, bucktail and crop topped silicone. My weights tend to be 1/8 and 1/4. I also pour them with a modified EC SIckle hook since i like to fish them on my ML ST. Croix and 10/2 braid. When tbe water is cool i’ll switch to a straight bucktail that may or maynot have a weedguard on the same jigs. When i do this ive had alot of success tipping the jig with a live crawler. I’m going to experiment with some diff plastics this year to see if i can replicating results without dealing with live bait. i have used bigger/ full skirted 1/4 and 3/8 oz jigs swimming and hopping them, but these mostly attract Northern Pike.

I go for tennessee shad, electric blue/chart, and bluegill flash. I pour my own jigs. I actually like a worm nose head (ned head) in 1/8 oz for the smaller 2.8. Fir the 3.8 or larger i use a poisontail head with a 3/0 hook. However i tie in a wire keeper because the poisontail is absolutely horrible for keeping keitechs on

Hula grubs are a deadly river smallie bait i dont throw them near enough anymore. I like texas rigging it with a small bullet weight.

Thanks. This pack of blood quill is excellent quality. As you can see, they are nice, long, full feathers.

Hybrid hair jigs and playing with gray marabou and purple flash. Hybrid hair jigs are so fun to make, and they look awesome in the water.

Not a football head but I do this with a poisontail head in the setting you describe. With a small weedguard and braided line, they are pretty hard to snag. If you are interested in some pm me.

Thank you. This is exactly the kind of answer i i was looking for

Hi everyone. I have wonder for quite awhile what the advantages of expensive spinning reals are compared to moderately priced ones. I consider moderately priced to be the $50-$70 range. Maybe its because of the style of fishing im doing when using spinning setups, but ive never see a point in spending above this point. Baitcasting reels yes. Rods yes. But spinning reels pretty much just take up slack line and need to have adequate drag for fish less than 10lbs. ive never used expensive spinning reels so i dont have much experience to go on here.

I live in Northern Illinois south of Rockford, mostly fishing the Rock River. I’d like to find some smaller lakes in the stateline area to check out. Im aware of Delevan as well as the Madison Chain. But when i say amall i mean less than 1000ac. My boat is pretty small and i dont want to risk to rough of water. I mainly chase smallies but would love to find some good walleye and/or panfish lakes. Madison is probably as far north as i want to go.

haha, yes. Big reason I started pouring my own.

Spinnerbaits are deceptive in cost. Reason is the blades. I was blown away how quick my cart went over 200$ when i first got into making my own.

Haha, i dont buy jigs, chatters, spinnerbaits when i can make my own and make them how i want.

That too but just trying a different presentation that in my head should produce. Its hook lodgement quite frequently, i fish the same jigs (poisontail) without a blade and they are like a 4x4 on the right setup. Im thinking of setting up some weedless models and seeing what happens. That or come up with some swing heads with a weedless hook.