Jig Man

I’m an avid reader and have been since I was a kid. I like to find an author that I like then read everything that they have written if possible. Then switch to a different one. Our county library has e books that I can download to my IPad so I don’t have to go anywhere to get one or spend money.

I am in SW Missouri. Most winters we can fish, but sometimes the lakes freeze over. Right now we are having 20-40 mph winds so I am not going.

I use it because the first time I had a guest in my boat who was using fluorocarbon while I was using monofilament boated 7 fish before I got a bite and we were using the same bait.

Well that’s a little uglier and badder than I have it. We’ve been running from low 20s to upper 30s but Wednesday is supposed to be low 40s to upper 40s so I think I will give it a shot.

Mine are in separate slots while in the rod locker. On the deck I lay them down with the rod under the reel and the reel handles on the boat carpet. When I move the boat they get strapped down. I have some Curado E7s that are at least 20 years old and don’t have any rash or scratches on them.

Last night solidified my choice. Go Rams

They are protected here also unless one is attacking live stock. That wouldn’t be a lead poisoning deterrent around here.

You can’t get better advice than that given by cadman. He is a pro’s pro when it comes to jig making and all of the aspects that go into it.

I track my trips on excell but my setups are grouped by technique in the rod lockers

For my grandson it is perfect. He was living in the farm house and loving it until he go offered his dream job (swat sniper). It is 43 minutes from swat headquarters and they can’t be more than 30. So he had to move and my daughter moved into the farm house. He just recently got a transfer which will enable him to move back but he has to have a house. We gave him 10 acres and said go for it.

Thanks for the suggestions. I doubt that there is any natural gas anywhere in the county. This place is in the hills north of Table Rock lake. There are no fireplaces and he is adamant about grilling with charcoal.

You will get a better flux if you get it hot enough for the wax to catch on fire. If mine doesn’t catch fire I light it. I use a spoon but have it in vice grips so that I can stir the lead while the wax burns. That way I get more slag to float to the top. If your lead is very dirty you may need to flux it more than once. It is also a good idea to flux it every time you add lead even if you think the lead is clean. You will be surprised at how much floats up.

The small lake that I fish is 26000 acres with 200 miles of shoreline. I couldn’t learn it well if I were there every day for a hundred years.

I have caught largemouth up to 6.25 on the Ned with a Victory #1 using 6# line. I don’t go after hung up baits unless they are pricey and since I started using the weedless hooks my loss of Neds has dropped significantly. Bish check your pm.

https://barlowstackle.com/victory-10777-bn-jig-hook-size-1-4-0/

That price is outrageous. Gammy hooks don’t cost an arm and leg and there isn’t anything special about the mold. I use that type with TRDs on a Victory #1 hook. I don’t move to the 1/0 and 2/0 until I am fishing a Shaky worm. Then I use a VMC hook. If you know anyone who pours lead you might buy the mold and strike up a deal. Check Barlow’s or Zinners for the Victory hooks.

Thanks a lot guys. I contacted a dealer who is meeting me at the site, looking at the floor plans and taking measurements so he can determine what they need. He said that he can start on Monday. That is good because the electricity isn’t run to the house yet and he can use the pipes that the builder has installed.

I don’t have a ml/m but I do have a ml/f 7’ St. Croix Premier spinning rod which I use for Ned and swim baits. It has served me pretty well for the last two years.

I don’t think the OP was looking for trailer backing advice. I think he was looking for those of us who have had similar experiences.

Lots of info here thanks. Keep it coming as my decision has to be made soon. Bird it is not about money. It’s about security and convenience. The longest our area has been without power is 8 days and we are up on the flatland in a metropolitan area. Down where the farm is located it is very rural with only one close neighbor and power outages are frequent.

Thanks for the info. I’m thinking it will have to be a big sucker since the house is over 4000 sq ft with a 5 car garage with a 400 amp service. It will have to be totally automatic because my grandson is a swat sniper and his wife is a domestic violence detective. They keep really odd hours and much of the time neither one is at home. Why do you test it so often?

When we had a camper I fished 100 days each year. That has drastically dropped lately. With my hand surgeries and my daughter’s battle with breast cancer I have only been 54 times so far this year. I want to get it back to 75-80 trips in 2026.

My grandson is building a rather large house on our farm. It is down in hilly country where they lose power often. I’m thinking about getting him a backup generator. Generac is all I have heard about. Any of you have a backup generator?

I have always had a tech do mine. They do it every 3 years.

I’m sure that we have all been there at some point. Just keep at it. It will come around.