Jig Man

With a boat load of money I'd get the most expensive Bass Cat with the 12" touch screen Lowrances and 109 # MG trolling motor. I'd put the biggest motor that I could find on the back.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I don't think it will give you much of a boost compared to the space it will take up.

I use my round nosed pliers and make a complete circle. You and take needle nosed and get it done. Just be sure you have the gap closed so you won't lose your swivel.

I do remelts a lot. Don't put any gulp in or you will have a smelly mess.

flash From someone who has made thousands of jigs for probably longer than you have been alive, try to buy your jigs with out the weedguard installed. Just have them sent along with the jigs because putting anything on with the weedguard in place is a pita. You can glue them in with super glue gel like the rest of us do after the skirts are tied on.

Jig tying will become economically sound for you only after several hundred jigs and a lot of time. The initial cost will run between $200-300. Then you will be limited to the style of jigs for which you bought molds. Check out Seibert outdoors. I'm sure you can swing some kind of deal with Mike for some jig heads either painted or unpainted. The is a good guy and does quality work. www.fishingskirts.com is the best all around place that I have found skirts. If you buy silicone tabs from them be sure to get the cheap tool for the collars if you are going to use collars. For tying wire I use windings from an old electric motor but you can get copper wire of about 24-26g at a hobby store.

Look at some of the sites like Janns and Barlows for heads or see if Cadman or Gman would make you some. For skirts you can't beat www.fishingskirts.com

If the 75 has infinite speed control like the 82 then go for it. If you haven't had infinite speed control to dial up or down then you don't know what you are missing. I have had it for 11 years and don't ever plan to be without it.

Have you checked around for pricing? There may be a better deal for you than the one you are looking at. For example I just saw one on Amazon for $935 45" shaft.

Buy your own boat. There are too many things that can go wrong and you get the blame with a borrowed one.

Don't take anything else and you'll have to use them.

Except in very cold clear water I haven't found color to be much concern. All fall I have fished with hi vis yellow and white Power Pro vertical jigging in 25-40 fow. For a while my pard was using some kind of smoke fire line. After a few beatdowns he asked if I would spool him up some hi vis yellow.

I had the costa mirrors and couldn't see my gps screen so I traded them for the amber and have been happy of 2 years.

If you got your jigs in one box then you don't own enough jigs. I have 6 boxes and 2 tackle bags just for jigs.

I don't own any reels except Shimano so that is all I can speak about. I have Solstace, Sahara, Symmetry, and Stradic spinning reels. All of them do a good job for me. Most of my reels have been in service for 10 or more years and are still going strong. If I had to choose an all around reel that will do most anything and be dependable for a long time then I'd get the Symmetry. What ever you choose, I suggest a 2500 size with a front drag for the best all around size and performance.

Don't think about entry level. Buy a good reel that will last you for a long time and be easy to use. I have tried lots of brands and found the most reliable for me is the Shimano. The Citica is a good reel and not in the entry class but in the semi entry price. I'd get it if that were my price range if I could swing it I'd get the Curado E5. I bought one last summer for cranking and that thing is awesome.

Since I fish jigs and plastics a lot most of my strikes come as the bait is falling. As soon as my bait hits the water or just before it hits the water I engage my reel and get my rod in the 10:00 position. When I see line move or feel a strike I set the hook immediately before it can spit out the bait. As I am fishing the bait back to me I try to keep in touch with it as much as possible. I also try to keep the rod working from the 9 O'clock to the 12 O'clock position. That way I am always in position to set the hook.

The nice thing about braid is once you think you need to change it out, just take it off and reverse it putting the older used part on the backing and go again. Some of it I have used for way over 5 years doing that.

There is a lot of difference in materials as to how to "tie" them. If you are wanting to just make some bass jigs with silicone skirts the I suggest that you look at places like Jann's Net Craft, or Barlow's and buy yourself some pre molded pre painted jig heads with weedguard installed in the head style you want and the sizes you will fish. Then go to www.fishingskirts.com and buy yourself some skirt tabs. You will need at least 2 tabs for each jig. Buy some bands to hold them on the jigheads and their cheap tool to use for installing. Once you do a hundred or two of them you should know if you want to sock $300-$500 into what it takes to make jigs from scratch. All I can do is caution you to take it easy and slow or you may wind up with a couple of thousand invested like some of the rest of us.

I just use my powder scales from my reloading supplies.

It is a great way to fish for spots when they are suspended. All you have to do is get it in the zone and watch your line. I'd use the lightest weight possible.

Right now I am using straight braid. When it is Jan and Feb if we haven't had enough rain to cloudy the water I'll add a leader of 3-4'. I attach it with the Alberto's knot.

I carry living rubber and silicone jigs in plastic boxes by size 3/4 and 1 oz in a box. 1/2 in another one. 3/8 in a third one. 1/4, 3/16, and 1/8 in the fourth. Then I have smaller jigs made from buck tail and craft hair in other boxes and bags. I'm almost ashamed to say it but I probably have close to 1000 jigs in various sizes and materials in the boat most of the time. I can't have them in packages as I make all of mine.

Down to the upper 20s I wear golf rain gloves. Below that I wear brown jersey beaded gloves for the gripping they provide. I carry extras so if I get some wet, I just pull out another pair. Like stated they are easy to clean (just toss them in the washing maching).

If you experience cross talk then you can change the angle of the trolling motor transducer just a few degrees making it point more forward. I have done this with success in the past.