Jig Man

A few years ago I invested in a couple of FnF setups hoping for winter smallmouth. So far I have caught largemouth, spots, whites, carp, catfish, and 3 species of crappie but not one smallmouth. 3 days ago I got 10 smallmouth on top of a shelf while fishing for largemouth. I got to thinking that they might have hit a FnF jig. Since the weather is still warm and the water is 60° would it be better for me to make some larger FnF jigs instead of the little ones I have been using? If so what color combinations would you recommend for clear water? Here are some of the colors I have on hand.

Like catt my craw jigs are basic. I make them myself and uses several styles but I mostly fish black, black/blue, and brown. I do throw an occasional white/blue during the summer at night during the full of the moon. My vertical and swim bucktails are made in 5 sizes and 20+ color combinations. That is mostly for the fun of having a color that the guy in the back of the boat has to ask to use.

mav you might be well served to spend a little time reading about sonar units. Lowrance has a very good tutorial on their website. It would be time well spent. As stated the typical cone angle is 20° but there are different ones available. I just sold my LMS480DF which had a dual of 12° and 50°.

I fish clear lakes in the lower half where the water sometimes is like gin. A couple of years ago 6 of us did an experiment with some using braid and others using mono. Those of us with braid got a good old fashion butt kickin'. Since then I use a fluro leader on my braid unless I am fishing 30' deep. I use the yellow Power Pro because it is easier to see in the wind and my fav. lake is windy.

I tried that knot yesterday and it did not fail. Everytime I had to break off it broke below then line to line knot. Mike I don't know how bad your tremors are but it is as easy as any line to line knot I have used.

I can get my wife to go if it isn't too early. She really likes to fish buzz baits and tubes but only if she is getting bites. She spends more time doing puzzles or reading than she does fishing, but that's ok.

What you should do is totally an individual useage thing. Around here most people have one up front with the transducer on the trolling motor and one on the console with a transducer on the transom or in the bilge.

You might try taking the top off and repositioning the arrow.

The modified Albright knot was flawless today. Not once did the line break at the line to line knot. Also it is so nice to have the knot slide through the eyelets without the clicky clack of the glued knot. Thanks again. BTW: We had a pretty good day today. We were in post cold front conditions with a blue bird sky. We caught 40 bass on tubes and jigs.

My fluro is .015 and the braid is .011. I just might have to buy some different fluro since I have braid on 10 reels already. I am going out in 1/2 hour just waiting on Tommy to get here. I went out and tied this knot with a rock hanging jig. It should only take a cast or two to get the results. Thanks for the link avid.

I also wet the San Diego Jam knot that is used to hold the bait. I'd think it should be the one that is the weakest since it is being pulled through metal but I rarely come back with leader. I come back with a braid knot and a dab of fluro. I am beginning to wonder if this fluro is any good for this type of job.

I haven't used that particular Shimano rod but do have 7 HMGs. They are sensitive but a little heavy.

I am using 30# Power Pro braid with a 15# Seaguar fluro leader. I have used the uni-uni, Stren, and Albright knots (with and without glue). I fish a lot of rock piles and never go after a hung bait, so I lose quite a few jigs/tubes in a day of fishing. I'd say that 9 out of 10 times when I break off, the line breaks at the braid/fluro knot instead of the knot at the bait. I always wet my fluro with saliva before cinching the knot. Any suggestions??

For anything in the 1/4-3/8 range I prefer the IMX843c. Over 3/8 I want the IMX844c or one of my old Fenwick HMGs.

Most any gps will do what you want as long as it has a card slot for mapping and storing otherwise it will just become a dust collector.

I fish tubes, brush hogs, and craws Trigged. I use a Gloomis IMX 843c with braid and a fluro leader most of the time for that application.

I have worn frogg toggs once and didn't like them at all. My wife has some and swears by them for wind blocking. A friend of mine has worn a pair out in less than a year. Personally, I'll take gortex any day. I have one gortex suit that is over 10 years old been worn on four wheelers working cows, fishing and even quail hunting and still going strong.

"Vertical Fishing" "On most bodies of water in winter we're looking at a vertical situation as far as cover types go. To explain: Bass usually move deeper during the winter months. On some lakes that may mean they pull into creek channel for the winter." Here in MO it is common to find fish as deep as 75' in the winter, especially on Bull Shoals and Table Rock. Dragging or fishing vertically are about the only ways one can get to these fish. For vertical fishing I have had good success with a jig head and grub or a good bucktail jig fished barefoot. Craw jigs with 5" grubs work well but take a long time to get down to where I like to fish. Standing timber, rock piles, bluff ledges and brush piles hold deep fish. I like to move slowly with the bait as directly below me as possible. Sometimes it can be kept in the cone but not always. I drop the bait to the bottom and lift it up no more than a foot, give it a little shake, then let it hit the bottom again. If there are walleye present, I hold the bait off the bottom for about 10 seconds before I let it drop. (That is when I have caught most of them.) I have found that my catch has been significantly improved with braided line. Since the fish are a little slower, I use a light braid (Power Pro 8/1) with no leader. With mono I have trouble feeling the bite much below 30'. I generally start out on ledges or points in 25 fow and work my way to fish. Once I find a few fish in a certain depth, I concentrate on that depth for quite a while. In rocky and brushy lakes be sure to take plenty of jigs.

There is a lot of difference in the fall rate of a 1/4 and a 3/8 oz jig. If you are going to compare you should buy the same size in both jigs. Personally, I'd get 1/2 dozen of each in at least 3 different sizes and water test them. I am doing that right now with a different hook style. I am using 3 colors with 3 different head sizes. So far I have eliminated 1 head size for this application.

It depends on the time of the year and the lake.

Bar Bait. It kept mice, squirrels, and racoons out of my range cubes in the barn.

Do It has the 3/4-1-1 1/2 for that hook maybe they would make you what you want.

My net is too cumbersome for one handed operation. I will lip fish with single hooks but if they are on trebles I use my Boga Grip scales.

Not me. A friend of mine bought one and didn't take it out for a while. By the time he used it a couple of times it broke. The warranty was up and it cost another $75 to get it fixed.

Our Wal-Mart carries rod tips. They cost about 3 bucks. You can heat the old one with a candle and take it off. A little flecthing cement and the new one installs in about 15 seconds.