Jig Man

I was running 6-7’ leaders on my 7’ spinning setups ( 15# braid/8# fluorocarbon) before I got some bfs reels. The leaders are still there but the rods don’t come out of the locker any more. The longer leaders was to account for lots of hang ups and break offs.

I have been following this thread. My boat is a dual console and my rods are 7-7’6”. I am not sure they would fit.

We are watching the Olympics right now. I really like the ice skating. They re o coordinated yet graceful.

I like to do two because it holds stuff in place better. Sometimes if there is a bunch of components I will wrap thread around it to get everything in place then wire tie. There isn’t a right or wrong way to do it. You just have to figure out what works best for you.

I totally agree with cadman. Those bands will rot and fall apart. Even a wire tie from a loaf of bread would beat the bands. I use copper floral wire from Lowe’s. Some guys use small zip ties. I tie my wire with wire twisting pliers from HF. https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-safety-wire-twisting-pliers-57397.html?hftm_sc=93&hftm_source=google&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21901739207&campaignid=21901739207&utm_content=171677808942&adsetid=171677808942&product=57397&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21901739207&gbraid=0AAAAADAHb4cwUem1AwFM3bQ2mxdmIwvAq&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnJHMBhDAARIsABr7b84DiFYEaquUcVVU-fq6klwDCPZl_bq-sBrrFkPjrduYrppjj_QOJtoaArgPEALw_wcB

My jigs are made with 6” skirt tabs so they get severely trimmed. I like to pair them with 4” twin tail grubs, either Yamoto or homemade. There really isn’t much of a skirt as the hook is a 2/0 little nasty.

That pic is actually a Jewell Pee Wee called Bass Whacker. I do make a knockoff which is very similar. The top row is mine while the bottom row is Jewell’s, bass whacker and Hail Mary. I make 3/16, 5/16, and 7/16. They are good smallmouth baits.

I make mine like the Jewel finessePee Wee jigs. They are fish catchers.

I don’t know how you north people can stand it. I only go to go twice in January and it’s killing me. I can’t imagine having to wait another month or two to wet a line. We are covered with the nasty white stuff but it may go away this week. I plan to check out the roads and Stockton lake on Thursday to see about launching on Friday. I learned the hard way to not pull a boat on icy roads.

What I mean is your hitch comes out of the truck and drops down a couple of inches. The one in the pic you posted comes out and rises a couple of inches. If you take the ball off, pull the hitch, turn it over and put the ball back on you will have gained several inches. I had to do that myself when I traded boats last time.

Look at the pic of your boat. The hitch is opposite of the one in th lt pic. Fix yours like it and see it that solves your problem.

If that doesn’t work get a different hitch.

No heavier than that boat is I would take the ball off, pull the hitch, turn it over put the ball on, hook it up take it for a drive and see how it pulls. I assume that the jack won’t go down enough for a hookup.

I swing for the fences when I set the hook. Since I am primarily using 8# line I keep my drag loose enough to slip a little on the hook set. If I get a good one I want it to be able to pull line instead of breaking off.

I haven’t been to one in years. In our area they have been taken over by 4 wheelers, side by sides and campers. Usually pontoon boats, jon boats and a bass boat or two. Rods reels and other fishing stuff is practically nonexistent.

Cornfield fishing gear might have something.

They mix here all of the time, hence meanmouth. However the areas where I normally fish are predominately smallmouth with largemouth sprinkled in along with a spotted bass or two. This latest pattern just has me wondering.

That’s a tall order there. I have never seen any jigs like that. It might involve a mold modification to get what you want. How many would you be willing to buy if a jig maker would take on this project? I don’t know of anyone who makes that kind of jig. The only people I know of who might do it is Mike at Seibert outdoors or Ted at Cadman’s Custom Jigs.

I will eat spotted bass once in a while. I won’t eat largemouth because they smell like frogs. I won’t eat smallmouth because the biologists say because of the available forage it takes 10 years for them to reach the legal limit.

It kind of looks like the old original Lews Speed stick.

I never leave home without them all year long.

I don’t own any Lew’s reels but have several Stradics in sizes 1000, 2000, 2500, and 3000. Some are more than 20 years old and have only been greased and oiled. That’s why I buy Shimano.

I had an issue like that with an Optimax. It took a new upper tank to fix it.

I did the same thing. I got tired of the braid to leader mainly because of the rainbow in the line with lighter baits. I tried 10# and 8# on some setups and decided to go with 8# because I can use it on spinning as well as bait casting reels. I bought a 1000 yard spool so I am committed.

What you can use will depend on your reel. I have trouble with any fluorocarbon above 8# on my Shimano 2500 and 3000 Stradics.