WRB-2.0

Brass like aluminum comes several grades and hardness. The primary reason for a brass gear is it doesn’t gal in fact leaded brass gear doesn’t need lubrication to reduce galling. Aluminum on the other hand requires hardening treatments like hard coat or titanium nitrite and requires lubrication. Todays precision cut aluminum gears are common in high end bait casting reels because of the weight savings, brass weighs more but is more forgiving. Tom

My wife’s family lived MN and West Ontario Canada and she knows living in below zero for months the reason she moved to California. I grew up in SoCal mountains Big Bear lake and it’s cold, lake freezes over and snows a lot. The difference is we can drive an hour and be in 70 degree weather. Now we live in 70 degree weather and drive an hour to play in the snow. Tom

Not familiar with Victory hooks but it looks like they use the last 3 numbers of Gamakatsu hooks: 111, 114, 604 etc. The Owner #5133 isn’t a jig hook, it’s a down shot hook. Tom

I use the Slip Shot rig (finesse) in lieu of the traditional Carolina rig. Slip Shot rig uses the main line without any additional knots. 1/8-3/16 oz Cylinder weight, glass faced bead, Carolina Keeper weigh stopper and hook of choice. I use Owner #5133 because it lighter wire, string and sharp, size 1/0 or 2/0 depending on the diameter or the finesse worm. Line I prefer Maxima 5# copoly line. Cold water the bass rarely chase down anything but will stripe lures in there face. The light line and weight allows the worm to fall slow enough with good action. I like Roboworm Sculpin In oxblood light red flake. Tom

St Croix is having a store wide 30%-50% sale now if money is a factor. Tom

XPress uses .125 thick aluminum, the Pro series offers lots of upgrades. Tom

The snagless sally is still made as noted above but the OP’s UJ #101 Spin Frog isn’t made anymore to the best of my knowledge. My in-laws from MN trolled snagless sally with a night crawler or minnow for walleyes and pike, very popular up north. Tom

Take a look at XPress aluminum bass boats, very well made. Tom

St. Croix is currently having a store 30%+ discount. Tom

Marine plywood is typically has more layers. You can fabricate what you need from 1 piece 2’ x4’, more strength use 5/8” or 3/4” thick. Look up marine plywood supplier near you. Tom

Any jig is only as good as the hook. Tom

So you think tungsten weights made in China are cleaner mfr’s? Tom

The old Water Gremlin Dipsey sinker has worked for decades before the “free rig” was created. Tom

You can buy 1/2” thick 2’ x 4’ pre cut marine plywood about $24. Cut 1 side to match the bow shape, the opposite as needed to accommodate your TM mount. Use SST finder washers as spacers to level the plywood. I would use 4 bolts to mount the plywood through the bow deck and seal the bolts using 3M 5200. Paint the plywood or coat it with Polyurethane (Varathane). Tom

Agree there are some good mold release available, just never had a lead mold that need it. Once the mold heats up after a few jigs the rest don’t stick. I am using single cavity molds. Tom

It works for me the lead is bright and shinny and the jigs fall out of the mold. I snip off the lead spruce into the pie tin and hang the jigs on a wire as they are molded. I only make a 100 at a time because I buy 100 package of hooks. When done molding jigs I file the spruce where clipped with the filings into the pie pan and empty the lead into the lead pot after discarding the slag scrap. Been doing this since ‘71 and use Lyman 1 lb ingots for good quality clean lead. Tom

You can add a pork trailer but it works without a trailer. The hook is very sharp out of the box whereas the Johnson spoon is dull. The big difference is the silicone skirt and....built in rattle. I suggested the gold because of the tannic stained water where you fish. Tom

Neimire Red Ripper 1/2oz gold weedless spoon. Tom

Bantam is a small reel but strong enough. The line capacity may not be suffice for larger diameter line. If need to add force just clamp your thumb down on the spool. Tom

I prefer all my casting rods to have a short 2” fore grip to accommodate holding the rod with 2 finger on the fore grip and resting round reels against my palm. Tom

You need mold release for most jig molds, just put a tea spoon size piece of candle wax on the lead as it melt to de gas the lead and use the candle smoke to coat the mold cavity. Set the mold on top of the lead pot to pre heat the mold. A used pie tin is useful to catch molten lead and put slag in scooped off the lead pot using a old table spoon. Be safe and wear safety glasses. Tom

ALX Jerk bait rod is on sale ALF, ideal for what you are looking for. Tom

Owner Rig ‘n offset is a short shank wide gap. Tom

1st joined this site as Oldschool and somehow lost that name and rejoined as WRB, both describe who I am, old and hopeful. Gary Dobyns recommended the Bass Resource site to me even though he wasn’t a sponsor. The reason Gary recommended BR was Glenn May runs a good site with controversy BS allowed. I learned from other site that there is some jealousy and jerks laying in weeds. Thanks to Glenn we don’t have viscous replies, lesson learned. Probably forgot more than I learned, getting old isn’t fun. I knew nothing about kayaks and wish I could have fished from them. I learned about BFS discovering my preference for light tackle was early BFS and didn’t know that. I learned using braid helps manage line twist on spinning reels. I learned from experience that FC line has both good and unreliable performance and still use it for it’s good qualities. I learned from this site that Tatsu FC is a good reliable FC line. The BR site has a good group of members that we can call friends without meeting them face to face and it’s made my life more enjoyable. Tom

Like all knots the Blood Knot needs to be tied properly so the turns angle the same direction. The Alberto knot is another that can be easily tied on the water. The FG knot is a good knot tied properly but difficult to do on the water in fishing conditions. If you can tie the FG knot under fishing conduits go for it. Tom