.dsaavedra.

hmmm i find those minnow traps WAY more rediculous than this kids quest to have his stock of live bait. 20 bucks plus 7 dollars shipping for an UTZ'S PRETZEL JAR WITH A BUNCH OF HOLES DRILLED IN IT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?1?!?!?!? that has got to be the rip off of the century. :) kid, stay away from those traps like they are the plague. you can go to walmart and buy a Frabill minnow trap that is made of vinyl coated steel for about 7 bucks. http://mickiesplace.com/store/product/6655/Frabill%3Cbr%3E-Deluxe-Steel-Minnow-Trap/ i have used that trap a lot to catch bait. i catch minnows, small bluegill, and even crawfish in it. use catfood or old lunch meat as bait. and the others are right, you won't be able to store your bait for winter. the most you could store it for is a couple of days. they could have been a little less rude about it though. :-/ PS: use PERIODS!!! it makes sentences easier to follow.

bass slayer, i really dont mean to be rude, i just dont want anybody to get confused here. you can't use a swivel to connect to your lures... a swivel looks like this: two loops on either end, neither of which are able to open up to clip onto your bait. you can however use a snap swivel to connect your bait to your line without retying, however it will hinder the action quite a bit since its heavy. snap swivel looks like this: two loops, one of which opens so you can clip it to your bait, the other is to tie your line to. a lot of people will use a clip to quickly put on new baits without re-tying. clips are light and don't affect the action of baits much at all. a clip generally looks like this (there are several styles though): not trying to be a jacka** or anything, just wanted to eliminate confusion. anyway, i would say get rid of the leader and just use a clip if you dont want to tie a knot every time. i have found that a clip doesnt work so great with soft plastics though.

like blazik and sam said, just go ahead and set the hook if you're not sure. one way to tell is to closely monitor your bait after you feel the hit. if you see your line moving, its a most likely a bass that has picked it up and took off with it. the dangerous thing about waiting for your line to move is that by the time the bass swims off, they have usually swallowed your hook so play it safe and set the hook a second or two after you feel the bite.

great! i cant wait to see that episode.

^ wonders why the girls think he smells funny ;D

blazik, take this guy's advice! 8-)

^ speaks the truth 8-)

good post The Natural ! i noticed you used the word "need" a alot. you dont "need" to do anything in lure making. the lures you make are totally your own and thats the beauty of it. go ahead and do something nobody else has, see if it works! you can do whatever the heck you want with them. be innovative, be creative! have fun!!! but, the natural made a very good tutorial for a beginner bait maker. very clear and easy to follow. proven technique.

hahaha thats funny as hell!!!! ;D ;D ;D that cracks me up! thanks for the input guys and for the good laugh.

haha dont get me wrong, 95% of my hardbaits are rapalas (a couple bandits thrown in) but i'm still sketchy on that clackin rap. i agree, the xrap shads look nice though as do the dt fat 01's. but i just dont think any of these baits justify a 10 dollar price tag. there used to be only two rapalas that i can think of that were 10 dollars, and those were the jumbo musky sized lures, like the super shad rap and the xrap jointed shad.

i wish i had as good of luck as you guys did : how much does that lucky craft bluegill cost? it looks pretty slick!

does anyone reccomend using a snap when fishing swimbaits? im guessing no, but its really a pain to tie knots with 20 lb mono. im thinking of switching to braid on my swimbait setup.

"...sounds that fish can hear and see as the lure is retrieved." how the hell do fish see sounds????? :-? rapala has really let me down here. most of those new baits just seem like gimmicks (except for the DT FAT 01's, i will probably get a few) and i cant believe the prices they have put on these. i may only have to get one DT 01. rapala, i'm very disappointed in you

storms are terrible. stay away from them. the wild eye live series swims like crap, smells bad, and doesnt even look that realistic (i bought a pack) the kickin slab series barely swims at all, looks pretty nice though, but the plastic is way too stiff. (i also bought one) your best bet would be the 4 in jackall giron that weighs in a 3/4oz. good luck in your quest for a swimbait! 8-)

if its for personal use, i REALLY wouldnt even bother with pattents. if you are selling them, you might want to look into it. :-/

^ seems to have beef with bigbadaaron ;D

blazik, talk to me some more on aim, i'll help ya out

made a bunch of casts with a 2.5oz weight. this rod handles it suprisingly well!!! it was launching them a good 80-90 yards. i think im gonna have to upgrade to a larger spooled reel, because i could see the metal underneath my line at the end of my cast. but aside from being heavy, the rod preforms pretty darn good. well worth the 25 bucks i paid for it. i noticed a lot of flaws in the finish (finger prints in the epoxy, scuffs, etc.) and that may be why the price is so low, but on a 25 dollar rod, im not worried about what the finish looks like. all in all, i would reccomend this rod for any beginner swimbaiter who is not quite sure if they wanna make a huge commitment

holy freakin crap!!! well i made some nice slings with the 2.5oz bait. i casted almost all of my line out! i think i may need to upgrade to the 5500 in order to handle this 20lb mono. but i think you're right, a swimbait will feel different than a lead weight. i was amazed at the power that 2.5oz weight has when its initially released from the cast!

haha ok thanks! im gonna go practice with 2.5 oz of lead.

i say you go to Dick's and pick yourself up a rapala DT FAT 03 in pearl grey shiner and just go out and cast that puppy all day long. just cast it everywhere. cast it in the nasty stuff like branches and stumps and grass. just dont put it down until you start catcihng fish. you will eventually find out what works and what doesnt.

couldn't have said it any better. i just hope it gets the job done! ;D

haha i didn't think it would work over paint. with hard baits, the last thing that is applied has to be epoxy. you can paint over epoxy relativley easily, but you would have to put another coat of epoxy over the paint. your paint can't be exposed to the fish or water or it will get ruined quick.

is there any kind of technique to casting mid range swimbaits (1-4oz) i should know about before i go casting them and potentially damaging stuff? ;D

well, you guys would be disappointed in me for buying this ;D it is a bass pro shops power plus trophy class. its rated for 1-4 oz baits. 7' long, H power. EVA foam handles 9 guides (all of which are double footed except the tip top) pretty heavy freakin rod! 2 piece. 25 dolla price tag 8-) i know you all will view it as a piece of crap, but i view it as a rod that can cast swimbaits in order for me to see if they will produce in my area, and then i can upgrade