Bill, you were the first one who reached out a hand to me when I came out of hiding and actually posted here for the first time. I remember quaking in my boots! It meant so much to me to be encouraged right then! Ever since I've loved reading your posts. They're full of knowledge, a love of the sport and the highest standards when it comes to craft. Add to that a poetic appreciation of the beauty of this world, a love and respect for all people and you have a mighty fine guy. Hey, you made all the difference

Great advice!  my favorite style of fishing. I bet if most people followed this tip their catch numbers would soar!    Tip! don't attempt this technique after drinking a large cup of coffee  

Ace,does this mean I'd be even better at finesse after some whiskey?? I am Irish, after all   

Bill, you were the first one who reached out a hand to me when I came out of hiding and actually posted here for the first time. I remember quaking in my boots! It meant so much to me to be encouraged right then! Ever since I've loved reading your posts. They're full of knowledge, a love of the sport and the highest standards when it comes to craft. Add to that a poetic appreciation of the beauty of this world, a love and respect for all people and you have a mighty fine guy. Hey, you made all the difference

Ace,does this mean I'd be even better at finesse after some whiskey?? I am Irish, after all   

It can't hurt Laurie. I would smash the barbs on your hooks in preparation,you don't want to come home sloshed with a bunch of fish hook piercings hanging off you    

i never liked how every jig has a different weed guard stiffness. house brands, custom, home made, knock offs etc.  some are too strong, some too weak. i can't believe how many jigs i lost to timber before i realized a drop or two of superglue half way down the weed guard fixes the problem. when it drys you can 'flex' the brittle glue to whatever stiffness you like.  you can turn a cheap e bay jig into a timber bashing machine. just make sure you start with a nice hook.

I'm recovering from wrist surgery for carpal tunnel, long overdue for twenty years. One thing I found that helps to alleviate the symptom somewhat is to make sure my rods are balanced with or without lures hanging. If you can balance a rod on the tip of your finger (no lure), at least your wrist functions more as a fulcrum and not constantly having to keep the full weight of the rod blank upward. A wheel weight attached with Duck tape pictured at the end of the handle, helps a great deal and adds nothing to what your finger grip must maintain. Garages dump old wheel weights all the time and usually give them away.



The best rods made have balance and are light, but the older cheaper rods do not and stress the muscle attached to the wrist and elbow by constantly flexing it and holding it flexed. Tennis elbow is also increased by an unbalanced rod.

I've used the method for years and thought some of you might want to try it.

I hate it when grubs or jig trailers slide down the hook after a dozen or less casts. To prevent this I wrap wire once around the base of the line tie. After using pointed nose pliers to pull the wire tight, snip one end close and bend close with the plaers. Make an L shape of the remaining end, snip to the proper width and swing into the soft plastic. When I order jig heads, I prefer barbless because they do less damage to grubs or trailers and allow them to be reused over and over. Those that have a barb, I cut off the barb with wire cutters to expose the bare hook.

Note: make sure you use stainless steel, safety wire or plastic coated, floral-arrangement wire to prevent rusting. The wire can be changed easily if needed.
 

I use a wire zip tie to attach skirts to jigs and spinnerbaits rather than wrap with thread. Bass have't had a problem with it and it's easier to attach the L lock for my trailers.

 

 

Need extra weight for punching? Shown is an egg sinker nestled in the concavity of the bullet weight. I use a uni knot (20# test Vanish line) tied to the main line like a bobber stopper to prevents the weights from sliding up the line on the cast. I prefer swimbait hooks (shown), but of using a J bend worm hook, I use the same stopper between it and the head of the plastic to prevent it sliding down the hook.

I don't like the lure connectors made to hold a soft plastic lure just behind a line tie that are common with swimbait hooks. To remedy this I've taken some coated, floral arrangement wire sold in any department store and made my own. All you need is a the wire, pliers with cutter and a small nail of the right diameter.

Wrap the wire around the nail about three turns, pull off, attach to the hook's eye and snip off the excess.

 

Tired of paying an arm and a leg for weighted swimbait hooks? I bring along clamp on sinkers in different sizes and press them on to hooks in different sizes depending on lure thickness and length.

 

The bottom set up uses the bands used to attach skirts to jig and a nail; also note the eye made by super gluing the cut off head of a nail to the head for a bit of extra wt.