My DIY Projects and Great Adventures

[up2specks]

Micanopy- As per your normal modus operandi/career choice, you excel @working outside the box! In the event that your ever tempted or in need of a future post title/category breakout/lure name I have one that may deserve mention = Building the better Mouth Trap! Royalty percentage is negotiable! Lol!

u2s

[cgc1productions]

1/16th ounce Bat Jig, size #2 Do-It Whacky Hook, Slab Curly glued onto a thread wrap. I really like the way the jig head matches up with the plastic bait. Looks more like a Shad to me that any other curly tailed bait out there. These will have an amazing action just under the surface, maybe a foot deep. Seven of my very best colors. I made two of each, and these will be in my Go-To box.

I like to think about things before I go and rig jigs on my poles according to my plan. Thinking…..2 heavy weight spinner type jigs, and 2 lightweight non-spinner, and 2 heavy weight non-spinner.

I was playing around with two rod holders in the garage and can see how these could be mounted on the sides in the front, and run along the sides of the boat to the point where the rod tip would be away about two feet. Horizontal more or less to the water. This would fish two jigs in a vacant area and they can be extremely close to the boat. I do not think these will foul with the others. Just need to mount the bases and test them out.

Read a little about Power Trolling and read about Tight Lining and of course Spider rigging. these two poles would be like an amalgamation of styles. Be an odd bird for sure but right now the fish are hot for a jig next to the hull. They ain’t line shy and they ain’t large boat thing shy either. Maybe later on I will need to drop my lines back further, but I may not ever have to. Possible that the fish can be caught consistently in this manner.

I am sure there are other ways to fish for them that are not readily spoken of.

I get the occasional opportunity to fish shallow Central FL lakes and I have experienced the same phenomena you have seen with nice fish hitting trolled jigs close to the boat. I use a shorter rod out each side angled rearward so that the tip is about a foot or so beyond the side and parallel to the water. I let out about 15-20 feet of line with a 3/32 jig and paddle tail trolling 6-7 FOW. Some days these two rods equal the combined production of my other six long lined rods with better fish hitting these jigs which are only about ten feet behind the boat. Occasionally I even get some which bite as I’m letting line out.


Sent from my iPad using Crappie.com

[Micanopy]

Got home and added two more rod holders, for a total of 8 rods now. These were positioned more or less along the sides of the boat, pointed backwards with a slight angle outward about a foot or two away from the side. From there the jigs will swim in water that has nothing within about four feet or more.

Changed out leaders and rigged on the new jigs, with two of them having spinners. Four heavies and four light weight jigs. Gonna be interesting to see if I can even manage 8 rods. Although I once had six rods out on planer boards and that was supposed to be difficult but was fairly easy. I suspect I will like not having to mess around with the boards. As long as the winds don’t twirl the boat around tangles should be reasonable and rare.

Two additional rods means more fish quicker. I think.

[Tradbow]

All depends on your boat set up. If your trolling motor wants to run in circles or won’t track straight when you take your foot off of it and you fish by yourself then less is best. Somethings are better when not rushed. Enjoy the moment.

[Micanopy]

All depends on your boat set up. If your trolling motor wants to run in circles or won’t track straight when you take your foot off of it and you fish by yourself then less is best. Somethings are better when not rushed. Enjoy the moment.

There is much wisdom in what you have said, and I should, but unfortunately remain completely unable to save myself from the melee that is twirling motors and elaborate macrame. I love watching them poles indicate, and the more of them that do, the better.

Meet my little friend.




Compact, fat little bait there.

[Micanopy]

[Micanopy]

Bob’s Jigs makes a fine bait. Lookie here.



I attached it to a spinner bait with a 1/16th oz head, and size #1 hook. The bait itself is 2” long and has a paddle like flapping tail that is then split into two equal halves. Like a beaver tail that has been split. I got a fine assortment from him for not much money and free shipping was the incentive he offered right after he opened his brand new shop in Texas. It should flap about pretty good as it goes.

Seems every time I view his website I get to imagining what that one there might do for me. Perhaps I need to buy that one over there. I hope he enjoys making them because life sucks when you do things you don’t like.

He posted up a picture of a life like shad bait. Awesome. Saving my pennies.

[skeetbum]

I run 10 rods by myself and while it takes a while to figure out, you’ll do fine. I enjoy reading of your escapades.

[Micanopy]

I remember when I was surf fishing and people would see me fishing six rods, all spiked up and down the beach. Man that was funny. You would see a rod bend over and I was off running to it, and look- there goes another. Certainly much easier to get to the rods in the boat. LOL




I decided to make up some more Herring Head jigs- minus the stupid little wire under spin deal that does not work because the Do-It molds design is plain dumb. I made some with no wires and some with my new wire design, which looks very nice. The head is 1/4 ounce and skinny, so a different profile than the others.

I plan to paint them much the same as last batch, white then GLOW chartreuse yellow. This is a color that goes well with all my plastic baits, as most all of them have it anyways. These might get eyes, depends on how I feel about that. I am clipping away the collar on these as it has the lead barb thingie which I don’t care for. Rips the baits. I have been having good luck with my baits staying in place fish after fish by wrapping the hook shank with thread and gluing, but every so often I catch one that will rip the bait a little. I take them off and then mend them with glue at home. I want to learn how to mend them by melding them back together. They make a liquid called Mend It or something like that, but people will also heat up metallic objects and melt the two together. There is a thread somewhere here that the guy takes two lures, purposefully cuts them, and then fuses them together to create new colors and shapes. Although with as many baits as I have it is probably a waste of time.

An old friend came to visit us yesterday and is spending the night so my plans to put boat in water first thing this morning have been scratched. Them girls watched a lot of TV. I just don’t get it. Why you would want to visit and then sit and watch TV together. Seems silly to me but they were mesmerized and I would bring snacks and drinks and such. Made them cheese burgers and mac and cheese for dinner. They had gone to the pizza dump for lunch. This morning I am going to make bacon and eggs and pancakes for breakfast. Mmmmm…..pancakes. She is a food oriented individual and always has snacks and such with her no matter where she goes. Had a hard life growing up as her mom was divorced and living the wild and crazy gay life style. So the family lived in rented old trailers with roaches and such and not much in the way of regular meals. Her kid sister is mentally challenged and so she was the one that took care of her while mom chased girls. Catching only the meanest of them, too.

She is 29 years old now and works in a body factory embalming people. The company she works for is a huge corporation that buys funeral homes and turns them into cash generating machines. They combine forces when they have multiple funeral homes in a town, and have done just that in the nearby city. She described seeing the covid victims lined up inside industrial sized coolers. She has been embalming many of them as well. Tough tough tough baby and apparently she is pretty good at it, too. That is a job best done by rough men and really rough gals, and she isn’t rough but is fairly strong. To meet her you would never guess.

Anyways, the virus is running wild around here and many of the people who did not get sick previously, or refused the vaccine, are catching the Delta variant and dying from it. The vaccine does not prevent you from catching it. It prevents you from dying from it. Sure some still do, but the vast majority of deaths seem to be those who thought the vaccine was the mark of the beast or something. It is amazing to know that so many have died so quickly, simply because they refused a free vaccine. Young folks to the old and decrepid, corpulent and portly down to the skinny and underfed, all manner of folks. Far far worse than what went on last year.

If you go to an event, try to stay away from folks. People who are sick are wondering the halls pretending that they are cured and unable to spread it. I have talked to several people who know several people that they cannot believe are out and about. One went to the grocery store and ran errands like dry cleaning and such during the time they were running a fever and coughing. Infecting others along the way no doubt. So they are out there and they do not mind it a bit if they get you sick. If people would just stop and consider that it is the same thing as running people over with your car.

Labor Day Weekend is always a big deal for the families. Take the kids for one last hoorah somewhere, like the lake or the beach. The bride wants…..wait for it….wait….to take the boat out on Monday, late morning early afternoon, busiest lake in the area. Well of course she does. That is what normal people are supposed to do. I want to go to a different lake and be gone before the onslaught approacheth from Whoville. I already have boat ramp issues when there is no holiday mixture of drunks and idiots too stupid to simply get out of other people’s way. Hopefully I will emerge victorious and we will be set on the water to see that old fireball arise and shine. Love the early mornings during the Summer. Even the birds seems happiest at that time of day. Fish are biting, gators bobbing about, it is cool and pleasant and no one around to annoy me. “Get off my Lake !”, just doesn’t deter people like it should.

[DockShootinJack]

[QUOTE=Micanopy;4170815]I remember when I was surf fishing and people would see me fishing six rods, all spiked up and down the beach. Man that was funny. You would see a rod bend over and I was off running to it, and look- there goes another. Certainly much easier to get to the rods in the boat. LOL




I decided to make up some more Herring Head jigs- minus the stupid little wire under spin deal that does not work because the Do-It molds design is plain dumb. I made some with no wires and some with my new wire design, which looks very nice. The head is 1/4 ounce and skinny, so a different profile than the others.

I plan to paint them much the same as last batch, white then GLOW chartreuse yellow. This is a color that goes well with all my plastic baits, as most all of them have it anyways. These might get eyes, depends on how I feel about that. I am clipping away the collar on these as it has the lead barb thingie which I don’t care for. Rips the baits. I have been having good luck with my baits staying in place fish after fish by wrapping the hook shank with thread and gluing, but every so often I catch one that will rip the bait a little. I take them off and then mend them with glue at home. I want to learn how to mend them by melding them back together. They make a liquid called Mend It or something like that, but people will also heat up metallic objects and melt the two together. There is a thread somewhere here that the guy takes two lures, purposefully cuts them, and then fuses them together to create new colors and shapes. Although with as many baits as I have it is probably a waste of time.

An old friend came to visit us yesterday and is spending the night so my plans to put boat in water first thing this morning have been scratched. Them girls watched a lot of TV. I just don’t get it. Why you would want to visit and then sit and watch TV together. Seems silly to me but they were mesmerized and I would bring snacks and drinks and such. Made them cheese burgers and mac and cheese for dinner. They had gone to the pizza dump for lunch. This morning I am going to make bacon and eggs and pancakes for breakfast. Mmmmm…..pancakes. She is a food oriented individual and always has snacks and such with her no matter where she goes. Had a hard life growing up as her mom was divorced and living the wild and crazy gay life style. So the family lived in rented old trailers with roaches and such and not much in the way of regular meals. Her kid sister is mentally challenged and so she was the one that took care of her while mom chased girls. Catching only the meanest of them, too.

She is 29 years old now and works in a body factory embalming people. The company she works for is a huge corporation that buys funeral homes and turns them into cash generating machines. They combine forces when they have multiple funeral homes in a town, and have done just that in the nearby city. She described seeing the covid victims lined up inside industrial sized coolers. She has been embalming many of them as well. Tough tough tough baby and apparently she is pretty good at it, too. That is a job best done by rough men and really rough gals, and she isn’t rough but is fairly strong. To meet her you would never guess.

Anyways, the virus is running wild around here and many of the people who did not get sick previously, or refused the vaccine, are catching the Delta variant and dying from it. The vaccine does not prevent you from catching it. It prevents you from dying from it. Sure some still do, but the vast majority of deaths seem to be those who thought the vaccine was the mark of the beast or something. It is amazing to know that so many have died so quickly, simply because they refused a free vaccine. Young folks to the old and decrepid, corpulent and portly down to the skinny and underfed, all manner of folks. Far far worse than what went on last year.

If you go to an event, try to stay away from folks. People who are sick are wondering the halls pretending that they are cured and unable to spread it. I have talked to several people who know several people that they cannot believe are out and about. One went to the grocery store and ran errands like dry cleaning and such during the time they were running a fever and coughing. Infecting others along the way no doubt. So they are out there and they do not mind it a bit if they get you sick. If people would just stop and consider that it is the same thing as running people over with your car.

Labor Day Weekend is always a big deal for the families. Take the kids for one last hoorah somewhere, like the lake or the beach. The bride wants…..wait for it….wait….to take the boat out on Monday, late morning early afternoon, busiest lake in the area. Well of course she does. That is what normal people are supposed to do. I want to go to a different lake and be gone before the onslaught approacheth from Whoville. I already have boat ramp issues when there is no holiday mixture of drunks and idiots too stupid to simply get out of other people’s way. Hopefully I will emerge victorious and we will be set on the water to see that old fireball arise and shine. Love the early mornings during the Summer. Even the birds seems happiest at that time of day. Fish are biting, gators bobbing about, it is cool and pleasant and no one around to annoy me. “Get off my Lake !”, just doesn’t deter people like it

Take her night fishing. Throw some jugs out for catfish. Put a spotlight in her hands and let the fun begin. Most all of them are home sunburned by time it is dark.