Hook Shank Length

[GrumpyLoomis]

When I was at Hienz USA we tested softness regularly and when it got too soft the lab techs would add tin. Might try one of the alloys some companies offer.

[GrumpyLoomis]

Oh, one other thing I do now a days. If I think my lead is getting too soft I will add a few wheel weights as it has hardeners and any number of impurities in it. Once a couple of weights melt down in my 10# pot I skim off the crud and continue on. Some times it does not pour the best and leaves my jigs with blemishes, crappie don't care, just us jig pouring folks.

[Micanopy]

Thanks for the advice.


If my jig heads weight 0.09865 ounces when I expected 0.09754 ounces, I think I can live with that. LOL The actual weight was only something I just wanted to know. Wasn’t a concern or anything where I needed to make adjustments. I write funny I suppose. Appreciated the assist anyways.




Yesterday was NOT Florida weather. It was a cold 50-60 degrees with high winds and rain all day long. Overnight things have gotten worse. It is cold and really windy and really rainy today. I seriously doubt that anyone is fishing my local lakes today. Maybe someone is but he can go ahead and have the entire place to himself.

Tomorrow the rain will have moved on and the winds subsided some and the Sun will peek out occasionally, so I might could go test then. I plan to fish the new jigs and see if the fish have indeed changed their preferences as I imagine they have.



Yesterday morning, I unwrapped the large pork I had bought at the grocery store. Washed it well, then placed it on a baking sheet and slid it into the bottom shelf of the fridge. Last night I pulled it out and let it rest on the counter top a little. ( the fridge dries the surface of the meat )

I slathered French’s Yellow Mustard all over the top and sides, ignoring the fatty bottom side. Then sprinkled Butt Rub powder over that, and added salt and some Old Bay over the top. Onto the komado grill and temperature was set at 220 degrees. Pulled it out this morning 12 hours later and here we are.



Once this has rested and cooled thoroughly, I will begin to cut it up. Dock Shooting Jack gave me the idea to vacuum pack the meat, freeze it, and then boil the bags later. I thought that was a great idea and so I will try. I hadn’t done a nice Butt-O-Swine in a long time because we ended up wasting so much of it. Too much meat. The vacuum bags will also allow me to gift smoked butt meat to friends and family during the holiday seasons. Nobody has ever given me Crappie filets and smoked meats for a gift. I think I would have rather liked that, too. They can serve them at their get togethers and such.

I wanted to learn to make fine smoked meats, but struggled horribly so. I tried about five different smokers and all were abject failures. Unable to maintain the temperature. Then I bought a komado from Lowe’s, The Akorn, and everything changed. Suddenly controlling the fire became very easy to do. I later added a computer module ($100) that monitors the temperature and engages a small fan to blow air across the charcoal to maintain an exact temperature. It held 220 all night whilst I slept like a baby. Couldn’t be easier. Set it and forget it and use only a small amount of charcoal. An amazing way to smoke meats.

I also bought a 16 pound turkey and a large turkey breast while at my grocers. Ever since Dad died I have been the man to do The Bird. My family loves Thanksgiving leftovers and one bird is never enough. They also like that oven roasted flavor. So I bake my big bird in the oven and smoke the breasts on the komado. On Turkey Day I will load up both of these and my famous marshmallow/yam suffle’ and away we will go to Mom’s house for the meal. My brother fixes breads, stuffings, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, pickle plates, cranberry sauce, and using my pan drippings, a really nice gravy. Mom will make the deserts and such. Always plenty.

We eat around 1:00 pm and then I will load up to go to visit my wife’s family, and not sure what happens there as I have never been. Married just one year you see. Anyways I hope they have a recliner for me to take my traditional nap. I love a nap after the Thanksgiving meal and suspect many of you feel that special need to keep that important tradition alive in your household as well.

If you struggle to bake the perfect turkey, I can highly recommend that you search for Martha Stewart’s Perfect Turkey recipe. I skip the brining operation because many birds come already brined. Butterball birds are brined because that makes for a juicy bird. Basically Mothra taught me to lay cheese cloth on top of the bird and baste with a mixture of butter and white wine. Then remove the cheese cloth near the end and allow the skin to brown. Her time chart for when to turn the bird and such is what I follow and use my cell phone timer to ensure I stay on schedule. Perfect every time. Juicy, perfect color, and everyone loves the flavor. DON’T pack the cavity with stuff as that reduces the temperature inside the bird. Insert a few aromatics and done. Allow hot air to get in there.

Once at Mom’s I will make the “Presentation of the Bird”. This is very important. Everyone loves to see the turkey all done up and looking pretty on a decorated platter. When we are ready to eat I wisk him away to the kitchen where I filet the breasts off. I then slice each against the grain of the muscle and make 3/4” fat slices. Trimming the bird as seen in Normal Rockwell paintings is NOT what you want to do. You end up with thin stringy slices. You want fat juicy slices and you can get that by allowing the bird to rest after cooking, and properly trimming the bird. Hard lesson as Dad always used his electric knife to cut slices off the sides of the breasts. I asked the internet for advice when it was deemed I should do the bird, and I am glad I did.

I like football but absolutely no one else in the entire family likes football. None of them, so I get to miss the Detroit (early) and Dallas (later) games. Not a fan of either team, but I like the tradition of sleeping through most of the later game.



So if you have followed this along properly, you now know exactly how to properly attach the eyes to your jigs to make the best presentation while using the unique antique style powder paints. Good luck men.

[Micanopy]

No fishing for me today, even so I woke up early, bored to tears. So I made some new heads for when my new plastic baits arrive.

;p

This is a 1/16th ounce Bat Jig, with collar, painted with glow in the dark chartreuse and a quick dip of the bottom in glow in the dark Monster green, 3D eyes that have two coats of UV resin to secure in place, Eagle Claw 571 hook in size 1/0. I tested the glow aspect and it was very nice. The UV aspect is also very bright, and of course in visual light they are brightly colored. I think they will be crowd pleasers when I finally do get out on the lake.

[DockShootinJack]

How did the Boston Butt turn out?
You barbecue computer? BBQ Guru? I have yet to buy one but I have been tempted. Ended up with a pellet grill instead. I do like the Komodo as well. I don't use it as much as it takea forever to cool all of that ceramic off. It does a wonderful job when I do use it

[Micanopy]

How did the Boston Butt turn out?
You barbecue computer? BBQ Guru? I have yet to buy one but I have been tempted. Ended up with a pellet grill instead. I do like the Komodo as well. I don't use it as much as it takea forever to cool all of that ceramic off. It does a wonderful job when I do use it

Butt was wonderful. Lots of flavor and it was a pretty good cut of meat to begin with.

I bought the least expensive komado, the Akorn from Lowes. Joined komadoguru dot com and learned about the blower. It absolutely maintains the same exact temperature until the charcoal runs out. For my usual setup that would be about 16 hours. I use a stainless steel caldron to hold my charcoal as that keeps everything clean. I could add more if I needed more time. I can’t remember the name of the company but heard the one you mentioned works well, too. I start by lighting with a propane torch, attach blower and go about my business.

Komado Joes are very nice but like you say stay hot a long time and are best left outdoors. I was concerned the ceramic would snap and wasn’t sure how the things worked, so I got the Akorn.

BTW- I ended up with four nicely sized vacuum sealed bags in the freezer. We ate some right away. Today I made deviled eggs and I am pretty good at those. I also like to keep some hard boiled eggs in fridge for her to snack on. Great on salads and such.I have seen some of the things you make and am very jealous of your skill set.