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Thread: For Every Season Turn Turn Turn

  1. #21
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    Well……. I took my friend fishing on Wednesday. He catches tons more fish than I do and he wanted to watch what I was doing so we could make changes. Corrections as needed. He saw very little wrong though. In fact he liked several of my innovations and we talked a lot as we went along because the fish were very uncooperative.

    It was 40 degrees when we headed out across the lake. Man that was brisk. Felt like an August day when I stopped. I sat him up front with six rods, and I wandered around on the boat and fished just four rods. I handled the fish for the most part and did all the detangling operations. He had to steer using the hand controlled TM.

    His recommendations were good and I was grateful to receive them.

    We decided that I should alter two of the six rod holders up front, and instead of fishing those rods on sinkers straight off the side of the boat, adjust and then fish 6 long lines from the front. 16’ - 11’ - 6’. Next eliminate two of the rods in the back of the boat, and fish the other two using trolling sinkers for down riggers right in close to the back. 10’.

    I made the changes yesterday while waiting for family to arrive for Thanksgiving.

    We talked about jigs, and he suggested that I was too reliant on a combo of colors that catch fish for me, but not as many fish as his catch. He said he uses four colors and likes to offer all four while fishing. I looked at the four he was mentioning. One was indeed the one I am so fond of. Three curly tail grubs and one paddle tail. I saw the jig heads and they were store bought plain old things, but all of them were the same color. I asked if that color head was anything special or did he just have some of these lying around. He smiled. I am gonna make some new heads soon. LOL

    I don’t wish to blab away all of his secrets and such what he shared, but if you follow some of the other threads of mine I am sure you will notice some changes in what I will be making. I have had time to think about what I learned. How he swapped out one of my jigs for one of his and started to catch fish. I saw that. No really I watched him do that and then this morning saw where this old thread was back and folks were interested in colors, and stories about colors, and decided to add this drivel about colors.

    I surmise it all has to do with the quality of the water. The fish must grow up in it, learn to hunt in it, and if successful at that, mature. The eyeballs of the fish are the same whether the water is clear or cloudy, but a fish from clear water probably wouldn’t live long in cloudy, and vice versa. Starve to death as they would be at a disadvantage with the minnows that……grew up in that water.

    I have read that dark baits are more easily seen in stained water, but his baits were not dark at all. Brightly colored. The jig head was brightly colored. I am thinking that in my lakes the fish key in on lightly colored jigs much better. The color combo that I discovered to be so successful for me was only one key to the lock. Now I have three other keys, and that might make the difference for me going forward. This man has won tournaments, and wins consistently, and has crappie fished for fifty years…..IN THESE EXACT SAME LAKES !!!!

    I would say that makes him an expert, and me a fool if I don’t surrender and just join in. So I will be making some new jig heads, and ordering some new plastic baits. I also plan to tie up some bucktail jigs using these color combinations, even if they will not be a perfect match. He let me take a picture of his open jig box for reference.

    Because I make my own lures and such, I hope to best his performance. Tall order I know. I saw that he uses a few jig heads, and adds plastic baits as needed. Well what a pain that was. Every fish they were pulled down and even after reeling in no fish on they were pulled down. I mentioned that I glued my baits to the heads and he seemed curious an d said so all your baits have jigs on them already, and I said yes. I plan to keep doing this because it really bugs me when I see a jig spinning, twirling, because the bait has slid down.

    I also mentioned to him about the new rig I will be using very soon. He had heard of such a thing but had never seen one. We discussed it a little and decided they would be best fished on the two rods in the back with sinkers on them for depth control. I think they will do just fine and might nab me a trophy.



    So in conclusion, I have formulated some facts. Number one is be ready to adapt. Next up, try to limit your selections to just a few colors, the ones that work best for your lake. Try to figure this out as he has done. Finally, whatever you think you know for certain is actually open for change at the same rate as the fish teach. HAH !!!! That is right, be flexible because they are a fickle lot.
    Maybe they will bite this one……
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  2. #22
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    Good stuff. For me I found out years ago color don’t matter nearly as much as presentation. I use to pour a whole lot and took a lot of tackle with me. Now a days I have one small bin of plastics, one small tackle bag of hand ties as well as drop shot and weight stuff and then lastly a compartment tray of size 1/16-1/4oz jigheads. Doesn’t matter the lake, clarity or weather I just tie on what I feel like at that time and I’ll fish it until I lose it or have to downsize. I have several rods tied up with either plastics or handties and will alternate between them. Most of what I tie on has three colors and usually bright. Head one color, body another and then tail the last color. When I do tone it done it’s usually a grey ghost color or just a pearl body of come sorts. I also don’t beg them to bite. I’m constantly moving to find active fish. I have one friend that will go with me and we won’t be in a spot but a few minutes and I’m pulling up trolling motor. Throws him for a loop when I do. Lol.

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  3. #23
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    Well I couldn’t stand it and was weak and did fail. Yup, visited Slabanator.com again.

    Ordered some of his BootyThumpers. I was very impressed with the quality of the plastic and the brightness of the colors. They are durable and offer a great swimming motion as well. I can see my rod tips wiggling as they swim.

    Got four colors that are a close match to what I saw in his lure box. I think these will serve me very well going forward. My plan is to use just these new baits on the new jig heads I will make when mold arrives, painted in the color the man was using. Well as close as I can get anyways.

    I just trust that the guy wasn’t snookering me about it all, and I watched him change off my very carefully selected jig for one of his and BAM. The fish definitely preferred his jigs.

    So old Slabanator got me yet again.
    Maybe they will bite this one……
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  4. #24
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    Some good observations and tips here, Micanopy and dr nip. Thanks!
    Bob

  5. #25
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    Well I showed up at the club meeting today. The weather was beautiful. I was supposed to be helping with the cook. I brought six large vacuum packs of nice clean crappie fillets. Then I powdered each one and dropped it into grease at 350 degrees. Then out onto a wire rack. Then onto a serving pan. It was more fish than they cared to eat. Several spoke of how delicious everything was. I thought they tasted really good. Then they recognized me for providing the fish and cooking it. Then they broke out take-her-home boxes and took the remainder home.

    I did good.
    Maybe they will bite this one……
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  6. #26
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    It is certainly a good feeling as the cook when there are no leftovers. Sounds like you did a great job
    The love for fishing is one of the best gifts you can pass along
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  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by DockShootinJack View Post
    It is certainly a good feeling as the cook when there are no leftovers. Sounds like you did a great job
    Jack, I helped a caterer prepare and serve a Christmas dinner for a company party. Busy time of year for them. We cooked everything on site. Loaded mashed potatoes, green beans, mac-n-cheese, and my favorite….prime rib.

    The prime rib was amazing. The vacuum packs cost $225 and we did three of them. That was some stress for me as ruining the party was one thing, but ruining $700 of meat was another. LOL

    His cooker has rotating platforms inside and is gas fired and works like a rotisserie oven basically. We could have added wood for smoke but did not. Pulled each piece when they hit 115-118 degrees, and each arrived at that temperature at different times, which I did not understand.

    The carved slices were excellent and I nibbled on the chop block’s share. They had a little pug nosed dog and boy he sure liked me. So serving others twice within a few days has taught me a lot. Like sometimes you have to clean your fingernails, and sometimes you just let the raw meat take care of all of that.

    Just kidding. The raw meat didn’t actually get everything out from under my nails.

    Rich people dinner. They had several large screen TV’s and all sorts of fancy expensive things to gift away. They gave me a nice tip, which was very nice. They had lights strung all over everything. When we got there a man who worked for them was finishing the display. Man that must be nice huh, a man to string lights wherever the wife says. He had them all the way up the palm trees and there were dozens of those. Looked like Whoville.

    Catering business is not for me though. We didn’t get to serve until about 730 or so. Man that makes for a long night. Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays, whatever is the most hassle- yes that is the night we want to be served. I plan to help some more but what a tough line of work. Go like hell, stand around and wait, go like hell, stand around and wait, go back and clean everything, then go home. Yuck.

    I bought some new rods with my tip money. Rhino Rods from Wally World. I needed some six footers to better suit my boat’s new layout. Going to be much easier than the ten footers I now have in those holders. So I will have 16’-11’-6’ dangling over the sides of the front of the boat. This should offer a nice spread that will allow me to alter course without a disaster.

    Last trip out I hooked and landed a 9.8 pound bowfin. What a savage he was. Apex predator looking thing. Nasty teeth. Like a musky I imagine. The locals call them mudfish so I figured he was not edible and back he went. Man he was strong. If my lines were close together, say two feet like most folks do, he would have made a huge mess.

    Had a special request to make a fellow club member some jigs. He wanted them painted gold, with a brass spinning blade underneath, in 1/16th oz size, with 1/0 sickle hooks. I didn’t take a picture but they looked pretty good to me. Used a new technique for securing the large gold 3D eyes to them and was very pleased. I sure hope he catches some fish with them.

    Had a friend visit the other day, and he bought all of my surf fishing stuff. All except about four rods. Those rods were my powerful distance casting rods. Cast a baited rig over 200 yards with them no problem. Anyways I loaded him up with sinker molds, hooks, bits-n-bobs of all sorts and fashions, line, reels, all manner of things. Stuff that took two decades to accumulate. Off he went with it all and we will settle up later. Told him mail me a check for what you think it is worth.

    I just didn’t want to see all that stuff sit in plastic tubs and melt down. I don’t plan to go surf fishing anytime soon. The drive was way too far at two hours each way. Many times I had driven there only to arrive and see horrible conditions, like muddy water. There were only a few times of year when I would catch something nice, as those fish migrate up and down the coast. You either fish when they are around or forget about catching them. I have a cart with fancy wheels that travels over soft sand and that made life somewhat bearable, but still walking a mile down the beach to get to a good spot was tough. High winds were always an issue, and then there were the people. Strollers walking down the beach- “Catching any ?”

    I told him that crappie fishing from a dumb boat was going to be much better for me all the way around. Not sure if he will ever figure out what some of the bits-n-bobs do. I designed and made rigs of all sorts. Some were very simple, and some complex. Some were for sharks and tarpon and others made to fish for pompano way way out there. I invented several new rigs along the way and one of them has become very popular. I helped him learn how to pour sinkers and got him started. Now he has a very lucrative business selling specialized sinkers and I couldn’t be happier for him. He has worked very hard and now is starting to enjoy some payback from it all.

    He liked my jigs but so does everyone else. At least they say so. LOL

    Oh and I bought something else. A nice pair of fluffy gloves. Man that wind is cold when you have to steer the boat. HAH !
    Maybe they will bite this one……
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  8. #28
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    I considered building a smoker trailer several times and doing some catering. I enjoy making the finished product for sure. I have done a few graduations and weddings. Between a 100 and 200 pounds of pulled pork each time. Honestly the best gig out there would be just selling the vacuum sealed pork and let them turn it into a party. In the end I will stick to this industrial maintenance. Operators and robotics can be a pain in the rear, but it is the evil that I know best. Those bowfin are some prehistoric critters for sure. In South Alabama they had a bowfin tournament every year. Never known anyone to eat one. I remember when those Rhino Rods came out and how much of a stir they caused as to witch was tougher them or the ugly stick
    The love for fishing is one of the best gifts you can pass along
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  9. #29
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    Angry

    Went this morning and did what I figured I’d do- 15. Kept seven fat devils. Nice fish. Gifted at the ramp to some locals. The man said- Hey thems nice fish!

    They were too.

    My all new attention to color coordination was on display today. I’m using four combinations and all got bit today. New rods also did fine. New rod holder configuration worked even better. I was able to maneuver around obstacles in an abrupt fashion. Two tangles were from turns, weeds or fish. Had more confidence in my baits and presentation today than ever before. :)

    Gorgeous day- 55 degrees and warmed fast, water was at 62 and smooth.

    Saw where portions of the lake were smooth, and other areas right beside those that had ripples. Defined boundary. So……. can you tell me why that happens ? Wasn’t depth as it was all shallow. Weird phenom.

    Cooking some ribs now. Akorn smoker. Four hours from now they will be good to go. I smoke at 225-235 for two hours, wrap in foil and add sauce and sweet and back on for one hour, then unwrap and allow them to finish for about another hour. Teriyaki is nice when used lightly, and that is what I will do this time. Use a computer controlled fan to keep the smoker’s temps spot on. Impossible to botch the deal.

    Ribs have so much range that most judge solely based on them freeing from the bones very easily. The flavor is the key, and I like the meat to only leave the bone when my teeth pull on it. Want some smoke and some seasoning and some crust. The cut of ribs plays a large role of course, but I like to buy the St Louis style when on BOGO. Why pay $25 for a rack when restaurant down the street sells their’s for that same $25 -cooked and they do a great job ?

    A good cook and make a great cut of meat taste really good. A great cook can make a bad cut of meat taste really good. I make bad meat worse sometimes, but not today.

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    Thank you very much CRAPPIE.COM people for the guidance, advice, and support. Almost a year now and I am doing better than many of the locals who have fished these lakes for years. I can’t wait to start helping some of these newbies with some pearls of wisdom. Them fellers what got my fish today sure looked impressed with what I had, and I tossed fish I used to keep. One fish was wearing a bad Christmas sweater and said that if I let him go, and just kept going there would be a bigger one coming along soon. So I did. Sure enough he said same exact thing. It was obvious from looking into his beedy little eyes that he was lying. In the live well he went. Destined to remain trapped inside some redneck’s septic tank some where. Poor guy. Christmas time and all, too.

    Wanna see what color combinations I am using ?
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  10. #30
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    What colors ya got?

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