For Every Season Turn Turn Turn

[DockShootinJack]

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.

Attachment 413885



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 ?

Those 3,2,1 ribs look awesome.

[MCG1]

[Micanopy]

What colors ya got?

Attachment 413921

I always wonder if I am just boring you guys with my ideas, so decided to ask to see if anyone cares. So these are my new colors and I am really liking them.

The paddle tail grub was invented by Lockett Lures and was named the Sassy Shad. (read this on their website so…. ). Charlie Brewer also had a paddle tail design that is said by others to have been first. I have some of each but prefer the Slabanator because of the plastic they use. Their colors are vibrant and bright too, but the plastic doesn’t disintegrate when a fish rips at them. This is important to me because I glue my baits to the heads and want them to last that way for as long as possible.

The Charlie Brewer design features a very soft and short tail and while that flaps at lower speeds, these flap really well at the speeds I like to troll. Look like they are swimming. The Charlie Brewer design also has a longer grub body and shorter tail section. His design is good and would do well with a long shanked hook, but the Slabanator design works very well with a short shanked hook. This leaves more of the bait extended freely behind the bend and able to be incorporated into the swimming waggle of the bait. Small matter I know but little things matter to little fish.

I have been using that short shank EC 571 hook for my jigs and so far really like it. The hook landed that 10 pound bowfin so any crappie I manage is not going to straighten out the hook. Makes it so much easier to get good alignment with the bait because of less plastic needing to be dealt with. I have developed a way to skewer them on in a single fluid motion that yields good results. My baits are on the shank as they should be and not kinked.

My tails are upside down and that is something I kind of like doing. Not sure if it is an advantage or disadvantage. Just something I have been toying around with.

I clip away the pointy tips of my baits as you can see. This leaves me with a flat surface to abut up against the jig head. This is where I dab on some Locktite Gel. Just a dab is all, perhaps a drop. The cut section is raw plastic and free of any oils they use to keep the baits fresh and allows for a good bond. The flattened area also fits up nicely against the head and provides a larger surface contact area for the glue. So far this has worked very well for me. I cannot stand seeing a bait sliding down the shank and balling up only to sit back there and twirl up the line. It also serves to get that lure back into the action much quicker as there is no need to fiddle the thing up. Just remove fish and recast. Seems silly at first but when you figure bites come in small areas while trolling, this becomes more important. The bait that just got bit is back in action quickly.

I originally imagined using just a single bait. The one that was the best and I could simply make that one bait, but it was soon apparent that that was not going to be the case. Some have managed this and only throw one bait style and color combination and good for them. I am presenting six basically. Which is big doings for me as I have a tackle bag loaded down with all sorts of jigs that I made up with bought baits. Whittling that whole mess down to just a small group means I can save money and don’t have to drag around large bags of luggage.

I also have switched to Mr Crappie Hi-Vis mono on my reels now. The braid is gone. The leaders are gone. The little metal clips so I could swap out jigs quickly and easily are gone in favor of the three pass overhand loop knotting directly onto the line. Not sure this is a big deal but sometimes the smallest of things can make a huge difference in results. I am in effect going simple.

The fishing has been tough lately, but it is tough for everyone. Some are still getting limits ( I hear ) but they are probably working hard for them and I suspect keeping fish I would toss back. Surely there are many folks that are far far better than me but I am closing the gap now. Would have been easier to have just copied monkey see fashion but I like to learn as I go, not just accept and repeat. I use to tell people at my surf fishing seminars that if you are not catching fish, drive around and try to make friends and learn what they are doing and then do that. I have always been hard headed in this regard and never really did that myself. That and no one wants to be my friend anyways. LOL

Well maybe not LOL.



I did the latest mod to my FreeStyle mold and the resultant under spin looks great. The wire form comes away from the head at a nice angle and looks great. I will probably post up a thread on how to mod this mold later. It simply could not have been any easier and the results are fabulous. Want an under spin, insert the wire. Don’t want an under spin, skip the wire. There is no lead residue to clean up if you skip it. Very pleased with what I came up with.

Ordered some new spinner blades now that I have learned a little about how and what works. The size is Number 1 in Colorado and Willow Leaf. I also am going to try the Dakota blade. The blade can be the biggest thing the fish sees or a subtle thing that simply enhances the bait. I want to provide just a little extra stimulus to the lure. Get that reaction bite. I will add blades to the lures in the picture at some point and see what happens.

Tried the Alabama Rig thingie and drug it around the lake all day to the big no bite effect. Not sure I want to drag it around any more as maybe the time of year is all wrong for it. Might work better in the heat of Summer.

The drop in water temperature sure has made a difference in my results. Not sure if my technique is less effective or the fish are less active. Hard to know which is in play here but I have caught about seven keeper fish the last four trips. Far cry from the limits of keepers I was used to. Could be the fish, could be me, who knows for sure which it is ? I have changed speeds, drop back distances, head sizes, lure styles and colors, and have been watching others as well as asking them. One old man yelled out that the Moon was all wrong. I yelled back he should fix that for us. So it is probable that no one really knows anything and it is all just a huge joke those evil little fish play on us to get even. Possible.

I am going to try to tie up some bucktail jigs in the colors I like and see how they do. I can downsize those easily and get smaller in case the fish decide they want that.

This whole head weight thing is complex. People say they like 1/32nd ounce, but it all depends doesn’t it ? Is he casting and reeling, is he trolling, is her straight lining, vertical jigging. I have made a lot of mistakes following advice given in various searched threads…….not realizing that the advice was technique specific and completely not applicable to me and what I was trying to do. I imagine others experienced the same when they started out here. The lure that works for a dock shooter probably is not my best choice.

Most of what I have been learning was already discovered and refined by others. Still we all have to find our own way through the swamp. Having been given a map does not mean the trip will be successful. Being able to dead reckon one’s way through the morass provides the best success. I think back at what I was doing when I started out and just giggle. Making my own lures has been fun and rewarding. Made a lot of mistakes but those have mostly been given away to others. LOL

[Micanopy]

Not sure what happened to picture but here it is.

[DockShootinJack]

Good looking colors. Why are some tail up while others are tail down. With your attention to detail there has to be a reason.

[DrNip]

Man them heads look nice. You ever try orange?

[BobC]

Always interesting comments, Micanopy!
Bob

[DrNip]

Yeah if I was trolling I wouldn’t use braid either. I was never a fan of Mr. Crappie line. Had issues with it years ago breaking. If it gives you problems check out Vicsious Panfish mono. Really good line. I prefer Gamma panfish copolymer though over any if I’m not using braid.

[Micanopy]

Good looking colors. Why are some tail up while others are tail down. With your attention to detail there has to be a reason.

Jack I like to experiment and sometimes I discover good things and sometimes bad. Not sure about upside down paddle tails but many do upside down curly tails. I run them next to the boat and try to study them as they swim. These swim beautifully.


DrNip I have some orange paints and might make some up later. Right now I am liking pink, white and chartreuse. The chartreuse is fluorescent, UV reflective and glow in the dark. The white gets dipped in clear with UV enhancement. The pink is floursecent and UV reflective. So these heads are very noticeable and are an important part of the overall color scheme.

I added eyes that were too small to some and got others just right. I thought big as will fit but am changing my mind about that. I want the eyes to look right.

[DockShootinJack]

I have noticed shooting docks in the that if the body gets pulled down the hook. You get no bites. Put it back right where the body is touching the head and they will hammer it. I took a fresh body hooked it where the body lacked a 1/4 inch from touching the jig head. Shot the dock for 30 minutes. Put the body on the hook correctly and they were back to biting.