CJ

Nice fish! Crankin' cold water with a Shad Rap! Good job!

Nice work!!!

First off, it all depends on what I want for the presentation. Some heads stand up on the bottom, some don't. Some swim well with the hook always up, some don't. That's just some things to think about. A good jig head that is tying friendly would be the tear drop for hair. I look at the collar on a jig head to make sure I have enough room for tying and I like the way a tear drop tapers down to the collar. Some heads can be tough to tie if it has a small collar and also look at the type of collar or keeper. Some arkie molds have just a ball on the end. This will give you less flair out of the hair when you tighten down on. Just a thought.

Very nice smalljaw! I noticed you did something I've been trying to learn, multiple jig head paint. Is that powder coat?

I personally have been throwing it on 12# fluorocarbon on a 6' 10" finesse jig rod (MH/Fast). Any spinnerbait rod would be good and you could go with a medium power. Slow roll them on the bottom has been best so far but I think you could fish them with about any spinnerbait type presentation. Sometimes on the slow retrieve I kill it to make sure I'm staying down on the bottom. Just what I've done so far.

You should go to "Tacklemaking" under forums on this sight, use the search bar, and you'll find everything you need to know.

I didn't read all replies but Sam hit on a big part of price difference. Look at Zoom. They pretty much throw their plastics in a basic labeled, zip lock. Rage Tail has clam shell packaging that keep all the lures in perfect form. Those clam shells aren't cheap. This is just a good example of the many expense's that are involved with getting the lures made to getting them to the shelves. Not saying that all Zoom are junk, there not. I do think Rage Tail is a fine line of baits!

Did you get the shallow or deep ones?

Last year the March BFL on KY Lake was won on a single Colorado spinnerbait. The TVA was pulling a lot of water and the lake was muddy. He was throwing a 3/4 OZ with, I think, a #6 size blade. He was fishing 3-5 ft. deep on flats at the mouths of the bays and in the back of some bays. I fish these spinnerbaits in that type conditions and I fish black ones at night during the summer. In both cases, I slow roll them on the bottom and make sure I'm making contact with the bottom most of the time. Colorado blades put out more vibration than willows so I look for a time I need to make more vibe (less viability). Spinnerbaits are a lure that will work year around and just about everywhere on the globe.

I believe there is a lot left to be discovered with this lure. The under spin jigs have been around for decades and are proven fish catchers. Most anglers love to fish these on deeper structure that has clear water during prespawn. However I bet this lure is going to be great throughout the year as a finesse type lure for those tough days where the fish don't want to bite. The test runs I did on this lure were more than I expected! The action of the buck tail and hackle are very unique and life-like. The profile of the bait is spot on and I think versatility in presentations will be a strong point too. I also expect that clear water isn't going to be mandatory for this lure to produce. This lure will be getting it's first real test at the ABA Championship in April on Lake Dardenelle!

It's a new mold called herring head jig

I make my own:

That's a good un' right there! Way to go! Funny how some big girls stay that deep this time of year.

Same identical bait. Both companies are Pradco. Pradco just dropped the Excalibur name all around.