smalljaw67

He is using one of these https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Man_Finesse_Bulletz_Weedless_Jigheads_3pk/descpage-ZMFB.html . This is a type of weighted hook that allows you to move a bait on the bottom in bodies of water with extremely rocky substrate. These are used a lot by river smallmouth anglers because it doesn't get hung as much as a traditional jig head. Most use the Confidences Baits Draggin heads or River Rock Baits Crawler heads as the finesse bulletz only came out a year ago.

I make my own now but I learned to use that with the 7/16oz Biffle Hardhead. The most success I've had with them is by fishing them like a crankbait. A 1/2oz head with a Sweet Beaver and retrieved over a hard bottom with scattered chunk rock at a medium pace using a 7.1:1 reel. The other way is with a 1/8oz to 1/4oz head with a River Rock Custom Baits RR Striker swimbait and I slowly swim it. I like using that method around wood cover and brush piles because the bait is rigged weedless and the way it deflects really triggers aggressive strikes at times.

Wide willows, Olympic, mag willows, Oklahoma, and turtle back are all names for the same type of blade. In supply stores you see either wide willow, Olympic, or mag willow, the other names, Oklahoma and turtle back are names given by a spinnerbait manufacturer, also the War Eagle Mike McClelland finesse spinnerbait in the 5/16oz size uses a #4 mag willow. I haven't come across the 3/16oz version but I'd guess it is a #3, I have those blades in #3, #4, and #5 and the #4 I think would be a little much on a 3/16oz bait.

Micro style jigs have been around a long time, way before the Ned rig became popular. I know because I've been making micro jigs for close to 20 years. They are in a similar situation the Ned rig was in before Z-Man exposed it to the masses. A lot of anglers have been using micro jigs (1/32oz - 1/4oz depending on head style) for years but it isn't talked about much. There are clubs throughout NY, PA, and NJ that have winter tournaments and I'm guessing that is where Iaconelli learned the technique since it is basically used in cold water but also a tactic for clear and/or pressured water. If you don't overpower that bait using heavy line, rods, and reel they will catch fish and not just numbers. The smaller light wire hooks will not bend out when using the proper tackle but remember, the weed guards are light too, so you aren't throwing them into heavy cover. In fact the weed guard is basically there to keep the small heads from getting wedged in rocks and light brush. There are trailers made for this style of jig but they are usually Japanese and are a little pricey. http://www.leesglobaltackle.com/category-s/177.htm

When the river I fish gets low in the Summer the water will be gin clear and slow moving. In that situation a clear topwater will draw big fish and a lot of times it will be the only topwater that will get bit on a consistent basis. I fish a clear Super Spook and Super Spook Jr. as well a clear discontinued prop bait called a Dying Flutter. I think the clear works so well when the water is clear because they don't get spooked

To me that is below the clevis or underneath. I guess it would be better to say a bead on top is needed, a bead on the bottom isn't but I use one anyway. I'm thinking we aren't talking about the same bead. When I say "above" the clevis I mean on top toward the swivel, "below" the clevis is toward the "R" bend.

You should have a bead above the clevis, the bead acts as a bearing and allows it to spin better. I know a lot of guys don't use a bead under the clevis but I do and it is simply because I've always done it and it looks better to me.

No rule of thumb, and distance can be short or long depending on what you want the bait to do. For me I use a small bead then the clevis then another bead and after that it could be a leader sleeve/spacer tube or a few more beads or just a larger bead. I make a 1/4oz spinnerbait with a short blade arm, it is a double willow configuration with both willows being a size #3.5. The blade arm measured from the top of the "R" bend to the top of the swivel loop is 1.25" and the spacing on that bait is a 1/8" bead then the clevis and another 1/8" bead followed by a 3/16" bead then the swivel loop. The blades are separated but when spinning it produces a single large flash so I get the flash of a large blade without the added torque so my bait is more stable which allows me to move it faster without the bait rolling on its side. You really have to experiment with spacing and blade sizes but in general the closer the blades are the more vibration you get but the more unstable it is. The further apart the blades are gives you increased stability but less vibration. I also believe you have to factor flash into the equation as well, 2 blades closer together creates a large flash where as keeping the blades further apart gives off two distinct flashes and sometimes one will do better than others. You can get really deep into the woods with this stuff so here is what I will tell you to do. Make 2 baits that are the same except for the blade spacing, make one with a short space between blades and the other make with the blades further apart and then fish them both and see what it looks like and how the baits react to speed and how the fish respond. Don't worry about getting the blades too close, the blade on the clevis doesn't really spin, it rotates around the wire and the end of the blade gets forced away from the wire so it is really hard to have one blade interfere with the other so try different spacing and see what works in what situation.

I have gone behind guy that were throwing white spinnerbaits down a stretch of bank with no bites. I make 3 casts with a bluegill pattern spinnerbait (green pumpkin, blue, orange) and catch a 4lber and 2 casts after that I catch a solid 3lb fish. The guys come up after a bit and asked what I was using and I told him a 1/2oz double willow spinnerbait, he then tells me they were throwing the same thing and not even a follow. I mentioned that I saw them throwing a white one and showed him my bait, he told me he only had white and white and chartreuse and so I gave him one of my baits in my "green gill" pattern (watermelon, green pumpkin, and blue). He makes the same run as before but this time he catches 3 bass, and ever since that day he always has different color spinnerbaits with him. I saw him late last month and he had 6 different colors of spinnerbaits in addition to the white one and told me white has been his least productive since I showed him how well my blue gill color worked. So I know without a doubt that fish have become conditioned to white spinnerbaits in my waters, I'm guessing it is that way in a lot of places because most everyone throws white spinnerbaits.

A lot of different companies make single blade spinnerbaits. The only issue is most of them come with a Colorado blade so if you prefer a willow blade just swap it out, a quick fix. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Single_Blade/catpage-SPNNR1BL.html

I find it funny that you don't fish a fat crank being a river smallmouth angler. One of the all time greats for river smallmouth is the Rapala Fat Rap and I have a lot of success with the Rapala DT Fat 3. I fish the Susquehanna river and I use a lot of Rapala baits and the Fat 3 is killer and I wonder if it is so good because there aren't many throwing it

Roller, crane, and barrel swivels spin on each end so there any difference on which end you use. Ball bearing swivels are different as they only spin on one end but they spin so free that most anglers never take notice. When your blade is on the free end of the swivel it will spin even better and when using a Worth or Sampo swivel it will be ridiculous at how slow you can reel the bait the keep the blade spinning.

Yes, and there is an easy way to make sure the blade goes on the right end of the swivel. Simply hold the swivel and see which end spins and which end does not, the end that spins is where you attach the blade. The blade will spin if you have it reversed but not as easy, and just so you know this is a mistake a lot of people make when they first start building a spinnerbait.

The Sweet Beaver is my hands down favorite for a swing head jig. I also like using the smaller versions like the Smallie Beaver and Gambler Little Otter on a small football head and dragged over shallow rock flats for smallmouth.

I have DT-4s, 6s, 10s, and 14s not to mention the DT Flat 3s and 7s as well as the DT Fat 1 and Fat 3. I guess you can say I'm a fan of those baits and I actually had 1 bill pull out, it was a long time ago and it happened when I slapped the lure against the water to knock some weeds off the hook. I sent the bait it and they replaced it but the bill pulling out was my fault as I know slapping the lure against the water to get the grass off is wrong but I did it. Since that time I have not had any more issues but remember, the DT series is a balsa bait so hitting bridge pilings or docks can, and will cause some problems. That said, I've had 4 or 5 Lucky Craft Pointer 78s and 100s and 2 Megabass Vision 110s that ended up with broken bills from bumping rocks, and to be fair I know this can happen as those baits are normally fished during cold water period so I understand the bills can become brittle. I'd say that if you don't slap the lure against the water you'll be fine, I've been using the DT series since it came out and only had 1 bill come out and 1 bait has a small nick on the back as I made an errant cast and the bait bounced off of some rip rap.

Capt. Hooks if you need to get 500 to 1000 hooks, otherwise you can do better at Barlow's or LPO.

Unfortunately without a link or picture nobody is going to be able to provide you any real help. The reason being is there are a lot of different jigs and skirts on the market and it could even be something someone put together so without a visual aid it will be almost impossible to find with your description. I was kind of thinking it might be something like the old Northland Jungle jig or maybe it is one of the old vinyl skirts but you need to find the video to get an answer.

Go with black or white, the universal colors for soft plastics and jigs. Black and white show up well in murky water while also being natural which also makes it a good choice for clear water.

If you don't want a rubber skirt collar you will need to tie the skirt on with mono, braid, thread or wire. The only other alternative is what flyfisher mentioned which is small zip ties. You can also use O-rings, I've heard the BOSS O-rings are really good but I don't use them so I don't know if they are any different than what you can get at a hardware store. https://fishingskirts.com/product/boss-skirt-rings-50-pack-760/

Making my own baits came out of necessity and it began with the spinnerbait in '98. Now I have tied simple bucktails going back to '95 but I wasn't casting my own jigs at that time. Anyway, a long trip without getting any bites for over 4 hours was frustrating, I had a Strike King spinnerbait tied on and made an errant cast so I was reeling super fast when a nice smallmouth hammered the lure, that was something I never thought of doing. So I continued to burn the bait and it saved my day as I racked up over a dozen more in the last 2 hours but I missed a lot more. Reeling that fast caused the bait to lean and often roll over and a lot of fish would hit the blade because of that action. Every bait on the market did it and so I began changing blades and discovered downsizing the blades made the bait run better but it wasn't perfect. So after more tinkering I found ways to make the baits work for me and thought I may as well make from scratch since I was buying baits and then different blades and clevises and figured I could do better from scratch. Then came more and more and now it is an addiction but one I don't intend to quit voluntarily.

If I'm throwing a jig, any kind of jig or a spinnerbait it will be mine 95% of the time, 5% of the time it will be made by someone else and that means 100% of the time it will be homemade. Also, I prefer the term "custom" made because there are a lot of guys who make stuff out of their garages that could compete with any factory bait in both looks and performance.

A 4/0 will work, I use a 5/0 for that size. In fact one thing that works in a few lakes here during summer is an oversize shaky head. I make my own and for a 10" worm I use a 3/8oz head with a 5/0 hook and it works really well, most bites are at the head. I use the 10" Culprit original in red shad and the Berkley Power Worm 10" in blue fleck, if one isn't getting it done the other will.

What you are describing is a short drop shot but instead of using drop shot weights the person is using split shot. They also make the tag very short so you get the feel of something like a jika rig. I haven't used that because the wacky jig-aka flick shake, is just so effective in my water.

Terminator was made originally by a company called "Outdoor Innovations" or something like that. They first were sold by way of infomercial before the internet was in everyone's home. I got one of the kits from the T.V. commercial and it came with a Jimmy Houston spinnerbait tips VHS tape. The first ones were good then they came out with Terminator snap back plastics, these were the original elastech soft plastics (I still have a bag of worms from them) and not long after that they were purchased by Normark, the parent company of Rapala. Not long after Rapala bought them was when complaints about people losing the blades and swivels off of them, and it was because there ould be a gap on the swivel loop on some baits and you couldn't bend the gap closed because the titanium would just go right back. So they did something else to them to make sure that didn't happen anymore, it was the second version of the Terminator and that is the version that had reports of the wire breaking and not long after that they introduced the "original T-1 bait" again. I honestly believe they changed the tempering process in order to make sure the swivel loops would stay closed and a lot of the wire forms ended up being brittle so they went back to the original way and marketed as the T-1 so anglers knew they were different. That is just an opinion but why else would you go back to the original unless something was wrong with the newer version?

They can but only if there is no room for the clevis and blade to slide up to the bead freely. You mentioned the clevis as one you purchased for walleye harnesses, that sounds like you have a folded clevis, if that is the case and it is a small size then that is where your issues are, use the easy spin aka stirrup clevis in a size #3, that will fix your problem.