BASS302

@Catt, I am severely lactose intolerant. I need to take "Lactaid" before I eat any dairy products. At restaurants I need to ask if the item contains dairy. "Lactaid" is a product that contains lactase enzyme that allows a person to digest lactose. There are generic brands available. If you are lactose intolerant, you'll need to determine how many "pills" you'll need to take (trial and error). The enzyme will NOT help if you have developed an allergy to dairy or have some other digestive issue. My lactose intolerance started in my teens and has gotten worse as I grow older. Lactose-free milk is available at some grocery stores. Maybe try a small glass of lactose-free milk and see if that causes abdominal distress. If you drink the lactose-free milk and have abdominal problems, then you probably are not lactose intolerant and there is something else happening.

@JustJames, Why is the bottom of the jig head removed? Or is the paint scraped off and I am imagining things? Good to see you are back posting on BR.

@Jigfishn10, There were two blade configurations. Configuration "D" had a ball-bearing swivel attached to a deep cup colorado blade attached to a ball-bearing swivel attached to a willow blade. Configuration "G" had an inline blade on a short shaft with one bead following the blade. That was attached to a ball-bearing swivel attached to a willow blade. There was no blade configuration having a deep cup colorado on a clevis/shaft connected to a ball-bearing swivel attached to a willow blade. I didn't think of doing that combination. Would that have worked? Maybe I'll try it. Any suggestions on blade spacing or other blade configurations to try? Have you ever used a double clevis on a spinnerbait? If so, any suggestions?

Two years ago, I decided to assemble some spinnerbaits. I wanted to try different spinner blade combinations. I bought unpainted spinnerbait heads, eyes for the spinnerbait heads, several different types of spinner blades, pre-made skirts, straight wire shafts, beads, and ball-bearing swivels. I painted some of the spinnerbait heads white, the other heads were left unpainted. I attached the stick-on eyes, then coated all the heads with epoxy. The epoxy was in side-by-side syringes which was supposed to make it easier to mix the correct ratio. Despite this, some batches of epoxy I spread on the spinnerbait heads stayed soft and sticky and I had to throw out those. I had planned to create a bunch of spinnerbaits, each with a different combination of blades, but no longer had enough heads. So, I came up with this idea to make the blades as attachments (instead of one blade configuration per spinnerbait). (Note: I have since learned that Hildebrandt makes spinnerbaits that have a "quick-blade-change" feature) The final product was a spinnerbait with a “loop” on the blade wire to which blade assemblies could be attached. A small metal tube fastens the loop wire closed. I use a size 3 willowleaf blade on a ball-bearing swivel as a trailer on the spinnerbaits I currently use. I thought a size 3.5 blade would make a better trailer for this set of spinnerbaits (I assumed "Bigger is Better", but, more about this later). Spinner Blade Attachments: A. Double clevis with two #4 Colorado’s B. Double clevis with two #5 deep cup Colorado’s C. Double clevis with #5 deep cup Colorado front, #5 willowleaf in back D. Ball bearing swivel, #5 deep cup Colorado front, ball bearing swivel, #5 willowleaf back E. #5 inline, spacer tubes, #6 inline F. #6 inline, spacer tubes, #6.5 inline G. #6 inline, ball bearing swivel, #5 willowleaf back H. #6.5 inline Parts were purchased from Lure Parts Online and Jann’s Netcraft. Spinnerbait bodies were purchased from Lure Parts Online. Testers Comments I was able to create two sets of spinnerbaits (several spinnerbait heads to go with the various blade assemblies). I found two BR members who volunteered to test the spinnerbaits. Here are some of their comments: 1) The biggest issue I had was fish striking at the back blade on the hook but not being able to put a trailer hook on. 2) First, I threw a Colorado willow combo. Caught first bass of the year on it. The deep cupped Colorado doesn’t spin as freely as a regular Colorado as the leading blade. I found that out making my own. 3) I changed blades to a double inline. Caught a bass on it. It fished well, the blades are slower than others. 4) I switched to a leading inline with trailing willow. It didn’t work. The inline blade interfered with the willow. 5) I don’t know if the blade on the hook does any good. It might be too much. I had a couple of hits that I missed and they may have hit that blade. 5) The willow Colorado combo that has two ball bearing swivels. I flattened the deep cup blade and removed blade on the hook. It worked a lot better with the flattened blade. Like I said before the deep cupped ones don’t spin very well on a combo set up. I caught several bass with it, the vibration felt really nice through the rod tip. The only negative with it was the blades would often not start up immediately. I had to twitch the rod to get them spinning. I don’t know exactly why but I think the leading blade is making contact with the second blade. 6) The double clevis Colorado /willow combo. It seemed to start up pretty fast but there would be times during the retrieve where it would stop spinning. 7) I fished the inline ball bearing. It was interesting. During the retrieve it would randomly "kick" out; like it just hit something. This might be a good thing. Lessons Learned 1) The ½ ounce spinnerbait heads I bought weighed more than ½ ounce. 2) The 3.5 willow blade trailer is too large. 3) Leading Colorado blades should not be deep-cupped versions. 4) The spacing between the leading and trailing blades needs to be optimized. 5) The sizes of the leading and trailing blades need to be optimized. 6) The sizes of the ball-bearing swivels might need to optimized. 7) The blade harnesses should have been made with twisted closed loops. 8) The loop arm with attachable blade harnesses worked, but doesn’t seem to add anything. 9) The epoxy coating on the spinnerbait heads “yellowed” with age on the two spinnerbaits I have.

@Munkin, Thanks. I did more searching, and found that the 1.5 oz Megalo Dooon has a #12 blade and the 2.0 oz has a #15. Not sure of the actual lengths in inches. For comparison, I did see online that a #10 willow is 4.6 inches, so a #12 must be around 5 inches? I don't see how a #12 or #15 is castable.

@Munkin, What are the dimensions of the huge willow blade? And what weight is yours?

It's probably a "supply and demand" issue. There are two sizes, 1.5 oz and 2 oz. Both have huge blades. They seem to be sold out everywhere. Maybe they're no longer made (not listed on the Jackall site) hence a premium price?

Happy Birthday! Thanks for all of the bass information you pass on to us. Thanks for providing copies of articles you have written. Thanks for the photos & diagrams for the lures you have made (like the twin spin).

I was looking through the 2023 Master Angler section in the July issue of In-Fisherman magazine, and for crappie the longest listed is 22 inches. Is this possible? That's longer than my PB Largemouth Bass! How much would a crappie that length weigh?

@gimruis, I don't think that is a McLaren F1. The McLaren F1 had an air intake on the top of the car.

@Ohioguy25, Snippet from the Bill Lewis catalog:

Tackle Warehouse has Bomber Gen 2 lures for $3.99.

@Bankbeater, Maybe a Mann's Hackleback Rooter? (I think that's what it was called)

@A-Jay, That's weird.

There will be two broods this year.