Munkin

I really like the people at Hagensfish but their premium blades are not as good as Worth or Lakeland. Several years ago I got samples from each company and Lakeland was the best. Worth is good except they don't have premium Black nickel, copper, and some other colored blades. Worth is also almost 3x the price for gold plated blades. Lakeland owns a plating company so they can beat everyone elses prices. Allen

I need to buy one of those baits to see what they are trying to accomplish? Allen

Fishingskirts.com sells an o-ring you can run behind the back of the skirt to get the bottom layer to flare. The other thing you can do is just use a hole-in-one skirt which has the same flare. Allen

Suspending for a set water temp otherwise it will float of sink. Allen

I think the Black Label are as close as you are going to find. Cliff bought the duplicator machines and is making the baits in the same way. He does personally make a lot of those baits, just remember he is a full time Pro so he may not be able to do everything himself like Ed did. Cliff did sell me 200 of the DBait style blanks that I just have not been able to get around to finishing like I thought I would. Allen

Use these with some epoxy or a piece of heat shrink over the weight. Allen

Fat Impact 3.8 most of the time I am fishing them. This year I plan on trying some more craw trailers though. Allen

You can just look and see what size should work the best. Some of the solder is way to big to use for this. Use the smaller size and then put a piece of heat shrink around it. Allen

Weight sliding on an internal wire, think pre-made carolina rig setup without the bead. Daiwa used it in their TD Dartist jerkbait which is where I got the idea from. It will make noise when first casted and then when the weight slides back into its resting place. I will check my Dartist minnows and see if I can take a picture of the weight transfer system. Allen

A buddy of mine knows people overseas that can make blanks. He said I could use his account to get a custom blank made I just have to pay for everything minus his discount. While I have made lures for 30+ years I never thought I would have the opportunity to make a two-piece hard blank. Everything is just a thought in my mind for the design phase right now but I think I want to go through with it. Plan is to make a silent about 95mm jerkbait in two models. One would be like 3-5' and the other 5-9' deep based on what I know best. Already have a concept for the weight transfer system that does not require rattles. Just need to think more about it and come up with some design concepts and bring A-Jay on board. This is not a quick or cheap thing to produce so it may take me 1-2 years but is something I want to see through. Not even sure why I am posting it now except I could use some imput from others as to what they would like to see? Allen

Silent jerkbaits work way better for me than ones with rattles. As for rattle traps most of the time I am using them in muddy water. Allen

This is the best answer to losing less crankbaits from the bank. Allen

The only thing I have seen like this is I bought a Jitterbug lure that looked like a mouse. Lure was smaller and had a soft plastic tail. If you are looking for stuff like this I recommend Ichiban Tackle or Japanlire.com. These are the two places I know of that have things people in the US besides AJay have never heard of? Final comment is learn the metric system before your order anything. Allen

Missed the line tie when you first posted this. The only bait I have with this line tie bend is a Rebel that is at least 25 years old. I suspect the tube keeps the first bead from getting into the line tie? Allen

Never heard of Ament molds? If the mold below is what you are looking for they shouldn't be hard to find. Regularly someone tries to sell me one and I don't know anything about that bait. Allen

Generally stay away from the economy, either the premium or regal. Not much difference in nickel between the two but regal is best for gold and copper. Allen

Why to I envision you looking like one of the characters from "The Outsiders" selling baits? Allen

I got some of those 3.8" Flick shakes in a trade and they are magnets for any small fish. Biggest bass has been a 11" SM but I did catch a 13" Goggle-eye along with a rainbow trout on them. Allen

Oval split rings are better because there isn't a change of the line getting caught in the o-ring. All my baits I have replaced the line tie with an oval split ring or removed it for a cross lock snap. Allen

Starting to get some interest here! For those of you who don't know Black Hills is a great place for big fish in the spring. My record is 7-2 with a ton of 5-6lb bass caught here in the spring. Allen

As I am trying to figure out how to make baits with components that don't exist I figured I would vent my frustration to see what everyone else is looking for. When making baits I fall back on 30 years of bass fishing experience and an engineering background. Unfortunately I am finding things I need don't exist so I have to get them custom made at crazy prices. Below I will list out what I am currently looking for. 1. Indiana blade in size 5.5, what I find is there is a large jump between size 5 and 6 indiana blades. Something inbetween would be perfect for a lot of applications but a mold from Lakeland is $3900 which is a bit steep right now. 2. 30 degree medium wire hooks in sizes 1/0 to 3/0. Mustad makes one in 4/0 and 5/0 but I need something smaller for small swim jigs. etc. which I cannot currently make without hand bending some 60 degree hooks. 3. Titanium spinnerbait wire= I have a guy that I can get some wires from but he only has less than 100 a year and they are like $3 each. Need to find someone that can make them in bulk and at a cheaper cost. 4. Skirt tabs I can have made in whatever color I want just need to buy a crazy amount of like 10k which is more than I could ever use in a single color. What is everyone else looking for as I maybe able to help? This is just my b***h list of things I need but cannot find without getting a second mortgage on my house to pay for. Allen

Last time I bought some Uncle Josh pork in this color was 1988. Man than picture just brings back memories. Allen

Maybe once a year I will use a jig with rattles? Like everything else there are days when a rattle jig really shines. All my rattle jigs are black as the only time they seem to work is muddy water. Allen

Where can I find this bait? I need some for a color reference. Allen

BOSS use to sell a head like the War Eagle screaming eagle which was nice. Looked the other day and I guess its discontinued. Allen