jsettnek

Give out a few samples. The best way to get into Dick's or Bass Pro is to have guys in there asking if they carry your baits. Dick's does carry some homegrown baits. I picked up some cool hand pour plastic worms in a North Carolina store with a label on it I could make on my home printer.

That looks incredible.

use gate cutters, if you have them. They cut right through lead easily. I usually cut the lead away from the hooks on jigs I mess up so I can try again. If you want to file them, get a respirator with filtration. I bought one rated for asbestos and lead dust at home depot for $25. Sit out on the porch and file away. The dust won't hang around outside.

Thanks everyone. My big concern with putting it outside the bunks was that I can't see the screws from inside battery compartment. It has a solid construction in that area. I'd probably be ok cause I was planning on using a quality marine sealant. The other thing is I really rely on the trailer's self-correcting abilities and I could see knocking that thing off a couple times a year. So I ordered a shoot thru cone transducer. I may still put the skimmer on in an area that will work at slow speeds for when I'm idling around.

I'm installing a Lowrance HDS on my boat. I've been struggling with this since yesterday. I have a stepped transom on my Nitro bass boat. The best area (also recommended by a dealership) I have to place a skimmer seems like it could possibly hit the roller on the trailer when loading or unloading. I'm not sure though. I imagine since the boat floats it would not hit it but I'm torn on whether to put it there or sink another $70 into a cone type transducer and mount it in the bilge which is not what I really want to do. Has anybody dealt with this before? Here's a picture of my transom.

I can't deny the benefits of tungsten. It's smaller, has great feeling to it and makes more noise than lead. I like it... A lot! That said, I don't like the idea of paying $6 for 3 to 4 weights. It just isn't realistic. And I doubt the price will come down very much since Tungsten is in a very short supply and takes over 6,000 degrees to melt (which means it's hard to work with). This brings me to my next issue. For those of us that make our own tackle, tungsten is just not possible to work with. If there was a total ban on lead every small time tackle company would fold or move to steel and brass. Oh yeah 1 disadvantage of tungsten (and it isn't a big deal) it's so hard it will smash your glass beads. I can't tell you how many beads I've broken with an 1/8 oz weight.

Potomacbass.com is good. A friend of mine ordered his maps that we used to practice for BWS Northeast Regional in 06. The potomac is a great place to fish just be careful of the shallow flats. They sometimes extend out a couple hundred yards from the bank. Have fun!

I did smolt the mold and I poured a few without hooks before I did them with hooks. You may be right about lead temp. I set it on 6 which I though was good. The do-it instructions said the lead should be 700-800 degrees so maybe I'm running too cool. I'll give it try tomorrow and let you know how I do. Thanks again

I just started pouring my own jigs like 8 hours ago. I've never poured my own lures so of course I picked a doozie of a starter-- The poison tail jig. I've encountered a couple of problems so far. I'm hoping someone here can help me solve them. I'm using the lee production pot (has a pour spout on the bottom) and of course the poison tail jig mold. I have the correct hooks and weed guards. I can pour the jigs without the hooks and weed guards and they look perfect but when I add the hooks and weed guards they don't fill completely. Is there a trick to get around this or am I just missing something completely? Thanks for any help...