Jig Man

Buy your own boat. There are too many things that can go wrong and you get the blame with a borrowed one.

Don't take anything else and you'll have to use them.

Except in very cold clear water I haven't found color to be much concern. All fall I have fished with hi vis yellow and white Power Pro vertical jigging in 25-40 fow. For a while my pard was using some kind of smoke fire line. After a few beatdowns he asked if I would spool him up some hi vis yellow.

I had the costa mirrors and couldn't see my gps screen so I traded them for the amber and have been happy of 2 years.

If you got your jigs in one box then you don't own enough jigs. I have 6 boxes and 2 tackle bags just for jigs.

I don't own any reels except Shimano so that is all I can speak about. I have Solstace, Sahara, Symmetry, and Stradic spinning reels. All of them do a good job for me. Most of my reels have been in service for 10 or more years and are still going strong. If I had to choose an all around reel that will do most anything and be dependable for a long time then I'd get the Symmetry. What ever you choose, I suggest a 2500 size with a front drag for the best all around size and performance.

Don't think about entry level. Buy a good reel that will last you for a long time and be easy to use. I have tried lots of brands and found the most reliable for me is the Shimano. The Citica is a good reel and not in the entry class but in the semi entry price. I'd get it if that were my price range if I could swing it I'd get the Curado E5. I bought one last summer for cranking and that thing is awesome.

Since I fish jigs and plastics a lot most of my strikes come as the bait is falling. As soon as my bait hits the water or just before it hits the water I engage my reel and get my rod in the 10:00 position. When I see line move or feel a strike I set the hook immediately before it can spit out the bait. As I am fishing the bait back to me I try to keep in touch with it as much as possible. I also try to keep the rod working from the 9 O'clock to the 12 O'clock position. That way I am always in position to set the hook.

The nice thing about braid is once you think you need to change it out, just take it off and reverse it putting the older used part on the backing and go again. Some of it I have used for way over 5 years doing that.

There is a lot of difference in materials as to how to "tie" them. If you are wanting to just make some bass jigs with silicone skirts the I suggest that you look at places like Jann's Net Craft, or Barlow's and buy yourself some pre molded pre painted jig heads with weedguard installed in the head style you want and the sizes you will fish. Then go to www.fishingskirts.com and buy yourself some skirt tabs. You will need at least 2 tabs for each jig. Buy some bands to hold them on the jigheads and their cheap tool to use for installing. Once you do a hundred or two of them you should know if you want to sock $300-$500 into what it takes to make jigs from scratch. All I can do is caution you to take it easy and slow or you may wind up with a couple of thousand invested like some of the rest of us.

I just use my powder scales from my reloading supplies.

It is a great way to fish for spots when they are suspended. All you have to do is get it in the zone and watch your line. I'd use the lightest weight possible.

Right now I am using straight braid. When it is Jan and Feb if we haven't had enough rain to cloudy the water I'll add a leader of 3-4'. I attach it with the Alberto's knot.

I carry living rubber and silicone jigs in plastic boxes by size 3/4 and 1 oz in a box. 1/2 in another one. 3/8 in a third one. 1/4, 3/16, and 1/8 in the fourth. Then I have smaller jigs made from buck tail and craft hair in other boxes and bags. I'm almost ashamed to say it but I probably have close to 1000 jigs in various sizes and materials in the boat most of the time. I can't have them in packages as I make all of mine.

Down to the upper 20s I wear golf rain gloves. Below that I wear brown jersey beaded gloves for the gripping they provide. I carry extras so if I get some wet, I just pull out another pair. Like stated they are easy to clean (just toss them in the washing maching).

If you experience cross talk then you can change the angle of the trolling motor transducer just a few degrees making it point more forward. I have done this with success in the past.

Do It is where I'd look for molds. But you are going to need a lot more than molds. You'll need: a source of lead a way to melt it a source for hooks (Shorty's Hook Sales if you have a tax ID) skirt material (fishing skirts . com) a good pair of leather gloves and eye protection A guestimate is between $200-300 for startup depending on which and how many molds and skirts you purchase.

You can put the ducer either place. I started out with 1 hds8 and put it at the console. I got a deal on another one and put it on the bow. I etherneted both through the lss bow and really liked to see it up front but finding and fishing stuff was hard to do so I added another lss unit and ducer. In my opinion that is the perfec world because I can see side and down from the front or the back.

The way it was explained to me is down scan shows slices in the water instead of a cone like 2d sonar does. I know that it reaches out to the side some but have never been told how far because fishing on bluffs it will show ledges that actually aren't under the boat but out to the side. I have been running hds units for a couple of years and have gotten to the point that I don't run 2d sonar except when I am driving the boat at plane speeds. I have to do this as the stern down scan ducer comes out of the water and I wouldn't get a reading. Here is a school of white bass I saw last winter on Bull Shoals.

Check out Bear's Baits, Jann's Netcraft, Lure Craft, and Barlows. Some of them if not all will have starter kits. In addition to the kits you will need an old microwave oven, a pair of gloves, and some pyrex or silicone containers in which to melt the plastisol. Take a little trip over to tackleunderground.com and read the dos and don'ts for newbies. That will give you a ton of info and save you a lot of grief.

You should try swimming a black bucktail with an Uncle Josh #11 after the smallie spawn. Sometimes it is awesome.

The fumes from plastisol are indeed toxic if you cook it till it turns black and burns. Otherwise it isn't a problem. When you melt it keep a close watch and if in a microwave do it with short bursts with lots of stirring between bursts. A good infrared thermometer will tell you when it reaches 350° and is ready to pour.

tbone you line on the reels will have a lot of memory come spring. You can run warm water over the spooled up line to lessen the memory and spray with line conditioner before you head for the water.