Breene

Ok thats a good idea with the wedding veil fabric. I couldn't think of any ways to make smaller details and ended up just painting 3 different colors on mine but I did use 2 shades of blue and sponged them together to make a fade which came out realy nice. Ill have to do some more experementing. I wish I had an airbrush but we don't even have an air compressor right now. We are thinking about re-doing our garage and we might get one then. And thanks buck.wheat ;D

I would like to make some but by parents are very leery about ordering things on the internet (I'm 15) and I don't know if i want to get that involved right now. When I'm done with school in the summer I will have more time and can possably order some materials but right now I'm focusing on getting better with the baits I have and trying to get A's in school.

Ok cool thats not too expensive. If I decide to make a lot ill pick up some. But when I said circles I ment the ones on the top of the bait almost like scales. Did you use a stencil or something?

Thats what I was thinking. I'll try this one out and go from there.

Ok thanks those help alot. It looks like I will need to buy a few things like the epoxy and lip. I think Ill make a few more topwaters before trying cranks.

If you want UV then this is probably your best bet... http://www.clearneon.com/

Thanks, yours are realy cool too harshman. How did you paint those little circles on them? And what is good for a sealer? I used some craft acrylic finish stuff since I was out of polyurethene.

Thanks a lot! the pictures don't do the paint any justice... it looks much better in real life. But thats a good idea for the eyes ill have to try that next time. I also have a question about making crankbaits... I have some spare acrylic that I can use for a lip but I don't know how to attach it to the wood. I assume cut a slot in the wood and glue it? Also what shape should I use for the body to make it wiggle? I would like to try to make one of those next.

buck.wheat: Let me introduce you to my friend the period. lol that might have been the longest sentence I have ever seen. But anyway thats realy cool that both of you caught bass on your first lures. I'm realy excited to try this thing now =P

Ok cool I guess I'll try it out when it warms up a bit. I'm still fairly new to fishing... I have been for as long as i can but this spring am just starting to actually go more than a few times a year so this spring is the first time I have ever used any hard baits or anything. I'm used to using nightcrawlers and stuff. Do you have any tips for making them look tasty? I was thinking maby since its still early in the spring and we haven't had much warm weather the fish are still too slow for anything fast like crankbaits. And yea I've been up to mosquito lake a few times when I was little. Its only about 45 minutes away. Good luck in your tournament too. I always thought that would be fun to do.

Wow thats pretty crazy. Ive never caught a fish using a hard bait except once when i accedentally snagged a small mouth bass by the fin when i was reeling in a crankbait. I still can't belive it happened. Do you think this is too big for small ponds? Its about 2.5 inches long. My buddy has a pond in his front yard with mostly bass and bluegill but I don't know how big they are... the smallmouth I caught was probably a foot long or maby a bit more. I live realy close to you... I live real close to youngstown... except in an area where there aren't gang shootings every 10 minutes. :-? All the rich people in this little town have ponds in their backyards so I go running around using them Thanks for the reply. Do you have any pictures of your first bait or any other ones? Im only realy interested in making stuff like this... pouring stuff is still a far way off. Oh thanks for the websites too... if I ever get serious and want to make more these will definatly help.

Well I just got done with it... It took me a few days to complete and I carved the body out of wood (pine I think) and attached the trebel hooks with a metal wire running through the center of the bait to the part that attaches to your line. I had no premade materials and just used bits of stuff in my tacklebox... I took the hooks off of one of my crankbaits and fancied one up with some orange feathers. Well anyway enough talk here are the pictures... Carved and one trebel attached: Both trebels attached and primed (also a look at what im using for eyes): Painted with both hooks (one with feathers): Clear coat + glitter: Closeup of the front: If you want to see more pics I have them on my photobucket: http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a219/Breene4422/ So tell me what you think! Its ment to be similar to rapala's poping lure and i tested it in my sink and it realy does shoot a good spray of water. I Also added weight to the bottom so it stayed upright. I also used swivels to attach the hooks instead of just tieing it to the metal wire. So the hooks can also turn! I am no expert and just wanted to try something fun in this crappy weather we have been having... so do you think it will catch anything? I also attempted to make some flys... they aren't fancy but heres a pic:

Yea mine does... and I love the pole. I think its great. But then again I don't own any realy nice rods to compare it to... but for the price its great. I would suggest getting one if your looking for something in the 30-40 dollar range.

GeneinTX: Thanks for pointing that out but I'm not sure if all metal is a good thing... As long as the spool is metal (if its graphite it can get nicked and catch the line) then I don't mind if some other stuff its graphite. It makes it lighter. And I would think the avocet would be a better reel anyway since its newer and costs more. I will check out the Pflueger and Shimano but If they do cost 20 more then I don't know if I want to go that high... Im 15 and need a car in a few months here so I'm trying to cut costs everywhere I can. I just want a decent reel that will cast nice and bring in some bass. Thanks for the replies though. PS: would clear line be better than red for fishing ponds with a variety of baits? I will probably be using stuff like hardbaits, (topwaters or crankbaits) live worms, plastics, and I plan on buying some spinnerbaits or buzzbaits soon.

Hmmm... what other colors in that case would provide the least visibility (to fish)? I would guess clear?

roadwarrior: I was browsing around earlier but thanks ill check out some more of those articles in-depth when I get the time. Thanks for the reply. I was wondering about the sizes and was actually leaning towards the smaller one because I like realy light poles (graphite) and thought that it would fit one good. Do you think the medium one will hold enough line? I will probably be using 8lb test (maby cajun red). It is the ammount of line it can hold your talking about right? Or is there some other reason the smaller one is bad?

Thanks! I still have tons to learn and I think this website will help ;D

I recently bought a Berkley lightning rod (spinning) and have been using my friend's Shakespeare reel. I would like to buy my own and came across the Mitchell Avocet Gold on bass pro shops website. The reviews look good but I was wondering if anyone here owns or has used it and can tell me what they think. I fish mostly in local ponds and occasionally drive up to lake Erie or Pymatuning with some buddies. If the weather is nice I usually fish about 3 times a week and when summer break comes I will probably spend more time in a pond than at home. I am fairly new to fishing (i have been going since I could cast but only like once or twice a year... but now I'm getting into it more). Another reel I came across was the Okuma Stinson which also looked nice. Which would you reccomend? Or is there another reel better than both of them that I don't know about? Im looking to spend about 35 dollars or less so if anyone has any recommendations I will happily take them EDIT: One more thing I forgot to ask... I came across that cajun red line and it looked pretty cool. What do you all think of it? I have heard mixed feelings about it and don't know what to think.