mark poulson

So I moved, and have been setting up my shop again. For anyone who's seen my old shop, you'll understand when I say it was cramped, because I had six feet of plywood and lumber storeage on one whole side of my garage. So I learned to cram stuff and used my floor model drill press for both my skirt making tool (the plastic rotary one with the three expandable jaws) and my fly tying vise. The light from the drill press was also very handy. In setting up my new shop, which is twice as my old shop, I put the drill press off to one side, and began using it with the same tools installed on it's homemade wood top. But reading what Walking Dead posted about how to put a grip pin on my flipping hooks started me thinking about not just using my old methods, and old ways, in the new shop space. My radial arm saw, which has a large cantilevered wooden work surface is actually much more centrally located, at a great work height for someone like me whose back likes him to stand when he works, has better lighting, and can easily accomodate both the skirt maker and the fly tying vise. So, I'm making that my first order of business today, to move those things, and get them installed on the saw's table. I'm writing this because I find that I get trapped into doing things "like I always did", and don't look for new, better ways enough anymore. So thank you Walking Dead for shaking me out of my tunnel vision trance!

What can I say, it always works for me!

Man, he makes it look soooo easy. Thanks for sharing the video. And thanks for the floral wire idea. I don't know why I thought I'd just wind my soft sst wire around the hook. It doesn't like winding, but I can see using a U bend of it, wrapped either with floral wire, or with thread and super glue, will work!

Man, I wish there was a translation button on this forum!

Has anyone here come up with a fast, cheap way to add a grip pin to their flipping hooks? I have found that a wide gap, offset worm hook works really well, but the heavy hooks I found have a crappy offset bend that doesn't hold the soft plastic. I tried wrapping on some sst wire, but, man, it is a bear! Help!!!

I have actually used Solarez to make molds of ribbed plastics that are out of production. Resin flows really well, and you can see the details being filled, since it is clear. It is great for duplicating elaborate details. Plus, because it is clear, you can drill vent holes after the resin is hard, because you can actually see the appendages through the resin.

I am going the other way (surprise!). Call Bait Junky and give it a shot. You have nothing to lose except your friends, your wife, and your sanity! Seriously, if you don't try, you'll never know if it's for you, and you'll always wonder "what if". Give it a shot, and, if you don't like it, chalk it up to experience and move on.

Shades of Cheech and Chong!

I always thought that having some hair around the hook line tie hole was a good thing, in terms of helping me to actually find the hole.

Do what Smallmouthaholic suggests. Heat a nail, a wire, something cheap and replaceable. Don't ruin a knife by heating it and removing it's temper.

Cam, Do you heat the raw plastic in the Lee pots, or do you use something else, and just pour it into the pots once it's already kicked over?

I'm pretty sure they did the Alaska Pipeline as cheaply and quickly as possible...it was on their own dime! The trick is to get them to do the design, and keep the politicians out of it, or they'll sink it in pork and B.S. If we don't do something like that, we're doomed as a country. Look what happened when the government enacted all kinds of clean air regulations (all good ideas and necessary), but refused to help private industry with the cost to retrofit. Our own government made it cheaper and easier to export our domestic industries, and the good paying jobs with them, and we are left with a service economy, where rich people (the 1%) live in safety, protected by the kids of the 99%, and the rest of us serve them. That is, if we have a skill they need and can't buy cheaper from someone else.

Would hemp scent attract stone crabs?

My youngest informs me that we now have neighbors who "smoke" in the late night hours. She leaves her bedroom window while she's awake, and the aroma wafts in, evidently. Maybe I could bum some roaches off them, and mix them into my soft plastics. The fish may not like it, but it would give burning the plastic a whole new meaning. Hahaha

Barry, I've always been on the side of not taking water from the Delta. The San Joaquin Valley farmers, who use 90% of the Aqueduct water, but pay a fraction of what the SoCal residential users pay, should have to switch to less water intensive crops than the nuts and alfalfa they are now raising, strictly for export! In the face of global warming, with the Great Lakes up 3' already, we need an interstate water transfer system, so water can be pumped from where it's not need to where it's needed. Like the National Power Grid. If we hired the oil companies to build the system, it would be done cheaply and efficiently. But we can't let them control the water itself, or we'll be paying $4 a gallon for that, too.

Thanks for the welcome guys. When I dig out from all the boxes that are still packed, I'll get in touch. It's hard not to go fishing every day! Another Delta mystery solved. I couldn't figure out what in the world had covered the dock with poop full of sea shells and crawdad parts. This morning I was greeted by an otter, who uses my dock for sunning and pooping! What an amazing place to live!

I was thinking of the screw eye/hinge pin joint.

Bob, I was talking about actual store-bought screw eyes, to give you the ability to move them in and our by rotating them if you want to adjust a joint. I was just curious if you, or anyone else, had tried it in a wooden bait.

Thanks Dink. So far, I've fished three times, and launched out of Russo's. 7 minutes from my house. I keep my boat in my garage, not covered, and with the tongue extended, so all I have to do is back up, hook up, and drive to the lake. I am still in shock.

Yeah, that is a good point Bob. In fact, it is one of the major reasons I switched to PVC, first for my jointed swimbaits and then for almost everything I make. But I am spoiled, because water intrusion is no longer an issue for me. Have you ever tried epoxying in a screw eye, so you could still adjust the joint but the epoxy would make a waterproof plug in the wood bait?

Maybe some gap-filling super glue would work, and be faster. When I first started fishing fat Ikas on Gami wide gap hooks, I used 30lb braid, until I set the hook once and nothing. I reeled in a perfectly tied Palomar knot with no more hook. Just at that moment the bass jumped in front of me, trying to shake Ika and hook from it's jaw. I've tried tying a knot with thicker mono, cutting both ends off close, and sliding the know down to block the gap. It worked, but it took more time. I've been using the VMC flipping hook, which already has a dab of epoxy at the eye bend, and has a great keeper, too. The best part is they are cheaper than the other major manufs., and hold up fine.

Bob, I've learned that's what dremel tools are for, to cut apart baits for which I've forgotten the building details. Ouch!!!

I was reminded again this morning of something I've been doing for years, that helps me when I want to make a copy of a bait I've already posted. I typically make a bait, and play with it until I get it right, and then move on. Posting the building details when I post the pic. in the gallery helps me remember the details while they are still fresh, and gives me a handy reference, complete with pics of the freshly painted lures, when I want to make more. Its there forever (long live TU) in living color. It's very helpful for someone like me, who can't remember his own kids names half the time, let alone all the little building details that help make a bait successful.

I moved up to the Sacramento Delta two weeks ago, and have gotten out to fish three times so far. I know, I know, but I do have a lot to unpack, so I actually stole some time this last week to fish. Yesterday, on a high/slightly falling tide, I got to throw my bluegill spybait. I got a 2lber, and lost a bigger fish in the same spot, an area between a line of tulles and the shoreline cover. When I couldn't keep it out of the tulles (bull rushes) it pulled off. Grrr!!! Here's the bait: http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/gallery/image/14360-bluegill-spybait-2/ I will be upgrading from the #4's to #2 trebles, and putting 17lb test on that setup, so I'm not afraid to horse the fish out of cover. I'd rather have them pull off on the way to the boat than pull me into the junk and pull off! It is an easy bait to make, easy to fish, and it works! P.S. I typically make a bait, and play with it until I get it right, and then move on. Posting the building details when I post the pic. in the gallery helps me remember the details while they are still fresh, and gives me a handy reference, complete with pics of the freshly painted lures, when I want to make more. TU is a great site!!!

I use a single screw eye and pin. I make the joint deep enough that the tail section can't rotate, even if I make the joint with more gap, for better action on the tail. I like the screw eye because it lets me adjust the joint for more or less action. Since I don't have a hook in the tail section, I use a .072 X 1 1/4" screw eye, and a sst bicycle spoke for the pin. If I wind up having problems with the eye bending, I'll switch to the .092 eyes, but, for now, the .072 is working fine.