crawdaddy

Looks very nice. The only thing needed is fish slime on that new carpet.

There are a bunch of smaller glide type baits out there which are perfect size for bass. Rapala makes the Subwalk in several sizes and the Twitchin' Rap. I have been using a Rapala Countdown minnow with the lip removed for almost 20 years. I stumbled onto this trick totally by accident. I made an errant cast and busted the lip on a rock, instead of throwing the bait away I decided to snip off the remaining lip and grind it smooth. This slow sinking jerkbait has caught many bass over the years, especially stream smallmouth. Bomber makes the Badonk A Donk SS"slow sinking" in smaller sizes and Mirrolure has quite a few models of slow sinking and suspending minnow imitations that are perfect for bass.

Barlow's sells Big Fly Thread, VERY strong.

I had the original Zonar mold and the shad blade mold. I sold them and now have the new ZV mold. I like the new version alot due to the recessed eyes. I agree with Cadman that the ZV is more balanced and creates a better vibration. Big river sauger love this bait. Best place to get new Do-It molds is Barlow's. Most new molds are $28-$30.

Actually you have the right technique. With the filler spool vertical, retrieve the line until it starts to twist then flip it over, retrieve more line until it starts to twist, flip the spool again. Continue until your reel is full.

I would recommend using a ladle. You can pour a large quantity of lead faster which is better for larger heads. I have used a Lee Production Pot but have found using a ladle produces better results and you don't have to deal with the pot dripping lead between pours.

They look great!! What size are they?

Sounds like a great company, I will check out their site, thanks!!

I agree that POP is a waste of time. I made a couple molds and the end result is just not worth it. Even after curing for a long time you still get castings with gaps and holes.

Take it easy on LBF fellas. I believe his question is, why bother painting a tube head if it is going to be inserted inside a tube bait? I'm sure a tube head has many other uses other than it's intended purpose.

You can order from Hagen's. They have price adjustments for people ordering smaller quantities.

Words cannot describe how awesome his flies look. The amount of skill and patience required is truely unreal, simply amazing!!!!!!!

Great tips guys, thanks for sharing. Always looking for better ways to cut foam bodies.

I fish for smallmouth bass most of the time but my favorite way to catch fish would have to be fishing a hollow body frog in a weed choked pond while floating in my belly boat. Talk about getting up close and personal with the bass, WOW!! Nothing like seeing a bass explode on your frog and then have it splash you in the face and tow you around like a big bobber.

Sorry for the late reply. I am from Summersville. I live about 2 miles from Summersville Lake and fish there alot. I also fish the Gauley, Elk, and Little Kanaha Rivers from time to time. I love to catch smallmouth but fish for walleye, crappie, and catfish also.