littleriver

John, thank you. When I worked for the Air Force(87-91) we used to twist wire like this all the time. Everything on a plane is safety wired. The lure will be tested soon.

The clear coat set on mine this morning. Vic

Wow! Glenn , I am surrounded by musky! I fish the French Broad regularly. Is this above Douglas lake or below? I fish below. I have been in love with this river for some time. Smallmouth are terrific right now. Fish the shoals mostly. Four pounders area regular now. The shoals limit most people. I have also fished the Nolichucky river. We floated this one. Have no idea what section it was but if i hear the sound of rapids again my left eye starts to twitch. Every few hundred yards we were out of our aluminum boat and walking. We did this for several miles. Wore out by the end of the day. Also saw several small boats about twenty foot up wrapped around a tree like a bow tie. When it floods it must really flood. We went back a second time and fished another portion of the river and this time no rocks but the current was so bad nearly impossible to fish. We must have just been in the wrong spots on the river. I have fished some of the lakes that are along Fontana discharge from NC to TN . Beautiful places to fish, really. Secluded mountain lakes. Nothing like them. Just the curvy drive to them deters most people. One I believe is on the line and both nc and tn license is ok . Can not think of name but I have fished it for trout. What is this Shallow invader? I did not see it on the double cowgirls site. I will be busy all winter on this ......Thanks! Vic

I am really interested in learning more about what lures work for musky. Just found out Melton Hill lake has some really nice ones. Mostly fished for bass to this point but not opposed to musky fishing. i have never laid eyes on one in person. Lots to learn. Vic

Ben Thank you for the photo template idea. So far I have been just free handing my lures but some of the shapes coming out I would like to duplicate. I know templates will be the way to go when I am ready. Now I have an easy template maker thanks to your imput . Sounds more accurate than trying to trace on a piece of paper. Thank you. By the way, made my first super glue hanger lure. Happy with the result am I. Easier to get the glue in the hole than I thought it was going to be and really strong. I liked it. Thanks again. Vic

The wire I used was .035 stainless. Alone it is not adequate but once twisted it becomes a different beast. The main tie is 1.5mm stainless. This will handle five fish I believe. Would have liked to used something different but it is what I have. Everything used is what I always have on hand to build my hardbaits. Nothing new just put together a bit differently. The rest I will leave to your imagination. Thanks Musky Gary for the update on TN laws. I think three swimbaits would work well. Do you know if one can still have the other two baits just no hooks? By the time supply catches up with demand they will most likely be illegal. Especially if people see fish coming out of the water three and four at a time or the way Crazywaynee describes.

Not sure myself Musky Glenn. But it does add another minnow body to the picture. Also makes people question. Questions, how did you do that? Mine, the buoyancy does seem to help orientate some by providing a bit of lift in front . Also slows the rigs action a bit. It sinks much slower for sure but really it is along for the ride Vic

If you haven't already , check out Gene's tutorial on wood carving in the tutorial section of the home page. Really helped me. Also helps if you have a good carving knife. Making the rough cuts with a saw first really makes the process go much faster as Gene demonstrates. I can not emphasize enough the value of his tutorial. Once carved the most important thing is............everything. Straight, square, center, position see what I mean . Take your time and mark it check it and check it again.

That depend on how it is rigged Elmo. See my earlier post on TN fishing Regulation? Although, if you know more please share. Vic

Swam my lure this morning. I liked it just the way it was. Weighting will depend greatly on what you want the lure to do. I had it rigged with five worms, hooks and no weight. Sank slowly and I could see slow rolling this bait at any depth you wanted and it would stay there. Want to fish it faster up and down at a range of depths then add weight. Totally up to the user. The lure would turn just a bit then settle and swim perfectly horizontal. Having only used an umbrella once and that was years ago to catch bait for deep sea fishing, it felt a little unfair casting so many lures at once. But if I am catching fish, I will probably get over it.

Those in Tennessee, I was just reading the fishing regulations. http://www.tn.gov/twra/pdfs/fishguide.pdf Page 39 bottom left. Hook size has to be smaller than a 6 to have more than one bait hooked. The build is simpler than rigging these small hooks.

Try the National Fishing Lure Collector Club. They may be having a show in your area. Here is a listing of a few. http://www.joeyates.com/shows.htm Go to the show and they will tell you the value of your lures. Also contact someone who is hosting a show and they will put you in touch with someone in your area.

Almost there! Ha!

I am working on a Tennessee version Now!

Thank you Gene! I will be doing this soon. Vic

Here' s another reliable web with some salties...... http://www.captainhookswarehouse.com/