barrybait

Hey Mark, nice fish in really good shape. They are moving up to spawn. Check the regs before you keep one. You can't keep one from the San Joaquin river side above the Antioch Bridge. You can keep them below the Antioch bridge and on the Sacramento river. Quite a few people throwing spinners for salmon from the bank at the Antioch marina and there are a lot of people troll for them up north of the Rio Vista bridge. You will also occasionally catch a steelhead in the delta which I think you can keep any time of year.

When you open the can it is a clear liquid but that doesn't mean that you don't have to stir it up. Shake the can up real well then open it and coat your bait. See if that makes a difference. Seemed like the difference for me to get a hard cure. I'm giving up on it for other reasons, the wrinkled paint and the intolerance to soft plastic (after prolonged contact) make it too risky for me.

Get well soon Nathan. Glad to hear your condition is improving. In our prayers, Barry

Very nice Skeeter. I would say you nailed it with an exclamation point! The interesting part to me is the Pearl Ex pigments. Didn't know anything about them. Tennessee shad is a great pattern that I have not painted to date but when I do a baby bass pattern, I like to get that gold/bronze hue on the moss green at the shoulder. Can you mix that pigment in Createx transparent base? I really need a few more jars of stuff on my bench! Thanks, Barry

I borrowed a drop shot mold and poured a bunch of them without the swivels. Then I had this chunk of steel and I drilled a bunch of holes in a line with increasing depth using a drill that was the size of the drop shot weights. Then I use a wood chisel to cut off the amount of weight I need. Also you can buy mojo weights all different sizes.

X2 on the gravity feed if most of your work is for baits. Siphon feed brushes are more finicky with paints, you have to thin the paints more consistently, they require more air pressure and you probably can't crank up the pressure on that compressor. Also, they use (waste) more paint between color changes especially if you are doing one or two baits sometimes you only need two drops of paint and that works in the gravity feed. That being said, I started out with a siphon feed and it is a great brush.(Badger 150) I find the gravity feed with the smallest cup handiest for my small quantity hobby work.

River otters are not shy here. They swim in family groups and come right through your fishing holes. Oh yeah, hey Mark, welcome to the other side of the water war! Barry

Welcome to the Delta Mark. I live here in Oakley too. You can have a lot of fun fishing from here. Get unpacked and look me up.

I agree with BobP and the joint is very strong. It is my favorite hinge too. Down side is that once it is epoxied into position, there is no disassembly or adjustment capability to speak of.

I had similar problems with the ac1315 but I think it is because I didn't mix it before I dipped the lures in it. Just because it looks clear and homogenous doesn't mean that you don't have to mix it up. I shake the can real good before I open it up now and dip the lure. Working out better now. My troubles with it are the paint wrinkling issues. (still, after all the dry between each coat discussions)

I am the Youth Director of a local teenage bass team. Many bass fishermen "clean out their locker" and donate baits and tackle, rods and reels, to me for the bass team. Helps the kids that are starting out and the ones that have trouble affording all these expensive plastics. That's what I do too. I suggest you look into a local youth fishing club and help them out. If it is not bass specific, I give it to a local High School Fishing Club. You might be able to find these fishing teams/clubs by asking at your local tackle stores. Check out your local TBF (The Bass Federation) for each state may have a listing on their web site. Ours is listed on the California Bass Federation under the "Youth" tab. Other states should be similar. Youth fishing is growing and High School Teams Bass Fishing is really taking off. You can also check out highschoolfishing.org. It helps the kids out and you get your shop back. Barry

I epoxy over the foil for another reason (besides hiding edges). I use Createx transparent paints over foil and I don't always get it just the way I want it. Ya know, things are going great and then I mess up a gill plate highlight or mess up the lateral line or get too much red on the side of a rainbow trout pattern. With epoxy over the foil I can scrub off all the paint and try try again. I am working mostly on stick or glide or other larger baits where the slight increase in weight would not be as critical as smaller crank baits thou.