JRammit

Whats not to like about plastics? Kinda makes me feel like a one man factory... I wasnt sure if i would like hard baits, but man, they REALLY get my wheels turning!!!... Havnt considered rod building, maybe some day, but ive always relied on the ol Ugly Stik.. I know there are better rods out there, but not for the price... Plus im ROUGH on my rods n reels!!! But the rods ALWAYS outlast the reels Makes for a good question to any rod builders reading, how difficult is mending fiberglass to graphite?? Anybody make their own version of the Ugly Stik??

Ha!... I dont know what bawal taste like, but if you can eat the bait, then the fish must be great!

Always been curious about other freshwater territories... What species are prevalent in the UK? Sweden? Indonesia?. Same diversity as the US?... I grew up fishing in Texas, then moved to Colorado for 8 years.. Quite the culture shock for an angler! Shoulda seen the looks i got walking down the bank with heavy action rods, 15 lb test, 8" worms ect... Eventually learned light tackle and bait were the way to go there

How many "renaissance men" do we have here? Who can make it all, and who still buys some?.. How much of your arsenal is homemade? If you still buy lures, what kind and why? Is there any bait you cant recreate? Or is there one close to your heart that you still buy for sentimental reasons?? So far ive replaced all my soft plastics with customs, but i just started hard baits and havnt made any spinners yet... I keep a few store bought cranks and spinners in my box, but am too stubborn to use them..... With the exeption of 2: Rapala original floater, because as a kid i caught more bass on it than any other bait.. And the Bill Lewis Rat-l-trap, because my grandfather passed away when i was too young to remember him, but my grandmother gave me his old tacklebox which was FILLED with them!... Unfortunately that tackle box was stolen several years ago, so i still buy the traps, for sentimental reasons....

Its a craw bait for me... Alsworms got it right, gotta piss er off! Rhahn knows how to do it, if u know shes there, let it sit but be ready!... Shes watchin it, eventually shell get tired of it and pick it up just to carry it away

Same here sometimes on the full site, but always works on the mobile version

X2!... Learned that one the hard way! Im not brave enough to attempt a jointed bait yet, but if i did, id probably try a through wire with steel braid... Might not be the right way, but seems to me it would be the easiest

I havnt tried this yet, dont know if it would work... Wouldnt be near as "sexy" as the stick on eyes... But for a basic eye ball, carve the eye sockets into the master as jigginpig suggested, then dip a tooth pick into black (or color of your choice) plastic and dab into the eye hole on your bait, similar to how one would paint eyes onto a hard bait... Maybe end up with a 3D effect, and maybe not have to dip

45 years ago i was -11.... What is a "biro"??..... Sounds like a donkey with 2 wheels

Ha!.. Looks like shes waiting for the wave on one of those amusement park boat rides

Thanks man!... Since such is true, i can say how majestic it was.... Ive never before witnessed such a peaceful chaos... From a distance of course.. Up close, im sure its a different story!

I think i will!

I like this! My 1st lure (that i actually used): soft plastic crappie jig from a bondo mold... Master made of 4 beads superglued to a toothpick for the tail.. Color was melted down Zoom chart/pepper lizzard.. Caught a little 10" drum on my 3rd cast, that was 1 year ago last month...... But i can flash back 20 years to a busy minded 14 year old making inline spinners from bullet sinkers and paper clips, wrapping moms yarn around lead heads for jigs, putting hooks through Creepy Crawlers, ect... Cant imagine where he'd be now if TU was around in 1994!?!?!

Close call today friends! Headed home from work under a tornado warning, 3 miles from the house wind was blowing hard across the road from right to left, when suddenly i notice leaves gently fluttering from left to right... Stopped me in my tracks just in time to see clouds begin to rotate above the road in front of me, seconds later the sky reached down to the rolling pastures, twisting and churning dust through the air... I watched in awe for a moment, then immediately called to check on the wife and kids, I find out the same tornado had touched down right across the street from them minutes earlier... They fled to safety, i turned around and took the long way to meet them... We returned home to find our swing set had done several cartwheels across the front lawn and the neighbor has an upside down shed in their yard that wasnt there yesterday.... Id say minimal losses!

Saw somthing in member submitted tutorials about using hot oil to soften lexan for bending.... Havnt tried it yet, i gotta get one with a regular lip to work first...

Storm also has a few... But none of these are "true" soft plastics, more like a hard crank bait covered by a soft body.... Hope u get this one running!

Take a look at the Berkley Manic Shad, or the Scrounger jig head... Neither are actually "crank baits" but rather just a jig head with a lip... Both designs have the lip on the back/top of the bait... My guess is: your soft plastic is losing the battle between the lip and body to keep the bait true... I think in the other designs, the lead acting as a keel puts up a better fight against the opposing lip...... So you could either flip the lip, or find a way to make part of the body more rigid

I just decided to swich over from the mobile version to the full site... I dig the logo in the top left corner! Wouldn't mind sporting it on a t-shirt..... Do we have apparel? Hats? Coffee mugs? Ect.???

Its a Star Wars thing... I hear it every year, and every year i scratch my head a second before i get it

A second it took me, but smile i did

I think he knows, he just put a little too much vodka in his pop

And no prob! Glad i actually helped!... I dont have alot of experience yet, but i like to TRY to answer questions in hopes that someone with more experience will either validate or correct me..... I could sit back and wait for someone else to answer, but its more fun this way!

Chuckle chuckle.... Nugene, its an auto correct feature somehow integrated into this site... Lots of soft plastic guys use PLASTER OF PARIS for making molds but abbreviate P O P... Anytime those 3 letters are typed together u end up with pop

Make sure the reel has an instant anit reverse... Those little boogers are pros at nibbling bait off your hook, so any edge you can get on hook sets is a plus, that 9' rod will help, and the fiberglass will be better suited than graphite for the tiny hooks youll be using.... So, yea, that one'll get the job done