HokieMusky527

Any ideas or place to start... just concerned about buying something with sidescan and have it be worthless in a 8 foot deep river...lil help please?

Hello all! So i have come across some posts like this from 10 years ago and just wanted to know everyones opinion now. I would like to stay @ or around $500 but 3-4 would be great. I have been going out with a buddy for stripers lately and he has a new Lowrance with down and side imaging and some of the stuff i have seen on it is UNBELIEVABLE! He mainly uses the chirp but while we are crusing around looking for schools of fish the side imaging is really cool. The thing is i only have a little 12' fiberglass jon boat with a 15hp on it. I almost exclusively fish the NEW River here in southwest Virginia. Average depth is probably only 5-8 feet but there are sections with 60+ feet. The river is loaded with ledges and structure. I have in the past looked at google earth for structure or holes or put a big egg sinker on and dropped it down to find the "deep holes" Just really wanna hear everyones opinion about this so i know where to start. I mainly fish for Musky and smallmouth, with some catfish mixed in, but chase walleye and others when the time is right if ya know what i mean haha. I am starting to think that i could get away with just some chirp but the more i think about it i really think that some Side Imaging would really really help out. But are there some problems with the returns in a river compared to a lake? The fact that i only really fish rivers makes this a very nervous predicament for me...i just dont even know where to start! I have watched tons of youtube videos and articles and websites and stuff but really need to hear what the actual fishermen have to say! Thanks for reading this and responding with your 2 cents... Zach

i too have made a bait with rattles capped with dimes. It definitely makes a unique sound. I have also capped the end of my holes with little chunks of lead. They both make a very different "plink". Even turning the dime over heads/tails can change the sound a bit. play around and see what ya figure out!

i used to do it that way with small chisels and a razor knife.... i recently switched to wood padded vice...i have 3 nice cuts on my left thumb and pointer finger i had to seal shut with superglue thanks to this one little chisel, so to save yourself a little surprise, pain, and hopefully not needing stiches, the vice or other means is WAY WAY WAY better than with you hand...just my opinion

GREAT INFO GUYS!!! Like said any little time saving tips are greatly appreciated. The Tackle Underground world always surprises and amazes me! I cannot thank everyone enough!

all good to know! I guess its all dependent on you 1) airbrush 2) compressor and PSI 3) your paint 4) amount of thinner added

I really appreciate the tips, even if you are fairly new to it yourself. You have the most recent "learning curve" and know what would have made your start easier! Thanks a bunch!

The way i usually do it, granted a boat really really really helps with it, is that if you are hung in a tree and it doesnt come off first try or it starts off with a couple wraps, the best thing i have found is to go over to it cut the line as high up as you can and hook one of the treble hook onto the top eye of your rod and give it a slow steady pull.. most of the time it will get your lure out of the tree unless super wrapped up. Hopefully most of you are decent casters and the lure is not more than 5-10 feet above your head. If your 15+ feet up in the tree, good luck, start making or buy you another because short of cutting the tree down your not gonna get it back. I guess a pole saw in your boat or truck would be an option. Lastly here is a tactic i used one time because the lure that was stuck happened to be one of the first ones i ever made. I was stuck about 8-10' above my head on the river one day in the boat. Got the lure stuck in the tree and failed to free it on the first go so naturally it was super wrapped up after my first attempt. I usually carry TP or paper towels in the boat for ya know, all the messes i make, i ended up taking the longest rod i had onboard and wrapping the tip of it in TP a bunch of times and tying it off... Lit that sucker on fire and quickly touched the giant knot and portion of my line that was somewhat free... down fell my lure and i quickly snatched it up before it sank...one thing if you need to try this is make sure the second you get the line burnt and your lure out stick the end of the rod in the water as fast as you can to keep the flame from doing any damage. Just a thought, ya gotta do EVERYTHING you an if your favorite lure is stuck in a big ol cottonwood! Or just start carrying a chainsaw!!

Yea i have seen people get all kinds of crazy stuff for patterns/stencils at like hobby lobby or jo-ann fabrics, and a bunch of people use all different kinds of eyes, like off stuffed animals and all kinds of things. First thing that i found out today that will be harder than i thought would be to find the right size coupler to attach my airbrush to the hose and compressor i got... found out would be much easier/cheaper to just go ahead and order one from IWATA

HAHA yea he has never mentioned changing PSI or anything... i always see his GIANT assortment of paints and just see like $1000 sitting there so just looking for the $50-$100 starting options that would be best. All the info is greatly appreciated!

Great! sounds like a plan... I have watched every Marlingbaits video, he says he uses all waterbased paints, and have also watched a bunch of Solar's stuff and a bunch of "Blue Ridge Musky" and SBFishing vids with DjsCustom lures in them. Thats a great point...if not happy with the paint and pattern, spray white/black and start again fresh! Really appreciate all the help guys!

Hello Hello all! So i have yet to post any of the lures i have made because they were all done with lack of powertools and painted with rattle cans... but they work well (for the most part) and look half way decent i guess (for spray paint anyway). I recently ordered a Iwata Neo CN airbrush that just arrived, have picked up a compressor and the like, but the only thing i really need left to get is some paints. Any recommendations for a good set or some colors/type to start painting with? I know i have seen this before about needing your bases white/black and a few of the other "natural" colors... But i am just curious what most of you all use, water based? acrylic? Fingernail polish? haha and any tips you can provide to keep the learning curve from being too steep! As most of you can see i finally was able to get some of my better fish pictures from the past loaded onto the site, and i will definitely get to work on posting the lures i made from the first crappy "glider" to the few i am really proud of, one being like a topwater/popper/spook type lure that i have hooked 2 musky on but not been able to land them. That particular lure i have never really seen anything like it and kinda stumbled into its design and shape by accident...lucky accident i guess haha!~ I greatly appreciate any and all info given and will make sure to post the pictures from here on out and hopefully will be able to make my lures that much nicer with this new tool. Any info from paints, to technique, to cleaner and thinners and DON'TS would be amazing. I have only been an active member here for a few weeks now but have been a long time learner from most of you. I hope that in the future i can help other "newbies" a fraction of the amount of help i have received here. Actuallyi will post a pic of the first lure i made in the hardbait album, after my hunting accident... filled with bird shot... making the scale pattern took HOURS LOL