abkeenan

Hey guys. Thought I would share a site that offers 7 gram A-Rigs which are ideal for the shallow water. Rigs made by 2 brothers that live on Bull Shoals and are good and honest men. They are offering the rigs for cheap and also just .50 cents shipping. You won't find a better deal: http://www.gjrig.com/

If you read that little article is sounds like the end of a Bill Dance segment....brought to you by..... Dirt Jigs Tackle......Humminbird Sonar.......and Pennzoil Marine and Yamaha Outboards. Just saying. I for one NEVER believe anything the winner says that he used unless I see it on TV with my own 2 eyes. Not blamming the guy but just saying.

Whats your brand, model and color for Table Rock?

Thanks Bill. I have been using 10# Trilene 100% fluoro for two years and like it but have not even 1/1000th of your skill or knowledge on the jerker. Is there a reason you like using mono over fluoro for jerkbaits?

Bill, what length rod and what kind of line and # are you using when throwing your stickers?

I am not all that concerned with losing one as I kinda made my own just buying the unfinished ones from barlows tackle for a 10 pack cost me $40 then $5 for the duo lock snaps, $3 for the 3-D eyes, $6 or 7 for shipping and I already had paint. Took a little time and effort to bend the wires since the wire was pre-cut in the molded head which made it a little more difficult to get leverage for bending and wrapping the loop ends but worth saving around $100. So it cost me around $55 dollars to make 10 A-rigs so that works out to about 5.50-6 bucks a rig. But I still would rather not lose them on casts! Can't wait to get down there in the next month or so.

I have always used a trilene knot for both mono and fluoro and have never had issues. The trilene knot is the same as a clinch knot except the extra pass through the eye on the hook/lure/bait/etc. Whats the best knot for braid? Thinking of switching over to the fishin' fool knot on everything but would like some opinions first.

Great stuff here guys. I have NEVER used braid in my life and I will be getting some 65# power pro this week at BPS spring sale specifically for throwing the A-Rig on my 7'6" H rod with an Abu 6500 that I use for catfish, carp and live bait type stuff. So this braid info is very helpful for me and much appreciated and might save some people in the dam area from having to hear some choice obscenities when I launch one of my A-Rigs 200 yards into the middle of the lake.

When there is ice on your rod guides that is natures way of telling you that you should be sitting on the couch watching MIZZOU basketball instead of fishing.

The comparison between NFL and the Bassmaster's Elite guys is kinda silly. Football, basketball, baseball and some other sports that require more athleticism have a lot to do with God given genetics. A man that is full grown at 5'4" is going to have a real hard time making the NBA. A guy that can't gain weight and has the muscle mass of a 13 year old boy is going to have a very difficult time making the NFL as a nose tackle. The comparison between the PGA tour and the Elites is very similar. There are a limited amount of entries for the Elite Series just like there is only around 150 PGA Tour cards handed out each season. Are there fisherman out there as good as some of the Elites....probably.....the key is consistancy. Are there weekend golfers that any given day could spank some of the PGA tour pro's.....probably....but consistantly shoot 60s-70's.....prolly not. Both PGA and Elite are tough to crack and stay there because anyone can play golf no matter their physical stature and the same goes for fishing....don't need to be able to run a sub 4.3 40 yard dash, bench press 400lbs or be 6'8" to throw a lure into the water or swing a golf club. For that reason the playing field is huge and ultra competitive so if you are able to stay in the PGA Tour or Elite tour you are doing something right and deserve to be there while others don't. To say that there are 1000 sticks that could be in the Elite series I think is totally false, otherwise they would be bumping the guys at the bottom of the totem pole out.

I know I am going off topic not posting about the only lure being thrown these days but I am still thinking about the jerkbait. What length, power and action rod you guys using for your jerkbait setup?

Just top notch insight and info Bill.....as usual. Hope all this mild winter weather doesn't cause mother nature to get even during the spring.

What kind of Quantum rod is it?

Also signed up as well as my brother. First tournament I have ever fished. It only takes one thank God as there is no way I would have any sort of chance in the standard 5 fish limit format. I hope that one idiot 10lb'er just happens to be where I throw my bait on accident. Sounds like a great time and am looking forward to May, especially since it is 20 degrees with a nice ice layer on everything in Saint Louis. Spring please come early.

I was in favor of the ban as I think using an A-Rig lended itself to just more and more baits being attached to the point that a chandelier of 50 baits was being used and that is just not fair IMO. That is speaking for tournaments and I think its perfectly fine for just recreational fishing. Now banning it seems like it might be even more of a headache than just leaving it alone. They also banned the "double fluke rig" or "donkey rig" as it is also known. Now that they drew the line on what is legal and what is not legal, who is one to say what can and can't be used (complying with State fishing regs.). What about using a jig as the weight on dropshotting? What about using a front runner in front of a spook? Why are those ok? Not arguing, just saying. Don't know if this will be good for sales of the A-Rig or bad. Will more state regulations ban it? More tournaments ban it? Will the lure being banned make it that much more desirable since its so good that is has been banned and cause even higher amounts of sales? Will be interesting to follow what happens.

We know that that someone is going to drive 90MPH in a 60MPH zone. Just the way it is. Rules were meant to be broken as they say. It a shame but people will do whatever they can get away with until they are handed a punishment that hurts enough to deter them from doing it again.

What are you guys using? I have always just thrown a kalins grub on a 1/4oz darter jighead but would like to try something else for variety. Opinions?

Nice report. Sounds awesome and I'll take that birthday present any day.

The guys that have thrown them, would you say the 3 arm rig (for the states such as MO with a 3 hook regulation) or the 5 arm rig with 2 of the 5 arms rigged with a non-hook bait (willow blade, hookless swimbait, etc.) is better?

Thanks blue. Great first hand experience with both brands. Gonna either go with the Pflueger MG or Shimano Saros. Found a place that sells the Saros for $100 so they will be the same price.

^--------This

I am trying my best to not buy one of these rigs. But the more stories I hear the harder it is becoming. I know they are fish "stories" but still. Its awful tempting.

Can't give you a current report but I would try Brushy Creek for crappie around the area you are looking to fish. I fish the dam area 95% of the time and I've had the best luck with crappie in Brushy. As you can imagine Brushy Creek is loaded with brush. Find some laydowns going from the bank into the water, preferably in the 10-20 foot range and you might get bit. If that doesnt work then try a bobber and live minnow in the same locations and get in on the 15-20ft cedar trees and do your best to keep in on the outer edge without snagging on the limbs. If there is one there is plenty more where that came from in my experience. Like throwing 1/32 and 1/16oz jigs with a swimmin minnow and reel it as slow as I can bare just enough to make that tail swim. You are going to lose plenty of jigs and if you get snagged just break off and cast in there again. Don't go get it and spookem. Might try some docks also if the first 2 approaches don't work but I am not a crappie dock type guy so I can't help ya there. My 2 cents.

Looks like Luck E Strike did a pretty good job duplicating the Megabass vision 110 for 7.99 and not such a good job duplicating the Storm pre-rapala wiggle wart for 3.99. Filling with water and now doing barrel rolls back to the boat on the retreive? Looks like back to the drawing board for the Warthog.

Shimano with a commanding lead. Jeez. Guess I will have to reconsider my options.