troutgnat

Sam, Nice looking jig and I like your method of thinking. YOU THINK LIKE A FISH YOU CATCH MORE FISH! Theres been many a time when I have put a lighter jig on or used heavier line to get it to fall slower. Probably something most people would overlook in a hearbeat.

I never have hooked myself yet. But I did fall out of the boat once at LOZ in the 4th week of Feb.......leaned a little far out and low over the gunwhale and buddy hit the trolling motor. What can I say, lost my balance......LOL

everyone is correct. it is definitely a log perch. studied that one in my Icthyology class back in college years ago.

Sam, nice looking jig there! It tells me I should quit trying so hard!.......LOL CrappieMagnet, Let's talk dock shooting with all these folks. I love to shoot docks. This can work anywhere however I have got it down big-time on Lake Of the Ozarks for pre-spawn and you can literally catch a hundred or more in a day when conditions are right. I have some of the Stren Hi-Vis gold line in 6# that I use for dock shooting on my B&M "dock special" rod. You can see your strikes like no other!

Sam, Interesting tid-bit on the nylon I may have to try that. I have done the Power Pro 10# for several years myself and you are exactly correct on the 575 gold aberdeens I have been onto that as well. With the powerpro just keep pulling till they let go and they will. Just be sure to point the rod straight at the snag!, I saw a buddy pull up with the rod only to shatter into pieces! I laughed but he didn't think it was funny. On a side note: Do you all paint your own jigheads? I have been doing the powder paint thing for many years.

gator, i have actually always done the air thing on crawlers. I have never done the power egg in front as perchjerker stated. he might be onto something. anyway crawlers are always second to the power eggs for me.........lol. i have used the mosquito hook on crawlers and done fine but keep in mind this hook does not have the bait barbs. i never liked the bait holder hooks because they usually had very narrow gap and hook and barb always seem to big and dull preventing "solid" hook ups. I can tell you since my finding of the mosquito hook my hook up ratio sky rocketed and i can usually set pretty fast preventing most trout from swallowing it.

CrappieMagnet, You are correct. I do have some bulkier jigs that I tie as well. And as you said they are larger for a bigger profile bait and or muddy water for increased visibility. Also, a lot of times if I want more profile sometimes I just tip my jig with a minnow. That's the beauty of tying you can increase your variety for different situations. Funny thing you mentioned the calftail thing I have been doing that for years also. It doesn't have as much movement as marabou but you can accomplish several things. You can get bulk if you need it and it falls alot slower than marabou. Calftail jigs are deadly in the winter! We are two of kind my friend. Where do you get your calftail? I sure wish I could find alot more quantity for the money. The stuff is not cheap and a better color variety would help also!

Amish Bill, Here is exactly what I do for trout on Taneycomo. I have several of these rigs and they work like a charm. More importantly here take note of my actual drift rig described below for bait fishing. It is the best system I have ever come up with!!! Rods-I like a longer rod. Remember, all these little 4-5' ultra-light outfits are made for the trout parks! Not best suited for Taneycomo! I use 6'6" to 7' light to med/light rods for Taneycomo. I like rods with good back bone and a slightly softer tip for sensitivity. My absolutely favorite trout rods are the Wally Marshall signature crappie rods at Bass Pro Shops. I have the 6'6" Md/light that I particularly like and others as well. Reels-Rods are paired primarily with the Shimano Symmetry 750 size Line-I have several that I like......I am fond of the following: Maxima ultra-green in 2 and 4# test, Trilene Sensation in 2 and 4# test, P-Line is outstanding but sometimes hard to find in smaller diameters. Now that you have that here is my drift rig for bait fishing. I know many on here use the sliding egg wait or worm-sinker rig. That's O.K. and they will catch fish. In my opinion these are o.k. in lesser generation and if your bank fishing. Again, this is just my opinion. I find they get hung up easy that is why I use the following: Drift Rig- A standard 3-way swivel rig. I modify it just a bit. Use a 3-way swivel the smallest you can find. I believe I have been buying size 14#'s at Bass Pro. It's been a while since I looked, anyway their smallest size. Naturally, main-line gets tied to the top. I attatch about a 12-14" piece of 4# mono to the bottom and tie to it a basic duo lock snap. No need for a swivel snap here. This is what you will attach your sinker too. All you have left now is your leader line to which your hook will be attached. Length here is variable depending on conditions but I usually average about 18". As long as you keep your leader line LONGER than your dropper/sinker line it will cast and drift fine for you. For my leader line I usually depend on 2# test. I tie this directly to my hook, NO SNAPS! I am tempted to not put this in here because it is my own little trade secret but my good heart gets the better of me so here you go. When it comes to hooks. There is only one that I use for bait fishing on Taneycomo. If someone else out there uses this hook great you are a wise-one. I have been using this for years now and know of no-one else who does the same. Anyway, I use it because it works and if you want more hook-ups you will do the same!!! I use the Owner Black-Nickle Mosquito Hook in size #8. This is one sharp little devil with a nice wide gap for its size. It is actually sold as a drop-shot hook for bass fishing. This hook fits the power eggs perfect and even better it will fit two eggs. i.e.........many know this but many don't! If you want to catch more trout use two eggs in contrasting colors. You will catch more fish! O.K. The above is my bait fishing drift rig for Taneycomo. If you need to see how these are tied. Phil Lilley sells them at his shop in various weights. Buy a few, take a look at them and modify them to your taste. I use the snap at the end of my dropper line because it allows me to adjust weights very quickly and easily! Carry an assortmen of bell sinkers in different weights for various water flow. Last tip for the day! Now go to Bass Pro or if Phil sells them at his shop please go there!!! Seriously, Phil runs a great business and has most anything you will need and he will help you catch fish! I have learned alot from him. Anyway, get you a walleye harness rig holder. It is nothing more than a rubber tube capped on both ends so you can store stuff in the middle. It has rubber ridges and hooks so you can wind your leader/rigs on it for easy storage and removal. Now all you have to do is buy or make your leader rigs, wind them up and their good to go. Well, if I find some time I will try and post some pics. If you have any questions just ask or go see Phil!

Gentlemen, Here's my two cents worth. I caught onto to "narrow" of a gap on crappie jigs years ago. And I came up with a solution that I have been using for years. First, let me say that I have absolutely nothing against these sickle jigs but are they really needed??? I used to buy a ton of marabou jigs over the counter before I began to tie my own years ago. I flyfish and tie my own flies so it was easy to convert over to tying crappie jigs. I just ignored doing it for so long because I thought it wouldn't be cost effective since you lose so many! But I enjoy it and I can get the variety I want! Anyway, onto where I was going. The reason many crappie jigs fail with a narrow gap is that they are "OVERTIED"!. Yes, the more material you have on a hook, THE LESS GAP YOU WILL HAVE!!!. Also, you do not need to have material all the way down to the bend of the hook. Trust me here, next time you tie an olive trout jig put on about half as much material as you did before and see how much more you get bit. Jigs and lures and most everything else out there is meant to catch men not fish! That's not my quote but it is so true. If you were too see my box of hand-tied crappie jigs they would look much like the one in the picture with less marabou on the tail. Here's what to do! Tie your marabou in at the head and secure it down with thread well and wrap it down back to about 1/2 way down the hook shank. This will leave your actual tail extending not far behind the hook. It ends up being about 1/2 the length of what you would see on a normal commercially tied jig. Next tie your chenille in at the head of the tail which should be about the 1/2 way point of the hook shank and wrap it toward the jighead and tie off. Yes, it will look very short but that's O.K. The idea here is that you have nothing but a little bit of marabou at the bend of the hook (no chenille to hinder gap). So, hook-sets are usually not a problem and if crappie are finiky and biting short, well, you eliminate that problem too! Sorry to ramble on but if you can't tell I love tying crappie jigs! It also gives me a reason to tie my own color variations. Some of my best color variations are to include: "The 1/2 Nude", "Dirty Laundry" and the "Hairy Nipple". See how much fun you can have?. You get to name your own colors too!

I agree with Phil! WAIT, WATCH AND SEE!!!......Good theory if you will at the moment but it's the end-all that really matters. As we all know much of politics is promises, promises, promises that usually fall very short in the end. I will end it there and wait for the outcome.

Fishin Cricket, You are absolutely right on the smallmouth and goggle eye in Bennett. I have done this for some time now and have found it a ball hauling 14+" smallies in on 2lb test and a sculpin olive colored marabou jig in the middle of winter. OOPS!, did I just say that??? I just gave away my secret. I have caught smallies all the way up to the darn.

Like the others I would have to recommend the swivel. Personally, I do not like joining two lines that are more than 4lbs apart using any knot. The larger the diameter difference between your lines the more your luck diminishes. Especially when your dealing with very small diameter lines. Just me here but I solved this delimna by having my own trout rod/reel rigs so their always spooled with 2 and 4 lb. test.

Buckshot, There are many crappie to be caught from the bank at Springfield Lake in the spring of year. Even as early as March when you get those first long stretches of warm 50 degree days. Fish the windward banks early in the spring and you will be surprised how shallow the crappie will come up in the afternoons. Here's a couple of clues: Within site of one of the public access points Even closer to the dam You can park right off the road and walk down to your fishing spot shallow cove and stretch of bank adjacent to bluff and deep water Well, I just gave away one of my little hidy holes so I shall say no more but you really needed the help so go do your scouting solve the clues. Shame on you for not knowing where any crappie are around Springfield........LOL Here's another one.........Did you know you can catch big ole' gills out of Horton Smith golf course pond! OK, I shut up now!!!! Oh, this is fun. I just can't resist.............Did you also know you can catch the hell out of bluegill on a fly rod in the pond behind Cox Medical building on south National close to James River freeway. I forget the name of what they call that little park it has a walking trail around it..........Do I get a guide fee for this?????...................LOL

I'm down here in Harrison now and need to be doing some research on areas around here where I guy can make that happen. It truly is way too much fun!

Motoman, Back in the day (5 or so yrs ago) when I lived in Springfield we used fish them hard up on Stockton Lake with a fly rod throwing clouser minnows and such. We would wade the main lake points when the wind was right, you know blowing straight in or quartering to, the harder the better. Those fish would come so shallow at times and not just small fish but 2-3 lbrs were common. I used to catch em' like this all the way into Novemember when the conditions were right. It seemed like it would always start in September and carry on through deer season. Oh, those were good times.! !

Yeah what's up with this? Bill I had 5 15"+ keepers this last Thursday and two of those were on top. We had a spook bite all the way up till lunch. But then again that particular day was windy and overcast. I never had a fish deeper than about 20'. This was all around the Indian Point area. Anyway, I tell all this to a buddy of mine who went right back to the same area on Sat. and could not get bit on top nor did he find any fish remotely shallow on the areas I had just two days before. He did proceed to tell me that while he was there the water rose several inches and the fish went to 'lock jaw' status. He trailered back up and went to the James arm and launched. He caught 6 keepers over there flipping the bushes. My question is: Obviously, I would think this had to have something to do with the rising water and the high pressure that moved in. 10 degree rise in tempature and bluebird skies. For so many fish to be coming up shallow so fast then to just dissapear, where did they go? I know they are not far away. Help me to understand where to look to find them again when a situation like this arises. Thanks.

Bill, I agree with you a 100%. After much contemplating over the event there is no doubt in mind that it had something to do with the way I was palming the reel and the amount of torque at the time of the hookset. However, low-profiles reels are meant to be palmed and who out there doesn't palm a baitcaster?! And that is exactly what I told Shimano in my letter to them. I also mentioned that although I am not a 1000 lb. gorilla I set the hook for one reason and that is to make sure I land what bit the end of my line. Further mentioning what you said and that is, that no reel under NORMAL fishing conditions should break on a hook-set. I let them know that I am a devout Shimano fan with about 8 $79+ reels to my credit and asked that they cover my repair and I would pay the shipping charge. I was kind spoken in my letter though expressed my grief. The reels are boxed up and headed to the P.O. in the morning! Thanks to all for the advice. I will inform you of the outcome!

Gentlemen that's exactly why it is so bizzare! I know how to adjust the brakes and they were adjusted accordingly as was the drag. And no I had not taken them apart lately. I palm my reels as most of us do. I'm not cheap on a hookset either I mean business. The only thing I can think of is it had to have something to do with how the reel was in the hand and the force of the hookset. I guess it just didn't like the torque. But still that's bull****t. I'm 170 pounds not a 1000 pound gorilla. For that piece to be held on by a couple of small plastic post, that is definitely not "made to be tough" engineering. A screw to a plastic post, come on now! Sorry to bark but I am still fuming over this but I'm going to back Shimano because they have always performed well for me. So, alot of my mindset and outcome depends on what they tell me on the phone. I expect to be fully compensated so will see what happens and I will let you know. This will define customer service.......................LOL

Bad luck, more like a curse! The really bad new it put a damper on my jig fishin'. My partner was using my other baitcaiter for topwater so I had to resort to dragging with my spinning rod. I had my mind set on really working some jigs.

Hell of a nice fish, what a toad!!!!

Gentlemen, Read my brand new post about my Curados and you'll see how pissed I am at Shimano!!!

THE INEVITABLE HAPPENED!!!........I had a hard bite on a Eakins jig, set the hook and broke my Shimano Curado. The side plate to the braking system just sheered right off and fell to the deck. Upon looking this particular piece is fragilly connected to the housing which you unscrew to access the brakes. There are two screws that come through the inside of the brake houses and screw into two PLASTIC pillars on the outside which then connects to the side plate as mentioned. SO, after a few curse words and holding back before throwing it over board(actually thought about it....) I removed the reel set aside and restringed with my other Curado 200, retied my Eakings jig and began again. If you thought that sucked! I swear within 5 minutes and a couple of casts later I got bit again and went to set the hook and broke my other Curado in the same exact spot as the other, identical. Both of these reels were not bought at the same time but are a couple of years old. But they have been babied! Theres not even a scratch on them. They always cast' like a dream and had performed flawlessly up until now. So, what the hell??? CAN ANYONE GIVE ME ANY INSIGHT AS TO WHAT HAPPENED? Clearly looking at the reels this is a manufacturer defect.

Launched out of Indian Point again before pink light with my brother-n-law. Fished many of the main lake and secondary points with topwater until noon. I was throwing a Lucky Craft Sammy and my partner a Spook in bone color. There was good wind this morning till around noon and then it died off. The bite was on and we had a lot of fun. Caught numerous Kentucky's though many were short. Our two best on top were a 17" smallie and a 17" kentucky. As the wind began to die we started dragging the doctor and throwing jigs on the same points and were having good success on the smallies with Kentucky's mixed in. THEN THE INEVITABLE HAPPENED!!!........I had a hard bite on a Eakins jig, set the hook and broke my Shimano Curado. The side plate to the braking system just sheered right off and fell to the deck. Upon looking this particular piece is fragilly connected to the housing which you unscrew to access the brakes. There are two screws that come through the inside of the brake houses and screw into two PLASTIC pillars on the outside which then connects to the side plate as mentioned. SO, after a few curse words and holding back before throwing it over board(actually thought about it....) I removed the reel set aside and restringed with my other Curado 200, retied my Eakings jig and began again. If you thought that sucked! I swear within 5 minutes and a couple of casts later I got bit again and went to set the hook and broke my other Curado in the same exact spot as the other, identical. Both of these reels were not bought at the same time but are a couple of years old. But they have been babied! Theres not even a scratch on them. They always cast' like a dream and had performed flawlessly up until now. So, what the hell??? CAN ANYONE GIVE ME ANY INSIGHT AS TO WHAT HAPPENED? Clearly looking at the reels this is a manufacturer defect. Well Shimano will be getting a call from me shortly. BTW.......I stopped by Bass Pro in Branson on the way home and they would not take them back due to being over the 1 yr warranty.

Doug quite interesting I had no idea. I have not yet had a chance to fish these but am looking forward to it now since you say they catch fish.................If you don't mind on what type of bottom structure do you fish them and how did they perform?

Bill, thanks for the input. This topic is really interesting. I am learning alot. Well I am off back to the water around Indian Point again tomorrow, will be there before first light. Which reminds me it is almost midnight shouldn't I be getting some sleep? Anyhuh!, I am heeding your advice and am going to really focus on fishing the jig tomorrow instead of relying on the old french fry. That's too easy. I am going to throw the 5/16 Eakins Jig as well as their "Finesse" Football jig in 1/2 oz. I'm taking your color suggestions to heart, hope you don't mind. That green pumpkin with the brown/cinnamon twin tail Zoom trailer is what I'm starting with. That is after I put the Spook down. I want a couple more of them 3lbrs on topwater first.........Ha........Thanks for the advice Bill.