eric1978

You're the one choosing to hang around douchebags...seems I'm gonna be stuck with myself for a while. I'm going to keep tying until I make the perfect jig, then I'll never need another one. It's gonna be snag-proof. You won't even be able to lose it in a tree.

Well, it's been years since I've used a T-rigged plastic worm believe it or not, but there was a time long ago I used them almost exclusively. And yes, of course I lost my share, but man, they seemed pretty weedless to me. Maybe you're doing something wrong.

It's more fun and much more convenient, since I still love each one of those guys. Even Ringo, he added a LOT of personality to the group, and believe it or not came up with many of the song and album titles, including A Hard Day's Night. I don't know if George wasn't confident in his song writing skills; by the time the White Album came out he had surpassed both John and Paul with his lyrics. He was just too passive and frustrated with the group. You can see it on the Let It Be documentary where he and Paul are arguing about some lick. George said something like, "I'll do it however you want or I won't do it at all if that's what you want. I don't really care." Something to that affect. You can tell his heart wasn't in it. And yeah, the Japanese Beatle was right there, looking like an idiot, which she was.

Yeah, I did trim back the hair just a bit right after I took the pics. I would have prefered to use football heads or at least round, but couldn't find any with the right kind of hook. Guess I'll have to start pouring my own. I know no jig is ever completely weedless, or at least rockless, but I guess it can't hurt to cover the hook up. We'll find out next time I get a chance to fish. I wonder if there's a way to make a head in a way it won't get wedged. How many times have you been hung up with a T-Rigged plastic worm with a slip-sinker? Never? If they can do it, why not jigs? Hmmmm....time to noodle some more.

Actually, Paul's control freak attitude was more of a problem leading to the break up than Yoko, but in the spirit of the play on words: You would have thought that someone would have figured out how to eradicate the Japanese Beatle Breaker Upper species by now. If only Ringo had sprayed her with pesticide... On the bright side, we got All Things Must Pass out of George (the best solo Beatle member album, hands down) after Yoko screwed everything up, and we may never have heard it since Paul would never let George get any of his stuff on the Beatles albums. Thread officially hijacked...blame Kevin

No way buddy. She's actually the bread winner in the house, so I was really complaining in jest. I got lucky, she's really pretty good about leaving me alone when it comes to my little pet projects, of which I have many. I do wonder, though, if they have some secret seminar they all attend to learn the cliche BS lines they give us. The problem is nine times out of ten they're right about the money, it's just no darn fun to follow their budgets. My philosophy has always been spend now, worry later. Not a good one, I know, but I'm chronically impulsive when it comes to buying stuff I want really badly. That's all changed in the last decade, but I've become a master of siphoning off funds before she knows about them from side-jobs and what not.

I don't know your neck of the woods at all, where I assume the photo was taken, but that's a neat pic. Nice timing catching the train. I'll bet you could almost pet the fish hanging out under the tracks they'd be so used to noise.

Okay, so I think we got it this time, fellas. And so it is born, the Texas Rigged Smallmouth Jig.

I know you're right Joe. It's just not my nature to half-butt anything....well, anything I'm interested in. I can't help but agonize over every excrutiating minutiae when it comes to fishing. For me it's part of the fun...details. One thing, though: I hardly ever use jigs unless it's wintery and cold. Usually in that case the water is really clear and the fish are generally picky. I like to give them something that looks really natural. In the summer the jigs pretty much just stay home. Oh, and that white fluke...yep.

Whatever you get, just make sure it has aquatreads and a rollbar.

Yeah, it's a little different. And don't get me wrong, going to Busch Wildlife is not beneath me...I go there all the time, albeit usually just to test out some new gear or tackle. I was just there yesterday. It's kinda hard to avoid given that it's only ten minutes from my house. But the place does suck. I fished about 3 hours yesterday, walked completely around two lakes, and caught 4 dinks. It's just overfished and the C&R lakes are overpressured. You could go into business collecting all the lures hanging from the trees and selling them on ebay. If you could take a private canoe out on the lakes it would be better. I know there are big fish in some of those lakes, you just can't get to them. I'm not gonna pay $5 to paddle around their jonboats. I don't know why, I just won't. My point was only that the pheasants thing and the Busch trout thing are kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. I don't know, it just doesn't do it for me. I would rather venture out into the wilderness and be skunked than go angle or hunt some game that's all but caught or killed for you before you even try. It kind of feels impure, and really doesn't get me excited. Of course any fishing is better than no fishing, and I completely understand wanting to run out to Busch to catch a few some time when you just can't get out to the real places. I know you're well aware of the difference, I've read your blog, so I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.

Thanks for all the pointers, gentlemen. I'm easily frustrated when I can't do something perfectly, so I'm gonna give it a rest for a bit and try another one tomorrow. Wrench, thanks a lot buddy! I'll send you a PM with my address and I really appreciate your generosity. Some of those fly tying supplies are expensive! Buy a few colors of a few different materials and it starts to add up. It'd be nice to be able to experiment without having to take out a second mortgage to do it. Ronnie, on the first one the plastic was flaring out the hair some because I had tied it too far back from the head. On the second one, the plastic doesn't affect the hair since it was tied close enough to the head to give the plastic some room. The hair just kinda flares because I tied it backwards and then flipped it over like you suggested. I got a lot of learning and practice to do. I don't even have a fly vise, I've been using my giant bench vise with the hook pinched between two pieces of wood to protect it. Buck's Hot Dad, the hook is pushed all the way through the plastic and skin hooked. It shouldn't be any more of a problem to set than any other Texas rigged plastic. Thanks for calling me a retard...at least now I know we have something in common.

Mummy and Daddy made this one.

My neighbor said that, too. But then I heard the weather lady on channel 5 say they were ladybugs. Of course, she's an idiot, so who knows?

No, nit-pick away, that's what I want. I'm using bucktail, wrench, but it still seems to flare more than I'd like it to. I would like to get something like chenille to wrap over the thread...my tying supplies are pretty limited at this point. Why do you think it will have problems getting through rocks? I think you're right that a silicone skirt would probably lay down better, I just kinda prefer the hair for smallmouth jigs. I don't know, maybe it doesn't matter, I've just always used hair. Well, here's the second attempt. It's a little better, but to me the hair is still too "puffy." I guess when you pull it through the water it would lay back a little. But the profile of the bait just seems a little too bulky. It's only about 3 1/4" in length, I guess it's not that big. Certainly no bigger than a 1/4 oz spinnerbait.

I guess if a bunch more people buy trout stamps to fish at Busch, it's more money for MDC. Hopefully they make more for for licenses than it costs them to run the program. Personally, I'd rather see them invest that money into the streams. Heck, why can't they stock some smallmouth in struggling rivers like the Bourbeuse? At least they would actually belong there and would be able to survive permanently. I don't know...I just kinda don't get it. I also don't get how people enjoy going on a pheasant hunt when they drive there in the same vehicle the birds they're about to shoot are in.

That's a great idea! I'll try that.

I'm with you bm, screw Busch Wildlife. They should reallocate those resources to actual trout habitat where they can live longer than 5 or 6 months. Total waste of money. If that means St. Louis anglers have to drive farther to access some fishing, so be it. I know that's what I do. I wouldn't want to catch a trout out of a muddy pond just like I wouldn't want to catch a smallmouth out of a bath tub. I'm not so sure about the whole St. Louis voters trumping the rest of the state, though. In the last election, St. Louis County, Jefferson County, the Kansas City area, and I believe also Columbia (I think Boone County), the most heavily populated areas of the state, all went blue. But Missouri as a whole was red. So...the rural folks definitely have an impact on voting. But all in all, I do think you're right that MDC is probably pandering a little to the city people, most of whom should just stick with jogging and soccer practice anyway.

Yeah, that's a little spooky. Perfect for Halloween. Reminds me of that Creepshow episode with the cockroaches. Anyone???

Trimming the hair: Yeah, I've seen those stackers. It wasn't that the hair was too uneven, it just got really puffy and looked a little too big without it trimmed. I'm gonna try using slightly shorter hair for the next one. Tying: I think I made the rookie mistake of trying to tie too much hair at one time, which required me to wrap it farther back from the head. Thanks for the tips!

Those two sentences don't go together quite like peanut butter and chocolate, and here's why: It's those pretty leaves falling on the river that's gonna make your Sammy pretty much useless. Might be a little cool, too. If the water's running high and fast, you might not have major leaf problems, I was fine mid-last week after a blowout. The topwater bite was pretty much non-existant, though. I'd be sure to bring some spinnerbaits, flukes, Warts, Pointers, tubes and jigs to try if your Sammy's not doin' the trick.

I can't tell you guys how sick I am of hanging up with jigs. Wire guards, fiber guards, doesn't matter. For me it's snag city. So I got to thinking, the most weedless way to fish something is Texas rigged. I came up with this idea and I think it may be a decent one. I used an off-set shank jighead made for rigging worms with the longest "neck" I could find. The little creature bait is rigged Texas style. This one's a little too orange I think, but you get the general idea. Please forgive the poor tying skills, I'm a rookie. What do you guys think? Any opinions? If you think it sucks for some reason, please say so...I'm open to suggestions.

No panties, no wad. I knew you were joking.

My wife hasn't left me (yet) and she's the only woman I've ever lived with (10 years) so I haven't experienced your towel thief problem. I have, however, noticed a curious discrepancy between the amount of money I bring home and the amount I'm given to spend. Apparently, or so at least I've been told, she is more "responsible" with money and if it was left up to me, I wouldn't have a house to store all my "toys" in because I would have "wasted" the house payment on "all my junk." Don't you hate it when they give you that "think about the future," or, "we have bills to pay," or, "you can't buy that rod because that money is for groceries" crap?

Well, Ronnie, that's why I told him I wouldn't be any help with fly fishing advice and I think we've proven that. Those 5-6" flies, aren't they considered streamers? I have no idea. But yeah, you're right, a big smallmouth would surely go after that. Most of my lures are around the 4" range, some a little bigger, some a little smaller. And I also know they'll eat tiny stuff like you said. I caught a 19" smallmouth on the Huzzah once on a little suspending minnow that was about an inch long. I was out there with an ultralight just messing around with little guys and he really caught me by surprise.