What's In Your Canoe Box?

[Chief Grey Bear]

Is this the Wood Chopper you are talking about eric? Or were you talking about the Smithwick Devil's Horse?

These were fist made in my home town of Carthage. I knew the man that started the company. He since sold out years ago but, you can still buy these.

Boy I wish now I had the original boxes these babies came in?

[eric1978]

Is this the Wood Chopper you are talking about eric? Or were you talking about the Smithwick Devil's Horse?

These were fist made in my home town of Carthage. I knew the man that started the company. He since sold out years ago but, you can still buy these.

Boy I wish now I had the original boxes these babies came in?

Woodchoppers! Yep, I had a bunch of the bottom ones, and for a couple years when I was a kid that's all I'd use during the summer. You could cast those things so far your reel would just about run out of line. Great lures.

[eric1978]

Crazy Crawler you say...this one ring a bell.

later on

bm

Jitterbug, right?

[brownieman]

Eric,

On the bottom of the plug it says...'Heddon Crazy Crawler'

I have a bunch of old Jitterbugs too..

I have the box to some plugs...not this one, dangit !

later

bm

[eric1978]

Eric,

On the bottom of the plug it says...'Heddon Crazy Crawler'

I have a bunch of old Jitterbugs too..

I have the box to some plugs...not this one, dangit !

later

bm

Duh, this is a jitterbug. My brain's not workin'.

They want $70 for this one on ebay. You may be sitting on a gold mine. Looks like your Crazy Crawler might be worth quite a bit, too. There are a couple bid up to around $35.

[Al Agnew]

Wasn't trying to avoid telling about mods...just got back from three days of fishing.

I for sure did not invent Chief's skirt on the belly hook thing...in fact, it was first shown to me by a guy that I considered an old timer when I was a kid. He did it with Midge-orenos, the Big Piney guys did it with Luck 13s. I now make my own, with a simpler, easier to make shape than either of them, and it works quite well, although for different lures you need different types of skirts to make them work perfectly.

As for modifying Wiggle Warts, simplest way is to do as Gavin said and put a small strip of white pork rind or something similar on the back hook. You can also change out the back hook for a feathered treble. Or tie on a few strands of silicone on the back hook.

Or you can dress the belly hook. But this can be tricky on deep-diving crankbaits. Too much bulk quickly kills the action of the bait. I often tie on just a few strands of silicone. But another thing I do is either change out the hooks for the Sure-set hooks where one prong of the treble hangs straight down off the belly when the hook is on the split ring, or bend the three hooks of the treble to where they are in the same position. This helps a bit in making the lure run straight when you put something on the belly hook. I also put things on the hook like half a small plastic stick worm like a Senko (but I use cheaper Senko knock-offs for this) that I've split into two tails.

Most extensive modification is to remove both hooks, and screw on a metal hook hanger with a single treble, about halfway between where the original hooks were placed. This balances the lure a bit better and you can use a thicker skirt.

I've also drilled a hole in the bait and put in some lead, then filled in the hole with epoxy, in order to make it a suspending lure.

But I've also caught plenty of fish on an unmodified Wiggle Wart...

[eric1978]

Wasn't trying to avoid telling about mods...just got back from three days of fishing.

Any reports?

[fishinwrench]

I too used to be an uncontrollable tinkerer, but then I realized that when the chips were down...and money was on the line, I always reached for the baits that I hadn't "re-developed". None of my total makeovers ever succeeded to the point of instilling complete confidence.

There's a few minor mods that I still do to different types of baits before I ever get them wet, but I've never played with skirts on the belly hooks . I do tie bucktails on my Tiny Torpedo's, and I upgrade hooks and alter line tie configuration on just about everything. (I don't like tying to split rings)

[eric1978]

I too used to be an uncontrollable tinkerer, but then I realized that when the chips were down...and money was on the line, I always reached for the baits that I hadn't "re-developed". None of my total makeovers ever succeeded to the point of instilling complete confidence.

There's a few minor mods that I still do to different types of baits before I ever get them wet, but I've never played with skirts on the belly hooks . I do tie bucktails on my Tiny Torpedo's, and I upgrade hooks and alter line tie configuration on just about everything. (I don't like tying to split rings)

What do you use instead of split rings wrench? I don't care for them, either. I feel like they fray up line when it gets pinched in the ring. I thought about trying clasps, which would make switching easier, but haven't really given it much thought.

[fishinwrench]

I take the split rings off and tie directly to the eyelet. You really don't loose any action that way (that's a myth with no science to back it up). There is no real need for a split ring at the eyelet. Nor is there a reason to tie that pathetic Rapala loop knot on floating balsa minnows.

My belief is that there is plenty of "give" (flexability) in all types of fishing line to allow the bait to wobble, walk the dog, or do whatever it is designed to do. And when you are fighting a fish the hinge is still there above the hooks, so your knot doesn't slip and slide on the eyelet during the fight, like you might envision.

Doesn't it piss you off when you make a perfect shot with a crankbait...and then when you start the retrieve it does the whirly-gigs all the way back ? When you eliminate the split ring from the eyelet the line doesn't get fouled in the hooks near as easily.

Crosslock type snaps will fail occasionally, and they tend to jam up sideways on the eyelet of some baits. I use them on DD22's but I crimp them shut permanently.