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Jet Divers: a simple modification

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

I just got my Stealth (clear) Jet Divers (#30’s and #40’s)  from  JnJ Harbor Drive Thru  today in the mail and am going to share a simple modification that can be made to any diver to make an angler’s job easier on the water.

Have you ever gone to attach your crawler harness to the business end of a diver before?  There is no snap available, you have to cut off your loop knot and tie directly to the snap or in the case of a Jet Diver, the swivel provided.  Its a waste of time, plus can be a headache. 

Same thing with my leaders that are made up for attaching spoons.  At one end I have a snap for the spoon, the other end a good ball bearing swivel.  Now I could have tied a snap to one end, then a snap and swivel to the other, but that has two downfalls.  One I would have tied up some very expensive snap/swivels to the leaders, and the second is having them sitting on the foam roll just sitting there until I actually break out the spoon box.  Its a waste either way you look at it.

The solution is simple, add a snap to the diver so adding a spoon rig or harness actually becomes a “snap” to do.  I tried the smaller Berkley cross lok snaps, but after deforming several of the wire bends in the snap, I went with the duolock snap, the same type already used on the divers in question.  These are less expensive and really work well for the application.  “Easy on”  is the key here.

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You can use a smaller sized snap if you want, but other than these salmon sized ones, my only other small ones in the shop are dedicated for my perch rigs that I make up, which is coming up fast season wise.  In the case of the Jet Divers, or other types for that matter, just open the clips on the duolock snap, and place through, then close up again.  The bigger snap also makes the process of changing out the leaders or harnesses an easy one.  I always say bigger is better, when it doesn’t bother the fish, why not use it.

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Its not some big revolution that will sweep the walleye fishing world, and many of you may have thought of it already, but if it works….use it.

good luck

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Walleye Spinner Blades: Gone Shopping

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

new blades

 

This past week I have done a lil’ internet shopping.  Reloaded on some blades that have been working well out on Erie, and to try out some new things.

From Frank’s Great Outdoors, I picked up some more Happy Hooker Hedgehog blades and Gold Mystic colorado spinners.  Silver Streak’s Purple Descent has been steady every trip taken the past three weeks.  They were out of Purple Pirate, so I gave Purple Bubblegum a try and had really good results on Sunday.  Also, with good results were these Tommy Harris spider blades, pink/copper/orange.

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The bottom blades on the left are called Whiptails and have been producing well up on Saginaw Bay.  They are from DBFishing up in Algonac, and for 90 cents each I picked up six of each color to try out.  Also, in my order were these  Barbie colorados, and two chopper blade Barbie’s to sample and try out.  I asked if there were any more new colors available, and he said he had some Purple Antifreeze blades, but at the moment only in size #4.  What the heck, give me six of those too.  I have mentioned before something about my addiction didn’t I?

  I met the owners three years ago at the first boat show held at the fairgrounds here in Monroe, good people, and the best prices on their gear available anywhere.  I also picked up an assortment of 1,000 packs of pearl colors in their 6 mm beads for only 5 something a bag.

Will be giving these new blades a whirl this weekend, hopefully with good results.

Posted in Do-It-Yourself, Fishing Websites/Stores, Lake Erie, Lure Making, Walleye Fishing | No Comments »

Good Source for Jets

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

Found this place online the other day after I was told Jann’s was back ordered for these Jet Divers I wanted to get.  Its called JnJ Harbor Drive Thru.  Prices were right, and they offered them in black which is getting really hard to find these days.

Jet Divers

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Church Tackle’s Walleye Boards

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

This time of the year I like pulling weight, lots of weight.  What’s that mean in fishing terms?  Heavy bottom bouncers and heavy inline weights.  It follows my old philosophy when it comes to walleye fishing on the big lakes, go as big as you can, whenever you can.

The problem is this, most boards cannot run true and level while pulling this much weight.  While I love the TX-22 I picked up last year because they stay upright while trolling cranks and divers, they tend to ride low in the rear while pulling lead heavier than 1 oz.

Not that 1 oz weights are a bad thing, but lets face it, the dive charts available for the BPS weights I like to run are still unproven for their running depths.  Even though this week has been a pie in the face of the global warming alarmists and the temps have been running colder than normal,  if you want big fish, you still need to go deep.  25 to 30+ feet of water is where the big gals and boys hang out.

To combat the unproven depth charts, I will put on the 2 oz Bass Pro Keel Weights.  They will be the first rods out so I can get an idea of how much line to let out to run near the bottom.  Release your line with the rod tip pointed towards the front of the boat, and with the rod follow the line towards the back of the boat until the weight hits bottom.  To get an accurate reading on the counter, keep the tip near the water as you do this.

Once the line goes slack, engage the reel and lift your rod to place your inline board on your line.  In order to have my boards run true while dragging the heavier weights, I switch from the TX-22’s to Church Tackle Walleye Boards.  The reason is that they have a sliding weight on the keel of the board,  which helps the board’s run true.  Normally with the 2 oz weights I will slide the weight +.5 or in heavier seas, then +1 on the scale provided on the bottom of the board.

If you like to run the heavy 4 oz bottom bouncers of your boards, then slide the weight  forward some more, and play with it until your boards run even keel in the water.

I found that Frank’s Great Outdoorshas everything I need for my boards.  If you are up on Saginaw Bay stop by in Linwood and pick a couple of pairs up.  Au Gres is hopping right now, and it is not a far ride to be fishing 40 fow where the walleyes are.

If you want to shop on the internet, I recently found a Michigan store on Lake Michigan,  who also happens to be selling on Ebay.  Called Brett’s Place on the Bay,  they are located in Benton Harbor.  Shipping is usually two days to the Monroe area.  They have good prices, with shipping often inlcuded.

2 Pack of Walleye Boards  for $54.99, includes shipping

4 pack of Walleye Boards for $104.99, includes shipping

Posted in Fishing Websites/Stores, Tournament News | No Comments »

Rednek Trolling Weights

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

www_rednekoutfitters_comcolors11

 

These weights from Rednek Outfitters are very similar to the BPS keel weights I use, but give you another lure in the water while pulling harnesses or spoons. They have a belly hook, and on the website there is a dive chart already available for getting down to the depths you want to fish/target.

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Fishlander is indeed “Back in the Saddle”

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

After following up a comment made yesterday, and talking with the new owner who proudly exclaimed that Fishlander is indeed “Back in the Saddle”, to quote Aerosmith.  The maker of salmon and walleye lures is indeed back in business.

Unfortunately, cell phones and the Ludington area still leave a bit to be desired.  Here’s what we have so far, the Deep Cup Colorado blades will be back in all four sizes; 3,4,5, & 6.  With several new color patterns to go with the original mix that was offered before the doors were closed.  The exact number was lost between cell towers, but will get that out when the call is returned.

Sounds like lots of exciting things coming soon, will have more tomorrow, or when the call is returned!

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Witch Tape and Willow Blades

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Sometimes you just have to try something when it seems like everyone is using a trick to catch walleyes, giving willow blades a shot isn’t any different.  Now its not entirely new to the scene, in fact willows have become popular over the past 6 years with the tournament anglers I know, but really have just hit their stride the last two years for anglers hitting the big waters on the weekend.

I am a do it yourself nut, and if I can take something and make it better than it was originally, and save a few bucks in the process, I am all over it.  I prefer the term frugal, but if you want to call me cheap, go for it. 

In the picture below I took some standard #4.5 silver willow blades.  The key is not to skimp on the metal, get your silvers, golds and coppers (when you can find them).  Skip the nickels and brass blades, the shine just isn’t there.  Now comes the fun part, creating your own designs with WTP’s Decorator Tape.  You can buy right online.

decorator_tape1

You get three sheets per package online for only $2.29.  Its plenty of tape get several blades finished in whatever patterns you want to try.  If something is working like on a crankbait, spoon or diver, and I can create the same scheme on a blade I will do it.

I took several colors available in Witch Tape’s “crushed” ice series and got to work last night on these designs.  In the top left of the pic, I made a “crushed ice” pink lemonade.  I used pink, flo. yellow and transparent stips and cut them to fit my willow blade.

Just using a pair of  standard scissors laying around the house,  I laid them out on the blade, and trimmed around the edges as I went.  First the pink, the flo. yellow and finally the transparent which allows the silver to shine through on the belly of the blade.

For the bottom left corner I took a green crushed tape and that same transparent tape and copied one of my favorite colors for walleye while ice fishing.  Actually have tried several spoons in open water while trolling with good success as well.  So why not create a similar pattern for my willow blades?  What works, simply just works.

Over in the top right corner, I have to have my yellow and orange combination.  Its a standard, when all else fails, these blades flat out produce fish.  Call it the red and white Daredeville of my walleye lures, old reliable.

On the bottom left corner of the pic are my cushed glow blades I have made up.  I love glow lures for walleye fishing.  Early…EARLY… in the morning or later in the evening hours, these blades produce.  They will catch fish during the day, but really shine early before the sun comes up fully, or as she is setting down in the west.

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Do not limit  yourself to just the walleye world if you want to dress up some of your blades.  Look at your bass, pike and muskie spinnerbaits.  Enhance their colors to match up with their skirts or hair bodies.  Match the hatch!

Posted in Bass, Do-It-Yourself, Fishing Websites/Stores, Muskie Fishing, Northern Pike Fishing, Walleye Fishing | No Comments »

Kudos for Pro Choice Fishing

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

I had been up this morning, walked the dogs,  and just settled in to get started on the computer this morning when the phone rang.  It was Brent from Pro Choice Fishing, just calling to make sure I had received my order yesterday for my tournament this Saturday.

Good customer service is so hard to find these days in the age of big box stores and corporate offices several states away, I truly appreciated the gesture this morning.  I make it a point to thank the person on the other end of the line when they go that extra mile.  He asked where I would be fishing, and even gave some pointers on spots and lure speeds.  Every little bit helps, and you never turn away good informtion when available!  He knew the area, mentioned some things I already knew and confirmed my thoughts on those area, and gave me some really good tips on water conditions.

If you have the need, or the want for some good colorado blades, and some really nice custom painted lures,  visit the website and check out the goods.  Have a feeling, you will be very happy in your choices.

Custom Blades

Custom Lures

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