#TBT: The Topwater Lure I Made In 8th Grade

Throwback Thursday-  I believe I made this for a class project in 8th Grade at Oak Grove Jr. High, but it might have been 9th grade.  It had 3 treble hooks and a screw in eye when it was finished, but they were long since cannibalized to other lures.  I'm not sure what I was going for with the crimson and yellow color pattern.  Never caught a fish on it,  but I did try it at least a couple of times.

#TBT: My First Bass Jig

#TBT stands for Throwback Thursday.

One of my earliest memories of catching a bass was from when I was probably 4 or 5 years old and my dad gave me a little yellow hair jig that he called a "Crappie Killer" to use.  I went down to the "back bay," our cabin on West Sylvia had water we could fish on the front and back of the property, hoping to catch a crappie.  Instead of a crappie I got a largemouth instead.  Puzzled I went up and showed dad the bass I had caught.  He explained to me that just because it was called a "Crappie Killer" didn't mean that it would only catch crappies.  Satisfied with that explanation I threw back the bass, which weren't in season yet, and went back to try and get me crappie.   All I could ever seem to catch on these "Crappie Killers" were bass. No matter how much I tried, I don't think I ever caught a crappie on these jigs. As you can see from the picture, I still have a few of them. Judging from the pound test still tied on to the one jig I can see why I didn't get any crappies with them.

Dead Trout Lure "This Just Ain't Right"

It's been a few years since I did a "this just ain't right post." Mattlures Upside Dead Stick - $59.99. Actually I think it's a pretty clever idea for places stocked with trout ,but $60 bucks. Ouch!

Bait Monkey Bites On The Tackle Warehouse 25% Off Sale

I just couldn't resist the 25% sale Tackle Warehouse had for the Bassmaster Classic this year.  I actually got even more than 25% off because the Powerbait and Vicious line were already marked down some already.

I got:
4  KVD 1.0's
4 KVD 1.5's
11 bags of Powerbait Ripple Shads 4"
2 bags of Powerbait Ripple Shads 5"
Vicious Pro Elite Fluorocarbon 14lb Test 200 yards

My New Phantom's

I spotted these Stanley Phantom's in an Ebay auction for 70 assorted lures.  I asked if he was willing to sell me all the Phantom's separate and he was, so we agreed upon a price.  The bone and white one are back ups for one's I already have.  The blue one is the same one I lost these summer when I got broken off.  The black, bullfrog, rainbow, and white with the spot and scales are ones I've never seen before.  With the way the weather is looking I probably won't be trying any of these until next year.

New Topwater Lures For Me

Another Stanley Phantom came up for bid on Ebay.  I snatched it up and I was the only bidder.  As you can see it's close to the same color I crushed them on earlier this year.  The new one has red gills and a black top and the black dot instead of black stripes, otherwise they are the same.  I'm going to just leave it in it's package for now.  It's always nice to have a back up lure.

I also picked up some Strike King KVD Sexy Dawg's.

101 Bass On the Stanley Phantom This Year!!!

106 fish total when you count the pike.  Most of them came on this color, but I've got a few on the white one and bone color as well.  I've been watching for them on Ebay, but none have come up.  I wish I would have put them on my saved searches years ago.  I've been keeping an eye on Spooks and  I think I may have found them under another companies name that sold them for the saltwater market.  That would explain the saltwater hooks. I think that company changed the way they made them, then went out of business.

BAM! I just did an Ebay search under Stanley Jigs and it turned up 3 of them.  Two in colors I've never seen.  The Bait Monkey was all over it.

The Jig Head's I've Been Using For the Grass Pig

The top jig is an old Berkley Swim Jig head with the reverse barb.  That is my last one and the hook is pretty much shot.  I don't know what the heads were officially called or I would be looking for them on Ebay. I believe I've been using them up to a 1/4 oz and less.

The one below it is the Kalin's I'm using right now.  It's a 1/4oz.

On the Grass Pig Jr. it's been an Outkast Money Jig

 I believe I've been using a 3/16th an 1/8th oz for these with a 3/0 hook.

In the Mail Today- Jonathan Paul Fitovers and Christopherson's Crawtubes (and a Little Forgotten Treasure)

I really like the fact that they come with a permanently attached tether strap.

 I got 50 White Crawtubes and 50 Huckleberry Crawtubes from Christopherson's in Alexandria.

I put them in Zoom bags.

And while I was getting the Zoom bags I discovered some Crawtubes that I bought last year and forgot where in my big box of Zoom Horny Toads.  They are form Jerry's Baits and Tackle out of who knows where.  I got them on Ebay last year.  They are smoke/purple and bluegill.  They came in packs of 20 and I also transferred these to Zoom bags.

D&M Custom Baits Buzzsaw

I really like the look of this bait by D M. It's a new twist on the Herb's Dilly.

Rapala Is Releasing Something New At Midnight

Through Tackle Warehouse   It's supposed to "Change Fishing Forever"

Yeah, Whatever.

Update: Apparently, the clock just set itself back 2 Days.

It's about the new Rapala "Scatter" lip available on a crankbait frame as the Rapala Scatter Rap, a sinking minnow bait as the Rapala Scatter Rap Countdown, on a minnow frame as Rapala Scatter Rap Minnow, and on the Shad Rap frame as the Rapala Scatter Rap Shad.

At $8 a shot.  I'll pass for now.  I have too many cranks that hardly ever get used anymore already.



 

2013 Bass Pro Shops Catalog Day!!!

Photo From BassFan.com

I believe she arrived a little early this year, but that may be because of the way Christmas sat in other years.  Well I can't say I'm to impressed with the catalog this year.  I don't like how they got away from providing a quick look at reel spec's with the order numbers.  Also didn't care for referring us to the website for most fishing rods.  And is it just me or have fishing rods been getting uglier looking for the most part.  Didn't see any lures that peeked my interest.

Think Tank Lures Triggerfish

I won these three Triggerfish from The Bassholes in a contest.

Another Frog, Booyah! (And Another)

I see that a new hollow body frog has hit the market that I wasn't aware was coming. It's the Booyah Pad Crasher and it sells for a very reasonable $5.79 a frog at Tackle Warehouse. It only comes in a 1/2oz size and is suppose to have really soft plastic body. The frog has a drain hole so it's not very likely to sink. Not sure what kind of hooks. I think they kind of look like the Knoppers frog only not as detailed. The 3 reviews at TW were all positive, but I can't find anything at Tackle Tour or Bass Pro for reviews.

And under the frogs that I will not be trying:
This is the new Jackall Lobee Frog which goes for $12.99 at Tackle Warehouse. At that price I can't believe they are gonna sell very many

In more frog news I have been racking up the deals on Ebay with Spro's, Snag Proofs, and Zoom Horny Toads. I don't think I will every need to buy a Horny Toad again and probably am set for life on hollow bodies at this point, but at $3-$4 a frog I'll pick up as many hollow bodies as I can. Next Spring I am going to need to buy a box for Spro's and a box for Snagproofs. I'm probably going to try to sell off a bunch of the Horny Toads for $2.25 a pack (retail on Horny Toads is $3.50 a pack).

Mid-Summer Bait Monkey Report

For Fathers Day Sales I went with Tackle Warehouse and the 20% discount they had on Berkley Havoc Baits and I picked up a bunch more Lane Grass Pigs.

For the 4th of the July I just couldn't resist the temptation of $4 Mad Maxx frogs. How is it that BTD has any left at that price? They must have bought everything Tru-Tungsten had when they went out of business. Maybe people just don't like those 4 colors.

With the money I saved I bought another Drag Stripper Repo Man, they didn't have either of my first two color choices. I guess I'll just keep the new one in it's package until #1 is gone or the paint totally gets stripped off.

Sweet Mother of Ebayt Monkey!

53 handtied swimjigs
- Top quality heads (the vast majority are Brovarney heads)
- Top quality hooks
- Hand tied skirts in various colors
- 27 3/8oz & 26 1/4oz jigs
I got this lot for $21 shipped.

Looks like I'm gonna need a 3rd swim jig box. Also at this price I can forego messing with wire leader on at least 1 swim jig rod.

SCORE!!!

In The Mail- Bait Monkey Edition

UPS Man!!!

So I waited and waited for Tackle Warehouse to have a 20% off sale, but the best they were going to give was 10% off on their Tax Rebate/Easter Sale. I know Bass Tackle Depot was at 15% off, but they don't carry any of my must haves so Tackle Warehouse it was. Here is the Bait Monkey's Packing list:
Think Tank Triggerfish Silver Shad
Think Tank Triggerfish Baby Bass (Backordered) I Have wanted the Triggerfish for several years now, but it simply has not been available until this year. I just hope it works right as that seems to be a problem with some of the baits being sold.
Lucky Craft Kelly J Jr. Ghost Baby Bluegill
Lucky Craft Kelly J Jr. Baby Bluegill (Backordered) I didn't realise until the package was on it's way that I was getting the Jr. and not the full size Kelly J. Hopefully the Jr. will cast well. It weighs 5/16th which is the same as a Berkley Frenzy Popper, but the Frenzy Popper doesn't have two propellers to slow it down.
10 Packs Berkley Havoc Lane's Grass Pig in various colors
2 Packs Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper
Gambler EZ Swimmer

Can you tell which style of lure I'm adding to my arsenal this year? It's nice that Bassmaster Magazine has an article on fishing the RI Skinny Dipper this month.

Update "Easy Come Easy Go!": Actually this package arrived yesterday on Tuesday. So when I went out fishing last night I took the Triggerfish with me to play with it. I was able to make it perform all it's tricks. I was just about ready to put it away when I caught some brush on my back cast which caused me to backlash and the line snapped sending the lure quite a ways into the lake. There was a strong wind blowing out into the lake. I quickly rushed up to the car and got an outfit to try and cast to get it, but by the time I got back to the water I couldn't make out where it was with the chop on the water. That Sucks!!! Well as I say: Easy Come Easy Go! At least I ordered 2.

I think I am going to have to re-evaluate my topwater line because I have a number of lures that weigh a 1/2oz or more, which might be a bit to much for 14lb Fireline if the line suddenly stops on a hard cast.

All Terrain Tackle Skip-N-Jig

Now this is a good idea.

I will probably buy a few if Gander or Reeds carries them.

In the Mail Today!

UPS man pulls into the driveway today and I wondered what this might be as I wasn't expecting anything. Sure enough he pulls out this little package for me.

Inside was a Big Bite Baits Dean Rojas Fighting Frog.
I vaguely remember Dean Rojas having some deal on Facebook about getting a free pack of the frogs.

Unexpected Surprise!

In the Mail: Bass Zone.com Stuff

The package arrived as I was watching Bass Zone.com Wide Open this morning.


Here is the SCORE!
Bass Zone.Com hat
6 Pack Lazer Trokar 3/0 EWG Worm hooks
5 Pack Lazer Trokar 4/0 EWG Worm hooks
5 Pack Lazer Trokar 4/0 EWG HD Worm hooks
Lazor Trokar sticker and PR literature
1/2 White/black/red Booyah Blade Spinnerbait
30lb 75yrd sample Spiderwire Stealth Braid
4 Pack of 5" Yum Money Minnow
Pack Yum Live Prey Technology Lizard Watermelon Candy
Pack Yum LPT 6" Dinger Pumpkin Purple
Pack Yum LPT 5" Dinger Watermelon Seed
Pack Yum LPT Craw Papi

How did I get all this stuff? Simple, just called into the Bass Zone.com Wide Open hotline and was on the show.

THANK YOU BASS ZONE!!!