Charles Mitchell

This is a work of art. This must have taken a lot of thought. Good step by step tutorial with pictures to match. Charlie M

Where is the link

Tally, Please send left overs to Charlie Mitchell, Paris TN. I am trying to recover, as the lack of sunshine has me with cabin fever....Will work for food.... Charlie M

Hoodaddy, Rsinyard is right, small fish. There is a lot of pressure on this lake. The TN Bass Fed held it state tournament there last year in Oct and fishing was not that good. Where are you putting in? Bull Cr or Hendersonville down near the dam? If you keep me informed as to when you are coming down I might can get some help for you. Call or send me an email. I now live in Paris, TN On KY Lake Charlie Mitchell 731-642-4981 ctmitchell@hughes.net

Charlie, I was looking forward to having some crawfish at Nathans this year. Hope you can still make it up. Hope things are looking up for you and your family. Charlie M

Nathan, I plan on bringing some lures it it works out. Looking forward to it. Charlie M

This is not going to be like Broke-Back Mt is it??? If Coley will drive I will be there again. Looking forward to seeing everyone again. Sorry I have been absent on the site but I have been up to my neck in alligators. I am one of the 7 guys BASS threw out. I can explain when we meet again. Jerry bring 3 x small T-shirts so I can tie them together to make one....I AM IN Charlie Mitchell AKA Boyhowdy

When you say East ARK where is that? Charlie M

I live West of Nashville, just off of I-40, 2nd exit after you pass over the TN river (AKA) KY Lake. Exit 143. Waverly - Linden. Let us know if you are in the area. Charlie Mitchell

Bob P, I have also been using finesse weights in the belly for some time. Even though you purchase them as 1/8, 3/16 or what ever, 9 out of 10 will not weigh the same. close but not the same. In an effort to make stronger crank baits Coley and myself purchased some balsa that was more dense than what we had first tried. You can definitely tell the difference when you pick the wood up. When we got the blocks Coley weighed them and not many of them weighed the same. I find it very difficult to get the same bait every time. Again close but always a little different. This is just a couple of things that make wooden baits so unique and run a little different. Not sure what type of wood you are using but when I start the hole for the belly weight I use a cone shape dram el tool that was made for carving. This just kind of sands away the wood and does not split it off like a drill bit does. Then you can use a smaller drill bit to finish the hole with out splitting the wood. I also use a SS cotter pin for the hook hanger. Put it through the hole in the weight and bend the ends over. I think the SS cotter pin makes a nice hook hanger. Epoxied in, no way to come out. I Use mostly 30 minute epoxy as this gives it time to soak into the wood. I to like to have a few baits that will suspend, sink slowly, back up quick and rise slowly. I always get a thrill when I crank one down in the pool and it just sits there. Charlie M, AKA boyhowdy

Johnny When I was over there, Fishing was the last thing on my mind. Pubs, darts, dancing, Fish & Chips, Sausages Chips & Beans with two rounds of toast, a few pints of light, and oh yes Girls. If you look at a map of TN find Nashville in the middle of the state and take the I-40 west about 70 miles to where it intersects with Hwy 13, that runs North and South. This is just before I-40 crosses the TN River also know as Kentucky Lake. Follow 13 North to a small town called Waverly. That is where I call home. Good fishing all year. Some times better than others of course. Now is a good time for Bass. No Pike fishing though. Boyhowdy

I Just happen to think that I will be going to the Classic again this year. It is at Pittsburgh, PA, the last week of July. They usually have an outdoor show that opens about the middle of the week that would be about Wednesday the 27th. Are there any bait makers that plan on attending or might be close by for some of us to get together? Check your calenders. Maybe we could set up a meet. Charlie Mitchell AKA Boyhowdy

I have to set the record straight.....I said that my strawberry's and short cake tasted like a half of a bowl...This was a favorite saying of my Grandmother. You can tell by the pictures that I got my share. It was good to see Skeeter again, as it had been almost a year since last years Bass Masters Classic. Skeeter also had a some of his special baits and I now proudly own two of his. Thanks Skeeter. Sorry I could not stay around for the rest of the evening I would like to have heard all the stories these two told first hand. Charlie Mitchell AKA Boyhowdy

Johnny, I spent about 3 years in England . Married a lovely girl from Cambridge. He family was from up north around Sunderland. That was 47 years ago and I still have her. TN is a nice state to visit. From the Smoky Mt in the East to the flat land in West TN. We have a lot of water to fish for bass, both largemough and smallmouth. If you was in my area I would be glad to take you out fishing. I can see that this is still in the planning stages . Good luck, Charlie Mitchell AKA Boyhowdy

You can research drying wheels on TU Search section. There are several different drying wheels, and you can make one for as little as $10 and up from there. No one minds helping but a lot of your questions are in the search section. You will have to do a little reading. then if you have a specific question on something you do not understand fire away. Hope this helps Charlie M

I use a brush from Wal Mart in the kit sections that is about 1/4" wide. I also use the brushes that you can purchase in the craft dept that are about 2.00 for 20 or so. I like the ones that are all plastic. Some times I clean them with some thinner, but most of the time I just dispose of them. You need to rotate the bait either by hand or on a dryer. I have never had brush marks, as the 2 ton will level out.

You did not use the 5 minute instead of the 30 minute 2T did you? Charlie Mitchell

There is not much left for me to comment on about the trip, except that it was great. A good time was had by all. I can hardly wait to see the pictures. A comment was made that everyone would think that we passed a bass around and had our picture made with it. Not the case. Coley is on this new math kick, and we are not sure how many he caught but we did catch over 50 bass and wait until you see the size of the crappie. Everyone was using a crankbait they had made. As we all know that made it even more special. Nathan, Debbie and his family did institute the 5 minute rule as Coley said. After 5 minutes you were family and if you wanted anything go get it. It is for sure no one went hungry. You will have to ask Nathen the name of a special sausage he grilled for us but I really liked it. Something to nibble on while the rest of the food was being cooked. Getting to put the faces with the names is always a treat. What a great bond this lure making is. Even though our trip was 600 miles one way, the conversation on the return trip always drifted to the last three days. That was except for an occasional drift into a power nap. Gene and Coley must have felt sorry for the old man, or afraid, as they never let me drive. OK by me. I know that all of us are looking forward to a return trip. Charlie Mitchell AKA boyhowdy

Bug-Man, The Toe-Eye or as I call it in TN, the line tie, can be in either place. Those that make the wire through the body of the lure where everything is connected such as the hook hangers and the line tie, most of the time has the line tie in the body. If you use some other type of hook hanger such as screw eyes then the line tie will most of the time be on the bill or lip. The position of the line tie on the bill will makes some difference on how deep the lure will run. The closer to the lure the deeper it will run. If you purchase bills with the line tie not in it then you can put the tie any place on the bill to make the lure run like you want. You must make sure you get the tie in the center of the lip. If you purchased lips with the line tie already in it that that part is done for you and all you need to do is cut the slot to the bill, making sure that it is a snug fit and center the bill. I am sure that if you search the site there is a lot of info on this subject. Good luck Charlie M. AKA Boyhowdy

Jigflipper, There are so many different things you can use for this pattern. I use some netting that I first got from Jan's. Most of the time I like the larger pattern. I understand that there is all sorts of material at Wal Mart to use. One thing that I think is important is to get the material that you use as close to the bait as possible. I may do this different than most but I use 3M spray Mount artist's adhesive and spray the material lightly and let it dry a little. You just want it a little stickey. You must make sure that the paint on your bait is completely dry. I use a hair dryer to set the paint if I did not let it set for a while. I then lay the netting on the bait making sure that it is lightly stuck to the bait so when you spray the netting no paint will get under it and you will get nice clean lines. By the time I set the air brush down I carefully peal the netting off and then turn the bait over and stick it to the other side. The scale material will be stickey enouth to do several biats. It it is not give it another light spray. After I have done both sides I spray down the back with the same color or sometimes I use a stripe down it such as if the sides are light yellow and scales are green and then the stripe might be bronze. This way works for me and is quick. I am careful when I pull the netting off and can only think of a couple of times that I had a problem and that was when I sprayed the scales too hevey and they were still wet. I use water base paints and the hair dryer really sets them in for me. The key for me is not to get too much paint on the scales. Hope this helps. Charlie Mitchell AKA Boyhowdy

BobP, What was the site that you found that sole the G10? Charlie M

BobP, I have purchased some at a place in TN called World of Plastic. I think that they stores in several different locations. Do not know about your location. If you will email me I probably would have enough to do a few baits. Charlie M ctmitchell@direcway.com

Like some have said. Someone has to take the bull by the horns, set a date, time and place. We maybe could put up two or three dates and see which one the most could attend. We have so many members with different jobs that we cannot find a date that will satisfy all of us. I am a friend of Craig Lamb that writes for ESPN/BASS. He lives in the Nashville area and I am sure that I could get him to write an article and get it into either the BASS Times or the Bassmasters magazine. With the little get together the Tennessee connection had at Coley's I can tell you it was worth the time. I have also had the pleasure to spend a day with Skeeter at the Classic. Even then we did not have enough time. We have met so many on TU by post and email, but I can tell you it is not like shaking hands and having a good talk. I am ready any time any place. I can say that as I have spent my time in the barrel and have the time to go. Charlie Mitchell AKA Boyhowdy

I have used screw eyes in balsa baits. For the tail hook I use one anywhere from 1? to 1 1/8? long screw eye. And for the belly hook I will use the longest I can without going through the top. This is usually about ? to 1? for me. I screw them in and then back them out. I have used different types of epoxy to fill the holes. There is an epoxy paste that you can get that comes in two parts. You cut off what you want and then mix together and you can push it down in the hole. Then screw the screw eye in. I have also used the 2 ton epoxy, 30 minute type. I use a tooth pick and a small wire to make sure it goes down in the hole and put some around the threads. I have also used s.s. cotter pins that are 1 ?? long. . They really look nice and do not add a lot of weight to the bait. Now I have not had any problems with them pulling out. I have caught some big drum on these little crank baits and not one has pulled out. You can always drill out a hole and glue a wooden dowel in the hole and then screw the screw eye in to the dowel. Some times on the belly weight I use a weight with a small hole in it like a worm weight or barrel sinker. That is when I push the cotter pins up through the hole in the weight and bend them down around the weight and then glue the weight in. Charlie M

Lurehead03, I purchased some from world of Plastic here in Tennessee. I do not know if they have that store where you are from. It is the thickness that you are talking about. As you might know a lot of the crankbait makers in TN use this stuff especially around the Knoxville area. I think that they got if from Oak Ridge government plant to start with. I think it makes a great bill or lip whick ever you want to call it. Sent me an email and I will see if I can help you with the stuff and tell you how I am using it. Charlie M email - ctmitchell@direcway.com