Holmer

To make a tube float on a carolina rig, I stuff a piece of foam "backer rod" (used to partially fill large gaps before caulking) in it. It is available at any home store for a couple of bucks. I think I bought a 20' roll (3/8" dia.) several years ago for 2-something and have most of it left. Anyway, it floats great and doesn't get waterlogged and sink like regular styrofoam will. You can adjust the length of the piece you use for the desired bouyancy.

Cool. Thank you for the input. I will probably be getting one before Spring.

The Spook is one of my favorite lures, and I fish them a lot. I remove the original hook hangers and replace them with a little screw-in hook eye cemented in place with epoxy (fill the original screw holes with epoxy as well). I do the same thing with the Jitterbug, and it works really well on both. It's kind of a hassle, but has greatly increased my strike-to-catch ratio on these baits.

I am thinking of getting an Abu "Record" and was hoping someone out there has tried one and can tell me if they are worth the money? I've got an Abu "Morrum Mag-X", an "Eon" and a "PGS" and really like them, but they are kind of touchy. The Record appears to be kind of a smoother version of their older, beefier reels (like the C4), and that's what I'm hoping for; something that can take some abuse without me cleaning a reel in the field.

I have never tried RTV. I've been using plaster of paris or Durham's, and just can't get the level of detail I want. Upon researching silicone, I discover there are several types and a whole bunch of manufacturers. So, my question is: what do I need and where do I get it? Thank you.

I think you are probably right, earthworm... Perry's catch would NEVER qualify today. Just this past summer, a 25 pound 1 ounce bass was caught ON VIDEO, and the catch was disqualilfied because the hook was in the belly. There was a photo in bassmaster of a kid who was supposedly Perry's Nephew (I think) holding up a gigantic bass. Was it the world record fish? Some relative of his produced it recently and says it was his fish. There again, more ""evidence" that would never hold up to current standards. As you say, he was very poor (fishing from a homemade boat, supposedly, and sharing ONE rod, reel and lure), and that $75 and a few lures would have been a big motivator to be less than honest. I've seen a lot of people exaggerate the size of fish, anyway, when there is no money involved. If it meant feeding my family for a month, I'd probably be dishonest about what lure I'd used as well, in his situation. Maybe that explains why people who knew Perry said he never seemed very impressed with his record?

Has anyone here read about George Perry giving the names of a couple of different lures as the one that got him the "Big One"? It seems he just wanted free tackle; now that there is BIG money at stake, polygraphs would definitely be in order. I think it was Owner that had a big reward a few years back for a world or state record bass using one of their hooks. The contest rules stated there had to be a witness, photographs, polygraph(s), and I don't remember the other criteria were, but it would have been hard to fool 'em, I think. Honesty is the best policy, but fishermen aren't always known for being honest, are we? ha ha

Good one.

Four married guys go fishing. After an hour, the following conversation took place: First guy: "You have no idea what I had to do to be able to come out fishing this weekend. I had to promise my wife that I will paint every room in the house next weekend. Second guy: "That's nothing, I had to promise my wife that I'll build her a new deck for the pool. Third guy: "Man, you both have it easy! I had to promise my wife that I'll remodel the kitchen for her." They continued to fish a while when they realized the fourth guy had not said a word. So they asked him. "You haven't said anything about what you had to do to be able to come fishing this weekend. What's the deal?" Fourth guy: "I just set my alarm for 5:30 AM. When it went off, I shut off the alarm, gave the wife a nudge and said, "Fishing or Sex" and she said, "Wear a sweater."

I have never poured a swimbait, but I've had the same problem with slug-type baits and bigger worms. I really can't tell you how to solve it, but I think it has something to do with the thick body - parts of it cooling at different rates? I posted pretty much the same question a while back and the general opinion was that my molds weren't sealed well enough, but they've got 4 coats of engine paint on them now and still do it... If you figure it out, be sure to post it, because you ain't the only one with that problem!

I bought one small lizard mold from Netcraft and can't say I was very impressed with it. The injector wasn't very good, either. I used the thing to make maybe 4 baits and gave up. By the time you can inject one mold, the plastic in the injector is already too cool to squeeze out... I would not recommend it.

Does anyone know where I could look to study on patent and copyright law?

So, what you're saying, Mattlures, is that a copyright on my original would probably be my best bet? I would imagine you have gone through the process with your swimbaits; were you able to get a copyright yourself, somehow, or did you hire an attorney? I would sure be happy to find out I don't need to spend thousands of dollars on a patent! Thanks for your help.

That is a lot worse than I would have guessed... Do you know; if an original lure is made by someone and is subsequently stolen by, say, Strike King (just an example), would the originator be screwed, or would he have some legal standing just by being able to prove he was making the lure first?