bassrecord

Anybody know of a source for BIG eyes, not in Hawaii? Thanks. John

Many antique dealers, museum operators and pickers strongly advise against cleaning, repairing or restoring anything unless you are or have it done by an expert, and then have it done in a cost effective way. Even then if your Grandfather "enhanced" one or more of his lures, it might take a knowledgeable lure maker such as members of this board, to recognize the value he had added to his lures. Speaking from personal experience, my Dad "doctored" some of his lures. Some were quite successful. Upon his passing step-relatives had someone sort his lures into good/mint condition and modified/wore out condition. The mint condition items were sold and I got the "Junk" tackle box. Not having a clue what to do, I gave Dad's "Junk" tackle to my son who is presently trying to De-engineer lures to discover what worked and why. My advice is to get help in preserving your Grandfather's lures as they are. Try to get family pictures or stories of him using them. Discuss lures freely with your extended family and pass them on to an interested party. Good luck! John

If you want big treble hooks, try Gary Cumro at: http://www.handmadefishhooks.com/gallery.html Keep us posted. John

Losing a lure depends upon its value and that value is pretty much in the mind of the angler. Some people use el cheapo junk and are unconcerned if they lose something. Other people use high quality pricey stuff but they are unconcerned if they lose anything. I guess people could be in between but I don't value lures or any tackle either way. I value lures and all tackle by "Time over Big Bass." On page 32 of my book, Big Bass Fly Fishing on Topwater, I tell about this guy, my barber, that bought an old fiberglass rod at a yard sale and bragged that he never paid more that $15 for ANY rod he bought. Sometime later I asked how that yard sale fiber glass rod worked for him and he said the first day he took it fishing the tip broke off. Obviously his approach cost him in "Time over Big Bass." Whether I'm fishing "For Record" or fishing "For Experimental" I try to maximize "Time over Big Bass." Losing a lure and having to use the "Stop, Look and Listen" approach is time consuming. So is getting hung up - front trees, back brush or underwater and having to stop and retrieve my lure. For the record, whether test or production, experimental or contemporary I shoot for 5 year minimum lure life with 1/64" +/- 1/128" tolerances and if testing, only vary one variable at a time. Nearly all of my lures are proportionally sized which out on the water lets me change size up or size down in a known, controlled manner. With hundreds of my lures up to 50-60 years old still used fishing and testing, I really, really, really hate to lose one. John

When you lose a floating lure, was it on a Big Bass (5-6 pounds and up) or on a medium sized bass (2-4 pounds)? a. If Big Bass or unknown size, drop anchor, get comfortable and wait up to 90 minutes. She will throw or try to throw it or try to rub hooks out. Maybe you can see her or hear her as she tries to dislodge hooks. Wind chop blows floating lures up against lily pads, grass, weeds, etc. where it can be seen. I get lucky about once every 4-5 losses. b. If medium sized bass or smaller, drop anchor and wait about 30 minutes. These bass thrash and root around more loudly and more often than Big Bass but tire out quicker. They may tail-walk and splash 4-5 times trying to get the hooks loose. I'm usually lucky to get one of two lures back from medium sized bass but probably lose all dink sized bass lures. c. FYI My experiences are based upon single and trailer hook lures. This "Stop Look and Listen" approach may not work for lures rigged with single, double and/or triple treble hooks. Instead of wishing someone "Tight Lines" maybe "Have Good Knots" is better. LOL John

Once I sold items and sent same to a guy in Indonesia with shipping and docs via USPS 3 day Air to his address. He did not receive. All USPS shipments in his town arrive into a bonded cage. His stuff from me was stolen. I resent same items with docs and freight forwarding via FedEX. He got them. For me, now I only internationally sell via Pay-Pal Invoice to verified address, documented via email with buyer's agreement to pay for all import/export/brokerage fees not in Pay-Pal Invoice with shipping 3 day air via DHL, UPS or FedEX. Selling in some countries has scary stories- most do not. I do not sell much internationally so I can avoid freight forwarding/broker/funds transfer and similar hassles. Good luck! John

Over the years, I have not had any luck "with something thick to help cover imperfections". Starting with a wood lure blank that has been sanded and imperfections filled, I finely sand, then dip in a sealer, then "knock off the knap" light sand, then dip in a thin white lacquer primer, sand again, then dip in a 2nd coat of thin white lacquer primer, then "knock off the knap" light sand, then visually check for imperfections and if necessary dip in a 3rd coat of thin white primer, and finally "knock off the knap" light sand and my lure should be ready for color painting. As has been advised by many on this forum, sealer, primer, color paint and top coat should be compatible to avoid issues. Suggest you run some tests in your ambient humidity to see how they work together for you. Let us know what works best for you. John

Here is a link to somewhat I saw from Spirit River https://spiritriver.com/materials/feathers/jailhouse-ostrich with sever possible colors. Another is OSTP Ostrich the barred not the dot: http://catalog.theflyshop.com/opst-ostrich/ but except for olive, I did not see a color that was close to trout pectoral fins. Hope this points you where you want to go. Good luck! John

Since the original post, I read somewhere that the new"Bassbelas" would have 230 some odd stores while their arch competitor REI only has 136. Sounds like Bassbelas is moving more and more into clothing. That won't affect me. Good Luck. John

How does Bass Pro buying out Cabelas affect this Forum, tackle making and you in general? My guess is "Bassbelas" will close stores, offer far less items for sale, raise prices and move more onto internet only sales. What do you think? John

Just a suggestion: IMO pectoral fins are "always" moving. Turkey flats and buck tail seem kinda stiff. How about "semi-marabou" over your frog hooks? Seems like I've seen feathers that are normal next to the stem and marabou-like out toward the tips. Maybe you can find something in trout colors. Sorry but I don't recall where I saw this stuff. Good luck. John

Bob, I'm sorry but I repeated the toothbrush secret that was on page 118 of my Field Guide and on my website. I don't know where my head was. Maybe I was recalling his advice from a prior edition. Memo to self: Do not post on TU after midnight LOL. Good Luck! John

Bob thank you for the kind words about my book. It's selling quite well, especially to Bass Fly Tournament guys who keep saying, "Don't sell it to my competitors!" LOL And with 149 Big Bass tips and 84 Big Bass family secrets, my son Lance said I omitted his two favorites - the ones that "always" work. He means my Lindsey Ozark Bumble Bee pattern number 19. There two ways to fish it - IGFA Compliant and NOT IGFA Compliant. Both ways start the same: Cast with the wind up next to flowering, floating material like water lilies. Keep tight line, leader and tippet. The IGFA Compliant method is to rap your knuckles on your fly rod just above your reel. This vibration often triggers a strike. The IGFA NON Compliant method is to turn on your cordless tooth brush and grasp it against your fly rod just above your reel. My up sized Ozark Bumble Bee with a tooth brush vibration works when nothing else does. I'm not a BASS tournament guy so I don't know if it's legal there but you would know. Thanks again. I'll PM you. John

Ahhh the cork oak from the Mediterranean area of Portugal and Southern France. For hundreds of years cork stoppers have been used to seal wine and other alcoholic drinks in bottles and barrels. Cork quality is visually determined. The outer observance of pits, infractions, non-circular shapes and the variety of visual imperfections, or not, determines cork grade. On 'select" grade cork, without any (or many) visual imperfections, the interior may be loaded with lentricels, similar to crevasses in glaciers, and what I call pointed burrs or hard enclosed knots. Since I drill three leg holes in all my top water popping bugs, I worry about hidden, internal gotchas. The pointed burrs or knots cause nearly all drill press drill bits to "walk" A leg hole through a bug eye is not appetizing. Pulling rubber legs through lentricels often causes a snag to compress then break off the rubber leg.. The world wide exploitation of cork has caused the quality to fall in the last few decades. No doubt what used to be a XX Laboratory grade cork is now a Select grade and previous discards have moved up to the ugly, broken XXXX so called Laboratory corks of today. Ground, glued, compressed cork, called agglomerated cork is used in wine bottles but makes a lousy popping bug bug because of all the extra weight. Other suppliers fill wine cork visual imperfections with adhesive and cork dust but this also increases weight but not as much as the agglomerated approach. I've found that either new, unused, high quality, "pricey" wine corks or discarded corks from wine in the $30-$40 range and up that were not opened with a cork screw are the best today. I go into making popping bugs from wine corks in my book, "Big Bass Fly Fishing on Topwater A Field Guide" which you can find on my web site, www.bigbassflyfishing.com/ Under BUGS, I have 22 patterns in three sizes I made from cork stoppers. I'm in the process of loading some of my unique fly tying tools and fly fishing accessories for Big Bass anglers. Working cork is a challenge, I never know where the bit or saw or sander is going. It's much like landing a Big Bass LOL! Good Luck. John

I don't see how that jet.com device would fit a big can. Raborn Man's "Tap the Can" approach is so simple and eloquent. I like it! Over the years I've become more lazy and not too steady-handed and look for quick, simple and little hardware lying around approaches to doing stuff. OOPS, I just described my teen-aged grandson. We're still learning. I said, "I know it says three times, but push that Prime Button 5 times, put your foot on it and pull that crank and the lawn mover should start." I think maybe in 3 or 4 more years he'll learn that 3 is too lean and 8 is too rich. Yep we're still learning. Good luck. John