Author Archive
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 by Lead Jig
The bite at Reelfoot was tough this past weekend. A cold front came in on Friday morning to start us off which kept most of the crappie in deeper waters. Everyone we talked to was catching them by drifting in the deeper parts of the lake, mostly spider-rigging; and they were catching them. Piles of crappie were stacked on top of each other in the fish dressing room. As one fisherman said, “Buddy, this cooler ain’t got ice in it.” I looked, it sure didn’t. It was filled to the lid with black and white specks.
We decided to take a different approach and fish the gills in calmer waters. Pitching around tree stumps and avoiding overhead branches is most of the fun of Reelfoot anyway. However, to quote Tim Huffman, “there is nothing more exciting than a tug on the line.” This quote and many others we refer to comes from the Grizzly Fishing video and can be purchased at the Grizzly Jig Co. website.
There were definitely some LAB award winning bluegills caught on the cypress stumps, but one in particular was enormous. A 1.1 lb redear caught by Gill Slayer. However, the judges are still out as to whether a redear can be considered a bluegill and thus win the award for biggest bluegill.
The days were cold, rainy and windy but we kept at it and found the gills holding close to cypress stumps. Almost all of them were caught on meal worm tipped “Killer” Grizzly Jigs. It wasn’t until the clouds broke on Saturday afternoon that I busted out “Norman’s Rainbow” and took a few more in all tight lining with a 9.6 pole and a Pflueger automatic fly reel.
Leaving on Sunday was of course beautiful and in the 70’s. We made it home in record time and before noon which gave me just enough time to do eight hours of yard work. Ah it’s good to be home.
Posted in Reelfoot Lake | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 by Lead Jig
While packing for a recent trip to Truman Lake, I happened to come across a weather forecast that showed a cold front to moving into the area. Normal temperature for that time was in the high fifties. Because of this front however it turned into a crisp high thirties to low forties. Wind gusts were high and at times capped the waves in the lake.
Luckily, I had decided to stop by Bass Pro Shops on my way home from work to kill some time while traffic died down (or at least that is my excuse) and came across their Neoprene Fishing Gloves. The packaging refers to them as 100% waterproof and that they were “constructed with cold weather fishermen in mind”. I have been a victim of soggy glove in the past and decided to give them a shot.
The index and thumbs of both gloves are severed at your middle knuckle so that you can peel the fingertip over and Velcro it to the back of your hand. Having these four fingers exposed is an obvious advantage over clumsy bulky gloves in that with either hand you can tie your line, jig, and do other tasks that require precision without weathering the cold.
The gloves are made from neoprene which is basically the material wet suits are made from. This material has an advantage of protecting you from water while keeping you warm. For those not used to wearing a wet suit, one thing you will notice is that your hands will eventually begin to sweat inside the gloves which can chill your fingertips quickly. Also, if all is going well that day and you are handling fish, the excess water will eventually makes its way into the slits in the fingers which gets trapped inside. This is in my opinion is not a huge drawback since normal gloves would need hours to dry.
After a few hours of use, my hands did begin to feel suffocated, they are wrapped in plastic after all, but again it was well worth it. It is better than wearing $.99 gardening gloves for crying out loud.
I managed to get hooked a few times but didn’t have a hard time maneuvering the hook out. Also, the gloves didn’t show a snag. I do have a feeling the Velcro will quickly wear out, but time will tell. However at $9.99 it isn’t a large investment and helped keep me in the water.
Overall these gloves get high marks for their price and simple functionality. The fact that they don’t breath well and that the feeling the Velcro which holds the fingertips back won’t last keeps them from getting a full score. However I highly suggest them and would purchase them again.
Lastly a note to Bass Pro. We need more than one color. Blue is cool, but no dude wants to be wearing the same color item as one of their fishing buddies. Unless the color is camo of course.
Rating: 
Posted in Product Reviews | No Comments »
Sunday, March 30th, 2008 by Lead Jig
While I continue to recover from our Truman Lake trip and try to piece together the events, I thought it would be a good time for some Crappie 101 education; 1980’s style. These gems actually contain solid information. Not to mention that the wicked awesome red, white and black Zebco Crappie spin-cast combo from my youth that I plan to resurrect is featured in the videos.
Posted in Techniques | No Comments »
Thursday, March 27th, 2008 by Lead Jig
Growin up a little boy I always was a little off. Mom would always say “your not stupid your just special” Being a solid hoosier worthy of this award takes years of practice and special upbringing. I always thought it was normal when we would have bonfires in the backyard, put catfish we cawt from Busch in our 4 foot pool, and made almost $5 a week by pouring everyone beer from the keg. Then on top of that I got 1 penny for each cigarette bud I picked up from the yard. It really all started for me when mom pulled up to Kroger parking lot in the beat up deville that had more engine parts in the back seat then under the hood, but still had power windows. I clearly learned to master the “duck and cover” when we drove by people. And I never could figure out how she could take the keys out and the motor kept trying to run. So back to Kroger. There I am walking around in my codezero sweater and homemade skidz thinking I am the shit. Yes plaid cloth from clothworld and you can get the patch there too! I knew those clothes were hot because all the ladies were looking. It’s always nice going shopping with mom because if you get hungry you just eat whatever you want from the isles and bring the empty wrapper when it’s time to pay with the food stamps.
That was just one of the shining moments that made me the special person that I am, but I don’t want to leave others out.
Lets see:
I learned how to stop, drop and roll when my smart ma tried to burn the artificial christmas tree. I guess to save room in the beat up aluminum trash can for other trash or maybe her meatloaf. Meatloaf night was always fun because we knew we end up ordering pizza!
I learned how to sort things in chronological order by sorting all of my papa john’s boxes so the older one gets ate first so it don’t go bad. That’s smart thinking and very efficient
Did you know that when your done drinking a milk gallon carton you can cut the bottom off and make a drinking mug for beer or water or anything else? The best part is that it is free.
Thanks to a nice family secret I learned that the one thing that you absolutely can’t live without: the one thing you would want on a stranded sand bar on the Mississippi: the one thing that can solve the world’s problems. A nice thick roll of Duct Tape!
I would love to go on, but it’s time for a commercial break. Thanks to everyone that has voted for me. This award means so much to me. Almost as much as my authentic Z Caverichi’s and British Knight high tops.
The end.
Posted in Humor | No Comments »
Monday, March 17th, 2008 by Lead Jig
Fishing season has officially begun! I packed up the boat and went to Lincoln Lake for the first trip of 2008. It was about 48 degrees with wind gusts somewhere around 15 mph. On my way to the lake I stopped by S & H Bait & Tackle for two dozen minnows and bag of ice. They moved their storefront to the building next door. They may have moved, but they didn’t lose that crappy bait store feeling that brings me back time and time again. Tuna sandwich with hints of cricket wrapped in cellophane anyone? Delicious.
I started fishing around nine o’clock and caught three decent bass in the first half hour with the long pole and automatic fly reel. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the MDC is requesting you remove any and all largemouth bass caught from the lake. Is bassapetizer a word? It is now.
The rest of the day was slow. I did however manage to break an ultralight rod on what I’m going to say might have been the biggest catfish I’ve ever hooked. That or a stump.
Posted in Lake Lincoln | No Comments »
