fishin4crappie Beyond Basics and jigs

HOW I GOT STARTED 

I can remember, back in 1970 at the age of 25, taking a bb split shot, flattening it on a jig hook and making "Aspirin head jigs". Yes I painted them with a shot of spray paint, not fingernail polish. I made a "Poor man's fishing bucket" with a detachable rod holder for fishing from the bank. I made "The Quiver carrier" out of PVC to carry rods through the woods and keep them safe from the trunk in your car. I have made bank rod holders out of PVC cut in half and welded to the iron posts that realtors use. I have invented a "Circular worm incubator" to keep your redworms from dying on your boat or on the bank while you are fishing. and many other things. I think in a previous life I might have been George Washington Carver or some inventor.

When I first started making lures, I started with a "Pinmin" which is short for pin minnow. That is what caught a lot of BlueGills in Akron Ohio. The bait shops sold them for $1.85 each but I was friends with Jack Manda of Manda's bait shop. He told me to order the blank shell, flux, solder, hooks and some powder paint and he'd show me how to solder them up and make them for about ten cents apiece. Man, I was hooked on making my own lures then.

After I fooled around with the pinmins I started to try and tie a jig. A guy named "Dave" showed me how to tie one holding the jig in my hand right behind the bend in the hook. I wrapped a few strands of tying thread on the hook, put a half hitch in it, grabbed some cut off marabou, tied it on, made some neat wraps, put some half hitches in it and cut it off. I used clear fingernail polish and soaked the threads real good and said...there is a jig. That was all I needed, a jig and some waxies and I was in heaven. That was how I fished from 1974-2000. I was a school principal and taught chess and hooked on fishing to the students in my after school group called Positive Young People. I wanted them to be able to use their brain and to have an activity they could use to stay off the streets

In, 2000 I retired and moved down south. I bought my first rotary vice for about $20.00, tying fur and feathers and started to research about tying. Over the years I have saved a ton of money by making my own Bluegill and Crappie Lures and that's all I make because that is all I fish for. My pastor did ask me to make a few bucktails for bass fishing but it is the same techniques, only with a larger jig and different materials. I guess I'm telling everyone that tying is a ball, and making things that work for you is fun. Pass your knowledge on and keep our sport alive.

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You know, I got tired of lugging all the equipment around when bank fishing. Us old men get to huffing and puffing when you have to make long walks back to the truck to get something....or just to move from one bank fishing spot to another..............

I'd rather save my energy and fight the fish. Anyway, this is how I roll when I bank fish. With the high cost of gas, I suspect more and more people will bank fish especially for Bluegill, SHELLCRACKERS, or Crappies. Enjoy the pictures.

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