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Top goal for 2023 - BEAT @NJSwimbatslinger every damn month in our Monthly tournament for swimbait King of North West NJ. #BaneofMyExistence LOL Get more fish on the DRT Ghost - pike, Muskies and Bass Run another fun poker tournament

Grenade weights work great but to add lead you can use solid lead wire 1/4” wire or any weight really. A tungsten drop shot sinker has the most density. Then I would fill with the kwickwood epoxy putty or any of the epoxy putties really but the kwickwood sands and handles easy.

1. I HOPE in some mysterious miracle my prayers that every strand of eelgrass that’s taken over this lake vanishes forever and TVA quits killing the milfoil are answered. (More of a dream than a goal) 2. As always, catch bigger fish more often and break that elusive PB. 3. Force myself to stop throwing big glides every trip. 4. Leave the big sticks at home and focus more on smaller wakes and crankdowns more often. 5. Find a way to fish certain areas from the bank that I used to hammer them in from my boat. 6. Either start having operations again to have a small chance to fish from my boat again for a bit or sell the thing. Kills me just looking at it sitting. 7. Continue to try and help others find the passion for fishing swimbaits and share as much knowledge as possible. 8. Obtain the elusive 2 baits I’ve been after for too long…a Beast Mode Wake and a UFO lipped Mini. May 2023 bring everyone’s goals to fruition!

Anyone try district 9 soft baits? Have these 5 on the way and boy they look sick.

Filling with superglue and baking soda adds additional weight that is hard to calculate. I would hate for you to spend the time making the bait sink like you want only to finish it and its not what you wanted. You can also just leave the weight exposed and glued in, easier adjustments later removal, or adding. Its a resin bait and not wood so doesnt need to be sealed.

Instead of drilling and filling - possibly try Grenade weights. They snap on and off and I can tune my weights in seconds for varying conditions.

I use baking soda and super glue. Turns rock hard but can be sanded down. Plus it’s white like the bottom of the baits. Be careful of the fumes tho. Pretty nasty

I build on North Fork blanks. I’ve built 2 on the 809 cut down to 7’10”. Those are THE K9 blanks. In fact if I’m not mistaken I believe the Artex/ DRT Pulse 1C was built on that blank. They handle the K9 easily. Haven’t thrown anything else with them cus I built them both for that bait. I’ve built on an 808, 806, 807, MB 7109 cut to 7’7”, and the SW 768 cut to 7’5”. That 807 can definitely handle more than it states and it’s definitely fast action. Not mod fast. I love the 806 but honestly, I’d say that Rods max weight rating is right at 6 ounces. The K9 puts a decent load on the blank but it does launch the hell out of it. Hooked fish on the 809 K9 build, the 806 7109, and 807 and I am thoroughly impressed. The 808 is a good blank but I don’t use it that much. That for me is a top hook bait rod like hudds, and bigger stuff. It’s pretty beefy. The 807 I love. I throw the 7” citizens on that rod along with the defiant 245 I think it is. Handles it no problem and that’s a 6 ounce bait. Everything else, yup, nothing but good to say. North Fork is where it’s at. Not to mention they’re ALWAYS running sales lol

2023 goals for myself: - First and foremost get my health in check and back in order. For too many years now I have really went downhill, health wise, need to correct that this year. I’m not getting any younger. -Two years and many setbacks I am ready to get off the bank and on the water. No stopping me from launching my boat this season. -Acquire a few baits on my hit list and put them to use. So far that seems to be on track with one of the top baits on my list. -Every season I try to learn or refine at least one or two fishing techniques. This season I would like to learn to fish a glidebait effectively. It’s one style or technique I know produces fish, but I have not put any real time into learning to use it effectively. - Need to get a glidebait (see previous comment LOL) - The PB thing is always on the list, would like a New Jersey 7lb or better. I know my home water has them, need to put the pieces together, find and catch one. - Similarly, I would like to meet up and fish with a few people I’ve become friendly with. Some I have met in and around the water, and some via forum / social media. Maybe organize a “Meet & Greet” of sorts in the northeast area or something. I don’t know. Something to bring like minded anglers together causally. Food, drinks, big baits and gear, what more can you ask for. Enough of my rambling. Good luck to everybody with their 2023 goals.

First attempt at a full detailed head, gills, etc. No carved scales on this one though. I'm planning on practicing my detail carving this year, which means probably gonna make a lot of mistakes and lures for me and the kids to use. I'm pretty sure my 3 year old won't think twice about throwing a swimbait on his Paw Patrol pole...

I had always wanted to make my own rat bait that was relatively small and would be effective in the areas that I fished. I had been mostly focused on glide baits for quite a while, but decided that I really needed some type of topwater swimmer in my arsenal. I finally got around to carving this rat, and boy am I glad that I did! This quickly became one of my my most effective baits and was able to fool a number of bass in the 1-5# range. I was amazed to find that even 7" dinks would take a swipe at it! I found that the best retrieve was to walk the rat in place using small, quick pumps of the rod. This makes the rat slosh around in one spot and seemed to drive the bass crazy. The rat bite has slowed down because of the cold weather and rain that we're having, but I have high expectations for this rat once the weather warms up again!

CRAWLERS! they go insane for them, ive pulled smallies out of ponds ive fished for 20 years and never knew they were there until i thru the crawler. the hits are epic took my pb smallie (3lbs 9oz) on a gancraft joi crawler in 2021

UFO 1 has landed. Ufo 2 coming this weekend.

It was a good year, my best five went 44lb 8oz. 10lb, 9lb 4oz, 9lb 4oz, 8lb 8oz, 7lb 8oz. The goals for 2023 remain the same, a teener largemouth and a 7lb+ smallie. Good luck everyone in 2023!

Talking to Ds gonna get the white redone as well add scales etc

That’s a tough goal to reach, @NJSwimbatslinger has been a hammer in 2022. I’ll be watching that for sure. LOL

New year, same goals + some new ones because why not dissapoint myself more 1. 7+lb Largemouth 2. 5+lb Smallmouth 3. 36+" Pike 4. 40+" Tiger musky 5. A pure strain musky 6. A 30+" Walleye All achievable but would be happy finally crossing one of those of my list. I've interacted with all of these fish in the past year alone and things just didn't go my way, time to turn the tables

Catch my first Massachusetts 7+ 30 pound bag in one day (with a partner) 5 6+ pounders 5+ pounder of largemouth and smallmouth on my bass boat once I get that back up and running 5+ pounder on a bait I make buy less baits which is off to a bad start hahaha

And catch a DD on one of @Jinxd12's baits!

Few smaller goals for me this year fishing wise 1. Continue to refine and improve with each paint I do on my baits. 2. Have a DD caught on one of my baits. 3. Spend more time fishing the big water lakes, instead of Ninja missions and fence jumping! 4. Get my daughter out with me more she's 9 and I say no alot because it "my" time. But need to work on that. 5. Support smaller shops and bait builders rather than the big guys!

Not to get off topic, but besides the 6.8”Keitech, if you like the profile of a Citizen, and on a budget, check out Scottsboro Tackle 6” Fatty. There was a post with side by side comparisons, but I had no luck locating it in the search.

Nothing wrong with a 6.8 Keitech if you’re tight on cash. Citizens are great but you can buy a pile of Keitechs for the price of one pack of Citizens! A couple packs of Keitechs and some mend-it will keep you up and running all season.

Whats the best big bait for smallmouth? Could be hard or soft, as long as it drives em wild. Lmk if you've got some experience in this area of expertise. Specifically for Great Lakes use, as I live 1/2 mile from Lake Michigan, but any and all info on big baits for smalljaws would be appreciated! Thanks SU

Anyone else notice the tranx’s casting issue after a full day/ multiple days in a row of use. If i remember right i read something on this forum about water getting into the internals after a long session and hurting the casting distance? Im a die hard shimano guy and i do love the tranxs but ya, i think they could cast better.

Here are the baits per category @chefchris has to offer. Thanks again Chris! Soft Baits - Real Prey Weedless Shiner - Real Prey Weedless Trout - Real Prey Forage Trout (Shiner Color) - Nates 9" Trout with Harness Hard Baits (Gills) - Beebs Bluegill - Hiro Billrilla - Stray Rats Gillaith Hard Baits (Other) Zfg Wnc Trout - Illude Diesel Xl Lizard - Raw Baits Wake

Solid fish man! That rat looks super sweet dude, good job!