Adam Cargill

Which do you guys prefer and why? I personally like the cutting point Owners, but I have heard some anglers say that they think they miss some fish because the points on ST-41's are turned inwards.

He gave you your money back though, right?

A couple photos... I have only caught one fish on the Bait. It doesn't really suit my style of fishing. I fish very slow. Bill fishes very fast.

Jonel, Ryan can't defend himself, so I will. He was banned from the site. Ryan loved to fish 3:16 Lures. All of them. He got rid of them because of Mickey. Not because they don't catch fish, but because Mickey was a Dick to him. Ryan made a complaint about 3:16 on SBN and Mickey brow beat him over the phone for it. Please correct me if I am wrong, Mickey. Ryan couldn't justify using baits that were made by someone who didn't like him... Mickey, Minors get their feelings hurt much more easily than an Adult like you or me. Be cognizant of that when your dealing with your younger customers. Yes, I am Billy's friend. Yes, the Tsunaga is a good bait. It is not the last hard bait you will ever need to buy. No one has ever said that. The bait seems to perform the best with one specific cadence... They really aren't even for sale anyway. No one has ever said that the bait has caught a DD either... The bait catches a lot of 3 to 8 lb fish for the 15 to 20 guys that fish'em... Personally, I only care about the fish. I will use any and all baits available to me to catch those fish. My favorite bait right now is still my "Clown colored Herring and yes I would still buy a bait from someone who doesn't like me. I have a Big Grey Area though...

Which rig? Mike Long's or the one I described... I have lost several fish with a fixed single top hook. I will not use them anymore. I cut that hook off of any bait that comes with it, including Clayton's.

Mickey, I believe Bill posted that Bait purely to show another option for Top Hook Rigging. Bill was not trying to sell anybody a Bait. IMO that hook should probably be a a size 1, but I am more interested in the manner in which he attached that hook to the bait. The eye that holds that top hook is a Spro Power Swivel held in place with one of "your" graphite pins. It would be a relatively easy mod for someone who is decent with a drill. Putting a Small Frog Hook through that eye and adding a magnet to hold it down would probably work great. IMO it would work better than a fixed hook. Billy doesn't have the time or resources to compete with you. I thought I made that clear... He makes baits for his friends. Although he wanted to start making lures to support his Family, that is not his focus anymore. He has a full time job as the Tournament Director for Won Bass. Making Baits has become his Hobby. The occasional order for wrapped baits that he takes, puts a little extra gas in his tank. That is it...He is certainly not taking any food from your family's table. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe he was the first to wrap an image on a Swimbait. You gotta give the guy credit for that... Why do you get so bothered by other people who make baits that have the same hinges as yours. Who cares? Ish, I would be flattered if everybody was trying to copy my designs. Your baits are superior than theirs (Probably, always will be) and you can't even make them fast enough to keep up with demand anyways... So why does it bother so much? I went fishing with Billy the other day. I asked him if there was anything that he wanted me to convey to you. He said this, "I wish we could put our differences behind us and if I can help him in anyway through WON, I would be happy to." It is time to start making friends, not enemies. This industry is too small for all of the animosity!

OG Castaic Trout...

My best baits for 2010 were: Black Dog Original Shellcracker Floating 7" Original M.S. Slammer Rago SKT Line-Thru 6" Hudd Floating Freestyle Herring 9" Wood Punker My focus for 2011 is Bigger Baits on Larger or Unfamiliar Water.

Great Job Rocky and Co.!!! They bit at a couple of my spots that day too.

Congrats Nico!

I think we should be able to fish any body of water... Or any number of bodies of water, within the Tournament Period.

Pre Underground BBQ Tourney. When we doin' this thing? March? We could each put up a little cash like a Jackpot. Winner takes all. Honor System! Take a photo on the scale or somethin'... I wouldn't mind giving $20 to one of you, or receiving $20 from each of you. Until then, I'm claiming Ninja Tourney... Any Body of water in CA. (Private, Public, Multiple Lakes, Boat, Tube, Bank, Whatever...) No Money, No prizes, just props to the winner. One Night, Dusk to Dawn... We could have a grace period in order to pick our conditions, or just pick a date. I am open to any comments, including "You're a @$%#$%" for thinking that way!" Is this what we do all year long anyway?, Is it foolish? Is there any reason to see who can catch one and/or 5 LMB bigger than another on one specific night? Curious to know if anyone would want to take part in one night of ego checking. I don't mind being beaten? Do you?

Thank you Mickey for giving me a call and explaining your point of view.

Mickey, How in the world could you have a problem with Arden. I don't understand... Have you ever spent time with him or his Father? They are two amazing people. They would give you the shirt off their backs. There was absolutely no reason to write the post you did. Arden has been fishing with Swimbaits longer than most of the members of this forum. I certainly listen every time he takes a minute to write. I know others do too. If you don't want him or I contributing to this Forum, let us know. I understand that you may have something against him personallly, but is this Forum is definitely not the place to be an @$$hole or try to discredit someone that you just don't like. Call me at 949.940.6111 if you feel like getting something off your chest.

Any fishing is fun in my book Nick. I was just giving Ben and Al a hard time. They earned my respect as Anglers a long time ago. And the Flyfishing reference was all in fun too. Get bit. It's the best feeling there is.

Al, I couldn't help myself... Ben and Spook, Please give us your reasons for not liking Trolling for Bass. Are you guys becoming purists. Like Fly Fisherman... Lol.

I have never trolled Swimbaits for LMB, but I would like to try it. The Old Timers caught a ton of big fish on the Troll. Lol. There is nothing like Casting, but on those days or weeks where you can't buy a bite, why not be able to pull another technique out of the bag of tricks and stick a pig...

Jason, I don't use snaps. I tried the Decoys. They are beautiful, but I heard just one story and now they scare me. I tie direct, even on Slammers. I haven't experimented with actions using Split Rings, but I will after some of the comments here. Seth, I have a story about a Slammer. I had one with an asymmetrical joint that made it slowly walk to the left. On a long cast it would slide about 5'. I tied direct to this bait. It straight up outfished my friends for a few months... I wish I still had that bait! Something to be said about a great bait with a strange nuance.

Well done Rookie!!! Lol. Slow, Slower and Slowest.

I enjoy doing both. I am addicted to holding a Big Bass by the jaw, taking a Picture, and Releasing her to be caught another day. For this reason I choose to Bed fish, 3 months of the year. I give respect to those Anglers that can catch Big Bass, year-round... It demands a lot of work and skill. I put in work year-round, but I would say that 70% of my Big Bass have come off the Bed. It is an absolute rush to watch one go "Nose Down". It is the exact same rush I feel when a Big Bass eats a Swimbait. That's why you can't pry a Swimbait Rod from my hands, the other 9 months in a year...

7...

I use Mono, Flouro, Braid, and combinations of the three at all times (Day and Night). I never use just Braid, however. My leaders are generally 6'-8'. I retie my leaders every trip, and if they are less than 6'.

Once the photos have been imported to iPhoto on your Mac. You can then export them in any size you want to the Desktop and in the correct format. You can upload the files from the Desktop, then throw them in the trash. The originals will stay in your iPhoto Library. In iPhoto, I high-lite the photo I want to export. Then go to File, Export. There is a box to change the photo to a jpeg and to change resolution and size. Medium/Medium seems to work fine. If you need more help, let me know.