danthefisherman

I like it!

In

I think I have a recipe that is good…but I won’t be satisfied until I start consistently catching fish on it. Eagerly anticipating the spring bite!

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I was thinking a soft glide like the flag

I say the bottom right into a bass glide or bigger top left into a 3pc gizzard shad

Those are some sweet rats!

That’s awesome, Brent! Congratulations and well done

Yep. Looks like his newer model corrected by ROW innovations.

After clear coat and headed to the PO! Hopefully whoever wins fishes it well…

Wanted to share a pre-clear sneak peek of this bait painted up by the talented William Tenborg at “WT Lure Works”. His bluegill patterns are amazing and he put a puzzle piece scale pattern in the joint to make it an extra special contribution for this year’s “Swimbaits for Autism” fundraiser hosted by Swimbait Culture.

This is common on some muskie/pike rods I think…meant to reduce fatigue by allowing you to hold and work the rod in a more “neutral” wrist position. Not really sure what the benefit is when you’re slow rolling a soft bait on bottom though.

If I could only choose one for the scenario you described, I would pick the Dobyns. I have mine paired with a Curado 200HGK and absolutely love it for 1-3oz…not to mention it doubles as my a-rig, frog, punch, and heavy jigging rod. It can throw 4oz, although I would probably step up a reel size. Loads well and feels great in hand. I used to not like the “short” handle but it really lends itself well to kayak fishing and really is plenty long for leveraging the small-mid size baits. Limited lifetime warranty which is great. The SLX is a good rod too, it just doesn’t have that same refined or sensitive feel as the Fury. It’s biggest benefit is being able to handle heavier baits (which is the only reason I pick it up instead of the Fury), but this is sacrificing castability on the lighter end of the spectrum. I’ve fished down to 1oz baits and they cast ok with a good reel, but I was losing a ton of fish until I switched to all mono for the added stretch (from braid to leader). The rod definitely feels “bigger” in hand even though it’s supposed to be an inch shorter. The long handle and action of the blank really allows you to load up the rod and launch heavier baits which minimizes fatigue. Price-wise the SLX is cheaper but you only get warranty coverage for one year.

In

I bomb cast 2.5oz with my 200K no issues whatsoever. 3oz is totally doable as well, but I don’t whip the heavier baits out there full send…nor is there a need to as the line will fly off the spool all on its own. Anything heavier than 3-3.5oz I would gravitate to a 300 size reel. Everything under and the 200K is fantastic!

I love it!

Caught a big fat skunk today…water was cold and muddy

Great start to the year!

Solid!

Prototype #10 gets the paint treatment!

Nothing is really “standard” about bait making in terms of things being right or wrong… work towards what you want from your baits and have fun experimenting how to get there! I have different resin ratios for different applications, and even this is constantly changing. Depending on what products you are using the ratios could be quite different.

I have bad luck committing to anything bait-related Maybe if current prototyping goes well (I have a lot of projects in various stages of completion).

In

Looks like one of Frank Pconka’s shads from Zonka Customs…at least the carving style does. He also make a bluegill.