The Wired Angler - Bass Fishing Blog, Tackle Tips and Bait Making Advice

Bass Boat Safety Tips And Tricks for Bass Anglers

As bass fishermen, we spend a ton of time on our boats on very familiar bodies of water as well as unfamiliar bodies of water. In either situation, it is always a good idea to be prepared for the worst.

Safety and preparedness are not something to be taken for granted. Not only are our lives on the line, but also those of our family, friends, and co-anglers. Not to mention that, come tournament day, a lot of money can be on the line.

Legal Minimums

First and foremost are the legal requirements for safe boating. There are legal requirements for items you have to have on your boat. These can be found on the California Department of Boating & Waterways website. These day-to-day items include life jackets, air horn, fire extinguisher, an oar etc. Make sure you know all of your water hazard and safety signs.

Safety Classes

In many states other than California boating licences are required. Sites like BoaterExam.com offer boat safety tips and free study guides to help you pass the exam.

Boat Safety basics:

Next comes the other obvious and not-so-obvious items I keep on my boat. These are the things I've used over the last decade to help myself and others on the water.

• Extra set of boat and truck keys
• Phone charger
• Extra set of dry clothes for that day you go in
• Lake maps
• Jumper cables
• Basic tool kit including a volt meter
• Extra trolling motor prop and main prop
• Flash light and headlight
• Zip ties
• Duct tape
• Extra bulbs for your nav lights
• Plenty of rope
• Rain gear for warm and cold days
• Life jackets for everyone on my boat
• Basic first aid kit
• Registration and insurance info

Good Habits

Aside from things I keep on my boat, there are a number of things I do before I even leave to go to the lake:

I make sure I tell someone where I am going to be. I do a walk around my trailer to check lights, tie downs, and tire pressure. Once I'm on the water I (always) wear my life jacket anytime the big motor is running. Attached to that (always) is my motor cut off switch. If it is winter and I am wearing a lot of rain gear I wear my Mustang Suspenders self inflating life vest.

I don't care who you are, if you're wearing all that extra clothing and you fall into 40 degree water, swimming is not an easy thing. Suspenders are not constricting like normal foam vests and you'll barely notice you have them on after a while. As long as you are aware of what's going on all around you, you're gonna have a great day on the water.

Personal Extras

Some personal extra things I have picked up on over the years includes keeping a check book in my boat. This has saved my butt many times as I spent my last dollar in my pocket on cheeseburger and then realized I don't have money to launch my boat.

I take my phone out of my pocket and leave it in a compartment. This keeps my phone for emergencies if I go in the drink its not wet too.

Just recently I had a bilge pump break and  was not able to fix it right away. I went to the hardware store and picked up a couple PVC plumbing caps. This kept water from entering my boat until I could spend the four hours to replace it. 

My personal favorite is my handsaw. I have not needed it for any emergencies, however I've been able to get into some tight backwaters with it.

These are great thing to keep on your boat, I can guarantee you or someone you know will need them eventually.

Helpful Resources:

US Coast Guard Boating Safety

California Department opf Boating & Waterways

---

This post on boating safety was sponsored by BoatExam.com, providers of navigational safety information and test prep materials for state boating licenses.

 

 

 

How to Quickly Add a Red Gill to a Swimbait

There are many small things you can modify at home on your lures. A lot of these things are huge confidence boosters for me.

Most of these modifications just take to much time to try and do on the water, but there are a few ways to make them quick and efficient on the water.

Quick Bloody Gills

One of these small mods I like to do is add a red gill on my soft plastic swimbaits. I use soft plastic paint from LureCraft.

This paint comes in big containers that are frankly a pain in the ass to keep on my boat. So what I like to do is get an old nail polish bottle, rinse it out with acetone, then fill it up with the soft plastic paint. The containers have an application brush for quick easy on the water mods.

This works on all soft plastics including frogs and other topwater lures made of PVC.

Shown here on a Little Creeper prototype 8" Trash Fish (Link to smaller version)

There are many colors available and I like to keep some green and black on the boat as well to add spots to trout baits or other details to frogs, etc.

Here's a link to the red I like to use: Colortech Red from LureCraft

Previously on the Wired Angler:

How to Make Soft Plastic Swimbait Eyes - Part One | Part Two

Custom Jigs Made Easy

How To Protect Your Cork Handles

Soft Swimbait Top Hook Maintenance

A lot of soft swimbaits use a single jig hook molded into the bait weight system. In the event of a run in with a rock or other hard cover the hooks do occasionally become damaged. A great thing to do is keep a high quality metal file in your boat or tackle bag. In the inevitable run in with your swimbait you can do a quick easy re-sharpening of your hook. The reason for the file over a sharpening stone is that you can get a much quicker sharper point back on your hook. To sharpen, hit each side first and then the top all with a forward motion.

Shown here on a Matt Lures Catfish swimbait. This method will get a very sharp edge back on your swimbait.

In the event of a hook bending or loosing its point completely here's what to do:

Cut off the jig hook and run either a piece of 80 Pound braid or wire back to a fresh treble hook. I do this on a lot of my new swimbaits as well - I feel that at times it can increase your hook up and landing ratio. The reason for this is that the hook is will become detached from the bait. This will give the fish less weight to throw the bait.

This Swimbait has the jig hook cut off and a size 1 3X Mustad Ultra Point has been added. I choose these hooks on my softbaits because of the strength and the straight points to increase hook up ratio.

More How To posts from the Wired Angler here

JSJ Pack Rat Hook Rigging Video

I have been meaning to do this for a long time and finally got around to it. I get a lot of questions on how to rig the Pack Rat and what are the best hooks to use. This should answer most of the questions I have received. If you have not tried the bait yet I think it's about time don't you?

 

The Pack Rats are available at Monster fishing Tackle

How To Make Soft Plastic Eyes For Swimbaits - Part Two

This is Part 2 of this post - Click here to read Part 1

Silicon Molds:

I left off the last post after pouring the silicon mold. Pulling the mold apart is super easy and will leave you with this.

Now for the tricky part: pouring them. Heat up some clear soft plastic in a Pyrex container. These are  availible at most grocery stores. Using a microwave is the easiest cleanest way to work with this small of an amount of material. Make sure and heat it up slow so you don't burn it.

Pouring them is a very delicate process and I guarantee you will mess up a lot. However, it does not take too long to get the hang of it. Remember: you are pouring the eyes lens up, so the top of your pour is the finish. A good pour will end up looking like this with a good covex edge across it.

It only takes a minute before they are ready to pull out of the mold and paint. Soft plastic paint is availible at Lure Craft on-line and is super easy to use. First paint the pupil of the eye with a small detail brush. I used black here.

Let the paint set for a few minutes then paint over the whole back side of the eye with the color of your choice, I used a silver pearl mix for these.

After letting them sit for 10 minutes or so they are ready to glue into your favorite bait.

Here is an eye before glue in the socket of a 3:16 Rising Sun. You will need to glue them in with Mend It Soft Bait Glue available at most fishing stores.

 

Cover the whole eye with Mend it and it will seap in beween the eye and the bait creating a very real look.

That wraps it up! The eyes are now permanently part of your soft plastic bait. They also have a soft, more natural feel to them.

FInd more great bait tips and tricks in the Wired Angler How-To Category

Rigging Stinger Hooks

Matt Allan has a great new video on rigging stinger hooks on his website Tactical Bassin.

He shares a couple of his secret rigs and thoughts on stinger hooks.

 

How To Make Soft Plastic Eyes For Your Soft Plastic Swimbaits - Part One

Ever wonder how some of your favorite swimbaits are made? Or maybe just small parts of them?

I am going to start a new series of articles on in depth how-tos for some of these techniques. The first is one that involves a lot of processes, but I'm sure a lot you have pondered. Ever wonder how those eyes on a Hudd are made? It took about a minute of thinking for me to figure out, but wouldn't that be cool if you could put them on any swimbait? The answer is Hell yeah it would, I thought about manufacturing them, but screw it - here you go:

I devised an easy way to make soft plastic eyes that can be permanently glued on your favorite soft baits. The bait I will be modifying is one of my favorites: the Rising Sun by 3:16 Bait co.

You're gonna need a set of quality glass taxidermy eyes from a supplier such as Van Dyke's. Most baits take 8mm or 10mm. You are going to be casting them upside down to capture the paint pockets on the back. Here is a set of 8mm taxidermy eyes:

                          Notice the inset on the back of the eyes.             

You're gonna need a bit of modeling clay from a hobby or craft store. Flatten it on a work surface - I just use my bench but it can be done on a piece of cardboard or plexi. You can flatten it out with just about anything, really. I used a small piece of acrylic I had sitting on my workbench. After flattening the clay, carefully push the eyes face down. Push the eyes to the tip of the convex of the lens. Put them at least a inch apart.

Next, with a razor blade, cut a clean rectangular edge around the clay.

After the cut is complete you will need to build a fence around the clay to be filled with silicon. I made one really quickly out of some foam core and some more clay to hold it in place.

Now you are ready to pour the silicon in the mold. There are endless suppliers of silicon out there. Most hobby stores will have it in stock or you can get it on-line from suppliers such as Smooth On. Smooth On's OOMOO 30 is about the easiest to use silicone on the market. This is a consumer grade silicone that does not need to be vacuumed to release the trapped air. Most of the silicones I use in my shop are are a pain in the ass and very time consuming to use.

Mix up a small amount and fill the mold. Pour into one spot on the mold and let the silicon settle itself around the eyes. Some bubbles will rise, but should settle out. This is a really small mold - just be sure to follow the manufacturers directions very carefully.

Now the waiting begins. Most silicones will have to set for at least 12 hours to cure. In other words don't wait for it: go fishing or something. I will cover the rest in part two

Continue to Part 2

A Little Bit Of Underwater Bass Fishing Just For The Heck Of It

This summer has been pretty hectic work wise for me and I have not been posting as much as I would like. Thanks to my friend Paul once again I am  still able to supply you with much entertainment, enjoy. Soon I will be back to my regular schedule,just hold tight.

 

Flippin Basics Videos

I put these two how to basic Flippin videos together the other weekend. Flippin is a great way to catch fish in the dead of summer on hot days when not much else seems to be working. You tube only allows videos up to a certain length so I broke it into two sections.

Flippin Basics Part One

Flippin Basics Part Two

Custom Jigs Made Easy

I have tied my own jigs since I was a kid and have always enjoyed sitting down and refilling my jig box every year. I recently did just that and took a bunch of photos of the process.

Years ago, jig tying was a pretty basic thing. You had your choice between a handful of different heads in various weights and sizes. Now there is a plethora of head designs, skirt colors and materials; different hook set ups, different weed guards - the list is a mile long. There are also a million different jig companies out there, with some standing far above the rest. However, I still prefer to make my own.

Here's my process:

First off you have to sit down and order everything.

There are a two suppliers that I prefer: Stamina, now "Lure parts online", and Netcraft. I have been using both suppliers for years now and both are easy companies to deal with that have a lot of products for tying your own jigs.

I first pick my heads and weights and I recommend you buy in bulk to save money. Think ahead for next year - the investment may cost you a little more up front but when it comes time to replenish your jig box you'll be glad you have more supplies on hand.

At this point you should choose whether or not you are going to buy pre-painted jig heads or custom paint them yourself. If you finish them yourself there are a few options: you can powder coat them, dip them in vinyl or other finish, or spray with a number of different paints. I have switched to painting them with vinyl paint I feel it holds up the best on the lead. Powder coating eventually chips off as the lead dents, where the vinyl is a softer finish and seems to stay on longer as the jig head gets beat up.

Note: Most vinyl finishes are really thick and will need to be thinned to spray out of an airbrush. 

Now for the skirt material and colors:

I used to use all rubber, but I switched to round rubber when that came out, and I recently made the switch to silicone skirts. The color selection is endless and I really think color is one of the most important things in a jig. As far as colors go, I have my favorites that I have used for years but I am always trying to match crawdads and forage from lakes whenever I get the opportunity.

 

Above: Here's a color model from a local lake. Below: As I paint my jig heads I prefer to first coat them in white vinyl paint.

I use straws to keep the paint off of my weed guards.

I will just hang the jigs upside down by the hooks as I paint them.Once the primer coat is on the skies the limit as to what you can do.

This is a 1/2 ounce shad colored swim jig head.

After the heads are all painted it's time to start laying out your colors. I try to use a lot of colors and material on my jig for a full-bodied bait. This is, of course, all personal opinion and the main reason I tie my own jigs to begin with.

I like to lay everything out before starting in batches.

I use the very simple method of tying my jig skirts with a pointy jig skirt tool and a silicone band.

Once the skirt is tied up its ready to slide on your jig.

After its done you can see how all the colors melt together into a perfect harmony of fish-catching goodness.

One of my swim jigs also shown with a Little Creeper swimbait trailer I matched it to.

Tying your own jigs can be a fun and rewarding thing, it can also save you hundreds of dollars at the register of your local tackle store. Have fun!