Speaking in Shabbona on Saturday

Any of you looking for something to do this coming Saturday can head up to Shabbona High School for a fishing show and a dynamite line-up of speakers.  They have something for everyone including some great vendors there as well.  I will be speaking about a few of my top patterns for river smallies.  The show starts at 3:30 with speakers starting at 4:00.  I will have a table set up with many of my jigs and various other things for sale.  Hope to cya there.

AS ALWAYS…..................................................HAIL TO THE SMALLIE

The Fly Fisherman’s Tube Jig

Any one who has fished with me knows I love to throw tube jigs for smallies.  The 3 inch tube by “Hooked Up Baits” is, without a doubt, my #1 producer of smallies each and every year.  In addition, the tube can catch smallies throughout the year - even in the dead of winter.  So, when it comes to fly fishing, I have been trying to produce a fly that will emulate the size, overall profile, and action of a tube.  The fly below may just do that.  I call the fly the Polar Tube.

The fly is a take-off of a friend’s fly that is sold nationally through Rainey’s flys.  His fly is called the Hairy Fodder and has been featured in Fly Tying Magazine and is a staple bottom fly for anglers across the country.  The body of his fly is made from cross-cut rabbit, while the body of my fly is made from UV Polar Chennile (hence the name “polar tube”).  The flys construction is quite easy:

Hook:  #4 streamer hook
Weight:  Medium sized red dumbell eyes
Tail:  Silicone skirt strands
Body:  Regular chenille underwrap (you cannot see this, but I wrapped the shank with ultra chennille first to give the fly a bulkier appearance) and then Rusty Copper Polar UV chenille on top.

If the body of the fly looks a little “big” or “fat” to you, keep in mind that when wet, the polar chennile does condense and will make a nice, sleek, flashy body.

If anyone is interested in a step by step recipe for this fly can simply leave a comment and I will get back to you.  Any tiers out there that have not tried the use of polar chennile should give it a look.  Very neat stuff with many uses.

I plan to use this fly all winter, spring, summer, and fall.  I will probably fish it on a sink tip line to ensure it gets to the bottom.  I will fish it with short strips to imitate the actions of a fleeing crayfish.

Looks like I will get to try it out this weekend.

AS ALWAYS…......................HAIL TO THE SMALLIE  

Time to Make the Swim Jigs

As I have mentioned before, my father in law and I have a little jig business.  We call our meager little company, Warrior Jigs.  We have been doing it now for about three years and have enjoyed every second of it.  We make swim jigs, float n fly jigs, and various other jigs by request.  We pride ourselves on making every jig to match exactly what the client wants.  If you want a pink pok-a-dot, we can make it - and will make it at no extra “custom” charge.

It is that time of year when we get fairly busy.  Believe it or not, we are not real busy during the fishing season, but get busy during the cold weather months.  I guess when anglers cannot fish, they turn to buying more and new baits for next year.  I just finished up a big order for a couple of hard-core anglers up on the Rock and Mississippi Rivers.  I have shipped jigs to anglers all over the country.  Matter of fact, my swim jig has helped an angler out in South Carolina win a little money during tournament play.

Lately, I have been pumping out swim jigs to try and build up stock so when someone orders I may already have the jigs they want and can ship right away.  If you have not tried throwing a swim jig for bass (and it also catches many other species of fish), you are really “missing the boat”.  It is a dynamite fast presentation to catch those active bass.  They strike this bait ferociously and is a terrific alternative to a crankbait or spinnerbait.  Paired with a swim bait trailer (see below), I have caught tons of smallies and largies along with walleyes, flatheads, and white bass.  I have a few guys using them on Pike up north as well.  Here are a couple of pictures of jigs I made just a few nights ago:

The above jig is called Heartland Craw.  One of my most popular dark colored swim jigs.

Another very popular color is my “Bullgill”.  This is a great match of a male Bluegill.

The above jig is called Blue Shad.  This is probably my favorite for my clear rivers and creeks.  Just flat out catches them.

Below is a picture of the trailer that I prefer for my swim jigs.  It is a 3” swim bait made by the Big Hammer company in California.  You should check out their site:  http://www.swimbait.com.  Awesome baits and color selections.  I simply thread the trailer onto the hook so the tail is pointing down.  That reminds me of another thing about our jigs, we custom mold a wire trailer-keeper into the head.  That way, when you thread the trailer onto the hook, you slide the plastic trailer over the wire hook.  This wire hook holds your trailer on much, much longer compared to a jig without a trailer keeper.

If you are interested in any more information concerning my swim jigs, or the technique in general, you can comment to this entry, or email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

AS ALWAYS…..........................HAIL TO THE SMALLIE