Beautiful Days On The Way

Howdy Y'all; Ya know I really like this time of the year! Kids are all back in school, The days are usually getting cooler, the nights are definitely getting cooler, and that makes sleeping a bit more comfortable, and if you are like me you like to sit out on the porch to enjoy the night sounds and sights. Of course the real wonderful thing about cooler nights is that it means that sitting out on the bank of some river or lake or taking the boat out is a LOT more comfortable. All species of fish are usually getting ready for the "winter" months and feeding is a bit more active and Bass and Crappie are usually moving in to shallower water at night, and are a bit more active too. ALL of this makes fishing a bit more enjoyable. I have been sitting out at night and "whittling" on more lures. I have been making a wide variety of lures lately. I have about forty lure blanks ready for primer and painting. The styles I have ready are: Torpedo shaped, large "Poppers", Crank Baits, some diving baits and quite a few that will need hooks with streamers. I usually save making the streamer hooks until all of my lures are painted and ready for the hardware. I love to do it because I also tie my own flies and I tie up a bunch of "Woolly Buggers", "Hendricks", and "Coachman" after I tie up a bunch of streamer hooks for my wooden lures. If you have never tied your own flies you might want to give it a try. There are "Fly-tying Starter Kits" available from a wide range of  Outdoor Stores and places on the internet. Pick up a beginners kit. Try not to spend more than 30 or 40 dollars unless you are pretty sure you are going to continue tying. One of the advantages for me in my wooden lure making is that by tying my own streamers I save a bunch of money! Check it out. Most ready made streamer hooks will cost about $2.50 to $8.00 or more, depending on size and quality. By tying my own I can cut the cost down to pennies per hook! Big difference! I also buy my hooks in large bulk packages from  http://www.JannsNetCraft.com at a real savings. There are many more out there of course, but I found that their prices are about the best. Making your own Lures, Flies and other fishing supplies can really save you money. It is, at least for me, a whole lot of fun! Developing any kind of skill is always worth the time and effort. But if you like to fish, making your own lures has a lot of advantages. Not to mention the thrill of hooking a really great trophy fish on something you created yourself. Check out my previous entry for a good Catfish "Stink Bait" recipe I inherited from my Grandpa. Another advantage I just thought of is that now that the economy looks like it is tanking, making your own fishing stuff makes even more sense.  Well anyway, God bless you, and keep you tip up.   

Hot enough for ya! - How To Make Your Own Cat Fish "Stink Bait"

Wow! I can't believe it is August already! It is going to be over 100 degrees again today. It's been so hot even the fish are buying air conditioners. Bass are deep and Crappie are even deeper. Ya know I love fishing but it has been so hot I can't bring myself out to hit the lake! My granddad used to say there are only two kinds of weather to go fishing in and that's when it's rainin' and when it's not, but I gotta say if he was alive today he would say it's too dad gum HOT to go fishin' today! I learned a lot from him. I was glued to his side when I was a little kid. Thank God he was a patient man. I don't ever remember him raising his voice in anger to me even when I did really dumb stuff, and I'm sure he had days when he could have "whupped up on me" for the stuff I did. He had a great recipe for catfish bait. That stuff stunk worse than a dead skunks butt. Well anyway; the recipe goes like this: Get a 5 gallon bucket, put in a 5lb. bag of coarse ground Corn Meal, add 2 lbs of mashed up Chicken Livers (Blood & all), 2 cans of Chicken Broth (Cheaper the better or better yet make your own), and about a gallon of hot water mix the whole mess together to make a thick paste, Cover and set out on the back porch for all least 5 days before you use it. It should be thick enough to mold onto your hook but if it's not add corn meal until it is. To use it you take a lump of the mix and mold it around a treble hook and have at it! If you would rather use an old nylon stocking to hold the mash go ahead and then tie that onto your hook. I use rubber or latex gloves to handle it 'cause it is nasty. You can also use a slurry of old fish guts, blood and stuff after you clean your fish and add that into the mix for added stink if you are hard core. I have an old blender that I use to make my "Catfish Stink Bait" when I add the fish guts and stuff. I blend it all to a thick "goop" and add it to the bucket of corn meal, chicken livers and blood. Awesome stuff, and it works great.           

Thank God it's spring!!

I love this time of year!  

Howdy ; Finally it feels like winter's back is broken! The air is cool and crisp at night (at least for the time being!) and the days are getting warmer and warmer. It was actually in the 80's yesterday and today it was in the 70's and awesome! I took our Poodles out for a good run before I brought them in for their Spring Grooming at "Petpourri" and we had a ball. No, literally, we had a ball, a tennis ball that my dogs will fetch all day long if you had the stamina to keep up with them! They look so good with the "haircuts". You would swear they were show dogs, but the are real dogs despite how much I imbue them with human characteristics and emotions. The white one, Buddha, is 7 years old and lives up to her name. There are times I would swear that she is meditating when she sits with her head up and her gaze is skyward and pensive. She is definitely the "calm" one. Sadie, the black one, is 18 months old and really full of the joy of life and boundless energy. She is seldom still. The way she bounds, bounces and pounces you would believe that she was the model that they based "Tigger" on. Sadie is a true hunter. She is constantly sniffing the air, the ground and anything new she comes upon. She loves to chase birds, squirrels, butterflies and bugs! Every nook and cranny in our yard has been explored hundreds of times and will probably explore them hundreds of thousands of times in the future. She is not the "sharpest knife in the drawer" but what she lacks in intelligence she make up for with exuberance. We went out to play again after their haircuts and they ran and ran and ran until their tongues were flapping and they were panting like there wasn't enough air in the universe. They LOVED it!! I always keep a bottle of water in the van for them and a bowl, but they would rather drink directly from the bottle. Its hilarious to watch; tongues lapping and water splashing all over them and me. They always get a treat or two after they play. What does all of this have to do with fishing? Absolutely nothing, but its fun! I also collected some of their hair to use in flies that I tie for fishing! I tied up a couple of "Woolly Buggers" with it and it will be interesting to see if they catch fish. It is really funny this spring because I haven't had a chance to get out on the water yet! Conditions have been good, the water great and water levels up quite a bit from last year but still not up to normal levels. I have been busy with making more lures and experimenting with different ways to make "jointed" lures and make them look like they are swimming wounded fish style. I think I have some winners carved up and ready to go and a whole bunch more ready for paint and finishing. There is something about making your own custom lures and catching fish on them or even better selling or giving them to someone and they catch fish! I have been also experimenting with added weight and adding rattle with some good results. I am looking forward to getting them out on the water and seeing how the work and how they catch fish. Well, I've got to go for now. Keep your rod tip up and your line in the water.
Here are a couple of other blogs you might find interesting;

http://poppatom-james5-13-16.blogspot.com/ 
and
http://ajourneythroughgrief-widowwife.blogspot.com/

HAPPY NEW YEAR - My wish for all . . .

Howdy y'all: Well, here we are into a brand new year! WOW! I can't believe how darn fast last year zipped by. I hope y'all have been carving new lures. I have found that maintaining a center lie on all faces of the lure blank while carving is esential for a symetrical shaped lure. The other key is to work slowly and carefully and whenever you remove wood from one side of the lure remove it from the corresponding side of the lure so that it remains symetrical. Maintaining a "balanced" weight is also esential to a lure that performs well. With some diving lures it is okaay to have the weight slightly forward to aide in the ability of the lure to dive and "wobble" under water. I will be adding pictures of these examples soon. I also reccommend that you "strop" your knives often to keep them razor sharp. Sanding is also key to a smooth turbulence free lure that will perform as you intend it to. There are times when wobble, turbulence and eratic action is desired and should be carved in to the lure blank BUT to have control over this action is necessary. Keep on checking in. I will be adding content more frequently this year. . . I promise. Keep on fishin'!    

Why, Fishing With Poppa Tom?

Howdy Folks; If you have come to this blog I am assuming that you like fishing in some form or another and that you were surfing around looking for ideas for the coming springs fishing trips. Okay . . . Maybe not, BUT since you are here I would like to share a little of my love for fishing with you. When I was a very young lad my dad and I, and my younger brothers would go fishing once in a while and I loved it! It was a time for "male bonding" with my dad and brothers (at times my grandfather) and also with any of his friends and their kids who might be invited along. There were many beautiful days of fishing for Bass, Crappie, Trout, Pikerel, Blue Gill and nights of "Bull Head" fishing. I carved my first lures when I was a Cub Scout to earn a merit badge and I was "hooked" (no Pun intended) on carving lures especially when the lures I carved caught fish! I have always loved fishing and would grab at any chance to go. It is a wonderful pastime that takes skill, concentration and knowledge if you are to be successful at it. I also know it to be a great stress reliever! It is for me anyway. Whenever I was feeling very stressed I would head down to the brook and as soon as the hook would hit he water the stress in me would wash away with the current. I love it! It is funny how that now that I am retired I don't seem to have as much time to fish as I did when I was working full time! Something is wrong with that picture! I still love to fish but I just can't seem to get to the water to do it! I guess I have to make a more concerted effort to do so. Well anyway, I still make lures by hand and I still like to tie flies. If anyone out there would like to comment please do so. If you want to buy some of my lures please feel free to contact me. God bless you all and may you all find the time you need to go fishin'.