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.