Black spotted Gill

Comment

Comment by Tony Livingston on April 3, 2012 at 4:13am

Pretty cool, it's got to be fun catching fish on a lure you made.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on April 3, 2012 at 3:38am

Thanks for the comments, Jeff.

Ive tried the smaller hooks, as you suggest - and they are too small. All the bluegill can seem to do is tug at the lure, because the hook gap is filled with the grub's body. The fish just never seem to "hook up."

We've all seen the pics where bluegill smash baits way bigger than their own mouths. With this size, I'm able to make the standard 1.5" grub match the hook, placing the hook right at the back where the fish strike. This is still not too big for the feisty bluegill.

Ive considered a 1" grub, on a smaller hook and split shot, but I don't think it would cast too well on even the smallest ultra light gear. This #4 is a compromise between workability and smaller size.

I wanted to go to a 6, except I couldn't find any at WalMart when I was last there... so I used the 4's. When I get some 6's, I'll probably end up with those as the final variation.

As for the water in the boat, well, I admit it was a little worrisome in the beginning! If you are unfamiliar with sit on top kayaks, that water in the scupper well is a normal feature, even though this much seems a bit TOO much. SOT kayaks drain water from the cockpit through these holes, which pass all the way through to the bottom. As such, these sorts of kayaks are never bone dry. The trade off is they are hard to upset, and for all intents, unsinkable.

This particular model also has a pedal driven propulsion system which passes straight through the foot well scupper and out the bottom. This means that where another SOT would have two small 1" holes there, this one is more open to the water. But the pedal drive is a fantastic feature, a real dream come true! It is worth it.

It must also be mentioned, that this particular boat is a bit too small for me - I am too fat and close to its rated capacity. A larger boat with more displacement would have less of that water in the well.  

I'm eating half as much in an attempt to drop some of the weight, but that is a slow process... if it ever brings real success. Meanwhile, I think of the water in the foot well as my impromptu live well!

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on April 3, 2012 at 3:30am

@ Leo - thanks, friend. You always have an encouraging word.

Comment by Jeff Soto on April 2, 2012 at 10:38pm

I don't know... but it seems that a No. 4 hook is too big for Bluegill.  Have you tried a 6 or even an 8?  For bass your # 4 looks good though.  And yeah, where is that water?... Looks like you've got a leak! 

Comment by Leo Nguyen on April 2, 2012 at 9:49pm

Excellent layout David. Great to see your craftmanship bring new ground for catching fish. Can't wait to see 10lbs monsters that will inhale those jig heads.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on April 2, 2012 at 5:39pm

@ Dave "Dilly" -

Here's a couple of pics of my home made Slider jig heads.

I say all this loosely, because they are nothing like the REAL Slider heads. Those famous lures are finely finished and mine are just workshop rough. But they have one thing over Charlie Brewers design - they are available.

By that I mean, you cannot get a micro-sized Slider head from the Brewer Co...

www.sliderfishing.com

The smallest one they sell is a 1/32 and they are not cheap - 20/$17 with shipping. And at that size they are too fast in the water with the 1.5" jig heads suitable for bluegill. More on that in second.

So, I just put a few things together to replicate the Brewer Sliders as much as I could. Here you see a #4 Eagle Claw cricket hook bent into a plastic worm-hook shape. That's what I modeled it after, in fact. The one difference is I bent the eye upwards at a 10 degree angle. This gives the lure a nose up attitude, which helps it in the weeds.

To the shank portion just behind the eye, I simply crimped on a BB sized split shot. A micro-dot of super glue added to the split shot holds it on tightly. Then I hook on a plastic grub, worm fashion and just barely bury the point of the hook in the rear of body.

These cast well on a limp line, under 4 lb test - dont try it with anything heavier. I use them on my U/L rods, which have 2-4 lb mono on them. Theses work well enough to cast into shrubs, weeds and snags from the kayak. They are weedless for the most part, which is the intent.

Once they hit the water, I start the classic "Slider Countdown" and just treat them like a regular Slider rig after that. The one thing beyond that countdown which Charlie Brewer stuck to was the speed of the lure - slooooow and easy pretty much describes it. Creep it and twitch it and lift it, but keep it moving as slow as you can.

I'm also thinking a live worm rigged the same way might just be the next step with these.

I hope these give you some ideas, Dill-man.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on April 2, 2012 at 3:26am

Ill see if I can get a pic later this evening, Dave.

Comment by David Dillman on April 2, 2012 at 2:57am

Charlie Brewer would be proud.  I would like to see the jig head, see if it gives me any ideas.  I am happy you got your  yac, and can tell your going to have a good time in it.

Dilly

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on April 1, 2012 at 5:42pm

@ Jeff....

I felt a little rubber legged! The Hobie Mirage Drive is pedal powered, so the legs do all the work. This is very efficient, and frees your hands most of the time for fishing. It can also be used to troll, or work along a bank as I was in this case. Pedal a few strokes, fan cast, correct heading and pedal a bit more. Repeat as needed.

But once its time to head back, you gotta work. After several hours of fishing, the landing ramp can be a long way off! So you batten down all your gear, head out to open water and pedal your way home.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on April 1, 2012 at 5:37pm

PS caught and released.

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