[Jared]

Keith,

Just because of your insistance on red traps... I took one out, changed the hooks to red ones, (was actually only same sized hooks I had so I used them) because I have had this red trap for yeeeeeeeeears and i bet its only been in the water for an hour all those years combined LOL

It looks just like this: :redratltrap: and its a 1/2 oz model.

I've got it rigged and ready to go and when tide gets high and i gotta start searching all over for a bite, I will throw it and see what I can do... and it's ALL YOUR FAULT! :lmao: I may even throw it during rising tide too.

:cheers:

 

[davidva]

I bought a Cordell Cotton lipless crank "tomato red" only because the local tackle stores can't keep the Xcalibur ones in stock. Caught two on it in Florida and nothing here in Virginia yet. I had one that looked like this :redratltrap: but the other day when I went fishing and metal pole snuck up on my follow through and broke the bait! haha I was like what the heck where did that come from and why is my lure swimming funny! lol

 

[KeithsCatch]

Tear it up Jared. Post the pictures of the fish you catch with it

David, keep tossing it in your homewaters. I know you can catch fish on it up there.

 

[imonembad]

Keith, I am hoping to get the bait before the 14th. I have a tourney and I plan on throwing it in place of a spinnerbait. If I like it too much I might not give it back! Just kidding!! well maybe not. LOL!! :redratltrap:

 

[KeithsCatch]

I will send it to you Monday so you will be ok. But don't hang on to it too long. The next person in line will be waiting.

 

[imonembad]

Do you think it will make it? I'm gonna win the tourney and ship brother!!

 

[KeithsCatch]

PM me your address. I will get it to ya.

 

[imonembad]

Bet!!

 

[bassman]

Cant beat a red trap down here durning the prespawn. I throw the 3/4 oz. in deeper water and tick the top of the grass or rip it throw it. Hold on.

 

[Ouachita]

I keep a supply on hand out there. Ratl Traps, Diamond Shads, and Cordel Spots...my favorite patterns here

Jim

 

[imonembad]

JIM, WILL YOU PLEASE POST A PICTURE OF YOUR FIRST HOMEMADE JIGS i REALLY WANT TO SEE THEM.

 

[Jared]

Well, I threw the red trap like i said I would. I threw it for about an hour or so. I only caught one fish on it and it was about 11" long but that gave me motivation to keep on chunking it.

I had a NICE one follow it. I saw it clear as day. As soon as I snagged on some grass and pulled free he came busting out of the grass like a freight train BUT he came within inches of my bait and did a complete 180! :cussin:
I dont know why he did that. Ive always heard it means change color but I also had a good bunch of black "moss" hung on my bait trailing a half foot behind it. Do you think could be what made the bass chane its mind? Or do you think its as i have always heard, a color change was needed?

Anyway, I tried to make a 2nd cast back for him but with no properly working trolling motor it was just too hard to keep my boat in position in the 25+ mph winds.

I kept fishing the trap for another 30 minutes until I got it hung. And now here is a testament for An40... I had 14lb test spooled on the reel I was using. The bait got stuck in thick emergent grass... again, I couldnt maneuver the boat well enough to get up to the bait and remove it properly so the wind kept blowing me around and around. I kept letting line out but at one point the wind blew the boat so fast and hard that I didnt get a chance to release the line and I was sure the line would snap. Well the line didnt snap, the split ring straightened right out! I've always believed in AN40 but seeing the 14lb test win the battle and a split ring lose it really amazed me!

ANyway, that was my only red trap, I had no other split rings, no split ring pliers (Id have stolen a ring and hook from another rat-l-trap) and I had no desire to be blown into the thick of the grass and stumps while I worked on the bait so I had to put the red trap away. I think if I could have had some backups and kept fishing it I would have probably hooked up another bass or two.

My next club tournament is on Santee, and I think when I prefish I will try a red trap just to see. On santee, a lot of people use blue and silver BUT what most dont knw is that tequila sunrise is the killer color there. shhh dont tell anyone :lmao:

 

[KeithsCatch]

Good deal Jared. I thought you didn't use it from your other report.

The fish turning around was definitely because you had black moss hanging on it. I am surprised it even followed the bait with that moss on it. He or she must have really wanted it. But other times you are right a change in color would be good. At Santee try red and then try a gold one. But try red first and fish around grass with it.

 

[Ouachita]

These are a few of my oldest made around 1961-62. Two are of dyed deer hair, the third fox squirrel. I figure if they got wet the wrapping would dissolve. All we used back then was 1/4 oz, the lead from wheel weights around a gas station shop. The string used to tie was braid line. Back then I had to heat and bend hooks to fit the head. The mold was a plaster of paris cast. It left a high ridge where the two halves met, shaved down with a pocket knife.

I went through about 50# of assorted stuff like this to get this far. There's a lot of forgotten history packed away! In some other box should be a later model with a copper wire weed guard. Those were nice, but each cast required fixing the wire. A bass could clamp down flattening the wire OK, but it was a bother losing casting time fiddling with it. The last time I looked the copper wire has corroded to where it falls out when pointing down. I appreciate my daughter's assistance with photography.

Jim

 

[Ouachita]

Jared, to handle split rings keep one thumbnail a little long :thumbup01:

When that trap was dragging moss you should have noticed reduced or no vibration at all. Keep yanking until it feels normal. You can usually whip enough moss off the hook(s) to keep a bass chasing it.

Whatever color gets a bass to come out to chase is what I stick with. If hanging weed isn't the problem causing a bass to fall back I change retrieve speed. With traps I usually speed it up to amplify the reaction bite. There's no way you can wind a reel faster than a bass can chase.

Jim

 

[Jared]

thats so cool Jim hearing and seeing about the history of our beloved sport! I read through my bassmasters from the early 70s and I am lost to all around me. Seeing those old adds for lures 90% of the anglers today have never even seen, ads for boats I dont believe are any longer being made and so many more products from our past is something I really enjoy. I have thought many times about scanning old tackle adds and what not and posting them here but I am not sure of the legality of all that. WIsh I knew because I have a mess of interesting images and ads I could scan and post

 

[Jared]

Jared, to handle split rings keep one thumbnail a little long

oh trust me, first thing I did this morning when I was cleaning my boat and organizing everything again was put my split ring pliers in it LOL I also plan on getting a few packs of split rings to leave on board it too lol Oh yeah.. and a half dozen or so red traps lol Having only 1 I can see now is NOT a good idea lol

When that trap was dragging moss you should have noticed reduced or no vibration at all. Keep yanking until it feels normal. You can usually whip enough moss off the hook(s) to keep a bass chasing it.

it all happened so fast! I ripped the bait from the moss then teh bass came charging out and turned around. I guess i may have had time to rip it one more time before the bass got to it. I dunno tho.. I think I was mostly focused on the hauling fish than my bait.. that was probably my problem right there lol

Whatever color gets a bass to come out to chase is what I stick with. If hanging weed isn't the problem causing a bass to fall back I change retrieve speed. With traps I usually speed it up to amplify the reaction bite. There's no way you can wind a reel faster than a bass can chase.

Jim

I think I may need a faster retrieve reel. Im running short on baitcasters as I have always only bought cheap ones and i think the one I was using for the trap was a 5.something to 1 rate. I think I need to get a 6.something or 7.something, What do yall think? Do yall use high rate reels with your traps?

 

[Ouachita]

I use a 7:1 baitcaster for trap type lures. You can always slow it down, but to give a bass a challenge you need the speed. It's also nice to finish reeling it in quickly when you figure it's way past the target area. The fewer handle turns in a day makes a big difference to my tendons. That 5:1 is fine for chunky fat crankbaits that wobble wide and slow. You don't want such a fast reel they flip over or veer at an angle.

Jim

 

[imonembad]

Jim, Thanks I enjoy reading and seeing those old baits. I thought you told me about using old innertubes to make trailers. Is this right maybe it was some one else? Thanks for posting those pictures it reminded my of my dads old tackle.

 

[Ouachita]

I dug through gas station trash cans to get inner tubes as well as picked up the wheel weights. I split them open and used some heavy duty scissors to cut out trailers much like Uncle Josh pork trailers, but much thinner. I really got onto a good lure idea by making "snake lures" out of long strips. I used a long tent needle to thread braid or mono through the middle to hold several hooks. It was wicked looking, and I made up a few hundred for sale.They swam realistically, having a natural curl from the original tube shape. I used that money to buy more hooks and some more store-bought stuff like Creme worms. When a bass got into that snake sometimes the snake would be wound around the fish with every hook snagging something. No way a bass could come off or even swim well. I don't have a single one left. I stopped making them when I went into the Navy, but I still make up trick worms threading in embedded hooks.

We've got it good these days. About any shape, thickness, color, size, and material is available at a decent price.

Jim