For ages I thought the smallest bass ever was one my mom caught on Lake Powel with a crank bait with all three points of the rear treble inside of its mouth. It might have been two and a half inches long. Then one day casting spoons through some boiling bait in Rooster Comb my…
Sometimes a single job has significant tool costs. This is not the only tool bought just for this one job. This reamer will get used just one time for the job it was purchased for. I have another tool coming for this same job that cost as much as this reamer did. At least the…
If You Sweep Up Every Day – DO NOT READ THIS If you sweep up every day you certainly won’t appreciate this. I normally sweep up around the mill every week or two, but a while back I blew some chips off a part and my grandfather’s Starrett six-inch rule went flying. That was months…
Mine was more fishing adjacent than fishing, but close enough. For 8 years I ran a Pro Am (Yuma Pro Am – draw team format) tournament series. We would meet up the night before, sign up and draw for partners. There was no last minute sign up because there was no way to make that…
Earlier this week I jumped in the ’24 F250 to go get some parts. It started up just fine, but while I was sitting there giving it a few seconds to warm up it started running like garbage. After a minute it died. It started right back up, but it still ran like pooh. Then…
My very first reel was a Zebco 606 I got for Christmas as a kid. It was great for a long time, until one night it just wore out fighting a big catfish sometime after midnight at Painted Rock Lake. I landed the fish, and went right back to sleep with my rod laying in…
Within a couple days of the forced rollout of Gemini AI for Android Auto I experienced a driving/navigation hallucination/malfunction by Gemini that made it clear for me it was untenable. As soon as I figured out how I switched everything back to the Google Assistant that while much more limited rarely made mistakes like that….
First off I am only talking about the Beyond Braid 8X. I have not tried any of their other formulations. If you have seen me post pictures of any fish here or on social media this year its most likely it was caught on Beyond Braid 8X. I do still have a few rods spooled…
THE GIVING TREE Several years ago somebody (from AzBassZone) gave me a half decent boat trailer for free. I gave them a utility trailer they could use in exchange, but they didn’t know I was reciprocating until I showed up. They actually met me halfway between Phoenix and Yuma to just give me a free…
Sorry I haven’t posted any fishing information in a while. I’ve been making molds, working in/on the shop, and even working on boats, but no fishing in over two weeks. Friday the air compressor went out in my shop. Start capacitor on the motor went bad. I ordered a new start capacitor for Saturday delivery,…
The Lower River was tough for us yesterday. With a front coming in, (I know it’s still hot), full moon, and higher than expected water levels… I have no excuses. For me rule one of fishing has always been, “Go When You Can. ” A buddy texted me mid-day and asked if I wanted to…
Clean the carbs, rebuild most of the fuel system & replumb all the oil and fuel lines for those three carbs. New steering cable. Shifted 230 pound about 2 feet further forward (me) by moving the steering console. Hope it allows me a little more trim. Worked on it most of the day. Fired it…
I can’t tell you exactly what it was that I made a mold of for him, but he was pretty happy to show me his success using it. (Not Local)
I have a few mold designs ready to cut, and I have a constant backlog of custom work, but I DO NOT have one of everything sitting on the shelf. In fact, except for my personal molds that are not for sale I don’t keep a lot of anything sitting on the shelf hoping somebody…
It’s only 1 o’clock and I finished a personal project… well sort of. I decided to start re-carpeting (or maybe sea decking) some compartment lids for my bass boat. I had unscrewed the hinges from the boat a while ago. Yesterday I drilled out the rivets holding the hinge to the lid on one of…
I am releasing a new fishing lure mold for sale today. THE RFG R ibbed F lipping G rub The Curly Buzz Frog Went Thru Three Versions Before it Was Right ITS RIGHT, and now there are FOUR sizes available of VERSION 4 https://www.cncmolds.com/webstore/curly-buzz-frogs All molds are made to order. Current lead time on…
I made 3 previous version, and tweaked this one 3 times before cutting it. Maybe I’ll release this one. Maybe I won’t. I caught big fish on versions 1, 2, and 3 & won a couple local club tournaments with version 2 (when I still fished tournaments). Hopefully this will be the mold that I…
Flipping Was the Ticket Yesterday. Well for me anyway. I got 7 bites on the RFLT before switching to other baits. Amazingly I didn’t get a single bite on a Club-O. I never threw the Squareback Minnow even though its done well for me lately. I did stick two bass on a shop made polyurethane…
I’ve just been busy. In addition to making molds and working on my own projects I have been helping the NAU Mini Baja SAE Team make a gear box for their race cart. All of those engineering students have finished their classes, gotten their degrees, and moved on to bigger and better things. Hopefully they…
Adding Handles to The Rotating Assembly #short VIDEO: https://rumble.com/shorts/v79nxmi The Curly Buzz Frog Went Thru Three Versions Before it Was Right ITS RIGHT, and now there are FOUR sizes available of VERSION 4 https://www.cncmolds.com/webstore/curly-buzz-frogs
THE RFLT SLAYED YESTERDAY AFTERNOON: https://www.cncmolds.com/webstore/soft-plastic-bait-molds/creature-baits/rflt-1-or-6-cavity The Curly Buzz Frog Went Thru Three Versions Before it Was Right ITS RIGHT, and now there are FOUR sizes available of VERSION 4 https://www.cncmolds.com/webstore/curly-buzz-frogs
When I first setup this blog I intended to allow comments with moderation, but the absolute flood of spam made me turn them all off. I’m in the process of trying to turn on that feature again integrating some anti spam features. Links will get your comment deleted instantly. Feel free to check it out…
I’ve gotten really spoiled the last couple years. I got a buddy into fishing some years back. After I took him out and had a few good days he bought his own boat, and now he calls me up to go out regularly. I haven’t put The Tin Can in the water in well over…
As I am sure you are aware I promote my mold making business with videos, and social media posts. I post on a variety of platforms. Some only generate a few “impressions,” and others might generate a few hundred. Since it only takes a few seconds once I post something to post it somewhere else…
Finally got back out on the river. We hit the water between 3:30 and 4:00 in the afternoon yesterday. It started slow, but my partner stuck a couple. He makes his own Club-Os and he started trying out a new color he made. Good looking color. I think most of his fish came on it,…
I had asked for some advice since I don’t have a gantry crane. The advice had me scared to unload the Bridgeport I picked up a while back (long while). It’s been on the trailer in the shop taking up a BUNCH of space all this time. My first idea to just hang it from a…
JUST, ONLY, ALL YA HAFTA DO… Just throw a piece of metal on the machine and press start. VIDEO: https://rumble.com/shorts/v7813s6?mref=1sqt4y&mc=42lue The Curly Buzz Frog Went Thru Three Versions Before it Was Right ITS RIGHT, and now there are FOUR sizes available of VERSION 4 https://www.cncmolds.com/webstore/curly-buzz-frogs
In this article from the other day “Fish Kill – Agency Claims & Push Back by Local Anglers – Martinez & Ferguson Lakes” I had some comments about angler push back and some possible censorship by AZGFD on their FishAZ page about water conditions on the lower Colorado River. This was their response The Curly…
This may be the last big project I ever do. My dad passed away a couple years ago, and I just got rid of his (registered as a 42 Willys) 42 GPW. I decided for now to keep the 1982 Bronco. He said it was parked because it had low oil pressure. The motor has…
In a recent post on social media AZGFD made the following public statement. Posted by: Arizona Game & Fish Department – Admin – All-star contributor Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) staff are aware of the recent reports of fish kills in Martinez and Ferguson lakes near Yuma. The department’s investigation of fish carcasses to…
I think it was a Bulgarian designer I sometimes work with from whom I first heard this. “The more offroad capable is your rig the further you must walk to find a tractor.” The Curly Buzz Frog Went Thru Three Versions Before it Was Right ITS RIGHT, and now there are FOUR sizes available of…
I don’t really wacky rig anymore, but I see you can still catch fish that way. The Curly Buzz Frog Went Thru Three Versions Before it Was Right ITS RIGHT, and now there are FOUR sizes available of VERSION 4 https://www.cncmolds.com/webstore/curly-buzz-frogs Had to run into town. Haven’t been fishing in weeks so I pulled…
I lost a paddle boat once. Many many years ago. I had been out at Fortuna Pond with the kids, and I trusted one of the kids (not mine) to hook the straps on the far side. My fault for not checking it. I retraced my route right away and saw somebody driving the other…
How I Calculate Weight of a Casting When Designing a Lead Mold Video: https://rumble.com/v77duhm-how-i-calculate-weight-of-a-casting-when-designing-a-lead-mold.html?mref=1sqt4y&mc=42lue
Why you shouldn’t tie braided line directly to the spool Video: https://rumble.com/shorts/v777g2q?mref=1sqt4y&mc=42lue
The guys in the NAU Mini Baja SAE team on the local campus bought a Harbor Freight tube notcher to make be able to cut and fit the Mini Baja SAE race cart they are building for their final engineering project (and to race). No, I didn’t go back to school. The son is on…
Well as much as I would have liked to build one I bought one instead. Its compact, doesn’t have to be mounted to work, its cheap, its compact for storage, and it has a long history of DIYers using it on The Tube of U. Even the DIYers who state some other benders are superior…
We made it out Sunday afternoon for a couple hours. It was nothing on fire, but I had a nice one jump and throw a commercial crankbait. My partner caught 3 or 4 small ones on a couple different baits, and I finally landed our big bass of the afternoon. A solid 14 1/2 inches…
I had one spot I really wanted to fish and all day my partner kept saying we’ll fish that later. At the end of the day when I realized we were never going to fish my spot I got pissed off and put on the one bait in my bag I figured didn’t have a…
I hit a stretch of canal I don’t fish much anymore. It gets to much pressure ever since the increase in fishing activity during the COVID lockdowns. Even on a Thursday afternoon I saw several fresh, made today, sets of footprints. Every spot I stopped to fish had been fished by at least 2 or…
I got out a few days ago, and stuck a small keeper largemouth on a Club-O in the first spot. I took a while. We hit a couple other spots, and then I had the urge to hit a spot I have not fished in a couple years. It’s sees a lot of traffic and…
Yesterday was my birthday, and my wife gave me a cheap little import drone for my Birthday. More on Drones later. I had a nice leisurely breakfast, and probably one to many cups of coffee. Then I maneuvered trailers around in the yard to make more room for my son’s BAJA SAE race team to…
The cast aluminum (or maybe zamak) handle on the Y-axis gib lock busted and fell off on the South Bend SB1028F mill a while ago. I can get by without it most of the time, and if had to I could grab the head of the screw with a pair of water pump pliers or…
This was quite a number of years ago fishing at Coogler’s Hole. If you know where Coogler’s Hole is, “Shhhh… keep it to yourself.” If you don’t well, you gotta be invited. It don’t look like much on the map or even on aerial photography. I grew up in the desert, so getting stuck was…
Cutting The P50 Cylinder Jig Regular resale version. 2C each – 3/4, 1, 1-1/2 oz Laid out to fit a wide range of 90 degree jig hooks. The Curly Buzz Frog Went Thru Three Versions Before it Was Right ITS RIGHT, and now there are FOUR sizes available of VERSION 4 https://www.cncmolds.com/webstore/curly-buzz-frogs Fits tubes…
I have been jonesing to fish lately. I haven’t really had the time. Between business and personal my obligations are overwhelming. Yesterday with to much of the afternoon shot from other obligations to get much of anything done in the shop I headed out for the canal bank. Of course, I turned down a road…
It’s only been 13 years since the very last Yuma Pro Am event, and I am already unloading the tables and chairs from my “event” trailer. Some of you who might complain that those tables and chairs have been in there all this time are wrong. Only most of them have been in there all…
I was thinking get rid of the continuous back rest, and put in two single seats. If I need to seat a third passenger in the middle I can always put my throw cushion there as a back rest. Then again maybe not. The Curly Buzz Frog Went Thru Three Versions Before it Was Right…
I bought this for a difficult job. Some old hard offroad tires. Eventually it did “help” with it, but it certainly wasn’t a magic answer. The feet on it do not line up. This makes it impossible to push in between the rim and the bead. I pulled the two fixed feet off and milled…
