I needed some fishing therapy yesterday. I also took the opportunity to try out what I was hoping might be a solution for a rough service action camera. A police body camera from Vevor with a claimed record time of about 11 hours. Unless I can get some useful feedback from Vevor it was a…
I meant to post this in yesterday’s update. I bought Whisker Seeker from Gary during the Covid shutdown. He gave me a bill of sale on it, and I was able to transfer ownership of the boat, but the title was in his safe deposit box at the bank. When things started opening up again…
The epic enduring drama of Whisker Seeker will continue. I just don’t know when. I had rekindled my drive to get it seaworthy just before Gary passed away. In fact I called Gary and his daughter answered to see how he was doing and let him know I was working on getting him out in…
The Internet is absolutely what makes many small maker businesses possible. Without it, I’d probably never have gotten into mold making, and even if I had I’d be relegated to advertising in the classifieds in the back of trade and hobby magazines.I do trade worldwide because of the Internet. I have customers from Australia and…
Many years ago I worked for a rural telephone carrier. It was good and bad. Technically I learned a lot, but as a job it turned out to not be so great. I was told it was a job that would grow, but that never happened. I was told they would send me to training…
UPDATE 6/8/25: I see I do not have the little 1.5 mold currently listed on the CNC Molds N Stuff website. I’ll get that fixed soon. We hit the water around 5:30 or 6:00 and after launching The Cat in that little backwater we headed down the way a bit. Was mostly throwing Club-Os. I…
This Saturday, June 7 2025, is FREE FISHING DAY in Arizona! 😮 🐟 Just remember: while a fishing license is not needed on June 7, bag limits and other Arizona fishing regulations still apply and must be observed on Free Fishing Day. If you’ve ever been curious to try fishing, now’s a great time to…
CNC MOLDS N STUFF IS STOPPING EBAY SALES FOR NOW These items are directly responsible for why I offered fewer items for sale on eBay than I could. They cause excess time and effort for every listing. 1. The difficult process of NOT using eBay shipping. Don’t ask why I don’t want to use eBay…
One of my fishing buddies took me out this evening hoping for a prefrontal bite, but it was slow. The Square Back Minnow that has been producing so well for me didn’t do it tonight. I stuck all my fish on 4 inch Club-Os. No wait. I did stick one flipping an RT45. I cranked…
Recap First: Tip #0 – Don’t let other people measure you. Tip #1 – Go when you can. Bob’s Tips for Anglers #2 – Don’t Over Complicate Going Fishing This officially displaces whatever the previous tip #2 was. This has got to be more important than that. The former #2 was If Something Doesn’t Seem…
If your casting doesn’t feel right, sounds odd, or distance comes up short check your rig. I’ve quite often had a wrap where the line is around the rod behind the tip top. It really kills your casting distance. If you keep breaking off… you could have bad line, but you might not. I was…
I deactivated an internal statistics plugin with the blog script I am running for the site. The site appears to be noticeably faster now. I’ll just have to go back to looking at the stats at the server level. If you use a Word Press script I suggest you do not use the WP…
If you know somebody who has a tackle business do you kind of EXPECT them to give you free baits from time to time? If a “buddy” knows how to do something and he helps you out, do you kind of expect it? Do you expect people to trade with you because you are a…
Quick Easy Vise Hold Down Clamps
A buddy invited me out yesterday afternoon, and we pretty much had the area to ourselves. The Square Back Minnow is still putting numbers of fish in the boat for me. My buddy caught several on Club-Os, and he fished an RFLT for a short time putting a nice one in the boat. After sunset…
Bears Baits used to sell a bait flake called shad or shad pearl. Since Bears Baits has shut down and David has passed away. I have no idea where to get that flake anymore and I’m running low. Yesterday I was testing a new frog mold and I was planning on shooting black back with…
Some of you might recall I bought a Bridgeport CNC Mill (project) a while back. The plan is to update it to a modern control like I did with the Hurco KMB1 many years ago. What you might not know is its still on the trailer. I pulled the Procraft out of the shop and…
A buddy of mine (Mike Meza) has a side hustle, hauling containers from the coast and selling them locally. He recently had a customer order three containers, but after two were delivered, they decided they didn’t need the third one, so he called me. I didn’t steal it, but it was a couple hundred dollars…
I didn’t buy all the shelving I wanted for 40ft High Cube, but I did figure out if I buy three sets of this 90x24x90 shelving I could crass link the to get five spans of storage in the container. It doesn’t look like it, but I have already started making room in the shop….
If Do-It Fishing has what you want, you should buy it from them. I don’t mean that angrily or sarcastically. I mean it in all seriousness as somebody who wants your money but won’t lie to you or give you bad advice to get it. Sometimes I have people contact me wanting me to make…
Rick let me fish a Desert Bass tournament with him out of his boat one day. He had picked up a couple on dropshot I think, and he was ready to leave the area to find fresh water. I said, “Wait a minute so I can catch that seven pounder back there.” I was just…
Nah, not really. There is no secret forum. I don’t know if I’ll ever run a fishing forum again of my own. I did however rekindle Tackle Maker. Tackle Maker is about making fishing tackle. There is a fishing chat section as an after thought. There is even a Yuma Area Adventures sub section. www.tacklemaker.info…
A while back I made an attempt at a soft plastic hollow body frog. That dream is not dead, but I found the legs kicked just as well as the legs of the Curly Buzz Frog. They had an issue of tangling once in a while, but I knew the solution. The thing is I…
Some years back one of the bass federations (I don’t recall which one) had their western states regional final here on the Colorado River. It was quite the thing for several months. One fellow drove hundreds of miles for several months to come fish our pro am. Others hired airplanes to fly the river, and…
In my fishing article from April 4th 2025, THE BACK STORY (The Breaking Point), and my post, THE BREAKING POINT about bad line on April 2nd 2025, I talked about my experience breaking off multiple times. I realized I was using all “Beyond Braid 8x” on all the rods that broke off with either with…
It can be brutal fishing a big lake when the wind is blowing, or worse if it has tour and casino boats who’s captain’s think everybody else is subservient to their job. Whether you have forward facing sonar, or you just happened to find a deep point loaded with fish it can be quite the…
AFTER ALL THESE YEARS – I finally found a use for the Harbor Freight pipe kinker. The pipe die was a perfect guide for the chain.
Hit one of my favorite backwaters yesterday with one of my fishing buddies. I caught all my fish on the Square Back Minnow. I lost three pretty quickly before I realized the drag was a little loose and preventing me from getting a good hookset. I felt a few bites later that were gone by…
I don’t know how useful this is going to be, but it’s going to be fun finding out. Using the supplied test object.
Retrofit Vevor 12000lb Jack on Gooseneck Trailer – Part 1
For the last few years my son has joined me for a fishing outing on my birthday. That’s much better than any tie or chotchky. Even better than a premium rod & reel combo. This year he had to miss it. He’s working on his bachelor’s of engineering, working as a licensed pharmacy tech, and…
I observed a long time ago that there was a subjective significant difference in strength between ten pound monofilament filament and twelve pound monofilament. In real world applications, twelve pound seems pretty tough, and ten pound needs you to take care of it a little bit. It never occurred to me that there would be…
1. I like black snaps better than chrome snaps. I think they catch more fish. 2. Generally, no snap is better than using one except for item 3. 3. Being able to quickly change hard bait colors when bass are chasing can dramatically increase your number of catches. 4. Spinning reels twist line. Good braid…
I had a member of the old forum reach out to me because I had not posted here in a while. I haven’t had much to write, and I didn’t want to fill the blog up with garbage posts. I have only been out fishing a couple times, and it was no big deal. Dave…
I wanted something for hauling a canoe or sometimes a ladder that didn’t need to stay on the truck. Its “okay” for the price. I think they say it’s good for 800 lbs. I’m skeptical, but it should be okay for the canoe I plan to carry on it. In retrospect I think I would…
I’ve caught a lot of fish over the years. A 3lb smallie isn’t a record or a personal best or “special,” but I’ve blanked my last couple canal bank outings. I was beginning to think this was going to be another such trip. Then just past sunset with no direct sunlight on the water I…
Don’t freak out about a little water in the bilge. Even if you can see water flooding in and swamping is a risk don’t freak out. Check to see where its coming from. If the Nautilus is backing out of a giant gash in your hull after a deliberate ramming… ok maybe freak out a…
I have a deposit on a 2024 Ford Maverick with exactly the specs I want at a pretty decent price waiting on the recall to get fixed. (The backup camera can freeze on some.) The salesman contacted me today offering me a ready to deliver a 2025 with similar specs at a “similar” price. It…
Years ago a friend and I had an argument about terminal knots. Palomar vs Improved Clinch. THIS IS NOT ABOUT EITHER OF THOSE KNOTS! He was adamant that the palomar knot was the best, period, end of discussion. Having started with a clinch knot and later graduating to an improved clinch knot at a very…
Merry Christmas to me. – TOOL SCORE!!! I bought a second machine that uses the Kwik 200 tool holders. I didn’t really want to split up tool holders between the two machines. Not for stuff I would routinely use. I ran across a discount listed in the title that wasn’t shown in the actual price…
That’s just crazy… even with the pressure wave off the bottom he’s got to be a running a jet drive. Not sure you could get me to run quite that far over the edge in a glass boat. Video: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1i7Lb43DVeEGY4E6/
JB Weld melts at a lower temp than lead. Why do people use it? Lots of people use JB Weld, because the amount… (more at link) https://www.tacklemaker.info/index.php?topic=109.0
A NEW (to me) MACHINE IN THE SHOP For Making Soft Plastic Baits. I bought a used mini shooting star injection machine to play with in the shop. Follow my adventures using this new toy for making worms, swimbaits, creatures grubs & more. https://rumble.com/v5zmy1n-a-new-to-me-machine-in-the-shop-for-making-soft-plastic-baits.html
Yes. We understand some of you guys struggle with spinning rods, but there’s no need to feel intimidated. It’s not that hard if you just try. Even Dave can do it. Yesterday’s canal bank adventure was half serious, and I totally failed to drag a single fish out of the water, but Dave managed to…
Making a Fixture Plate to Cut Four Parts at Once Instead of Just One If I throw a piece of material in the vise I can make one part. If I throw a fixture plate in the vise I can make as many parts as will fit in the work envelope of the machine with…
Somebody asked me the other day if I quit fishing. They commented that they hadn’t seen me at any tournaments, or seen me post much fishing content on YumaBassMan or on social media. Well I have to ask, does this look like I have quit fishing. These just arrived today, … and I am getting…
From Making Stuff For The Shop https://www.tacklemaker.info/index.php?topic=102.0
