zach

I am finally starting to learning this airbrushing thing. I have tried to step my game up to make the plugs better. Here are some of the last ones I am going to make for this year. Its been fun and frustrating at the same time. I think these are by far the best I have done and I just wanted to show off a couple of them. Bty- all baits are sold and I need to get my a$$ to work to make more as I am still way behind in my orders. Thanks for taking a look and supporting a redneck painter that didn't know much about anything but is learning as quickly as I can.

$9 Bass and dark St. Lawrence

Natural Perch

Light colored- Cpt Larry

Foiled Natural Perch, This is the best painting job I have ever done- I plan on having a few for June in my boat of this color!

Thanks for following me down this road I have taken, hopefully 2011 will have a few baits turn out like I freaking want them to instead of adding more to my mess up pile that is growing to somewhere around 35 baits, all junk, for a fire I guess? Who knows?

I highly recommend only the Down East's. Plastic is going to give you problems. Please do yourself a favor and get down east's. I used plastic holders for one day and then bought 6 down east's for my boat. Rods- anything over 8.5' for the side rods in a heavy or x-heavy and short ones for the back. Okuma's? Can't recommend them, had 2 break on me this year just from trolling. I recommend Penn's as I have 15 years on 2 of them. I personally use 80lb braid but know of others that use 65lb to get deeper. If you look around they make pedestals for clamp on down easters that allow you to get them higher off the rail and this allows you to get those tips in the water if need be. Good luck old man. Oh- if your going to do alot of trolling make sure you have a decent radio b/c it gets boring some times.

Old man you drew that? Looks like that routered up hand is getting better! Awesome pic. If you would have drawn it for me though the fish would have stopped and swam away 5 feet from the boat to never be seen again. Its neat that you even drew the water disturbed from your rod tip doing the 8 and even the cork looks real. Really nice bud!

I was hoping some of us would share some highlights from this years season but everyone must be out xmas shopping.

Well the end of 2010 is in sight and I have to take a minute to reflect on a great season. Not only did I seem to find the fish this year but more importantly I found a bunch of good people I hope to know for a long time. We are lucky to have a great group of caring people around us and thats really neat. We had lots of fun and found out that we can help out the fishery at the same time. Some of us got our personal best's and most of us are still dreaming of the big ones still swimming. This year I finally got a fish on my b-day for the first time in a long time and a couple of other good ones. I got to meet and become friends with people I have looked up to for 15 years and love the contacts I have made. This year a small time hobby started to get out of control and who knows where it's gonna end up but without your guys support I would still be scratching my head wondering how to make this work? Chad- once again ran an awesome site bringing us all together and except for a broken down truck and boat trailer, I got through the year pretty well. Lex got her biggest ever and my buddy Kevin got a musky on his first and sixth cast on his first trip for them. Lots of good memories and I am still burned that Bob beat me at the first tournament w/ his 45" that he did right in front of me! I got you next year Bob, your a marked man! Happy holidays and what a great year! Lots of great pics and memories! Can't wait until the snow melts and we can get back at it again!

Hey, my name is Zach and I plan on doing a musky show or two this winter. I am interested in a pic.

Ha Ha, I am getting ready! I have tons of colors and want to bring lots of baits. I have been improving them along the way and they are so much better now then whan I started out. I have been selling a bunch on ebay lately and people have been eating them up. I haven't been posting any pics on here but have been working harder than ever. My goal is to do somewhere around 500 this winter for the 3 shows (Ohio, PA and Chicago). I have changed so many things about the way I make them including thicker lips, better painting, a tad bit more weight and even more epoxy. I also tune each and every one now as I have learned my lesson the hard way. Here are some colors I have done lately. What I find truely amazing is I am over 90 in the hole from all the orders I got off muskiefirst. This week is foil week, firetiger colors, $9 bass, night shiner and St. Lawrence in addition to all the normal colors I do. So Bob- she have lots of color crayons or what? This has really taken off and I expect next year to be a good year as I am trying as hard as I can to promote myself and these baits. I also want to say thanks to everyone that has helped me out along the way! I owe you guys and don't think for a minute I have forgot about you! One thing I find so funny about this is you would think I would have some good ones for myself, lol, I get all the screw ups!

Nitro, where did you get that story about the fish being caught?

Like Gambler said, go to braddocks on a weekend and look at all the pike laying on the ice.

LOL, look at Waneta's 36" size limit. People kill fish there all the time! I know Waneta isn't a trophy lake but it has the same musky strain as Chautauqua does and at Chautauqua they have a higher size limit. I fully do not understand this 36" size limit on such a small lake. Good talk though boys.

Another dead 1000 island musky! Big fish, but people in the islands seem to "wack" a few monsters to take home every year it seems. Solgrande- you see the rig used to catch it? The famous "Berger King" rig! In the end its just another dead fish in an area that has been hit hard from VHS. I looked at the other pics and its crazy how much different the fish looks just by holding it different. In the TIbait shop pic it looks huge but not in the original pic. I wonder how hard they really tried to release it w/ how cold the water is? But then again, the guy isn't even wearing a coat?

I am not even sure if we have a state record musky anymore w/ the way the records are being thrown out all the time. The only way that a new record will be accepted is if someone KILLS a huge fish and it is verified by tons of people and even then people will have issues w/ it. I fully understand the importance of releasing muskies but a "catch and release" record leaves so much in doubt. IMO someone has to KILL a huge fish and have it certified, sad but true.

If anyone has a second, the picture is the most recent fish entered into the big fish section of muskiefirst! http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com

Well one starting point is where Black Creek goes into the Genesee off Scottsville Rd. There is a small launch (docks are taken out now) for a canoe or whatever. I take my crankbaits down there to make sure they run okay before I send them out and have seen northerns many times in there. Bty if you go up to chucrchville and have a good pair of boots and don't mind walking you can fish some areas from shore. Best luck!

Pike get hit hard in the winter. Like you said more people have access to them during the winter. They must be doing okay though if you have ever seen the spawning run.

unless your a Canadian or go to PA, OH, IN, TN, MO or KY where it never closes, its almost over.

Anyone want to take a truckless fisherman to Harbor in the next days? I would go but truck is still in the shop. I have some big baits to run and know a few trolling passes. Nitro took me last time and it worked well for him. After the season closes he has a pic for all of to look at but not until then. Do you think the bus or a taxi would tow my boat there for me?

And for me I only seem to catch fish (pike, tigers) on a small phantom soft-tails.

all of my tigers came on this bait along w/ a huge 41" northern.

I can remember cutting split rings before I got the metal chopper to get hooks out.

I have never seen that one. I bet 80% of all those guys out there are not capable of even cutting a hook to save a fish if they wanted to. They just don't carry the right stuff.

How big of chunk is missing from your finger? I got myself on the band saw the other day but yours sounds worse than my super glue closed wound. 22 stitches is a big deal to me. When I saw the Baker Bait review I got nervous and almost didn't want to open it as I do try to make a decent plug. I am so happy you like those and I do try my best to make them as tough as possible by putting 5 coats of epoxy on those deep divers. There are 2 coats under the paint and 3 over the paint. Nothing worse to me than paying good $$ for a musky plug and having it fall apart of to have the finish come off like on those chrome depthraiders. I have been toying w/ ways to make chrome finishes and think that over the winter I should have something comparable but way more durable. I bet there is over a 1/2 oz of epoxy on those deep divers. Thanks for giving them a shot and those deep divers did impress me also when I first took them out by hitting bottom in the deep hole in waneta. Doesn't sound like a monster fish but hey they can't always be. Thanks for the compliment and if you have any issues in the future with them I am only an email away. I try to stand behind my stuff as much as I can! Was it the foiled one or the Secret color one? Just wondering? Thanks for the plug on the plugs old man!

Man that is a nice fish! Congrats! I can close my eyes and just imagine a huge torpedo wake coming in and that big ole nasty mouth opening up and bam, its on! Looks like it was tough to hold that pig. You deserved it (earned it) by being out in that cold weather! Looks like your the man to beat right now! I don't know if I would have let Chad hold it though, I would have made him super jealous by just letting him look at it!

Went out yesterday and lost a piggie 5' from the boat and almost cried. Not really crying but really disappointed after losing what I believe what would have been my PB yesterday out in Erie at 3:30 pm on a homemade periwinkle copy. I don't know if I was trolling too slow to get a good hookset or what but I booted a slob out of the south gap but out in Lake Erie. As soon as the stronger winds started I got hit and then the winds died down again and it was back to washing lures.

cost of gas to the buffalo harbor- $40

cost of huge fishing lures to chase them with- $225

cost of losing a big fish- priceless

cost of a new transmission- $1,000

Look how big your smile is! You can't fake that! I know you have worked really, really hard on getting that 1st river fish so great job! I am just happy you don't have a piece of broccoli in your teeth b/c we all could see it w/ you grinning from ear to ear! Honestly I know all of the hard work you have put into that fish so go pat yourself on the back and may you walk an inch taller today! Nice job and I hope you know after all this time I am joking. I am jealous now! These river fish sure do look purdy!