Well this morning was the stuff of dreams. I got out there nice and early and could hear the fish well before I even got to the river.

3rd Cast, twitchin the "scarlet harlet" and a light tug, then Fish on. Little Buck but he inhaled it and was bleeding plus, I was limited on time so I figured better keep em.

5 casts later, medium size buck. Landed but Not so nice looking, hooked nose and starting to give that blushy look and even was getting a gray belly. The jig was really loosely in his mouth too, probably could have line released him but he was not harmed. Released.

Had the hankerin to spin since the fish were so aggresive, I caught a hen on a bronze #5, another hen on a green #5, a little buck on a rainbow meps #5.

At this point I had been fishing for about an Hour and a half and I was running into the time frame where I was going to be late for work...What do you do? Catch one more to make a limit and jam.

So I switch back over to the "Bruised Hooker", and bank another smaller hooking buck, released. Then pull in a little jack king, released... Now I am starting to wonder if I got greedy, should have kept the first two and split... Finally a massive slam on the Jig brings in a very fiesty hen that is pretty good size too! Stoked I bonk her.

So at this point I am deep in the reeds by the soccer fields, and putting all my gear away, spinners and jigs and what not, when in the bottom of my bag this old spoon catches my eye. Single 1/0 barbless hook is on the end from a nooch trip, and I figure, what the heck, a couple casts ain't going to hurt. I am already well past late for work, voicemails and emails are stacking up like fish in the bay. So I snap on this hurkin spoon, don't even know the brand, I found it on a river. It is hammered on one side and smooth on the other and weights as much as a freakin buzz bomb (almost).

I fish a 8'6" medium light HMX with 12lb line and a stradic 3500... so believe me when I say I sent this thing into ORBIT. As my line laid down on the water I closed the bail, knowing I better get to cranking because that heavy chunk was a good 50yrds + away and sinking fast. Well wouldn't you know the moment I closed the bail and put a crank in I feel it snag up. DANG IT, I am going to loose a ton of line, I knew this was stupid. Then suddenly the line does the rip buzz accross the surface and off on the horizon, Explosion!!! Fish ON and this thing is Going for Gold A mile away. With a barbless 1/0 hook I am eager just to see if I can even land it. Long Line catches like that are soo exciting. I work this fish in for what seemed like 10 minutes although it was probably only 4 or 5. About 10 feet from the bank I see it is a Big Fat buck, probably a solid 12lb fish, rolling and putting its last energy into a slow headshake heading for a bush that has roots in the water. Not wanting him to get all tangled up I opened the bail gave him some slack and watched him loose the hook and bolt away. As I reeled in that spoon, I had this feeling of complete fishisatisfaction. Almost euphoria. I stowed my gear, beat out of the bushes and walked back to the truck with a grin you could see from space. I got all washed up, stopped by starbucks and then into the office.

Picture #1: The limit in the reeds.
Picture #2: Boys are always chasin the "Scarlet Harlet"

Pretty stoked it ended like this because I have to go to CA this week until Oct. and I am bummed I am going to miss what might be the peak of the run... :(

And Finally quite a few people have asked me to tell them how I make my jigs, and what I use, and where I buy it and I figured I would make a quick Youtube flick to highlight it. Enjoy. It turned into a longer clip than I thought it would.

Part 1. Jig Materials & Thoughts