Jonn Graham

By the way, I am beginning to pour a batch of jig heads in the next seven days or so, anyone interested in ordering some of my scout swim jigs or my float n fly jigs, ACT NOW! I am still running a special for ISA members: Scout swim jigs are $3.50 each or $37 a dozen. And the float n fly jigs are $2 apiece with a dozen for only $20. Shipping charges are normally $4 or less per order.

AS promised, here is a better picture of the living rubber Scout swim jigs I have been working on: In addition, here is a new color pattern I came up with this weekend, it is called "Nuclear Frog". I plan to fish this swim jig just under the surface during low light hours. Should be a winner as my streams are dominated by frogs come mid summer.

I will post another picture tomorrow. Rich, I bought my living rubber from the company you mentioned. Good folks. They also carry a large line of silicone.

Brian: While my swim jigs would probably work on the bottom with a chunk trailer, they are truly designed to be swam through the water column with an "action" trailer such as a four or five inch twister grub. The swim jig "thing" is what you may call "power fishing with a jig". Swim it fast and HANG ON!!!!

Have been playing around of late with making my swim jigs with what they call "living rubber" strands. Very interesting material. Does not come in many colors, but if you are looking for a swim jig that has a larger, bulkier appearance in the water, and has some "puff" value, then you might want to look into swim jigs made with this "old school" material. Here is a photo of one I tyed last night. You will have to excuse the crappy picture..............for some reason my flash did not go off?

Breathables are a must. I did not listen for years when other anglers told me how great breatheable waders were. Boy, was I stupid. Norm is right about buying the waders that require the angler to buy a pair of wading shoes to go over the bootie foot - best way to go. I will throw one more thing out there.........If you will not be wading super deep, try the waist high breatheables. Just like a pair of pants. I absolutely love them!!!!

I got this message from Mike Domrzalski. Mike is a long time ISA member and has been fishing the Apple longer than anyone I know. Here is what he has found out: Jonn, I did see it on the ISA site last night. Made a few calls this morning and from what I was told most of the board members are against it. A couple are for it because of financial interests, which should disqualify them from voting because of conflict of interest issues. However, the boards vote is nonbinding and is advisory only. I was told that the USDA is the Federal organization supporting this operation. A number of residents from the town of Warren have filed lawsuits, so perhaps they can make this venture financially unappealing. I gave the board member a bit of history concerning fish kills on the Apple which he knew nothing about. I did mention that the Apple watershed is prone to massive gully washers and in fact suffered two back to back 100 year floods in 2003, one in July the other in August. You know that this pond will overflow. I also warned him about wind farms too which are another scam rearing their ugly head in Illinois and in that part of the state.

Great. We got to get our leader out of Springfield. We should go dump a bunch of cow manure on his lawn and see how he likes it. Hell, he probably does not even know where Jo Davies county is.

Craig: You are da man!!!!

Rock Bass taste like shrimp!!! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......very tasty. I have been known to enjoy a meal of them every so often.

On the subject of line twist: My clients regularly throw flukes. Early one, line twist was a huge problem. Then I began to watch the clients fish the bait and tried to figure out where and how the line twist occurs. My opinion is what really twists your line when fluke fishing is the act of reeling in the fluke very quickly, thus casing the fluke to spin in the water. In other words, you cast the fluke out, work it back a little ways, and then you are ready for your next cast and instead of just reeling the bait in slowly, you crank the bait back at hyper speed so as to get your next cast out as soon as possible. If you slow down and reel the bait in slowly, or work it all the way back, the line twist is less.

I got a pack of Gamakatsu's new skip gap hooks given to me a month or so ago. The angler who gave them to me says they work great with flukes and other soft jerks. He said the hook design helps keep the fluke in place better and leads to less plastic tearing. They definitely look interesting. Any thoughts?????

I don't think our heads are any type of upgrade from the Brovarney head I was using. I think ours will be just as good when it comes to catching river bronze. The reason we decided to make our own head, was strictly for cost reasons. Much cheaper to make our own rather than buy from Brovarney. I appreciate any and all comments, improvements, etc.

Norm: The weedguards will be much the same as the ones you got. I am surprised you thought yours were not supple? I thought they are the softest I had ever seen. But, if you wish to make them softer, just clip out some of the fibers. I think those were 12 fibers per guard.........but I am not sure. If you ever need more jigs, I can very easily make a 12 fiber guard into whatever smaller number you want...........maybe say 7 or 8 fibers. This is done very easily if I can do it before I epoxy the guard into place. I definitely value the opinion of my customers............be it positive or negative. It is nice to have anglers like yourself that ask questions and voice their opinions. I myself don't really like weedguards at all. Of course, in my flows weeds are non existent.

The only reason my face is on the homepage is because my buddy created the website and he already had that picture. My mom sure got a big kick out of it. Should be a good show. This particular show has gotten better every year.

Yes, I will have a few samples. But I will have at least one "Scout" pack that will feature six of my swim jigs. They will be a raffle prize. I will also have a float n fly pack as well as an Ouchigon pack to donate.

What I told you at Powerton is old news!!! We have discovered a better and more innovative design. It is top secret........if I told you, you would need to enroll in the witness protection program.

How do you know how we do it? Here at Warrior Jigs, we are tricky fellows.

Jim: It is quite the trick to incorporate that keeper into the mold. Might keep our way on the hush hush.

Here is our new swim jig head. You will notice the head has a wire trailer keeper and is loaded with a 4/0 hook. In addition, this jig can easily accept a light fiber weed guard. We are still messing around a little with different styles/sizes of hooks. But we are fairly proud of our first attempt. Now that we are pouring our own swim jig heads, I can offer the complete jigs at a cheaper price. If you still want Brovarney heads, that is ok, but it will cost you more because I have to pay for the head. And, of course, you can still get the minnow head swim jig as well in 3/16 and 1/4 oz models. No weedguard.

I would have to agree. If the water is that dirty, then I would think the thumpin' colorado bladed spinnerbait may be the way to go. Norm: how do they hit a spinnerbait in that cold of water? Is it a real soft hit, a smash, or a mushy feeling? Just wondering.

Gordon:" I tried to send you a PM, but it said that your inbox was full!

Gordon:" If you wish to see my "stock" colors first before you order, just let me know.

Gordon: If you wish to order, just send me a PM. Let me know what colors/sizes.

My father in law have been working hard to come up with some new items for our "Scout" swim jigs. Below is a picture of our new 3/16 oz. swim jig head. Very hard to find a 3/16 oz. swim jig head on the market today. I have found that the 3/16 oz. size is ideal for fishing our rivers. The only thing about this style of head is that it must be made without a weedguard. If you don't mind fishing the swimmer without a weedguard, then this head would be a great option. Here is what this new head looks like: Below are two new patterns. This first one is called "bullhead". this second one is called "Parrot" We are also going to start producing our own standard swim jig heads. Waiting on the mold. When we get it, I will post pics.