Said it several times – Gayle Julian of Jewel Baits is a jig genius. And probably no one fishes a jig more than Gayle, which means he's one of my bassin' heroes...😁 Always great to talk to him since there's so much learnin' that happens, here's the latest starting with jig COLORS:

1. Why have a jig color that's not green pumpkin or black/blue?

> "We typically design [colors] around 3 different major scenarios. One is crawfish, so we have variations of [craw colors]. We live in an area – AR and MO – where we have numerous crawfish species in our rivers, lakes and streams. So I want to hav something that imitates a crawdad as closely as possible.

> "Second, fish don't always feed on crawfish. Sometimes they feed on shad, so we have some colors that imitate shad.

> "And the other one is strictly a visibility situation – either super clear or stained/muddy water where you need something that has enough contrast to make it more visible.

> "I think contrast has as much to do with it as the colors themselves. I think the reason black/blue works is because you have that contrast – something dark and something brighter or more visible, as opposed to all black or all gp. If you have orange or chartreuse or blue, if some other contrasting color is mixed in with that, you have something that will stand out.

> "That's the same reason I vary trailer [colors].... I hardly ever throw a gp trailer with gp jig. I always want contrast.

> "Years ago I read an article where fisheries biologists were talking about how they thought the eye worked in largemouth bass...they see things kind of like snapshots instead of all one continual video. I'm just trying to paraphrase.... I got to thinking about that. If they do in fact see in consistent regular spurts, there may be something to having contrast in a jig...maybe that would stand out more.....

> "If you look at a bluegill, they have quite the contrast [back, belly, tail]. Even a gizzard shad has a dark back and pearl belly That's quite a bit of contrast...just my thought process."

2. What's the best third jig color?

> "The reason we came out with 'bass whacker' is because I wanted something that would be a little bit crawfish-looking but also represented what a bluegill would look like.

> "I had that color 5 years before I released it. I'd never had a color where I'd caught so many keepers and large fish. Several times fishing behind people I'd catch fish behind them. So I kept it for nearly 5 years before I actually made it a color we released to everybody. We finally released it because I'd given a bunch [away] and thought someone was going to copy it.

> "We haven't had a color since we came out with PB&J that had that kind of potential."

3. When or where does PB&J play?

[If you didn't know, Gayle actually invented the PB&J color. The name came from Mark Fisher, who was a bait designer for Rapala but before that was with skirt-maker/supplier Skirts Plus. Gayle asked Mark to make that skirt color and said he wasn't sure what to name it. Mark said, "Well it looks like a peanut butter sandwich to me." That's where that color and name started.]

> "It's one of those colors you can fish in clear or stained water I think because of the purple that's in it. It's more visible. And because of the checkered pattern, the strands, again it's contrast. And you've got the black and the purple surface flake that's on top of the black. I think it's just more visible.

> "It probably works everywhere except for really stained water. It's kind of the black/blue of the brown crawfish world."

4. What's the best jig weight most people don't fish?

> "I'm gonna say probably 7/16. Most people will fish 3/8, 1/2...you would think that 1/16-oz doesn't make a difference but it does given your line size choices...fall speed is just right...

> "You can have good contact with the bottom in 15' or 55' just depending on your line choices.

> "If I just had one jig to throw it'd be a 7/16 Pro Spider Jig just because I can do anything I want to with that. If you want to scrub in 0-12' with 12-lb fluorocarbon...you can bang that thing on the bottom. You can swim it, it works good on ledges – you have plenty of feel without it being so heavy that the fish can detect and maybe spit it out.

> "It's an odd number. We were one of the first companies that did the odd-size stuff – 3/16, 5/16, 7/16, 9/16, 11/16."

5. What are you learning about sickle hooks after fishing 'em?

> "I have learned that the holding ability is better under most circumstances, and that the fish throw it less. It seems to stick 'em better. But the hookset needs to be slightly modified for a lot of the sickle hooks.

> "The sickle hook we use in our Pee Wee [Football] Jig has a little bit of a beak to it – the very tip of the hook is turned down just a couple degrees. So in setting the hook it's more of reeling up the slack and just leaning into them instead of trying to turn the boat over whenever you set the hook.

> "But in our new Pee Wee HD Jigs, because of how I wanted it to be used – a very small jig you could flip and pitch with a good strong hook that wasn't a heavy hook – I did not put that beak there. ...usually you're using lighter line...so you just need to reel up the slack and lean into 'em and you've got 'em.

> "[With the HDs]...if you want to try to turn the boat over [with a big hookset] you can do that too. ...we made [the HD Jigs] so you can fish them in nasty cover, and a lot of times [in that scenario] you want to get pretty aggressive with the hookset so you can get the fish out of the cover."

Do you know what The Leash is? Check it:

Can't remember how I stumbled across it – maybe it was one of the 100 things Randy Howell mentioned in a conversation 😁 – but anyhow I got to learnin' 'bout it from Ryan Kirkpatrick. Ryan is with Precision Sonar, which didn't invent The Leash but has the exclusive distribution rights for it.

In a nutshell The Leash does/should keep your outboard from possibly becoming disconnected and jumping up into the boat if you're running fast and hit something you didn't know was there. And you're probably in 1 of 2 camps on that deal: Never heard of such a thing, or definitely heard of it.

Here's 5 with Ryan, but first I gotta say – apologies to the relatives and friends of folks who have passed from this happening and are mentioned here. Hopefully other fishermen will learn from what happened. Bless you.

1. How did the idea for The Leash come about?

> "There was an accident at Kentucky Lake several years ago where a guy went underneath the old Eggner's Ferry Bridge when the water was high [so he apparently could not see obstructions like crossmembers that would have been visible]. He hit [something] and the motor flipped up into the boat, hit the co-angler and killed him.

> "The guy who invented it felt something had to be done about that [because] no matter how safe you are, no matter how well you know a lake....something can happen."

2. How does it work?

> "When you purchase a Leash you get 2 brackets to mount the leash to the jackplate or the motor [and] a main tether and a piggyback tether. ...the brackets mount to where the motor bolts come out of the jackplate or the transom...the main tether will attach to that bracket...and the piggyback tether has loops that go around that main tether.... Each tether is extremely strong in itself but we're actually doubling up those tethers so we're doubling the strength....

[Here's Ryan in a YT vid showing The Leash and how it's installed – way easier than explaining it in words! Asked him if you needed a lift for the motor and he said no, you're only removing 2 of the 4 bolts, but they recommend trimming the motor down onto a block of wood to take a little pressure off. Then you need to torque the bolts back on per manufacturer specs.]

3. Are there any cases you're aware of where something happened and The Leash helped?

> "Obviously if anything happens like this there's no way to tell 100% if the motor glanced off something or The Leash saved it. But I have talked to several people that have Leashes on their boats that are 100% convinced that The Leash [prevented] the motor from coming up into the boat.

> "[One guy said] 'Your product saved my life and I'm 100% convinced of it.' He was on Table Rock, hit standing timber at 60 mph, felt the motor come up, then felt it go back down and when it did [the force] threw him into the steering wheel. When he put it back on the trailer, he saw that the heat shrink [tubing] on the leash was stretched on both sides – so he knew 100% that The Leash came into play.

> "Another example...sheared the lower unit off [and the fishermen] believe the motor did not come into the boat because they had The Leash on there.

> "The biggest hurdle with The Leash has been getting people to understand that this is a real problem. This does happen. If you do a quick Google search – 'outboard motor flips into boat' – you will see countless accidents. A few weeks ago it happened in TX on the Sabine River.

> "Old Hickory...fishing tournament...[the angler] went through an area he knows like the back of his hand, hit a floating log, the motor flew up in the boat and landed on him in the driver's seat. [I think he's referring to this – luckily our bassin' brother survived.]

> "We go fishing to have fun. We don't think about danger. But [things can happen] even if you know the lake like the back of your hand."

In Feb this happened to NPFL and 'Yota Series angler Doug Chapin:

He posted:

> "It's one of those things you think will never happen to you. I was doing about 40 trimmed down in a creek channel and hit a cypress stump. The engine broke free of the boat in the middle of the jackplate, flew up and landed on the back deck. When it did, the steering cables tightened up and spun the engine toward me. I felt water splashing me in the face, looked to my right and saw my prop about a foot from my head, spinning.

> "I’m very fortunate to be here. If any number of circumstances were different, my lower unit might have gotten me. I’m not partnered with Precision Sonar but I can tell you I will have a Leash on my next boat."

4. Can you keep it on 100% of the time?

> "When properly installed, it's no hindrance on trimming up and down, it won't fall into the prop, it won't hinder you when you're putting the boat on the trailer, putting your transom saver on or anything like that."

5. What does it cost?

> "Retail is $299.95. When you're talking about something that can potentially save your life and it's not something you need to buy every year.... People pay about that much on a lifejacket...this has no expiration.

> "It's a one-time insurance policy. I tell everyone who buys one, 'I hope this was the biggest waste of money in your entire life. I hope you never have to use one, but it's good to know that it's there.'"

More

• He says no boat manufacturers are OEMing The Leash yet.

• Your average higher-hp bass boat outboard weighs 500+ lbs.

1. So we have a new bait type that's NOT just for forward-facing sonar (FFS)? 🤯
2. Kyoya Fujita got his first win over here! (He's been a stick in Japan!)
3. Rookies are and have been winning with FFS – how long will it last? 🤔
4. Are more rubber-skirted jigs 'n such coming? 👀
5. The first Bass Boat college NIL deal?