Originally Posted by
colonelmeyer
Well, I had been thinking of constructing some rapala style balsa minnows and decided to research it online for ideas which led me to a DCFF article detailing Mr. Gillinwater's pattern. I was inspired by the minnows in the article and decided I would give it a shot. The water I had been fishing at that time (be happy to share that with you guys via PM, although I am sure Tim knows about it if he hasn't been there already) like most small streams was loaded with all kinds of sunfish so fire tiger it was. Only thing I had to change was the shape of the head, at the time I only had streamer hooks and no long shank popper hooks to accomodate his style. His have a more more elongated triangular head with a much sharper taper which makes them dive deeper faster, it was kind of a happy accident. All I did for the tail was tie some crystal flash back there flat, like a rudder. The actual head I fabricated with 5-minute epoxy and turned by hand until it took the shape I wanted. Took me like 2 hours total just to prepare the hook and sand the body to the shape I wanted, then the fun started! I wanted it to be plenty durable so put down two coats of white paint, then the orange, yellow, green, and the stripes. I used three or four layers of clear fingernail hard coat to protect the paint which worked like a charm. Oh it was so sweet, I worked my way down the stream but where I have permission and access the water kind of works against me, ya know working down current so things usually work out better on the way back up to the car. There is a riffle I always hit first and last, and last that day was awesome! Literally my last cast before it would be getting to dark to walk back up the hill. I put my little buddy there right in front of this nice rock that is usually submerged but, being late in the season the water was dropping and the top was poking out making for a perfect presentation. As soon as it hit the water she slammed it, HARD! She tried to bump me on the boulders but i led her towards the head of the pool and she took off into it. I played her down for a few minutes because I didn't want to risk losing her, and when I brought her to my net it was probably the most satisfying moment I have had alone on the water. She posed for a quick photo and held perfectly still as if she knew I was going to slip her back into her home. I'm getting all giddy just thinking about it. Suppose this is why my girlfriend calls all my fish photos fish porn.
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