Adding a Smile Blade to your stickbait, By Bill & Bernadine Ayers
At
the many seminars we do promoting Mack's Lure, one of the tips that we
pass along creates quite a bit of buzz. It is the one where we put a
small 0.8 Smile Blade behind a stick bait. This little addition to their
favorite lure gives the illusion of a tail in swim mode. After the
seminar I encourage those who want to learn this method to meet with me
so I can demonstrate to them just how it is tied. This creates quite a
traffic jam at the Mack's Lure display. Anglers want to know how to tie
the Smile Blade tight to the stick bait so I will also share how with
you.
The items needed are; a 16" piece of 14# power pro
braid, a 0.8 Smile Blade, (we have found gold and silver sparkle series
work the best), and a 4mm ruby red bead (also available through
Mack's.).
Step 1: Remove the treble hook and
store the split ring for some other time. With one end of the #14 braid,
tie a palomar knot to the tail end of your stick bait. Tighten and trim
the tag end.
Step 2: Slide the Smile Blade on the
string with the sparkle facing the knot you just tied. Slide the 4mm
bead on behind the Smile Blade.
Step 3: Tie another
palomar knot on the treble hook --- with one exception. Start out as
usual with the tag end through the eye then back through. Now, with a
loop in one hand and a tag and main line in the other, tie an over hand
knot. Right here is the secret; instead of putting the loop back over
the treble to cause the knot to 'lock' in place; hold the loop and
separate it and randomly choose one side of the loop. Hold the treble
with one hand and pull on the side you have chosen. If the tag end gets
shorter, you've chosen the wrong side. Continue to hold the treble and
pull the other side of the loop. Keep pulling until the treble is tight
against the red bead. Hold the treble and pull the tag end adjusting
the loop as it gets smaller so it doesn't entangle the bead or Smile
Blade and settles nicely on the eye of the treble. Pull tight.
Step 4: Cut the tag
end off and holding the stick bait, pull on the Treble. You'll feel a
little more locking of the palomar knot and you'll get just enough slack
to let the Smile Blade spin free.
You can use the larger 1.1 Smile Blade on the larger
stick baits, or any of the ones with violent side to side action. We
put the Smile Blades on all our stick baits except the smaller flat fish
type. We always tell seminar participants that no one fishing lure
will catch all the fish all the time, but this technique will raise your
catch rate like it has ours.
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