Roadrunners

[TubeDude]

[cool]Since a few folks have introduced baitbugs and Roadrunners to the fishies at Jordanelle, I have gotten a lot of inquiries on either how to make them or where to buy them.

The "rest of the story" is that the "Roadrunner" name is patented and nobody else but the Blakemore company can sell them. But, you can buy jig molds and pour your own...or you can buy Roadrunners wherever they are sold and do some custom coloring and decorating. I have not been able to find plain or unpainted Roadrunner heads, but finished jigs are sold through many outlets.

for an interesting bit of background and pics of commercially available models, visit the Blakemore website at [url "http://www.blakemore-lure.com/"]http://www.blakemore-lure.com/[/url]

I checked Cabelas, and they are about the only place I have been able to find the plain Roadrunner heads...from 1/16 oz. to 1/4 oz. They sell for $12.99 per 25. Here's the pic from Cabelas.



BassPro sells the decorated jigs, at 99 cents each...also from 1/16 oz. to 1/4 oz. Here is the pic of the colors they offer.



The good news is that these colors all work. The bad news is that there are a lot more colors that would work better...at times...but unless you make them yourself you ain't gonna get the enjoys.

One of the "sleeper" ways to fish these bad boys...besides casting and vertical presentations near the bottom...is to fish them below a bobber in choppy water. If there is a "fishing riffle" on the water, just hang one of these down deep enough to call in the fish, add a bit of attractant or bait, and lob it out there. The wave action keeps the spinner blade fluttering and the flash and vibration brings fish in for quite a ways. This can be very effective for catfish in shallow murky water. Got any of that in Utah?
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[cat_man]

Thanks, TD! I've never caught a catfish off a lure before, but I would love to try! All too often my catfishing trips are cut short by too much wind on the lake. This method might just work.
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[EmuScud]

I was at Lindon BH a couple of weeks ago and landed a 10" mudcat off a red head/chartruese body roadrunner. I thought I had a nice white bass until the cat jumped once.

Too crazy!

ES
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[FlyFishingMoose]

Hey TD, I think I've seen that critter before! I may be worng, but I thought I saw that thing at sportsmans the Friday before the Perch Party @ Jordanelle. On the same shelf as the curly tails very bottom. I commented to UncleRay about it because it was an unusual thing to see. I've never used one will have to give it a try....just another thing you've shown me that I need to try.
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Down here in Arizona, and wherever else you find cats in water clear enough to allow them to feed by sight, cats are great lure munchers. TubeBabe and I have caught hundreds of BIG cats down here, using baitbugs and even on bass plugs and plastics.

I used to absolutely SPANK the channels in Willard on the yellow twisters with red heads I used to fish for walleyes in the mud lines during a windstorm. I also won a bet in willard by catching a limit of channels on flies, in less than an hour. Limit in those days was 16.

Those bait bugs I make are great cat killers. In Patagonia Lake, the subject of one of my other recent threads, the big mamas move in around the reeds and cattails in the spring to spawn. The big daddies stay to guard the nests and to eat. I made big "dipsticks"...long rods for vertically dropping the jigs into the holes in the reeds...and fished heavy bass jig hook baitbugs with a whole bluegill fillet on them. I landed many cats over 10 pounds, and had others literally tow me right back into the reeds before straightening the hooks or ripping off.

By the way...use black ones at night or in really muddy water. Right behind that are the red heads and chartreuse bodies. In clear water conditions, go to whites and silvers...and/or golds or yellows.

If you use a Roadrunner type jig, with the vibrating and flashing spinner, be prepared for some bodacious strikes. They will haul you off your feet...or if you are fishing a bobber, it will shoot a steam of water straight up as the fish hauls it under.

Hang 10 (pounds).
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[FlyFishingMoose]

A post of yours is always educational and amusing, thanks for the info and laughs...I need to score some of those fine rigs some day...

while I've your ear TD. nice pictures on the patagonia lake really enjoyed them.
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[fisherman]

I have been using them under a bobber for the channels with very good results on my second pole. I just let them drift into the rocks or let them come to rest on the bottom from drifting into the shallows with alittle bait. They seem to be attracted to the vibrations as it moves up and down slowly alot more than just a hook with bait under a bobber. It really gets your adrenaline flowing getting them on light line. I need to get more in bigger sizes now for other situations. Roadrunners are one of my favorite jigs now, and jigs are my favorite all around lure for all kinds of fish.
The other night I had an 8 pound male break off on 8 pound test at 0100 like it was sewing thread. It swam up the shore line and tangled up my buddys line with the floating bobber and he reeled it in, "then he said look it has someones jig in it". So it got caught 1 1/2 times and I got my jig and bobber back and its still in action. It was chartruse, now its some dried blood color and ready for retirement. My first channel cats on a jig. Thanks Tube Dude!
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[TubeDude]

[cool]I've had a couple of questions on the difference in the styles of Roadrunner heads...with or without a barb. I've also been asked if they come in larger sizes. I am attaching a couple of pics at the bottom to show the differences in styles between the ones you use for plastics (with a barb) and the ones you use to tie jigs and baitbugs.

One of the other things you will notice is the differences in hook sizes and styles...on the same weight heads. That is one of the big advantages of making your own, is to be able to make something with lighter heads and larger hooks...or vice versa...for specialized kinds of fishing.

I can pour Roadrunners up to 3/8 oz...with 5/0 hooks. I can make them as small as 1/32 oz....with size 8 hooks. I have two jig molds...one for each style...with and without a barbed shaft. Each mold has several cavities for the graduated sizes.
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[loanfish]

Well that's it![mad] All this talk about those baitbugs and roadrunners bein all that great makes me want some![sly] TD where is it that you get that cool lookin paint to repaint those jig heads. Is that a weedless jighead I saw? and another question what is the difference between baitbugs and roadrunners?
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[hustler898]

I was at sportsmans the other day and they have the complete road runner line. They come in packs of 2 for 1.99, You got to ask for them and hopefully the person will know what your talking about. I asked 2 times before I brought one in to show them. The 3rd time was a new girl who took the time to locate them for me. Everyone else looked at me like I was nuts! One guy even asked me if I meant the bird the coyote is always chasing before he told me he never heard of them. He was trying to jest but I'm not there to laugh.
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Hey, loanfish. Sorry to get ya all hot and bothered. Well, maybe not. I'm kinda istic. Lemme see if I can answer your questions.

First of all, "baitbug" is a generic term I invented about 25 years ago. I was tinkering around and cut the marabou tails off some of the feather jigs I was making at that time, in order to be able to fish a piece of bait on the jig without the feathers getting all mussed up. Worked great, so I started tying a line of jigs with the tails already shortened. Called 'em bait bugs. WOW.

In the olden days, most of my bugs were just short versions of regular jigs...colored chenille body and hair or feathers for the short tail. Over the years I have experimented with a lot of synthetic materials, so that today most of my bugs flash, sparkle, glitter and even glow in the dark.



This pic includes regular baitbugs and the Roadrunner models...with the spinners. I originally saw Roadrunners touted on a Jimmy Houston show many years ago, and bought some to try. After a little field testing, I was "hooked". I looked everywhere for a jig mold and finally found one. Since then, I probably use the Roadrunner models about two to one over the regular style. They are both "baitbugs". The Roadrunner is just a little more flashy...and more difficult to make..but worth it.

On the previous pics, there was one of the heads that had a wire weed guard. They are not something you can find in a mold. I tinker with many molds to be able to add wire weed guards...or to attach wire coming out the top of the head to make inline spinners and small "bait Spinners". See the attached pic. Once I got hooked on using spinner blades, I went crazy. I have played around with adding spinners to all kinds of lures. It only takes a bit of practice to learn how to work with the wire, clevices, blades, swivels and split rings. But, if you teach yourself, like I did, it do take awhile...and you get a lot of holes in your fingers learning with that sharp wire.

If you want some more detailed info (Yah, I know, I'm already writing a lot), I have several pages each on 1. Pouring Jigs, 2. Making Roadrunners 3. Pianting 4. Glitter painting and 5. Adding Eyes, I also have the two pieces on making and fishing bait bugs. Shoot me an email or PM if you wanna get serious. Again, I don't make these for sale, but will gladly help anyone who wants to learn how to make them.

Just a final word on paints. You can find some wild colors, including sparkles, in the nail polish department. But, it is pricey and doesn't hold up to banging on bottom structure or fishies teeth. Same with the enamel colors in the craft shops. I use a mixture of epoxy paints and vinyl jig paints...always with a top coat of clear epoxy paint. I also use some of the hobby shop enamels, for special colors not standard in jig paints, and then give them the same protective coating of epoxy. Don't use regular epoxy glue. It turns dark and does not allow the colors to work well.

You can find jig paints in most of the fishing supply outlets on line. I get most of mine from Cabelas, Janns Netcraft and Barlows. I can provide links if you cannot find the last two. They got lots of stuff I use.

Hope this helps. Now go head on til your head hurts.

BEEP BEEP (Roadrunner)
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[southernman]

it seems like you prefer colorado gold/copper blades . . Is this what's worked best for you ??? what about silver? thanks

sm
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[BEARCLAW]

Hi TD,

These little babies look great. I haven't ever used them. Are they primarily for warmer water fish or do you think just about any fish woulfd find them attractive? By the way, awesome post!
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Hey Southernguy, good questions. I have several compartmented plastic boxes sorting out my different spinner blades. Ask anyone who regularly uses spinners and you will get a lot of different opinions on what is best for what. I use everything from willowleafs, to Indianas, Colorados, fluted, rippled, diamond patterns, painted, clear plastic, etc.

This could literally be the subject for a book. But, in my usual humble style, I will try to condense my opinions and observations. First, you will note that most of the blades in my examples are hammered finish...both brass and nickle. I think they deflect a more broken light pattern. Personal preferenc, but I use plain too.

The Colorado Blades activate more on a slow retrieve...or for vertical jigging...which I do a lot. They also put out more vibration in low light or colored water.

Indiana blades are slightly elongated versions of the Colorado. It takes a bit more pull to get them spinning as fast. These are sometimes better for trolling, fast retrieves or fishing in fast current.

The longest thinnest blades are the willowleaf. They are used a lot on big bass spinnerbaits, to simulate fluttering baitfish, more than to spin and create vibrations. It takes a pretty fast retrieve to get them humming. Lots of bass guys have interchangeable clevices on their spinner baits so that they can interchange sizes, shapes and colors of blades to better fish changing conditions with the same head, skirt and trailer.

Colors? I use brass blades on blacks, some chartreuse, crawdad colors (green, brown, pumpkin seed), etc. I do use nickle on blacks with silver integrated, and on many chartreuse too. I choose which one to tie on, based on water clarity, temperature and light conditions. Brass seems to be more visible in stained water or low light conditions.

I use the nickle blades on light and bright colors...especially for fishing in clear water and warmer temps, when the fish are more active and will chase a lure better.

I have not pictured any baits with painted blades, but for walleye and bass, the use of chartreuse, hot red, black or dark red can sometimes work well. I also make a lot of trout spinners, just like the Panther Martins, with the inline spinner blades. You can either buy or custom paint your own painted blades, and those with colored spots are sometimes deadly. I also make most of my trout spinners with a single hook rather than a treble. Better holding power, especially on large fish, and the damage to the fish is less if you practice C&R. I don't notice much difference in the strike to hookup ratios.

My lure boxes for warmer months include few spinners with gold blades. Most of what I use is white, silver or rainbow metallic...with silver blades. As the water cools in the fall, I integrate more crawdad colors and black with the chartreuse eye and gold tail.

As I said in my disclaimer, these are my own personal choices, and I know a lot of other spinner fans have their own. There is nothing absolute. It sometimes takes a bit of experimentation to find out what works best...and then be prepared to change as light and temperature conditions change throughout the day. That's why they call it angling and not harvesting.
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[cat_man]

Hey TD, its such a shame. You have such a wealth of information, yet haven't been able to get out much to practice any of it lately, and that you live all the way down south so you can't join in on everyone's fishing trips up here. Thanks for all the great info.!
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Thanks, BEARCLAW. I just did another one of my War & Peace dissertations on blades. Let's see if I can do a "brief" rundown on species.

The short answer is that I have caught just about every species of fish in the United States on jigs and especially on Roadrunners. That includes both fresh and saltwater. It most certainly includes all the Utah fishies. They are great for ice fishing...trout, perch, white bass, crappies, bluegill, walleyes, LMB, SMB, northern pike...and even carp and channel cats. No tiger muskies on one yet, that I know of.

In open water, they drive trout nuts...either cast & retrieve, bottom bounce trolling or vertical jigging. Same goes for perch, smallies and largies, white bass and walleyes. Big channel cats love a baitbug with some fish meat or crawler.

I have so much confidence in these little trinkets that they are my first lure to try on almost any new water. Through a combination of studying the available info, cultivating the "locals" for info, looking online, studying any maps I can find and just plain deductive reasoning...I figure out what I am going to fish for and where they are most likely to be. Next, using my sonar and going through a "prospecting" routine of different sizes and colors...and retrieves...I usually am able to get some "inquiries". Depending on the number of bites and the intensity, I can determine whether the fish are in an active, neutral or negative mode, and fine tune my approach accordingly.

But, to shorten what could be a long post, I am so confident in Roadrunners, for all species, that I seldom use anything else unless there are really some special conditions.

Where we fish the most...Saguaro Lake, near Phoenix...we have had days in which we have taken seven or more species on the same Roadrunner, fished the same way. And, the ones we use the most are about 1/16 oz. on size 6 hooks, with small nickle blades. The fish run from six inch sunfish to ten pound channel cats...and twenty pound carp...all on light gear and 4# line.

On Deer Creek, I have taken three species of trout, whitefish, carp, perch, sunfish, walleye, smallies and largies...both in open water and through the ice. Oh yeah, I have hung a few aggressive crawdads too. I don't think I ever caught all of them in one day, but once you find where the fish are, you can usually do some damage.

I admit that I catch most of my fish on Roadrunners because that is what I fish most. DUH.
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[tightline]

Have you done much with Lake Trout on these?
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Hey, cat_man, as the aspiring governor of Califonia says..."AH'LL BE BACH". Plans are to return next spring. Save some whiskerfish for me.
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[cat_man]

We'll be here waiting for you! I've tied a lot of flies for flyfishing, but nothing recently. I might just have to try my hand at tying a few baitbugs as well. I think with my budget I'll just have to stick with pre-painted jig heads and tie my own stuff onto them.
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Ain't a whole lot of macks in Arizona, and I had not developed my current arsenal prior to my moving out of Utah. But, my gut instincts, and past experience with the species leads me to think that the right sizes and colors could be deadly.

I don't think you could count on getting much more than pups on the sizes I regularly use, but in the larger sizes, sweetened with some sucker, cisco, chub or perch meat, Roadrunners should work gangbusters. Macks are predatory and opportunistic. I have seen some come out of Lake Tahoe with whole suckers and even rainbow trout that were pretty large in relation to the size of the macks. And, in the olden days at the Gorge, when there were lots of chubs, some of the larger macks had guts distended from dining on those forage fish. I guess now they are targeting kokanees.

The largest Roadrunner head I can cast with either of my molds is 3/8 oz. But Janns Netcraft has one in their catalog that can cast 3/4 oz., 1 oz and 1.5 oz. heads. I'm thinking that for effective mackin' you would need something in those sizes...unless you found some shallower at Fish Lake or maybe on a good day at Bear Lake.

The other thing I can do, if someone wants to try them, is to rig a tube jig hook with a spinner blade...like a "TubeRunner". Whaddayathink? I have some molds for the elongated tube jig heads that I can rig with a wire.
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