I have depleted my stock of Deep Thunderstick JR,s, losing one of
these "treasures" is just to expensive.Has anyone found a good substitute? I primarily use them for fishing rivers.
Thanks

Mike.
I know exactly what you mean. I have been stingily using the Rainbow colored Jr's to catch King Salmon on the Pere marquette for years. I bought a nice stash when I knew that Storm was being gutted by Normark. Now, I'll go to extreme lengths to get a snag out when using them. And have went to 30 pound Rip Cord, so I have fewer break offs. Caught about 15 Kings this year on one Rainbow colored lure before she went down with Moby Dick in a log infested hole. Nothing made as far as I have seen will ever replace their action in the water. Nothing can imitate that tight little vibration of the Jr's, and I feel sadly nothing ever will again.

It is nice to know I am not the only one that freaks every time one of my Storms break off.Watching my fellow fishing partners lose their cool when their favorite lure becomes "one with the bottom" is kinda funny and sad at the same time.
I have searched throughout my area for any old stock, scoring any DT-JR,s is almost impossible.Buying off E-Bay is a last resort,but driving 220 miles to fish one day,I want to maximize my presentation as much as possible,$15.00 lures would be the cheapest part of the trip!
Renosky deep divers are somewhat comparable and further testing will have to wait until spring.I attempted to contact Gary Gray on his success with Renoskys and have not yet received a reply.I also asked Scott at Reef Runner Lures if the bill on the Deep Little Rippers could be narrowed slightly to more closely match DT-JR,s profile(expensive experiment!),no reply at this time.
Reading several posts on the variety of crankbaits that are producing for everyone I am at a loss why my best luck is with DT-JR,s.

MIKE ( MT )

Hi Mike
I fish lake erie out of buffalo, dunkirk, and barcelona and use Renowsky's exclusively with great success
at times I will go with a worm harness but for the most part its Renowskys

rebs

Mike.
On Erie many guys who used to be big time Deep Jr. users have become Reef Runner fans. Reef Runner makes a Deep Little Ripper that (in side by side tests)I think would likely force you to switch, even if you could still get Deep Jrs.

You need to check them out.

Best of luck.

Mike.
I'd have to agree with ETT about the Little Rippers being a close cousin (in swimming action) to the Jr's. But there is always subtle little diferences between a lures action, given the slight design, weight and hook type differences. We as humans, I feel won't ever see these differences from our (out of the water) perspective. I've seen Reef Runners in action on Erie, they work great. But have had minimal successs on them on Saginaw Bay. Why? It's not what I'm seeing, but what the fish are seeing. The Jr's have/had that charm.

ETT; I also use Deep Little Rippers,they are my go to lure on Lake Sakakaweja in North Dakota.( Long Live The SPOTTED FROGGY !!! )
The lake is filled by the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers and frome where I fish in the lake to the confluence of these two rivers is about 35 miles,once the walleyes/saugers enter the river system(current 2-3 mph), DT-JR's rule.
I have tried DT-JR's,DLRipr,Renoskys,and Rapalas;the DT-JR's outproduce by a large margin(limit to zero).
While using a modified 11' trolling poles I can observe the lure action very accurately,the DLRip pull the hardest with a more agressive vibration\ocillation,DT-JR's are less agressive and pull easier,Renoskys exhibit vary little rod tip movement and the lure action "telegraph" is hard to read.Trolling at 2-3 mph in depths ranging from 2 to 35 ft deep(using deep divers) I depend on my rod tip for the slightest deviation from "normal",so that makes using Renoskys difficult for me.I do believe they might replace my Storms when the time comes.Next season will be interesting;new boat,new lures,new electronics,can it get any better?

you may be on to something with the little rippers they have sweet action. you have to wonder how much you would lose with a narrower or shorter bill.

Have to disagree with Capt. Dan. Little Rippers were My "go to" crankbait on Saginaw Bay this past Summer. Outfished everything else 3to1! Even while the "spinner/harness" bite was going, I could count on Rippers for a fish or two. Little rippers get My vote! Good luck- Bob WC#253.

Hi! I am curious about your 11' rods for trolling... why? what are the advantages / disvantages? how do you net a fish?

dan
Out is Oregon land where the walleyes grow bigger and they are still going!

Hi Dan;
I use long rods for several reasons; fishing in areas that appear to hold feeding walleyes(mud lines-stained or turbid waters)your bait has to be presented in such a way to maximize walleyes' ability to locate-evaluate-strike,under these conditions;waves,boats,motors generate high noise\vibration levels and water clarity is poor at best,so I want to be as far away from my boat as possible and still retain control of my lure.Using a 11 ft pole on each side of my boat puts my outside lures 28 ft apart,my inside lures are 7 to 10 ft apart.Each lure is in its' individual path with minimal noise\interference to the others.I do use planner boards on ocassion,however, fishing shore oriented structure limits their use.The shore side lure might be in 2 to 8 ft and the outside lure could be 20 ft deeper,just depends on the terrain I have located fish on.Planner boards are very useful but stressful when the condition and bottom change before you know it,ie:there goes another DT-JR.
I am now using long rods for Lindy rigging,the added length lessens tangles and again covers more ground.Landing fish is exciting,when I am up front my partner in the rear has no trouble reaching the fish with the net,no running around in the boat.When I am alone it is a pain,long poles and big fish can be interesting,I have proven to myself and others that long poles work time after time.As an added feature small fish feel like the big ones,they are more fun!
MIKE(MT)

Chamook.
I never tried the Little Rippers on the Bay, only the Reef Runners. And in honesty, don't use the Jr's very often either. I'm a dye'd in the wool, Tot-man. I did give the RR a fair shake though. The thing I didn't like immediatley about them, was that they do not come to the surface when weeded-up. And with weeds becoming a BIG part of the trolling problems on the Bay, I need a lure that POPS-UP when weeded. The Reef Runners being designed mainly for Eries depths, I'm not surprised it stays down when weeded. It just does not fit my needs when running up to 10 lines.

Walleye Express , here's a suggestion that might help you on your salmon lure dilemma . Some guys I know on the east side of the state have been having good luck on Barrimundi Maulers in the rivers. They come in three sizes including a 3 1/4 inch , 5 1/2 inch & 6 3/4 inch model . Super heavyduty , 32 colors including Rainbow . Havn't tried them yet but will next year . Hard to find . Best bet is to order a catalog . 1-888-830-9211 .
The PM is a great river . Havn't fished it in quite a few years . Up around Walhalla is where we fished mostly . Nirvana , too . Good Luck

Thanks for the reply, that helped. I could really see where the longer poles would be helpful in that situation. I fish the Columbia which most times a boat width or more will drop you from 2' to 15'. I am fishing the longest rods I ever have with superlines and it seems to help. Thanks again for the info!

dan
out in Oregon land where the walleyes grow bigger and the local tackle store just started a sale buy three plugs and the fourth one is free!

I also use fireline and with long poles there is more shock absorbtion,causing fewer hook tearouts.Are the walleyes truly as big as they say?
Thanks Mike

http://www.walleyecentral.com/dan_tuinstra/

that sould answer the question.... yes not many but very big

dan

Dan...that looks like Irrigon-Patterson area in the background of the pictures.
Am I right?
If so..in October, are you fishing the same "SPOTS" (that I have discussed with you and have experience with) in say, early March?
e-mail me, if you'd just as soon not post that info. I have not talked with you in a LONG time (Chat). Thanks in advance.
>eyeboatsguy@hotmail.com<

Nice fish Dan, very impressive! I'm glad somebody had a good fall season......

shoot me an address T-mac, I have had several computer meltdowns that wiped my address book out and your address went with one of them. tuinstrad@attbi.com

dan

Thanks to all of you that responded to my post.Those of you that use Renoskys,have you noticed any differences in the rattle between lures and are they easy to tune or knock out of tune.DT-JR's can stand many hard hits before tuning was needed.Has anyone checked into retooling and re-releasing a clone of DT-JR's?
Mike

in the deep little rippers what size and colors seem to be working
rebs

in the reef runners and deep little rippers
what size and colors are you guys having success with

rebs

Hi Reb;
I fish Lake Sakakaweja from late May to early October and color preference changes with the water temperature,Spotted Frog worked the best until July then Perch,White Tiger, and Fire Tiger took over, by September Red Hot Tiger and Spotted Frog were the best producers.I have read several articles where the authors stated that color selection was not an important issue when pursuing walleyes,I respectfully disagree! Too many days were spent trolling with little or no success,upon trying ever color Reef Runner makes then all of a sudden the magic color brings out the "hoops and hollers".I was doing really good in a tournament last summer using Spotted Frogs and Firetiger,the first day we had 25lbs and only one SF lure(pike like them too!).The next day on the first pass a snag got that one,we never boated another fish.I have 15 Spotted Frogs now.I beleive Franks Great Outdoors have some exclusive colors that should work great,looking forward to using them next year.
Mike

Rebs,

For Erie some of my favorites are Blue Hawian, Eridecient, any of the gold metallic colors (there's quite a few with small differences), Purple Demon, Green Perch, Wonderbread (both the red and black head). I probably left out at least a few, since there are so many good ones.

Tim

Mike, Toolman and others thanx for the advice
I will be doing some serious shopping

rebs

Hi Rebs;
If you are planning to order Reef Runner lures they are dropping some colors,one is my favorite,Spotted Frog,I am going to order several dozen before Jan 1st,after then Scott will only produce discontinued/custom colors in orders of 120 or more(if I understood Rose).Better start your Santa letter soon,I am almost done!
Mike