Just wanted to take a brief moment to give you guys a little idea how we do it here at paddle and fin podcast. We use the anchor dot f m-- recording platform super easy distributes our podcast too many many different platforms. There's creation tools to allowed you to record and edit podcast right from your phone or a computer check out anchor dot f m orDownload the free anchor app to get started. Welcome. Hello and welcome back to the paddle and fin podcast. I'm Brian and this is Ricketts tonight. You guys were bringing you another epic guest. That's right. Another epic guest we got Cody Jennings from jig Masters on the horn with us tonight. We're going to be talking jigs how he got into fishing and how his little company got off the ground and what his plans for the future and what not are so Cody welcome to the show. Yep. Thanks for having me guys. Absolutely man. So like all our guests we always start out on how you got into fishing and then we can kind of take it from there man. So why don't you give us that? Yeah, I didn't I didn't really have an option. Honestly. My dad was a huge tournament angler on Lake Erie needs to do. Yeah used to be a very competitive and it was a big big member of the sound modes tournament, sir. Our get when they had it. Okay, you had a lot of big guns on their you know bench and Hayward Steve Clapper. Everybody's heard of him. So pretty much when I grew up, you know as pretty much forced upon me about you know, it's not for I think was when I first started nice able to actually kind of fish by on my own there's far as you know, not having him watched made 24/7 on the back of the boat. So pretty much the passion just grew from there. You know, it's just constantly around it and it was one of the few things. Things I think that I could do forever and not get burned out on nice very cool, man. So I mean, how did you kind of get into the concept is starting to make your own Bates? So to speak I mean War didn't win did that all come up? Yeah. It's it's a funny story. So basically what really happened was I was in a full time College roughly 20 21 credit hours of engineering classes at the same. And during a had an internship going on that I was cranking out 50 and 60 hours there. So I basically kind of like kept busy kept busy kept busy. I got so used to literally never having free time. And then when I took my first salary position is the place I was at when I graduated college at the time we were struggling to get like 40 hours of work in is helping launch a new plant in the building wasn't in existence yet. Yet so we didn't really have anything to do for a little bit of time. So I literally went from being busy like a hundred hours a week to all of a sudden struggling to be busy for 40. So yeah, so pretty much, you know, I knew I wanted to do something and fishing long-term anyways, so I first started and I was going to do a YouTube channel and that's where the name of Jack Masters TV came from and that's good, you know, so that's kind of where the name originated from and then Kudos to all the the big YouTubers out. There is way more complicated than everybody weddings. Oh, yeah, but anyways, at the time I was using my favorite jig companies, you know Jigs and stuff. That's really a big staple of you know, what I'm passionate about fishing with and I started having a lot of quality issues with I'm not going to name any company names. I'm not here to take food out of everybody's mouth or anything, but I started having you know some quality issues, you know, the paint getting knocked off. Skirts falling down so funky Towers popping off. Yep. Yeah exactly you got so so anyways, so I tried to you know nicely and I didn't ask for any free stuff or anything. They had reached out to him and instead of like just ghosting me right not even responding or saying. Oh, hey, so thanks for the heads up. They actually sent me kind of a nasty gram backs and mind your own business pretty much that day. I was like, you know what I can do that. How do you know and that's what I really started? I'd never made a jig before, you know, really before starting the business. So that's pretty much how it started. And that's where the idea idea came and then you know worked with one of my friends and coming up with a logo and stuff like that. She's a super talented. And so while she was doing that it was my turn to figure out how the heck to make them, you know, and luckily, you know, luckily with the engineering background. If like that, like I got really used to manufacturing and figuring out how to you know, better processes, you know, increasing efficiency while still keeping quality and stuff and that's kind of where I'm at now, very close remarkable. I personally know your Jigs and I think they're they're remarkable the Live Wire hooks on their my favorite now, I actually want to I want some swim bait hooks just like that. You know, I think it's I think the remarkable just the way your jigs are set up and I'm like man I want lightwire so when big hooks because it it's just the hook up ratio is out of this world. I have never lost a fish on your jig. It's never have I ever every fish that I've hooked on your jigs. I've landed every single one of you know, and I and yesterday it was yesterday yesterday. I was on the river and I was using a big-name swimbait hook and I know they're completely different but the type of hook that you use is way better than this big name company and the big name company. I lost an 18-inch small mouth and then My debacle that GoPro video I posted it on Facebook and Instagram and be doing this now, we're trying to keep that fish on my boat, but that was the same swimbait hook that that popped off to you know, any means and I'm like man. I just I could not get a hook set on that. But I'm like if I had Cody's the hook the Cody uses, you know that Jim Master uses it would have never been an issue at fishing never would have come off. I mean, it's just his own real how sharp those are and you think a light wire or thinner hook would bend out, you know. I'm hooked into an absolute Solange at Callan like I mean, I lost it because I broke off around a lily pad, right but it was it was there. It was hooked. If I had I have had my for carbon now broken off I would have you know about Atlanta that fish but just this your products are great just personal testimony, you know, in other personal testimony will them to you're talking about guy sells a product. He uses his own damn jigs to you know, and so I had Left a spot Cody came behind me took one of his flipping Jake's flipped it in there pulled one out. I mean, I literally just left that spot. He's you know, he flips back in there. There's the fish pulls right out of their humble back. I'm like Man knows how to use his own product a few different methods on you know why I why I really try to make sure that I'm using my product a lot first and foremost you I want all the promotions or when I'm truly talking to people stuff like that. I wanted to come from an honest place, right? Sure. I can't like oh, hey these jigs are great and then they come look at me fishing and I'm never using them like, oh, well, maybe they're not that good. Right, right. I'm not saying don't use anything else but I try to spend a lot of time with my products because I know the more and more that I can test on them to and get feedback from others. Yeah, you know the better chances I can make those few design tweaks or whether it's just, you know, just a couple things to add just a little bit more quality to them, you know actually fight through the issues instead of just assuming hey, what I did is I ended my head is going to work great for everybody. You know, it's really kind of putting your money where your mouth is moving cool thing is you put on a clinic with your own jigs. Yes, I mean I was I was right there, you know, I put you on the boat. I invited you out put you on the boat fish with you and you put on a clinic. I mean you were like, hey man, don't skip that jig you like. Yeah, you can skip it, but you want this you want this jig and this is why it's got a certain angle on it, you know and you're able to really skip that you mentioned that skipping video. I made where I was skipping up football head because you should try this one, you know the back size angle and it's / when it hits the water just it just goes across I'm like cool and what did you do man? You went 300 that heavy cover and yank that bass out. I'm like son of a bitch. He just gave you just get put on a clinic right in front of me. I think I just fished at harder than heck and there it is. So yeah. Yeah, that was great. It's a much better way to promote. I think that just trying to help people are right. Now let alone see it firsthand and you know as far as how I've come up with a lot of designs and stuff like that something, you know, huge overhauls on a design. I like something that's you know, like flipping jigs are on the Bit right sure. What my flipping head is considerably different from anything else. You'll find out there but there are some of the losers to their a lot of like, oh, hey, these are real no-brainer small tweaks that's going to really enhance the performance of the this bait, you know, one of the big ones that would be an example. That's like my Buzz bait and there's a few things you get with it a I tuned the blade to already have that squeaking / squealing noise that everybody desires are all the Buzz bait kind of suitors desire. Yeah, so an angler doesn't have to drive, you know, 60 mile an hour down the road hanging about the window, but also I come out and um, you know coming off the head there. I add some basically some wings to a little updraft angle that allows that bait to plain considerably faster and you can fish it at slower speeds so you don't have to just burn the buzzbait to keep it up at the surface. So Very nice. Yeah, I haven't used your buzzbaits and haven't used your swim jigs. I just use your football. I place a huge order your football Jigs and acts like I placed another order because I went night fishing and rock Central and lost a launch that was ridiculous. I'll never go night fishing again. But at least in that spot right now, I was brand new never been to the lake and it was just like heavy riprap everywhere man, and I was thrown in there and you know, and it's just it was snack Central I was getting irritated but Yeah, I know. You're Jake's work great, man. And I know I know specifically I can go to one Lake that's within the Cincinnati area and I could just smash them with your dxi. Absolutely. No, if I go there and I use this certain color and a certain jig, it's over. Don't say it's just over it's over here Jim. I love you June bug color. I think you Junebug colors on point. I have the watermelon. I think it was a watermelon and something else. I should have brought him up. Then your natural crawl crawl and I got black and blue and he's wrong football. And then I have the what is the I don't know the name of it, but it's the freestanding head football head. So do the pivot heads pivothead see? Yeah, that's what you are. So I got those too and I really like those two so real. We got to get Brian some. Yeah, I so, you know Ricketts when I was out in Ohio had showed me your Jigs and you know what? I and you already touched on it like your heads are definitely a lot different or you know slightly different from the the average head that you see on the market and just just looking at them, you know, it's you know, when you're talking a football head, you know, usually You got that oval shaped head and you know seen some underwater videos where because that's so rounded your jig kind of Falls over and it doesn't stand up or as you got that kind of flat surface for it to stand directly up and I think that's huge. I mean, I fish a ton of jigs, you know, when we were at the Town Lake meet up, I mean that what all my fish came on and I'm a huge jig fisherman, and it was interesting. I'm talking to talking to Jason hear about it and just just seeing the product and you know his testimony to it. And you know, I think that's so huge for me being a jig fisherman for that jig to stand straight up like that. I mean that is that is key. You know, if that thing's Fallin down now you're having a bass trying to suck that off the bottom. And so yeah able to come down and grab it. Yeah. Go ahead. That's a huge thing that maybe not like are a lot of people don't necessarily understand is any time that jig Falls over on its side. You're asking for Bad News Bears. I mean that's you're going to hang out especially if you're round cover shirt or even if maybe you are flipping it into, you know, some gaps and stuff and a lily pad stuff like that. If that thing turns to its side you now have the full gap of the hook that has to avoid Cover for its cost when it's standing straight up. Then you only have the thickness of the hook which is considerably less and that's a big reason. I really like going with stand-up designs. Very good. No, I dig it man. So, you know you touched on paint chipping off. So are you doing something extra? Like does your paint eventually chip off is it you know, there's some things that you're not going to be able to get around right? So somebody launches a jig into a Bridge sure I have okay, that's a little tough, you know a little tough to design around but basically what I try to do and I'm always still continuously trying to improve okay, you know, I'm not necessarily going to you know, like well like I lure Parts online or chance that crap to get powder paint, you know, it's where a lot of people are trying to do is go and it's not that that's stuffs bad. But there's also considerably, you know, better quality more durable paint on out there sure. I'm just going to be Research more right and that's pretty much where it is, you know, and then you know, one of the big things to that was specially with the paint that I will not do and still over. Let's see. We're about over 12,000 jig sold now all stuff like that right as far as strictly jigs go just over 12,000 years old now and I have never shipped The Jig with paint and the line tie. You know, it's one of the biggest things that's important to me believe it or not because especially what I okay. So when I'm starting to use more and more durable paint, that means it's harder and harder and harder for the angler to ever have to try to get that paint out. Yeah, that's such a train in the but yeah, real soft pads. Not that bad knees don't love doing it. Right but it's not that bad. When you do have a real hard and durable paint. It's extremely impossible like you're going to have to get a drill out to get it so I try to Play definitely refuse to ship on that way. Yeah, I mean, I mean, you know, I'm just basically talking as far as like just jigging through rocks and stuff because you know, a lot of these bigger companies. It's like, you know, I've worked there jigs through the rocks and it's like 10 cast your head is now yep showing lead instead of black or something like that. So that's kind of what I was getting at just because that's that's crucial to me man. It's like Okay. Jigging and rocks is my my thing. That's my bread and butter. You know, if the if you got a rocky Shoreline with a with you know, it half ounce football jig my hand usually black and blue you're in trouble. Yeah, just like you can would cover man. I love ya covered. Oh, yeah, you just because you know, and it's almost like a game to me because I'll see something. I'll see you. It may be just a little bit of what but I will try my damnedest to take that jig and hit that. Would it make that noise like and then I just wanted to fall. I just I wanted to I don't want it to bounce. I wanted to hit and just fall down because you know the fish they hear that hear that smack they're all on alert as soon as they hit the water like boom there. Got it. You know, it's it and I'm stuttering outside. I'm actually pretty new to jig fishing. Like I haven't before like a month and a half ago. Honestly, honestly, like I when I place your order I think about like 10 gigs off here or maybe here well for something some crazy like Got so before that. I'd only started jig fishing. Maybe two weeks and Jeff Durbin My Buddy chapter from got me in a jig fishing. He's like, hey, man, you gotta try he's catching a lot of fish and he's teach me how to do it. I'm like cool man. So my number one place I go to whenever I want any kind of tackle, especially custom tackle because I don't really like buying some stuff at big-box stores. I know the jig that we talked about I've had issues with the you know, all kinds of issues. We've already talked about this, but so I got on Instagram and I found your page. Man, just really cool. You know, I mean as I scroll outside cool, I'll give him a shot, you know about 10 of them and I've been thrilled like I'm Gary Place another order like they're they're phenomenal. I absolutely love them. Yeah. I really appreciate that for sure. They're great man. I'm a jig Master fan boy. Yeah, that's one of the big things to with you know, where you brought up, you know, hey like a month and a half ago. I really hadn't even finished Jigs and the reason jigs are you know, really, you know, Something I use all the time and I think a lot of your higher level Anglers are really they focus on is one of the Texas Rig came out pretty much jigs like went off the market now, obviously there are still sold stuff like that but everybody and their brother went to Texas Reagan. Yeah, and that is still I mean, it's still a good technique. Don't get me wrong but as more and more and more people went to strictly throwing Texas Rags. That's when The Jig bite search Getting better and better and better right? They instead of seeing a hundred a day. Now. They might only see you know, five or six right and on a lot of these, you know, especially, you know, these Central and Southern Ohio lakes that are extremely pressured, you know, that's a you know, it's a big thing. You know now I'm a big believer that it's that you can always catch fish on a jig. It's just finding the right jig that might be biased on me right since I sell. Yeah well, but but I I am a big believer and I think it's just a really good natural, you know presentation, but I mean in a similar effect to write is like the spinnerbait versus the ChatterBait write that for about five years. You can never even get touched on a spinnerbait then the ChatterBait comes out and then look to three years down the road now that everybody's throwing chatter Bates. Hey, you can catch a lot of fish on spinnerbaits again. Yeah, so it's one of those things a lot of these come in cycle, but I think a lot of things that are there are Tables and I think Jake's is a huge one. That will never die. I'm I don't have any luck with the ChatterBait. I have I own several. I've only caught one fish on them. I just and I think maybe because but I can throw a spinner and I'll and Fish on that right and it maybe it's because of what you just said, they're so used to seeing them. But I also I like to throw throw the stuff in the river. I'm big river guy, right and you know in the river they don't necessarily see him that much. I just don't have a lot of luck with them. Oh, yes spinnerbaits. I have a lot of luckily spinner baits and then buzzbaits to yeah buzzbaits work, especially the river black buzzbait and rivers is a game over which I might get with you on that make some make some special buzzbaits after I know again makes them. Yeah, absolutely. So you sold how many I'm sorry. Go ahead. No, no, go ahead. Go ahead. So so you've sold how many again to what you said 12,000? Yeah. I just actually it was 3 days ago. I clipped my 12,000. Excelled and how long have you been selling them like how so yeah, so the the shop itself not the hole jig Masters concept has started a little bit before as far but that's a lot of like logo work and stuff like that. And you do it all the you know, the the fun legal work and stuff like that, but the shop itself has been open almost exactly two years. Now I was the year to has been considerably bigger than Year one and in all honesty. The last on this is kind of a good segment into it. Right but the last three months the cells have went up considerably since you know, I finally pulled the plug and said this is my only job now. Yeah, so explain that what do you mean your only job now? Yeah. So basically when I first started this I was doing this, you know, basically on any hours I could find available. I was working at a full-time as a full-time engineer at you know, Dana designing and Helping manufacturing stuff axles and it was a it was a struggle. You know now I still think it was the right way to go about it necessarily for me because I want to one of my big things too is to avoid if possible now, I get that all businesses like you do it but, you know try to avoid a big bank loan and you know all this crazy overhead. They're like, hey, I'm starting at Ground Zero. I'm actually starting, you know, a hundred can the whole sauce base. Basically using my engineering job to fund a lot of the startup cost for Jake Masters. And then what happened was pretty much all all this year up until I left an April up until then. I was having a lot of health issues and stuff which I've battled off of that, you know, since I was a little kid and I found I kind of got to the point where the doctors are bringing up a lot of scary. Formation and stuff like that. I said, you know what this is really what I want to do, you know, if the doctors are a stuff like that, you know, there's not really much point in. You know, we're working for the quote-unquote man, right? You know, I really want to push this and just see what happens, you know and soon as I did that a few things happened a I started being a much quote-unquote calmer person, you know that, you know, basically I have one desire and then stick Masters and kind of Nothing else, you know, you're able to brush off a lot easier and literally all my health concerns have cleared up. Yeah. I know it's okay. Yeah, which is awesome which is huge. You know, I've never have what I tell people is like I've never felt this good since I was a at least like eight years old, you know, so I just turned 26 couple days ago now so yeah, that's right Friday. It was last Friday, right? Yep frightening, but it's so awesome. Now, I'm an old man, you know 26 years old. So but but yeah, you know since I was able to do that, you know, a lot of things have been going in a good direction for me. So that's great. That's great. It's that's a tremendous success or because not everybody just puts it out there like that, especially when you go in from an engineering job and you're like, hey, I'm done and you go and you pump so pumping pumping all your resources and energy in there and you said last three months. Months of picked up for you. So is that how long you've been out of the engineering job doing this full-time? Yeah. Yeah, you are getting like sales Trends stuff like that. It's literally been a pretty big climb continuous clients since that date fewer than 11 ask you the reasons. No, go ahead. That's perfect. Yeah, so, you know few reasons a you know, once I kind of finally get a lot of the outside stress out and now, you know, pretty much Jake Masters is my my only stress No, which if anybody says oh it's a stress-free business. Well, it's laughable, you know, that's not true at all. But it's a it's a different kind of stress, you know, you can understand it right? There's no, you know chain of command or hey 10 people made all these decisions, which somehow means I'm working 30 hours this weekend, you know, I get to kind of control how much I put on myself right AB, but yeah, I think also I mean just with you know, understanding this just being calm or stuff like that you make a lot of more Sound better decisions, you know business decisions and whether that is looking into new products or how you're you know, reaching out to people, you know, marketing strategies all that stuff as or even just stuff in the you know, actually in the shop, you know, as far as okay. Well, how can I make sure quality is maintained but doing this process and half the time or shaving off whatever time I can you know, so I think that's a big part of it. Then I'll kind of ties and again, I mean it's also use actually able to focus on one thing right? I'm a big person that thinks people have limited brain space, you know, and you know having to technical jobs between jig Masters and then engineering, you know, that fills up pretty quick. Oh, yeah, so I think that's a big part of it to you and you know, and then just being healthier, you know, like like that's a big thing. You know, when you feel like crap, you're probably not going to be the friendliest person. I'm sure when Trent talk to people and stuff like that, you know, so I think that's been a big help as well. Absolutely Brian. What were you going to ask the and I cut you off earlier. Sorry, buddy. No. No, that's fine. I'll segue back to that. But so is it just strictly you making the jigs or do you have a couple guys at work for you or one guy or so as far as actually make knowledge except like that. That is just me. I do have you know close friend here stuff like that. He'll help me. I say make Louis but he'll help me, you know, whether it's you know coming up with a little bit new design for some of the fixturing or you know, help me and him a walk through a lot of the hey if we change this layout in the shop a little bit, you know, will it help or hurt efficiency stuff like that? But as far as actually making lures and most of the excuse that that's on me gotcha. Gotcha. Yeah, and then the other things I thought about was so are you doing any tungsten type? Wait? Or is it all lead? Okay. So right now I am all wet. Okay, and I'm still a little bit of ways away from tungsten. Okay, and and here's the here's what most people don't know about. Tungsten. Some do some don't write a lot of it's not a hundred percent. Tungsten. That's a big part of it, right? You know. Well most of a I think they even now tell you it's like hey, it's like 97% even that's kind of aggressive. But tungsten melts at and don't call me. I'm pretty sure I'm a career tungsten melts at like 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know the average Joe with a little you know, Lee production LED pot. Yeah not sounds like tungsten weights are you know, I wanna show price. I'm going to pour myself. Well, good luck. Yeah. Yeah. Goodbye for it is, you know quite a That's up. So that's why you don't see too many small businesses get into it. It's normally people starting with a real big investment. And that's why there is the big price difference. It's because a there's a limited amount of people that can make it sure but be it's the energy cost, right? It takes a lot more energy to heat 6,000 degrees that it does, you know, LED basically melted like 525 or something like that. Yeah. So it's a pretty considerable difference. Yeah. I had a an interesting conversation a couple weeks back with somebody and they were talking they're they're on a team or somehow associated with this company and they're doing some stuff with tungsten weights and I guess like a majority of that stuff is just pretty much imported from China and then you gotta know who you're getting it from because of like we were talking about they say it's tungsten, but it's actually just it's Got some tungsten mixed in with whatever they're mixing it with other and it was really goofy. And I didn't know the the whole Spheal behind it why you couldn't just you know, melt it and pour it yourself. So I mean that makes sense. I thought it had something to do with the temperature. So no that's that's good info there. I appreciate that. It's kind of true of a lot of big companies, right? They get it from China and remarket it for themselves for sure sit. Yes. So the next the other thing I had I was looking at all your digs online. Are you going to do a finesse chicken? All right. Yeah, so I'm if you want here we can kind of talk about all the products that are in the running right now. Yeah, let's do that. Yeah, heck. Yeah. Sure. So finesse jig. That's a big one. I've had a lot of requests and I know it's a you know, it's pretty much a staple to have is a Jig company sure, you know, so that's definitely in the works. We got my first saw. Off plastic, which I'm excited about. I was actually testing it out earlier today and I think it's a winner. So I'm pretty excited about it. The first ones it's a foreign crawl, but the the actual Claus himself have a little bit different action than what's on the on the market. Okay, and and the body itself is how it's segmented. It's really able to help, you know, Anglers dial in the the length of that jig. So if they're using his Trailer, they don't want to 4-inch bank. They want to have a three and a half inch or three and a quarter whatever it is, you know, they can really dial it in and it'll send it doesn't make the bait look funky or anything by any means so pretty excited about that other things that are we're going to be getting in the hair jigs it going to be doing that. I'm going to be working on a soft plastic swimbait, you know kind of similar to like the the chi Tech kind of style sure. Yeah, you know No, the real goal is Theirs to get you know, pretty similar action there, but I get a lot more durability out of the bait, right? That's the typically the big beef. But I mean, I'll give it to him they catch a lot of fish yet l so. Yeah, and they're going to be getting into a lot of terminal tackle stuff as well. Yep. And then one of the thing too is going to be doing my own spinnerbaits. I'm actually now not I wasn't necessarily pouring in but I was I've been doing my own stunts. It's for extremely long time. That is one thing I like my dad has religiously made since like, I don't know there's long as I can remember. I don't even know if he's never even purchased in store spinnerbait since I've been born so that part kind of came by nature and then the big benefit. You know, what I'm going to be doing is a helping design a you're basically designing a head that will not roll over on you. Okay and getting the perfect balance in The Wire form thick - to make sure that you still have durability but it also allows to have enough enough thump coming off the blades, you know, if you get a real real beefy wire. Okay. Well as that the going to get an actual pulse on the blades. Yeah and then but if you go to White, okay, you have an extreme amount of pulse and you know a waterbed move, but then as soon as the fish hitted gets mangled. you know, so that's a you know, that's going to be a these are all products that I'm currently working on and hoping to get launched somewhere either before right before Christmas will be a launch date for a lot of these and then about Midway next year their shovels to me when we cut out Brian and I were talking about what rods we like to use for Jake's what rod do you prefer for your Jake specifically, so I'll give the Of what you should use and then what I use a little so I learned from a pretty early age that I don't necessarily love playing with fish. You know, I want to hook them and I want to get them back. Yep. So I'm kind of that weird guy, you'll see even throwing, you know, medium-sized crankbaits and stuff on a flipping stick. Sometimes it's just what I have with me right, but but I'm typically going with A seven three two, seven six heavy action Rod if you're if you're if you're skipping and I think it's important to have a fast tip if you're not skipping in your truly just you know, flipping and pitching, you know more Target stuff versus trying to skip way up under it. I do like having just a moderate tip. Okay, something doesn't Flex too much. I think you get a little bit more sensitivity out of it and so many here that's that's what he said. Likes a heavy action Rod fast tip and I'm like, I like it more of like a medium heavy and I like Ultra sensitivity because when I throw it and I'm dragging it across the rocks or loner Timber, I want to feel everything and I just and for me to cast a heavy Rod, it's like throwing a broomstick. I don't even own a heavier. I hate every rods. My favorite rod is the nickname of my first flipping stick was broomstick and the next one was broomstick 2.0. So Yeah, it's pretty it's like you know, but here's the thing with your jigs though, right? Okay, so a normal jig under normal circumstances. Yeah. Okay. Have you action Rod fast step broomstick you're throwing a broomstick, but it's got a flimsy tip, but your damn digs man are so sharp in a light wire hook. You don't have to use a heavy action Rod. You can use a meeting heavy like I got with ultra sensitivity, you know, I posted on Instagram of that jig that you know, you saw the video I skipped it. That low-hanging branch and then you could see it, you know, you can see the tip as I was moving it and then you can see the TIC right right when that fish sucked it up is like don't and then the Hooksett, you know, that was a medium heavy, you know fast action all today. And those those are the toxic biohazard routes from American tackle. I use my God and they have soft tips, you know, but they have a good backbone. So I was able to I didn't know that it didn't go anywhere and it's because the way that you injured your jigs they work phenomenal you don't have to use broomsticks know and that's that's exactly right. You know when you're going to want to when you're truly want a heavy action Rod as when you're going to be throwing something like my HD Series, right? It's a look I go all the way up to a six hot big flip, you know, so there you're going to extremely struggle with a medium and even some of the medium of Heavies out there not saying you're going to lose every fifth but you know percentage is going to be low, but you know, To your point, when you go to the you know, the lightwire series, you know, you can honestly get away with a medium and you're not going to have any issues now, I would still prefer to film on a medium heavy at minimum. But once again, that's me personally, but now like when I'm fishing pivot heads and stuff like that. That's something that I religiously will throw a medium heavy with a fast tip on because the whole time you're just feeling stuff you're banging the nerve stubs, you know branches. You know, whatever's down there and it's tough to always tell like if you don't have a sensitive Rod, what's the difference between banging into a rock and a fish hitting lit? So I always try to make sure to have a really sensitive rod for that. Yeah. I'm also a guy when I fish I don't really carry a lot of rods. Like if I turn it if it's a big tournament, I'll carry seven and and all seven have different stuff on them and not only carry that amount of rods to keep me from changing bait so often right, but if it's like a local tournament like the Don't pin tournament. We had her down like it's only three rods. No, I don't, you know and my go to my absolute favorite 100 fewer say Hey, you can only have one rods going to be a medium. It's going to be a medium Rod fast action medium, right? That's just what I love G Jensen the fluke Masters. He said if I can only have one rob it would be a medium. There's a you know, I just love them but the medium Heaven is medium heavy is my second. I don't want any heavy rods. I just I just don't fool with them, but I make it, you know, maybe that's that's probably just a flaw in my angling mindset, you know, but it goes both ways, right? Yeah. I'm not a person on the front deck with a spinning around, you know, it's I mean then obviously there are definitely times that you can do a lot of damage with I absolutely have spinning all the time and you know, so I mean, you know, a lot of people, you know, they find their Niche into that don't down on it, right, you know suffer. You should see Brian shit-eating grin when you said heavy action fast tips. Just seen him over there. That's marketing is he just you know, he was talking about how he went fishing this weekend was burning them up, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we're not a clinic for Jay. Yeah. Well that, you know, I was thrown a half ounce finesse jig earlier today and I was thrown that on a medium heavy and but typically like I'm a big fan of a half ounce or 3/4 football jig and usually that's on my 7 foot heavy. See so I can get a quick hook set and have that backbone and like Cody said get him to the boat quick and get them in the boat quick. You know. Yeah, so talking to Aaron Steiger your fish. Yeah. No II like to get them in the boat and measure it up and then released as fast as I can and that way I can keep moving on to the next one. If I got to keep playing out a fish. I mean that's less time. I got my bait working in water is the way I look. The a so, you know when it comes to Tournament Fishing, so yeah and in even at Colin Lake, you know, I was throwing a half ounce black blue football jig and that heavy Rod was the only thing in my hand all day long. So my God, that's just me but everybody's different. Yeah, I guess out I mean everybody gets in their own stuff and you know, some people they feel like oh I can always specifically that, you know, watch a Video or something like that, right? Yeah, you know just get you know, oh, hey it up that guy makes a lot of money finishing. I must do this. Yeah, that's always the case. Right and a lot of time sounds great. You know, it's not necessarily, you know true. Like I said, I'd try to I want to if I can avoid needed that, you know, I want to be able to hoist to 500 up in the air and catch them with my hands versus that's in my net skills, you know, so yeah my net I use I'm thinking Replace it because it's just it folds, you know what I mean? And sometimes grabbed the wrong way and you're trying to deploy it. It's hard to snap in that it's hard to snap it in place and then as I'm not too not too thrilled with it, but yeah, man, maybe I'll have to switch to a heavy cilantro full within that you know, it's hog them up like you guys do. Yeah. Well, you know and to your point, you know, what the kayak stuff, you know, if I if I strictly which I'm going to be be getting into more, you know, you know, it industry's growing and it's you know, if I'm going to start making products. Geared more towards you know, you know kayak the kayak industry, you know, a lot of the light wire stuff. Yeah, you know, I'm I want to be able to make sure that I'm doing my due diligence on product testing and I think it's important for me to get my fat button to kayak as well, you know, and you know, if I fished in a kayak, you know 90% of times. I like that 7-6 heavy probably wouldn't be my answer. You know, I would it maybe I still would use a heavy but I'm going to probably dial it back down to seven. Or maybe even at a class. Hey speaking of rods man. That's that's just a touch point on here. I've spoke to another buddy of mine and we had a conversation about rods today and the kayak Anglers put kind of an unnatural bend on the rods due to sitting position that we're actually starting to snap them because I just list these bins in certain, you know certain places that that rods really not used to bending a probe to and last week. What's that? You're bending it closer to the real at least that's how I see it on my head, right? Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, we've I've snapped two rods in a week my other buddy just snap actually two rods and within a week period and we're starting it's starting, you know, it's happening. You know, we're thinking okay. We're doing this we're doing this. Okay, we get it we get where the the hook sets coming to powerful Hooksett because you're sitting down you really got a wrench up on it, right up and stiffen. So yeah, I mean it has nothing. Jigs, but you just when you said that it kind of kid in so we definitely need to get you in a kayak though, man. That's good exercise for you too. Oh, yeah for sure. No, I had a blast doing it and I think you know one of the things I even notice down at Lake Calhoun right is I think that I mean long as you're watching yourself, you know, I think that you can get a lot closer to a lot of that cover and actually still be able to have caftans catching them. It's that you're not making as much commotion. Ocean as oh. Hey, there's this 20-foot bright bass boat. That's sitting above my head proper. I'm going to hit you think you know, I think you can and it's just being from the you know, I was / downloading the seated position as I know a lot of people stand up and stuff like that. Yeah, but it kind of gives you some interesting angles that you don't always see standing up. Yeah sure or even being higher, you know, even though you're standing up in a kayak or standing up but you know a bass boat or whatever, you know, the bass boat sitting up higher then yeah. He's still kind of see these different angles that you might not have noticed. So I put you in the the Jackson Kayak mayfly and that was that's one of the most stable platforms. I'm a on the market. That was a really good as a really good kayak and I noticed one thing like I'm on the I'm on the blue sky set up natural position like a natural seating position and offers chair or something when I fish out of a standard sit down kayak, like cockpit style. My casting is all off like going from a blue sky and going back into that true. A tional kayak I don't have the same angles that I'm used to throwing and pitching and flipping and doing all that stuff. That's all completely different. So it's you really you're fishing style really does get a custom around what kayak that you use and when you change that particular kayak if throws you off and there is a little bit of an adjustment period yeah for sure man. So what did you think of the kayak? I mean did you think that's something that you love to do you think you know, it's okay or what was your thoughts on that? I was I never got a chance to ask you again. Yeah, I know. I had a really good experience, you know, he said, you know, I was able to catch a couple fish and stuff our there and you know, like I said, one of the biggest things I noticed was hey look at me because I mean Cowan, I mean, it seems that it's a pretty popular place, right? Yeah. It was extremely hot that day. If I recall it was all terribly somewhere, you know, you know, so, you know, super hot day bluebirds guys, you know stuff like that. That's typically not everybody's like favorite time to fish. Shhhh, you know, I think being in the kayak that I think it really helped me still catch, you know several that maybe I wouldn't have in a bass boat, you know, it's coming in if the long as you're you know, basically drifting near the cover instead of you know pale and make a bunch of commotion. I feel like you can just get a lot closer on those fish. And you know, I was shocked, you know, I thought I was like, yeah, there's probably a high chance. I'm going to fall in you think so not that I have a huge amount of data to compare it to but I thought it was definitely Your kayak for sure. Absolutely. They're they're good platforms, you know and you one thing you just said man, you're able to kind of drift into position. You're so stealthy in a kayak, right? And even like I guess I'm all right, I guess I'll say it. I don't have any problem with it when if I'm starting to move shallow. I shut my fish finder off a lot of Onyx are awesome. You know what I mean? Because they they can you can hear that pinging and I know they hear that too so I will get into position and if I know fish for their it electronics are off. I don't mess with any of that stuff. I don't even use my pedals. I will just kind of float in place and then I'll grab my paddle and gently put it in the water. We're gonna guide myself, you know, so it's there's a lot of tips and tricks that you learned if you get into it and you progress and you'll really learn how to consolidate your fishing gear and you will really really really learn how to use what you have on your kayak and use it effectively and efficiently, right? Yeah. You don't have a limited. Orange Rights Act. Yeah, exactly. Cool, man. I'm glad you had an interesting time. We I know you and I paddled back through the all through the lily pads and stuff. I mean just seeing every wise this is Scenic aspect of that was fun. You know. Yeah and my heart got broke back there before you showed up a gap smoke monster. I lost you know stupid move on me. I shouldn't ask you just reach down there and try to pop that Lily Pad free. But yeah, it's as learning mistake, but I got one when you were there, and then you put on the clinic and then I didn't you know, you were catch them all after that. So - - the what? Was it the spinner bait you threw in the Treetops, I think yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I did. He won pretty good up there. Whatever was that learning curve of being in a kayak versus a front of a boat, right? It's exactly right. That's not it. Awesome, man. Awesome. Brian I've been talking the whole time and my bad us know you're a good man. I'm just I'm just kind of sitting back taking this all in I dig it man. I really got nothing you cover he covered everything but it's just, you know, it's not every day. You meet somebody that makes their base and it's an industry, right? Yeah, but only that, you know, one of the most impressive compressive conversations I had with Cody was that he goes, you know, I want to do everything morally sure. Ghost in his outlook on having team in his outlook on having Pro staffers and ambassadors. It's completely different than what a lot of places. Do, you know and his out his outlook on it, but it really hit home because man, I just want to have a moral base company. I want people to be able to buy a product from me. I want that product to be standard and and I want to do it right. I don't want to take people's money and send them crabs, you know, so the fact that he even plugs eye holes in his in his Jigs and takes the time to do that. I've fought That so many times and I've been so frustrated. Just yeah, sometimes you don't have something to punch that crap out, you know, so we have to struggle with that man, you know, and I think you know me being a small business myself, you know, I mean, that's that's huge. You know, if you don't take pride in what you do and put out a good product. You're not really going to get anywhere fast, right? Yeah, you know words words words going to get out that you know. I just got these Jigs and I holes are always painted closed and skirts falling off, you know, basically everything he talked about that. He hated which drove him into making the the jig's himself. I mean, I think it's great. And yeah, I mean like we touched on with the tungsten, you know, so many companies are designing things and then having them made overseas in China and we all know how that turns out, you know being being able to say you can get a jig that's made here with pride in the United States. I'm all about it. You know, it's packaging's real convenient to like it's like these little Ziploc bags with this logo and stuff gone a minute. I mean, they're not like cheap plastic ziplock. I'm just the style of it, you know, the sealed the top I'll I just even the packaging school. You can sell a lot of thought in time when in just making the packages alone sure how I put that it's all the fake it till you make it. You know, right I think a lot of people, you know, they try to start business and stuff like that not all of them. Obviously. There's a lot of success story stuff like that out there, right sure, but a lot of people don't focus on the small details. Yeah, you know, and if I go into a store right because I'm just now really starting to push the wholesale Market as well. You're trying to get in a lot of shops that you know all around the u.s. Here and if I go into a store Or well, I'm not there to push them, you know so somehow, you know, whether it's a relationship with the shop owner. But even with outside of that, you know, my packaging has to stand out sure. It's not get picked off. The shelf right doesn't get picked up the Shelf will that person never gets to try it I think and so far especially with you know, the business stuff like that, you know, everybody that has given me reviews they've all been extremely positive. It's just the big battle is is getting more and more angry. To trial. Yeah, you know and you know, but like I said, that's the big push now, you know as hey, you know, my mind is thinking right when I go through the design process, you know, I'm able to put keep the quality side of it. You know, really? How do we get this in more and more Anglers hands, you know and you know where you touched on the the moral side of it, you know, and you know kind of what I told you, you know as if the only way I can make money is not being Unable to sleep at night because I screwed over a bunch of people. I'm not interested. You know now part of that might be, you know, like some of the health stuff stuff like that. I you know, I Babble and stuff it kind of gave me a different perspective and even making that jump to finally feeling extremely healthy again. You made me realize like wow, you know. Hey, look yeah money is important. You have to have it right? So it's not necessarily everything. You know, there's a there's a lot of other parts of this that, you know are more. Important to me than just the financial success. Yeah, so very cool there. I dig it. Well Cody working guys go to purchase your jigs follow you on social media all that good stuff. All right. Yeah, so the Facebook page which all the you know, the social media platforms. They have links to the website. Okay, but the Facebook page is jig Masters tackle. Okay, the ground is just just jig Masters really haven't gotten into Twitter or that And then the website itself is simply its w-w-w dot jig Masters.com pretty simple to remember their so yeah, it's pretty much ribbon and go it, you know, go to try some of these out and stuff like that and I talked to Jason little bit earlier before this. You know, what I want to do for everybody that's listening to the paddle and send podcast and there's a discount code for 20% off your order. It's just pmf 20 now. Nice also do a paddle and fin collaboration man of a paddle and fin jig or something we can talk about, you know, we can definitely look into that and that would be tight have her own Jake. I like the sounds of that and you know, I just want to say congratulations now on making 24,000 jigs because I'll be ordering 12,000 after we get off this phone call. So I know I ran. Rave about them during the podcast. I'm just a True Believer in the product. But I'm also just a True Believer in you because you really impressed me with our conversations, you know, I in this industry, it's easy to get pulled into other people's products. And they and we talked about this on a few podcasts. You kind of get pimp by these people, right? So, you know in my conversation with you was I was feeling you out to you know what I mean? Just like your real me I said, you know, this is a good dude. He's Honest, he's moral, you know, he's got his head straight honest about his product. I've used this product. If you guys check out my Instagram page @ J Rick's underscore angler. You'll see me holding up slosh bass, you know it with one of his gigs hanging out of its mouth, you know, and it's it's it's I use it and so I'm not just I'm not looking for a discount, you know, I paid full price for my genetics and and I didn't get anything in return. I just use them and they worked for me and I love them. So, you know for that. I appreciate that. You know I kind of want to tell people to is like if you're strictly getting in this business to get rich quick and should probably get out. Yeah, and you know, there's a lot of there's a lot of misconceptions to right so, you know where we kind of talked about I am, you know how I actually design and stuff like that. You know, you see a lot of these, you know, whether it's startup shops or into small businesses, whatever they're just making maybe their colors are a little tweaked and stuff, but they're you know, they're using a you know, a simple, you know, do it ball that you going to buy it that craft by let's tackle lower parts online wherever which it's still good A lot of those people can still make a you know, nice jig this over my quality on my side as I knew a lot of the designs, you know, they're not necessarily optimized, you know, that's where my nerd engineering side really comes in and why I make a lot of money, you know where I pretty much knew design my own stuff and then also the side to is, you know, You always hear all the markets saturated. You can't make it right. Well, you can't this a be good and be different. Yeah, you can do that. You can stand out and that's going to make your marketing a lot easier right when somebody comes to you and says what makes your why do you think your jigs are better or what makes them better? However, they were there question. You know, I have a just a smorgasbord of stuff to throw Adam sure versus like the oh weather hand. Okay. Oh, there's those that version had made. Okay. Well, what's up reaching there? Oh, I do it better prove. It gets tough. Right it gets really hard to mark it with a lot of my marketing kind of comes natural, you know, and that's that's a big thing too. Like you mentioned on you know, whether it's the Pro Staff team stuff like that or whatever. Yeah, it's something that's extremely important to me is like there's a lot of people that get on prostaff now and not saying everybody's bad. Everybody's good. It's great. Right, but there's a lot of People that get on it as a status thing and it's necessarily come from an honest place, right? Like oh, hey, you got to use your swim baits. Will it find out this guy doesn't even throw some bait, you know, I always tell people if you don't want to you know, if you don't actually enjoy throwing my Jigs and stuff a first tell me, you know, I give me some feedback as to why and if it's you know, hey, I'm just don't like fishing jigs. Okay, that's fine. Right? I'm gonna some product issues that you're just keeping the Self and you want to hurt my feelings. No, please, you know tell me that's the only way I can get better. Right? Right and I'll give a great example that real quick here. But but also, you know, if you don't want to if you don't want to or you don't use my jigsaw, please don't try to Market them right now is it's just not coming coming out as place. You know, we're running back. Hang on one second. I want to show you guys that I'm just not talking smack about this because I can go downstairs and grab one of my rods right now and it will have his jig on it. Alright, so it's like It's I use man. They're good. They're real good. you gave your snaggers but yeah we do get it you talk I'm going to go get it so anyways like I said I'll give you a good example of somebody reaching out to me with a product that you sure you know so one who was as with one of the in it led to a huge change here which I've actually pretty proud of guy kind of any you know he came level-headed you know it was great he says hey look I don't know if you've seen this before and I never experienced it before but I had a skirt come off You know, that's what I am I big no-nos right? Like I don't you know that right. He said now I will admit I won't lie to you is due to a bophit AK a dogfish. Sure. Everybody knows those things are pretty gnarly creatures, you know, they're pretty aggressive when they hit what still it's like. Okay. Well I can do a couple things one. I can let my ego take over and just tell a guy to pound sand sure, but that's probably not a good idea. Right right bad for business. Or I can just not listen to or not, you know respond. I don't like doing that either right? He took the time to reach out to me and give some details sure. But anyways, so I said hey look give me a couple days to figure out how I can improve now reach back out to you. So anyway, so now I have a special. Basically. I do like a wire tie just below but basically just between it ends up going just below the skirt band. Okay, which use a no righto? All right. I know right version of it. So it doesn't just crack on you yo and then in between the skirt keeper flange. I actually come in with wire and tie it off there. So and the reason I didn't go a strictly strict like hand tie is so if an anguish still wants to be able to take it off to change for some reason they can go in there and basically snip that wire tie pretty easily remove it then pull the skirt off, but if they Don't want to discourage never coming off. It's not going to slip it's not going to pull through none of that, you know, so, you know, so once again though, if that guy never reached out to me, you know, how many more months would I have potentially had that issue? Yeah, you know, I really do appreciate all the feedback I can get well that I think that says a lot, you know about you and what you're talking about. You know, it's like you you didn't just blow them off and yeah, you know, it's just because some vicious fish. The Jig you know you came up with a solution so regardless of the fish hitting that jig it's going to hold up and I think that's cool man. That's that says a lot for sure. That's right see that little bandito bug action on there. Yeah. That's what I was using. You see the flat. It's got the flat. Damn it Your Hooks are so sharp man already. Stuck me. Yeah, it is going to have lap back anymore. I mean these things are phenomenal. I mean, it's great. And then as you said it's it's and it's it's probably what a 60 degree angle. It is basically it works out to be fifty Seven ish. Okay. Okay. Yeah, so and as I stated it's on a seven foot three medium heavy fast action Rod my American tackle biohazard Rod, I love So I just not talking smack. I just use your stuff. It's all my rod right there. So I know if I throw that in into the river, I know I'm going to smash something so like yeah, man. Oh man. Hopefully we can have you on again in the future. You really some new product man. We get you on here and you talk about it a little bit more and you know, I know I'm excited. I was excited to have you on we finally made it happen because it seemed like we had Had hurdle after hurdle after hurdle trying to get down. Yeah, we had a company should this. All right, you know, I'm happy to you know be a part of it and definitely look forward to talking with you guys a lot more. Absolutely man. Yeah anytime you're that new stuff coming up. Feel free to reach out man. We'd love to let her listeners know about it. For sure. Yeah appreciate that guys on our Facebook page drop a comment and let us know if we should do a jig Master paddling Finkel a Raishin to come out with their own jigs booming. That would be super cool. Heck. Yeah. So with that being said guys definitely go over to the social media. It's at paddle the letter N in fin on Instagram and Facebook. Also check out the website paddle and fin.com question comment anything like that. Feel free to reach out to on email as well. That's paddle and fin at gmail.com shout-out to rock Town Adventure. Jurors level and canoe and kayak hammered lures you guys know the drill recycled Plastics program mail your used Plastics to the address in the show. Notes are man Eric Richard out at hammered lures melt shows down makes new baits. Shout out to Coyote sunglasses. Fish mob lures Cody Southern Lake company and Michigan Ohio kayak, so definitely guys take advantage. That jig Masters promo code. Pmf 20 get after it until next time guys tight lines smooth paddling when in doubt get the jig out. Yeah, buddy awesome.
In this episode Ricketts & Brian sit down and chat with Cody from Jigmasters Jigs. Cody tells us how he got started in fishing and making his own jigs. We talk what type of rods we use when jig fishing, how we use them, and where we use them. Cody also gives us a sneak peek at new things he is working on as well. Cody gives a promo code to purchase his jigs as well for Paddle N Fin Listners. Jig Masters- www.jigmasters.com   Podcast & Website- www.paddlenfin.com   Email- paddlenfin@gmail.com   Social Media- @paddlenfin   Brian Social Media- @slydogfishing   Jay Social Media- @jay.randallkayakangler   Ricketts Social Media- @jricks_angler Sticks Social Media- @bradhixfishing Crankbait Johnny Social Media- @j.gravesfishing Rocktown paddlesports - rocktownadventures.com   Loveland Canoe & Kayak- https://www.lovelandcanoe.com Hammered Lures- https://hammered-lures.myshopify.com   Coyote Sunglasses- https://coyotesunglasses.com Fish Mob Lures-https://www.facebook.com/officialfishmoblures/ Southern Lake Co.- https://southernlakecompany.com MI OH Kayak Anglers-www.facebook.com/groups/MIOHKayakAnglers/about/  Recycled Plastics Recycling Program -  Mail to:  316 Pinewood Dr. Camp Hill,PA 17011  Rocktown Demo Days 8/17 - Store Tues. Evenings at Rock Cut 8/6 Rocktown Adventures Rockford 313 N. Madison Street Rockford, IL 61107 815-636-9066  ---   This episode is sponsored by  · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. 