Just an update here - Now that I have acquired a fair amount of fly-tying materials, I use some Flex formula UV resin by Solarez to coat the nose/eyes of the Dark Sleeper. You can cure it much faster and it's impact resistant with a fair amount of flexibility which makes it last longer!
You'll have to try out that stuff you use on it - if it's more liquidy, there is also a small hole where the hook comes through that you can inject into the body
Genius idea popping that rattle behind that keel weight!👌 Great hacks to ensure the longevity of the bait. I did find that the fish prefer the blind fish because it mimics an injured fish and trigger those apex predators!😂🤣
That rattle hack and scent hack are definitely my favorites. I normally take the eyes of my dark sleeper and if they aren’t attached well I’ll superglue them.
All great hacks, man! Really great stuff that I'm definitely going to be adding to my arsenal. I didn't know some gels were sticky like that, I'm going to start using stuff like that more. Your channel is growing so well and you get insane views. It makes me jealous sometimes, but it's well deserved. You have perfect thumbnails, great lighting, and just great tutorials in general. Good job, Jake. 👍
Thanks man! I put a lot of time into studying the video editing and channel-growing side of things early on (and still do). Creating “searchable” content has been successful for me so far. I’m always going to create fishing videos because those are the most fun, but since I fish far less than most of the creators in my niche, I knew my focus had to be on other types of content. Let’s hope it keeps going because I have a few videos coming soon that I think might blow up!
@@nextlevelangling If you want it to blow up, don't post as many "fishing" videos as I do, lol. The algorithm, and people, want videos that HELP them. Not just videos of you catching fish. Unfortunately for me, I don't have a passion to make the tutorials anymore. I just enjoy the fishing. Oh well.
Occasionally - if I had to estimate, I'd say 1 out of every 8-10 fish comes unhooked for me, and it's the downside of that soft plastic weed guard. There is just a lot of plastic there that can get fouled up on the hook. One solution I found that helps is to trim up the rear of the dorsal fin. You still want the weed guard to cover the hook point, but it doesn't need to cover the entire hook. Look at a picture of a Z-Man Gobius for reference - that is how you want the dorsal fin to look. I still would prefer the modified Dark Sleeper over the Gobius, but the Gobius is a good bait too. It definitely has a better weed guard design out of the package. Hope this helps!
Certain times of the year, smallies will hit the Dark Sleeper every time they see it. The rattle helps them find it a little easier - gets more bites without a doubt 💯
You're right in many cases, but the head of the Dark Sleeper is a durable plastic with a large weight inside that prevents it from compressing. Most resins will work in this particular case, but a flexible resin is probably best. There are certainly some resins that are brittle and not suitable for soft plastics that move and compress though.
Funny that you mention that - I now use Solarez Flex Formula UV resin to coat the eyes and chin. It's flexible and tough, and cures much quicker with my high power UV light. I started using this after acquiring all of my fly-tying materials and learning about the different types of resins.
Just an update here - Now that I have acquired a fair amount of fly-tying materials, I use some Flex formula UV resin by Solarez to coat the nose/eyes of the Dark Sleeper. You can cure it much faster and it's impact resistant with a fair amount of flexibility which makes it last longer!
I am going to add the rattle hack to the Sleeper Craw also. Thanks for the hacks.
Great idea 💯
Great hacks for an already great bait! Got to sub for that!😎🎣
🤘
I like the scent hack
You'll have to try out that stuff you use on it - if it's more liquidy, there is also a small hole where the hook comes through that you can inject into the body
I’m late to the party, but had to comment for support. Thoughtful videos. Hope it’s still growing for you…
@@SeanFrakes Thank you Sean! The channel is growing! Still not looking much at the numbers and just trying to make better content 💯
Genius idea popping that rattle behind that keel weight!👌
Great hacks to ensure the longevity of the bait. I did find that the fish prefer the blind fish because it mimics an injured fish and trigger those apex predators!😂🤣
Ha the blind ones still work! I do seem to always notice a drop in the number of bites without the eyes though - might just be all in my head 🤷🏻♂️
Some fire hacks right here 🤙🏼
Gettin’ nerdy up in here 💯
That rattle hack and scent hack are definitely my favorites. I normally take the eyes of my dark sleeper and if they aren’t attached well I’ll superglue them.
I swear they gotta be using Elmer’s glue to put those things on!
@@nextlevelangling at least. They pop off in no time. Luckily the sleeper Gill doesn’t seem to have the same problem
Great hacks! New subscriber.
🙏
All great hacks, man! Really great stuff that I'm definitely going to be adding to my arsenal. I didn't know some gels were sticky like that, I'm going to start using stuff like that more.
Your channel is growing so well and you get insane views. It makes me jealous sometimes, but it's well deserved. You have perfect thumbnails, great lighting, and just great tutorials in general.
Good job, Jake. 👍
Thanks man! I put a lot of time into studying the video editing and channel-growing side of things early on (and still do). Creating “searchable” content has been successful for me so far. I’m always going to create fishing videos because those are the most fun, but since I fish far less than most of the creators in my niche, I knew my focus had to be on other types of content. Let’s hope it keeps going because I have a few videos coming soon that I think might blow up!
@@nextlevelangling If you want it to blow up, don't post as many "fishing" videos as I do, lol.
The algorithm, and people, want videos that HELP them. Not just videos of you catching fish.
Unfortunately for me, I don't have a passion to make the tutorials anymore. I just enjoy the fishing. Oh well.
So do you have hook up troubles? I seem to miss fish!
Occasionally - if I had to estimate, I'd say 1 out of every 8-10 fish comes unhooked for me, and it's the downside of that soft plastic weed guard. There is just a lot of plastic there that can get fouled up on the hook. One solution I found that helps is to trim up the rear of the dorsal fin. You still want the weed guard to cover the hook point, but it doesn't need to cover the entire hook. Look at a picture of a Z-Man Gobius for reference - that is how you want the dorsal fin to look.
I still would prefer the modified Dark Sleeper over the Gobius, but the Gobius is a good bait too. It definitely has a better weed guard design out of the package.
Hope this helps!
I mostly use chatterbait over dark sleeper just because of the noise. This rattle changed the game
Certain times of the year, smallies will hit the Dark Sleeper every time they see it. The rattle helps them find it a little easier - gets more bites without a doubt 💯
Been using these for the past 2 years an they have a deadly hook up ratio
For sure, especially with a fast action rod 💯
Resin doesn’t adhere well to plastic like that in my experience. I usually just buy cheap eyes and super glue them on as needed
You're right in many cases, but the head of the Dark Sleeper is a durable plastic with a large weight inside that prevents it from compressing. Most resins will work in this particular case, but a flexible resin is probably best. There are certainly some resins that are brittle and not suitable for soft plastics that move and compress though.
Any other recommendations for the epoxy ? I have been using superglue
Funny that you mention that - I now use Solarez Flex Formula UV resin to coat the eyes and chin. It's flexible and tough, and cures much quicker with my high power UV light. I started using this after acquiring all of my fly-tying materials and learning about the different types of resins.