Red Rooster Custom Baits

We are proud
to have on our team
as our pro guide staff
Louie Bartenfield of
carterslake guide

Great results from
using our
custom baits

Our first Love for Jesus Christ will be and remain the focus of this business as it is the ministry that started in 2008-2009 seasons with the open door Jesus gave me with the dream of this business. If you are an
f-n-f die hard, there is nothing that can explain what happens to you watching a cork slowly disappear and then ya got to set the HOOK!!

Rob DeHaas

Red Rooster custom baits, a home grown company started by me in my basement and will remain there until growth changes that! Yes I’m small but proud to serve you in what ever capacity I can. The necessity to learn how to make a hair jig (that is suspended under a cork) came from watching the same guy come in with huge winning sacks of spotted bass in the little winter pot tournament series I was involved in several years back. The quality of fish (this guy was bringing in) was outstanding when most bag limits were mere meager at best and on those super cold blue bird days the same guy was whacking big fish, and I couldn’t get a bite! I finally was able to get the secret to this guys success…it was a tiny craft hair jig (floating fly) fished under a cork! It took me three years to figure out all the little details how it was a system developed by man in Tennessee that had perfected a way to catch huge small mouth in the dead of winter!

You Tube video building a custom fly

In the 08-09 season I started tying my own craft hair jigs one year later I shared them with a friend who said hey why not sell some. I thought he was joking, but he was serious and so here I am selling to you!

{ So your thinking what is a floating fly…does it float? No it suspends under a cork. The fly it’s self is a 3” 1/16 oz. hand painted lead head jig tied with craft hair, crystal flash, and or duck feathers. I use a Mustad wide gap hook which at this time I know of no other company using…the wide gap has a quality of 90% of fish hooked are re-hooked on the out side of the fishes mouth…are rare quality that is our secret feature. When do I start using a floating fly? In Georgia I push the temperature starting early 60’s with 55-50 degrees is the magical time…the northern lakes 50 degrees is the starting number…as temperatures fall in small mouth waters the colder the surface temps get the better the fly gets…42 degrees still produces fish. All this gives you the whole winter to fish!

The system: The details of these systems are very important; leaving out one of the parts will case you to go through the same wasted time and no fish that my stubborn hard-headedness caused me! #1 your rod must be a float-n-fly specific rod, length is critical and can make for a very pleasurable trip. If you are a tournament person 8’ is the longest most tournaments allow. If not, your longer rods provide ease of casting long 12-15-18 foot leaders.#2 Ok the reel, a good quality 2000 series reel with a great drag system. Main line needs to be a good quality 10 lb. braided line with high visibility, to see it on the water. #3 you need an internally weighted cork that has several uses.
It indicated if your fly is sitting on the bottom and need to be pulled slightly till the cork stands up-right; it also
serves as a strike indicator.

The system: The lift bite…there is a lot of none information about this very special bite. In most cases the cork with just lay over…after standing upright indicating the fly is suspended in the desired depth. There are several other lift bites I personally have had the cork to get a water logged effect…the corks level on the water changes (example) the center line rides just slightly above the water…and you notice the cork is all of a sudden starts sitting lower (that is a bite) set the hook! I have had the cork just to quiver that was a bite…these are just a few indicators that a real cork watcher will increase their catch! #4 three way swivel, one to main line, one to bottom of cork one to your drop leader. #5 leaders a good quality fluorocarbon is a must! Now your personal preference is fine but I use Seaguar Tatsu. Leader length is critical using good electronics you can locate bait fish depth…but 10’ is a good length to start with. If your not getting strikes depending on temp. Shorten or lengthen your leader! Now you can have the ability to fish all winter and could catch the fish of a life time using Red Rooster flies! }

These are the original flies I started with in 2009 using my imagination for color schemes built around the Mustad wide gap hook, for a good reason, plan and simple performance.