cadman

Sam, Your quote above is 100% true. I have bought some of the more popular scents this year to try out, and although I've used them, I catch just as many fish without them. I was out fishing yesterday and forgot the scent and loaded up on fish. So unfortunately I'm not that convinced that they help. But if it works for you then by all means use it.

I can't tell from your pic, but I think we're all on the same page. I have attached two pics. The picture on the left shows two wires, poured in a mold without a weedguard hole, however you can do this the same as with a weedguard hole as mentioned by Smalljaw. This mold happened to have a groove cut on both mold halves to allow for the fit of the wires. The picture on the right shows a premade "Y" weedguard that you can buy and mold in or glue into your jig.

x2 what Jig Man said. Skirt tabs really are very affordable. It's not worth screwing around with dye to make other colors. Also since you have black skirts, I don't know of anything that will turn them white. If it was the other way around then maybe Kool-aide or Ritt dye.

Ha ha, now that is weird, I must be a mind reader. So you want a football mold that has two separate weedguard holes to accept two wire weedguards like the "Headknocker" jig I mentioned above? Well as far as I know there isn't a mold available that you can buy without having it custom made. Honestly, no offense to the original manufacturer of that jig, but as unique as that jig is, I find that a double weedguard like that really serves no purpose other than collect more weeds. JMO. However what the guys above are trying to tell you is that you can put in two pieces of wire in the hole where the original weedguard is supposed to go and pour it in place. Once it cools, you can then separate the two pieces of wire to form a "V". Also you can buy plastic weedguards that are formed in a "Y and glue them in place. If you PM me your e-mail, I can send you some pics tonight.

Do apologize. I didn't read the original thread carefully. Thought he wanted (2) separate wire weedguards like the "Headknocker" Jigs. My error.

I haven't seen any molds like the one you are describing available to the public. They are custom made molds.

Cheaper to buy the jigs than to buy a custom mold and then have to pour it anyway.

Hey Don, Yes you were using the correct glue as it does leave a white powdery residue on a jig. The epoxy that you posted a link to, is that a clear epoxy?

Hey Don, On the Super Glue Gel, it does take 24 hours in my opinion, to really set and harden. The D2T I sometimes use hardens a little faster but still needs 24 hours to fully cure. BTW what is the name brand of the contractor epoxy you are buying from Home Depot?

I'm curious what this means. Can you elaborate?

Loc-tite Gel Super Glue.

I really don't know anything about the vice you mentioned, however I bought my second vice at BPS and it was a Griffen Spider vice. About $100. I like the vice very much and all I tie is bass jigs.

I used to be a die hard crankbait guy about 3 years ago and got a lot of fish fishing them. Then I fished with one of my customers and all he fished was jigs. Well anyway, to make a long story short, he kicked my butt fishing jigs. He outfished me 2 to one every time and with bigger fish. So I finally took his advice and started to fish jigs. My numbers the first year doubled and the quality of fish also increased. From that time on I rarely throw anything else. My three rods in this order are jig rod, wacky worm and a trap or a husky jerk. The first two always produce fish. Now as far as jig fishing goes, since I fish from a boat, I will say that fishing from shore is harder as you will get more snags, lose more jigs and possibly lose fish as you cannot maneuver around easily. With that being the main problem you will catch fish from shore. Jig fishing like mentioned is a very slow process. I literally had to retrain myself when I started jig fishing, because throwing cranks for so long, my reel speed was way too fast. The key to jig fishing is you have to fish them slow, and I mean slow. Cast the jig out wait about 10 seconds so the jigs hits bottom. Wait for a bass to pick it up, if you feel nothing, raise you rod tip up to 12 o'clock position and drag your jig. Lower rod and wait another 10 seconds, see if you feel any taps or any movement. If you do wait for the fish to swim off with it and then set the hook. Now the best way I learned this method was by casting out and closing my eyes. This may sound stupid, but this forces you to concentrate and feel with your hands (since you cannot see and get distracted), line movement, fish bites if any and weeds. Do this until you finally can feel the line movement through the rod guides with your hands. You will feel pick-ups and line twitch because you are focusing with your mind on what you feel not what you see. Once you get to the point of slowing down and start concentrating better, open your eyes and focus on your line. Now you can watch line movement and still be able to feel the taps as you have conditioned yourself to do this. I guarantee if you do this you will catch more fish. Don't give up as this will take awhile . I say about a month or so to get your mind, hands and eyes in sync with each other. I am not an expert, but I would never go back to throwing cranks all day long. I've gotten too many bigger fish from throwing jigs. I use 10 -12 pound mono, mh 6'6'" rod with a baicasting reel. Nothing fancy. One last thing, is I only fish finesse jigs. This means 1/8 - 1/4 oz jig max with a trailer. I throw nothing heavier and I mainly fish 10 FOW or less. An 1/8 oz jig with a trailer sinks pretty fast in my opinion, but maybe I finally got used to the slowness of fishing jigs, and I'm glad I did.

I use a heat gun to heat up the jig, then I swish it in the powder paint, whether a jar or a fluid bed. After I finish all of my jigs I put them on a rack and bake in toaster over on 350 for 15 minutes.

X2...........Your auto powder should be fine for your jigs.Like Smalljaw mentioned I myself have also used many different brands of powder along with different powder paint make-ups, like TGIC,Hybrid, and Epoxy type powders. I've never had a problem with any of them. Some are better than others for their original intended purpose, but they all work really well for powder painting jigs. We are not concerned here with military specs we are painting fishing jigs. So get what you can if it is more cost effective and have fun. Also as mentioned, the different heat ranges versus minutes for the different manufacturers, a safe bet is 350 degrees for 15 minutes give or take. This has always worked well for me, and I put on sometimes 6 colors of 6 different manufactures with no problems.

I never seen those before. What kind of fish did you make these for?

PM sent

Depending on what paint was on there before. Some paints that are lacquer based will chew up powder paint. Also some nail polishes that have an acetone base will do the same. Try it on one spinnerbait body first to see the results. BTW I'm from northern IL, and I fish some of the same waters you do.

Looks good to me. As you throw them you will develop confidence with the colors that you make.

I pour all kind of lead . Anything I can get free or pay as cheap as possible for it. You can pour straight hard or pure soft. I prefer my jigs on the harder side. 30% soft 70% hard. However all lead will pour if you know what you are doing. Some lead will pour easier than others. Get your lead in your pot hot along with your molds, and get some mold release and you will be pouring with very little problems. Also a $1 per pound is a fair price. Roto- Metals charges around $2/lb however you can pick the lead mix you want. When you get it from someone you don't know what you are getting.

Like Smalljaw mentioned, the EC EWG hooks are a solid super sharp hook. Definitely the EWG hook to use if you are looking for a regular eye hook. The new breed of EC hooks are exceptional. These are not your grandpas old bronze Eagle Claws. You will not be disappointed in the quality, rust resistance, sharpness and price. Best of all they are made in the U.S.A.

If you want to use a flat eye, the Mustad 38109 hooks will work in that mold as well.

First of all, if any of your jigs have pinholes in the raw lead or actually holes from pulling sprues or from not filling fully, it is pretty hard to cover these up. I used to break off sprues back in the day off of just poured jigs. When you do that many times you will get holes in the head behind the sprues. Now I cut the sprues and file them. With that said, unless you can control your own pouring of jigs, any imperfection in a poured jig only makes it worse by painting over it. So this is my advice and you can try this. Before you paint your jigs take a look at all the heads by looking for imperfections in it. If there are any, then try to file it smooth with a metal file. Now many of you may think that this is a bit too anal, but I can honestly say that my finished jigs are flawless. I'm not here to toot my own horn, but if you are going to paint jigs do it right or don't do it at all. And yes I know the fish don't care, but when you spend so much time in something it should look good really good. Just my two cents on this. One other thing, if you want to remedy the problem that you are having, paint your jig, bake them, and come back and repaint it. The second thin coat will usually take care of all the bad spots. Just remember not to burn the paint the second time around. If you need more help PM me and I will give you step by step help, or I'll call you to let you know how to hopefully solve your problem.

If you want to something really quick and cheap try this. Wipe down the spinnerbait with alcohol, let dry. Take some white electrical tape, punch some round holes in the tape and then stick it on the current eyes. The tape will hold fairly well. There are other more permanent methods though.

Use nylon paint pins. Need more info let me know..