Crankenstein Crony

So I got the 30 degree round bend Gami's in the mail yesterday. Just like the Mustad 32786, I can't fit a 3/0 in my 1/4 ounce spot. I can not completely close the mold with out forcing it closed and it makes the head come out crooked. The 4/0 hook will fit my 3/8's spot.

Thank you sir! Everything is going very well! Little guy is awesome!

Wife and I just had our 2nd baby last thursday... Learned just how quickly my fishing budget became non existent and vanished into thin air

Does that lil nasty actually hold up as a swim jig hook? I've tried that hook in the round ball heads I make for my small swim baits and I've had problems with the hook flexing and losing fish. Ordered some 30 degree Gami round bends. Should be here today. Looking forward to see how they fit in my mold. Ready to make some swim jigs again!

Yeah I looked up the Owner hooks. They are about $1 a piece. I don’t make many 1/8 ounce swim jigs. What did you do to modify that hook? Bend it with pliers?

I like using brush hogs. They slide through thick mats a lot easier with less weight.

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it! I need to get some more hooks ordered!

So the EC 3886 3/0 will fit the 1/4 cavity and the 4/0 will fit the 3/8 spot... Do you pour 1/8 heads? What hook do you use for that one? I don't normally use 1/8 ounce swim jigs, but I'm just curious.

I have not tried the EC 3886. Also have not tried the Mustad 32724. I will give those hooks a try before I do anything to the mold itself. I just don't like the 91768 one bit.

I primarily pour 1/4 and 3/8. The 32886 does not fit. I can not close the mold using the 32886 with out forcing it closed. That's when the heads come out crooked.

I have the small poison tail mold (1/8, 1/4, 3/8). I don't like the 91768 hook. When I try and use the 30 degree round bend, I can't close the mold completely. If I force it closed and pour, the head of the jig comes out crooked and caddy wompus and basically makes a junk jig. I've tried the 32886 and haven't had any luck. Maybe I should try the Owner hook.

Hey guys I was wondering if anyone has modified their poison tail mold to find a 30 degree round bend hook. I personally don't care for the goofy hook the mold calls for. I've tried to fit a round bend hook in my poison tail mold and it wont seal correctly. Just wondering if anyone has modified their mold to fit a 30 degree round bend and if so, how you did it.

Im guessing the silver buddies and buckeye blade baits get sent out to be plated then? I don't need my baits to shine like that, I just really want them to look as good as possible. I will paint the lead part of the bait in silver or gold if I have to. Just curious if there are other options out there.

I've been considering purchasing a mold to make blade baits. I go through a lot of silver buddies in the fall and want to start making them since I've got everything I need except the mold. My question for you guys that make them is how do you plate the lead in either silver or gold. I don't want to paint them. Is there foil you can buy to cover the lead in? How do you guys do it?

I have a Lee Production Pot IV also. I was given some lead from a friend and it had zinc in it. I had to replace the the pot insert because the zinc plugged the down spout.

Sweet! All of those look good!

That does look really good! That skirt will stay in place forever. Im going to give give it a shot.

I have always preferred Gami's but they are so expensive and personally I don't think they are so much better they deserve the higher price. So I normally use Mustad. But with the last few batches of football and swim jigs I've made, the Mustads have been rusting. I did try some Trokar hooks in my football jigs. I was really excited about those. But I ultimately gave up on ever trying anything from EC after using those. I had problems with the points rolling after catching a couple fish or dragging them over rocks and other structure on the bottom. But with all the positive comments here, Im definitely going to give them another shot.

I just saw the lil nasty hooks for the first time a couple days ago. I wanted to try them out in some of my molds but was nervous because they are Eagle Claw hooks. Never been impressed with their stuff. After reading this review and some of the comments I'm defenitely going to try them out!

Awesome! I'm going to give the wire tying a go. I plan on trying this out for myself this weekend.

How many times to you wrap the wire around the bait to keep the skirt material in place?

We have a lot of small lakes in my area. I don't normally cover a lot of water. Pick a lake hit our spots and if the fish aren't there we hop to another lake.

Hey guys, Im looking for some input on using wire for jig skirts and spinner bait skirts. I have been making my own jigs and putting my own skirts together for several years now. But those silly cheap rubber bands stretch out or get brittle and break. For those of you that use wire to tie your jig skirts what kind of wire do you use? What gauge? Do you have problems with the wire rusting? Winter time has just rolled around here in Michigan and its time to fire up my pot and start making more jigs.

If you have a small budget, you have a small budget. When I first started bass fishing I had 1 spinning rod and 1 casting rod and had to use those for everything. Might not be ideal, but you do what you have to. The Shimano Sellus, Shimano Covergence, Abu Garcia Vengeance or the Quantum Response are all right around the $50 mark. Personally I would go with a 7ft or longer medium action rod. I've thrown mid sized cranks on medium action rods for years and had no issues.