I cant count how many jig & spinner skirts I have had the collars break or melt before I even got a chance to tie them on, not to mention the ones that have torn and broken from heavy useor a toothy critter getting a hold of it. I know a lot of manufacturers are producing skirts that dont have traditional collars, or come wire wrapped, but there is still a big portion of the industry that uses rubber/plastic collars.
A few months ago I was browsing the isles at the local craft store in search of wire to hang my airbrushed crankbaits after I apply epoxy. I came across a spool of thin copper wire which is for light soldering & I bought it, hung my baits to dry, then a bulb came on in my head. Heres a quick, inexpensive way to fix those brittle, melting, or torn skirts before they fall off, and if you have a bunch of jigs & spinners that already lost their skirts, heres a good way to bring them back to life. Plus it may add that extra flash or weight that could provoke a strike.
Go to your local arts & craft, or hardware store and buy a spool of copper, aluminum, or whatever thin metal wire you like.
Make sure the wire is malluable and thin enough to wrap around a skirt collar, but solid enough to hold its shape.
Take your lure and expose the collar holding the skirt together, then take the wire and simply wrap it around the damaged collar until the rubber or plastic is no longer exposed, snip it with a pair of wire cutters, and you have a nice neat coil wrap. Press the tag end down so its not poking out.
If you want to take it a step further, get a solder tool. (You can usually find these in the same store) It looks like a calligraphy pen with a wire at the end to plug it in and heat up the tip (a wood burning tool will also work). Take the tag end of your wrap and solder it into the coil, being careful not to melt too much metal. If you're handy with this sort of thing you can use another length of wire and solder the end.
Now you have a metal wrapped collar in the color of your choice (brass, copper, aluminum) If you want a black collar, simply wrap it in black craft or electric tape, if you like the collar to match the skirt, you can always use the small bottles of automotive touch up paint.
I've used the touch up paint on weights, jig heads, & spinners. Its cheap, smooth, durable, dries instantly and odorless.
