Crappie Spinnerbait mold for Australian Bass?

[Ces]

Hey guys,

 

Let me start off by saying I appreciate any help with this. I'm looking to getting into pouring my own spinnerbaits and here in Australia I mostly fish for Australian Bass. This fish I catch a mostly in the 20-40 cm/8-16 in range weighing up to 1.5 kg/3-3 1/2 pounds. They are renowned for their fight, packing a punch for their small stature and are regarded as one of Australia's premier sport fish. While Aussie Bass are perfect candidates for spinnerbait fishing, baits in sizes more suited to the much larger Murray Cod (another iconic Australian fresh water fish that grows up to 6 feet) are much easier and cheaper to find. I think this is partially due to angler preference but it is also driven by the availability of Murray Cod sized baits from the U.S. market, which as far as I can tell is flooded with choice for large-mouth offerings in hook sizes 2/0 and up, making it affordable for Aussie cod fisherman to import their own or buy from local importers.

 

Unfortunately, I would consider 1/0 hooks the absolute maximum hook size I would use when fishing for the wild river bass I target and I have found that most commercial molds for spinnerbaits start in the 2/0 range and get larger from there. Some research found the do-it-mold's crappie mold, which accepts size 1, 4 & 6 hooks. Size 6 would probably be too small but 4 will work and 1 should be about perfect.

Does anyone have any experience with this mold or have other suggestions for molds that would ideally accept size 1, 2 & 4 hooks? Also, given that these are designed for catching crappie and having never caught or seen one myself, can anyone give some insight as to the typical size of the fish and what sort fight they put up?

 

Thanks very much guys. I really appreciate it.

 

Cheers,

 

Ces.

[Ces]

This may not add much interest but I just thought of this. Bass make runs into the estuaries to spawn and are therefore found in coastal rivers. Many bass fisherman would be doubling up their tackle so it suited Bream (an estuary and coastal species) fishing also. Bream are not known to take spinnerbaits and so these lures may not be high on the wish list for the fisherman looking to cover both species.

 

Murray cod fisherman on the other hand encounter their fish in inland waterways and reservoirs, where they may be looking to double their tackle to also take Golden Perch, who are well known to take spinnerbaits and are in-between bass and cod in terms of size.

 

This may shed a bit more light on why bass sized spinnerbaits are less common than larger sizes down here.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Ces.

[Apdriver]

Ces, I'm not sure if any of our Spinnerbait molds could be used for your application off the shelf, so to speak. That said, I have modified some molds to take different hooks and they can also be modified to accept a Spinnerbait wire form. Our crappie are not real hard scrappers, as I would expect your bass to be and have to think our crappie baits might be a bit small. I'm just not familiar with the species you are after. Do you have any idea what weight Spinnerbait you are looking for? I know the do it 1/4 ounce is relatively small.

I just googled that Australian bass and it looks very similar to our white bass. The guys I saw on a YouTube video were catching them on beetle spins with a safety pin type spinner. We also catch our white bass on inline spinners but they tend to be more of an open water fish and the treble wouldn't do so well if the cover you guys are fishing, I guess. 

Edited January 19, 2017 by Apdriver

[21xdc]

What size weight are you wanting?  I would think the smaller hook could be used in most of the molds.  You can use plumbers putty in the mold at the hooks exit point to stop flash from happening. That way it is not a permanent modification.

 

http://store.do-itmolds.com/Crappie-Spinner-JigbrSz-116-18brHk-455brCollar-Holder_p_954.html 

 

This mold above should be perfect if it is not too light.

 

It would be very easy to modify this mold by closing the mold on the wire form of your choice and squeezing in a vise after you tape it in place.  I prefer the ultra minnow head for it's looks. 

http://store.do-itmolds.com/Ultra-Minnow-JigbrSz-18-14-38-12-58brHk-604brCollar-Holder_p_1044.html

[Ces]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm thinking that I'm going to have to do some modification to the mould I'm using as you mentioned Apdriver there doesn't seemed to be an off the shelf that fits.

I've tried a search but can't find any tutorials on how to go about making the modifications. I sort of understand the putty idea but I've never poured any lead before.

Thanks again guys.

Cheers,

Ces. 

[Apdriver]

8 hours ago, Ces said:

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm thinking that I'm going to have to do some modification to the mould I'm using as you mentioned Apdriver there doesn't seemed to be an off the shelf that fits.

I've tried a search but can't find any tutorials on how to go about making the modifications. I sort of understand the putty idea but I've never poured any lead before.

Thanks again guys.

Cheers,

Ces. 

Ces, to modify a mold for a different hook, lay your hook in the mold where you want it, close the mold and strike it with a hammer. I always sandwich my mold between a couple of 2x4's to protect them. That leaves an indention where you need to remove material to close your mold. Some people use a dremel to remove that material. I like to use a drill press and clamp with ball end mills and flat end mills. The dremel gets away from me. Do the same thing with wire forms but use the edge of a fine file to cut your grooves with. It takes patience and don't get in a hurry with it. Also, wherever you access the cavity or cavities at, make it a tight fit here or lead will leak out/flow out of the cavity here. It's usually around the wire or hook. I'll try to take a couple photos today of some molds Ive modified so you can see what I'm referring to.

[Apdriver]

Ces here's a pic of a modified ultra jig mold from do it. Again, the tool used were flat and ball end mills. Flat was used to modify hook eye and balls were used where I needed a deeper cut. I wanted a longer shank hook and used a drop shot swivel turned upside down for a underspin application. 

[Ces]

Mate,

Thank you for going to all the trouble of taking photos of your mould and explaining how you did the mods on it. It's greatly appreciated.

Guess I'm just going to have to suck it up and get into it. Taking my time of course

Thanks again, mate.

Ces.

[JBarlow]

CES,

Something else to think about.  If you cannot find a spinnerbait mold that you like you may be able to modify a jig mold into a spinnerbait mold.  I have done this and it worked well.

JB

[21xdc]

10 hours ago, JBarlow said:

CES,

Something else to think about.  If you cannot find a spinnerbait mold that you like you may be able to modify a jig mold into a spinnerbait mold.  I have done this and it worked well.

JB

 

 

That is what I was telling him with my second link...

[Ces]

Hey guys,

So after taking on the thoughts offered here and elsewhere (an Australian lure making forum, PM if you would like a link. I don't think its polite to put up here but its a great site), I have decided to modify simple ball/round head jig mould and give that a go.

I also like using ball heads for my finesse jigs and jig spins because they're cheap, come in lots of weights and readily available in Aus. Also, I can use them for some salt water fishing in my region.

Thanks for all the help guys. I'll update my progress when I get there.

Cheers,

Ces.

Edited January 30, 2017 by Ces
moved the word mould to the required place

[Zygotor]

I think you under estimate the humble Aussie Bass. Even small bass will easily take a 2/0, 3/0 spinner bait. I think if you went down to hook sizes 4,2 even 1 you will be making life hard for your self trying to set the hook, as all bass will hit hard and fast. As you probably know the bass's eyes are often bigger than its stomach and they have no issues hitting big lures with big hooks.

 

[edgecrusher]

I find I use 1/0 on my Australian bass spinnerbaits.

the crappie mold will be fine to do what you want.

 

whats the forum? Lurelovers?