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Temp & speeds are pretty crucial when shooting plastics. Heat it to 350 & shoot quick. Like said above heat the injector if it's cold. I mix in colorant & flake most times before heating unless i'm making a totally new color that i haven't figured out the mixture yet. This way i prepare the mix, heat to 350 & inject like a well-oiled machine more or less & seldom have any problems at all. The more you do it the more you'll get your system worked out & the problems pretty much become a non issue.

I have no Idea - But it sounds like the rod u dip with would need a wide spot in the belly area. If that makes sense?

I use my Do-It Arky weedless jig mold to pour 1/2oz vibrating jig heads, using Mustad 5/0 60 degree jig hooks, but I found the hook eyes would crack when I tried to open them to insert the chatter blade. So I tried heating my hook eyes red hot with my torch, and that made them soft enough to open by driving an awl into them until I got enough gap to put the chatter blade on. That worked, but the hook eye felt soft and ovaled when I pinched it shut with the blade in place. So I took a batch of the opened eye hooks and put them into my toaster oven for a hour at 350 degrees, the same temp I use to bake my powder coat, to retemper them. When I pinched them closed this time I felt much more resistance, but none broke, so this is another step in my vibrating jig making process. Success!

Good Info Mark.

Thanks for the ideas. I will give them a try. Best, Jeff

I’ve switched to it for most of my Ned fishing, which is a lot from October to May. A tid bit… While fishing a stretch in Piney Creek on Table Rock Lake I lost 15 Ned rigs as I don’t go into a fishy area to get a bait back. After I bought that mold I fished the same water with the new head and only lost 2. That sold me. I also furnish heads for my neighbor since he springs for the gasoline. (Those lost heads had a sevelon weedguard.) Thanks for the suggestions guys. I’ll check the mold and lower the temp, though I can’t go down much and keep a good flow.

I agree with Bass-Boys on the belly made onto them. . You could take bolts & weld & shape a belly on them or use jb weld to make them.

Hi Jig Man and cadman. First I want to thank you both for readily sharing your knowledge and helping noobs like myself. As for the topic at hand...I modified my weedless MWF mold to use VMC6317 in addition to the Victory 10777. I am not getting runs along the hook shaft with either. The VMC hook actually have a smaller shaft diameter (0.038" vs 0.040" for the 10777). I run my lead at 700F. So maybe 750 is a bit too hot?

Oops, I'm sorry, I didn't know they had a different Midwest Finesse mold. I don't have that mold. I guess you can still check some of the things I mentioned above. BTW, how well do you do with that jig head? You can PM me as well. Thanks

Jig Man, I pour mostly hard lead in that mold in hopes of getting the keeper from loosening up and it doesn't help but I don't have lead going up the hook shank. Also I don't use Victory hooks. Couple things could make this happen. #1 The Victory hooks are thinner than the shank cavity in your mold leaving a gap and the hot lead is seeping through. If you have always used Victory hooks, maybe a new batch and the hooks are thinner or maybe a couple of hooks are thinner in the current batch? Just guessing here. #2 You have some lead or foreign substance on one of your mold halves that is gapping your mold causing lead to seep through. On the latter, take a single edge razor blade and lightly run the blade across both mold halves. This might dislodge any foreign substance that you may not readily see. Once done check your pour. On the first one, if you have a different brand hook check to see if you have the same problem. Post your results when you find your solution.

A “natural” crayfish can vary in color from region to region. They also take on different hues throughout the year as they molt and spawn. Try a google search for crayfish in your region to get an idea. The standard crayfish if you will, I’d go with a laminate of pumpkin seed over a tan (I use DeadOn grit color and tweak it with other colors as needed). I’d also look at MF motor oil, MF chartreuse pumpkin or MF green pumpkin brown. You could further drive yourself insane by incorporating some brown highlight to the above. As for glitter, black for sure along with red and/or orange.

I use eyescrews anywhere from .062 thru .092 thickness, from 3/4 inch long to 1.5 inch long depending on the size lure. You can find them at Barlows, Lurepartsonline, and Jann's Necraft, all tackle hardware suppliers, or Ebay. I'm making 6-10 inch swimbaits.