cadman

I was planning on being there also with my wife. I have a lot of questions, but I'll start out slow. This is my first time there so bear with me. What do we need to bring, as far as fishing goes. Is this shore fishing? Do you need a license? As far as custome tackle. Are we to bring some of our custom tackle to swap with others and their custom tackle? Is everyone going to do a show and tell on how they make their own special lures/techniques? I just want to be prepared, so I don't come in empty handed. I'm sure I will have more questions as time goes along, but these are just a few..........Thanks......Ted.

Diemai Those blades are beautiful. I would like to take some glitter lessons from you for some spinnerbaits I have in mind. Can you tell me what glitter you use, and what kind of top coat and or base coat? If not that's OK or we can discuss off line. We all have are own little secrets, that keeps us unique.

First of all it would be nice to see a pic of the Nichols or the SOB blades that you are talking about. Call me stupid, but I have never heard of them. Secondly it would be nice to show pics of your blades for everyone here to see what you are trying to achieve. Nonetheless, I

Thanks for the compliments guys. Bruce, I get pretty anal with my jigs although they are not perfect, they have to pass my eyes, and I'm my worst critic. If you look at the perch pattern spinnerbait. The second blade from the top, you can see some paint that was not clear coated by the eyelet, and I accidentally chipped it off. I try not to be this anal, but I just can't send something like this to anyone, even as samples. It is better business (in my mind) to send something good, then to send something half-a***d. People will always remember either the good or the crap. Akriverrat, I have a couple of questions about one of your jigs. Can you pleas PM me with your e-mail? I would like to ask you some questions off-line.

I use the non-cutting end of a drill bit and stick it in the hitch hiker.

I totally agree with you. Been doing this from day one. Two positive things about this. #1 They never, ever get loose. #2 You can do this on any mold that accepts 1/8" base hole pins. So you do not have to buy all the other molds.

You can use Devcon 2Ton 30 minute epoxy.

I personally feel the same way. Definitely over rated. I rarely use them anymore. JMHO

I've used Spike-It Blade dip, and I've used Color-Rite, same thing the finish scratches off easily. I have triple dipped them and baked them and they still scratch. When you dip them too many times they start to look ugly. I tried clear coating the hooks after dipping in Spike-It. It holds up really well. Only problem is it is way too tedius to clear coat hooks. You might want to try a spray on clear? Oh yeah I even powder coated them. That worked really well, but again, seems like a lot of wasted time. I definitely wouldn't do 100 hooks.

I found it's an endless battle. bake them in the toaster oven, and carry a red marker with you when you go fishing.

My answer is only based on my use and what many of my customers tell me and there requests. I have no scientific way of measuring sharpness. I doubt my customers do either. Most of my orders are for Mustad Ultra-Point hooks. Some guys say Mustads stay sharper longer after being used. I have some die hard Gami guys that will only buy those hooks. They claim that those hooks are the sharpest hooks made on the market. I myself personally like the Mustads, I have used both hooks and I don't see that much of a difference to pay 40 cents more for Gami's. However I'm not a hook specialist. I test my hook sharpness the way Sagacious does. I think you will get a wide variety of answers here. Some with a lot more knowledge than I have...........

A 4/0 hook will not fit in a 1/4 oz cavity. The distance from the eye to where the 60° bend that starts on the hook shaft is too long. This puts the hook shaft up against the back of the cavity. Lead will never pour there. Your hook will show through the jig.

I'll let you know later tonight, I'm currently at work. If you want PM me your e-mail, and I can take a pic for you of the cavity with the hook inside.

I designed them, and a friend of mine cut them out on a laser. It is too cost prohibitive to cut on a laser. It is better to have them stamped out. But the problem with stamping, is you have to buy the die, and that is expensive, and then someone has to run the parts. Unless you are mass producing these by the 1000's it is very costly, to run even 100 either way you decide to go.

If you are referring to smaller than what fits in there no, but Do-It Molds and Barlow's Tackle has them both, in brass and nickle plated for the correct size that's supposed to fit in there. Barlow's I believe is cheaper. As far as comparable inserts, I don't know of anyone selling any alternatives I had mine custom made. I had them made out of stainless steel, aluminum and copper. All the different metals fall and vibrate slightly differently.

I consider all Mustad jigs bread and butter jigs. Yes those are good quality hooks. I personally like Mustads over Gami's, because Mustad's stay sharper longer.

You apparently no more about lead than I do, and I commend you on your knowledge, but if you read almost any post with guys having problems pouring, it's usually hard lead and not soft lead. Many guys here have solved a lot of mold pouring problems going to soft lead. So I still don't buy your answer, but to each his own. I'm not here to argue. As far as not getting detail with soft lead, here is a pic of a jig poured with 99.999 % pure plumbers lead. I think you will agree that there is definitely detail in this pour.

Termite, I don't think that putting the jigs back in the mold will work. I don't think the lead will melt into the original body, however you can try it. Also be careful so you don't spring the mold. Lead jigs come out easier from a hot mold, then when you try to put cold jigs back in a hot mold. Finally are you going to paint these? If yes, then you can use JB weld to fill the hole. Leave it high, when it fully cures, you can go back and lightly file down the high spots and contour to the profile, or you can sand either way. This is naturally not the optimum solution, as you can see there will be a lot of tedious work involved. But if you want to salvage the jigs and not melt and re-pour then the above method is do-able. Once you contour the part, by filing, put on the powder paint as normal. Take a red marker and touch up your red hooks, put jigs in oven, and the heat will bake your paint and harden the maker ink. Don't overheat it. I've done this as an experiment when I was screwing around with lead fillers. One last thing, honestly it is easier to re-melt and re-pour. But this is your choice.............Good luck, and let us know how you make out.

Yes it does. I hope this helps, answer your question. I'm in the process of pouring them right now..........

Also a very good tip, that I forgot to mention. I do this as well. I also do this with wire forms, to keep them warm when you are pouring spinnerbaits. Keep the ideas coming guys, eventually Termite wil find a solution that works.

You are right on the money here as well. I tried putting the mold sprue hole right up around the pouring spout like you mentioned, and on some molds, it does act as an injector with flawless pours. Also if this does work on a perticular mold, you can really crank out a lot of flawless jigs in no time. I forgot to mention this as well. Good added info.

cidgrad, Basseducer is correct. Also Matzuo Sickles and some VMC's. If you want a pic of the inside of the mold, PM me your e-mail, and I'll get one out to you.

First of all there are a lot of variables here. I pour daily, summer, winter, fall and spring 5 -7 days a week. I live in the Midwest. I have very few bad pours once the lead is hot and the molds are hot. October through March are my best pouring months, with dead of winter being the best. I pour in my attached garage, and dead of winter it is about 40° out there. I found the low humidity season is the best time to pour for me. With that said, lead composition, temp. of lead pot, temp. of mold, definitely fluxing, angle of mold, how close the mold is to the pot and rate of lead pouring into the mold all have an effect on the outcome of the finished jig. I personally feel that all of these above are the most critical to achieve good pours. Everyone here will have their own system, so what I do may not work for you. I am only making suggestions here of what I encounter so these are only my observations. I’m not telling anyone hear how to pour. That is not my intention. 21xdc……I totally agree with you regarding to pour as fast as possible. I also believe that if you get the lead in there as fast as possible it will not cool as fast and leave voids. This is true providing the mold is properly vented. Lot of store bought molds need additional venting. As far as smoking the molds, I have not found a difference in doing this (not to say that it doesn’t work for others). Since I pour in the dead of winter cold does not affect pouring. You turn up the pot a notch keep your mold hot and pour away. However my ideal pouring location would be well ventilated warm room with no humidity. cz75b…..Some things I will agree with you on like using a release agent, mold and pot temp. But making a statement not to use pure lead is incorrect. Hands down pure lead pours easier and fills better than hard lead. I have tried and tested this out. Also I have spoken to Do-It molds with some mold issues I’ve had, and they told me to use pure lead. First of all it does work. I used to pour pure lead and never had a pouring issue, but it dented too much for my liking so I don’t use it anymore. I currently use a 50/50 mix or 60/40 (60% hard 40% soft) for all my pours. I also pour straight hard lead with no problem. Also there was a post here awhile ago, where Basseducer had some problems and he used soft lead, and the problem went away, so soft lead does work. I have also spoken to many people and they say the same thing about pouring soft lead. psv……good lead mix ratio. Termite, the best suggestion I can give you is this. Look at the distance from mold to pot, look at the angle of the mold when you pour the lead (tilt it slightly left, right, backward or forward, look at how fast the lead is coming out of the pot, once you start getting good pours, and you can duplicate it continuously write that info on your mold, or on a piece of paper, so when you pour again, you don’t have that problem. You may have to have information on each cavity, since every cavity and every mold pours slightly different.

Yeah, I think you are right, I got this mold, and have had many requests for it already. I also like the Poison Tail. However it is a matter of personal choice.

Yes they do have a 5 min. There are only two problems with this. #1 that epoxy will definitely yellow, if you don't care that's fine, but on a light colored jig it looks horrible. #2 This is the biggest problem. You probably have less than 5 minutes before it starts setting. It seems like a long time, but you won't do very many weedguards, with it setting so fast. Personally I would stay away from the 5 minute. JMO