cadman

Fishermen want all kind of different hooks in a lot of molds, some work and some don't . This all started, when one of my customers wanted an EWG hook in the sparkie head. I told him that there were other heads more suitable for this. However he had to have this head . I don't know why, however it all worked out in the long run. Naturally the alternative is modifying a mold, which many don't want to pay for, but only want 10 jigs, so go figure.

As I noted yes it does. However I do have a 5/0 hook in a 1/4 oz cavity, not the normal hook you would put in there, but it does fit. Now if you want to be creative like me, I take the 91768 hook, and slightly bend the hook at the shank by the hook eye bend. This solves that problem The hook doesn't break and you get more weedguard hole depth. Takes all but 5 seconds max. to do this to a hook and you are only bending it an additional 2 + degrees. There are many ways to solve a lot of problems as far as fit goes in many molds.

My go to jig is the Snootie, and I too bought this mold several years ago, because of the very close resemblance to the Bitsy bug, and also the Bitsy bug was made very poorly. So I decided to make my own, and I use it to this day for that purpose. Here are some answers to your questions. #1. What I do is take a full strand weedguard, and break off 8 strands. Then I epoxy it in. Been doing it this way for 10 years now. There is a tutorial I made on how to hold the weedguard in place, for just that purpose. #2 Yes take a teflon pin, and don't shove it all the way into the hole. Again lot of guys doing this and there is a tutorial here on that as well. What you will get is a jig without a weedguard hole. No mold mod needed. #3 Yes I have quite a few, PM me and we can discuss. Shipping is about $2.50 #4 I would stay with the Mustad Black Nickle hooks #32786, or the less expensive Eagle Claw (730BP) Black Platinum. Do not use any bronze hooks, as they rust very quickly. You can also use Owner 5304 hooks and EC L111BP EWG hooks. BTW Welcome to TU. If you need more help, I can look for these tutorials and e-maIl them to you.

The catalog I was referring to was the one on my website. The only reason I am checking this again, is because you questioned it, and maybe I am giving my customers the wrong information, which is the last thing I want to do. Also if they asked me for that hook, then I would have to back pedal and come up with an excuse why it doesn't work. I don't like to lie to people, just not good business practice. So anyway, as you see in my pic below, the hooks do work. Actually I like them better than the 60 degree, because the bend in the hook eye by the shank makes fore easier lead pouring, since it isn't sitting so close to the sprue hole like it would on a 60 degree hook. The 60 degree hook it calls for is limited to the sizes written on the cavities on the mold as there is very little room for swapping sizes in this mold. If you look at the pic, the 5/8 oz cavity has a 5/0 #32886 hook and the 1/4 oz cavity has a 5/0 #91768 hook. Also any and all of the 5/0 hooks in any combination will fit in any of those cavities, without mold mods and/or hook mods. The only drawback as you can see is the 5/0 hook in the 1/4 oz cavity, is closer to the weedguard hole opening, making for a shallower weedguard install. This has never been an issue for me. Once the weedgurd is epoxied, it is not falling out. So if you want an EWG style 5/0 hook in a 1/4 oz cavity, the #91768 hook will fit the bill. The only reason I bring all of this up is, because many guys I deal with all want a variety of different hooks in all kind of head styles and weight classes, I'm sure you can attest to that as well. So, I started experimenting with trying different hooks in different molds, and this one happened to work. Naturally many of the smaller #32886 and #91768 hooks fit as well in all of these cavities. This is just some info for guys that want an EWG hook in this mold more than anything else. Finally I'm glad you called me on this, because if I were wrong, I would look like a real dumb a$$ and I would have to change my catalog again. It sucks getting old, because I am always second guessing myself. Hope this helps some of you down the road.

Smalljaw, I have this info in my catalog. I have to verify this, but I believe that I can put a 32886 hook in there as well with no mods. This is a very shallow jig head, and many hooks fit in this mold. I will check tonight and make sure that my post is correct.

You can also put in a Mustad 32886 and an EC L111BP EWG hook. Not all hook sizes will fit all cavities. The EC L111BP goes up to 7/0 and these hooks have a very big gap.

The only other pot I have is an RCBS which is a 20 lb pot. But I use this when I'm pouring big orders of 1 oz jigs. It cuts down on the lead refill time. It is an excellent pot but it costs around $400. I know Lee has some 20 lb pots as well, but have never used them. I have also used the Palmer hot pot. Another excellent hand held pot, but it gets heav holding all that lead in the pot, and the ease of getting burned is too great. Once you buy one let us know how it works.

Yes a small ladle will work just fine. However, when I have problems with pouring from my bottom pour,, I use a ladle and just take the lead out from the top. However if your pot is not heating enough, then that won't work. Below is the ladle I have and I recommend. It hold 1-1/2 oz of lead, and it is very light, so it's easy on the hands. It is about $7 and all of your tackle component places sell them. You have a PM from me.

I make the Style"H" spinnerbait and I have no problems with this mold. You have a PM.

Welcome to TU. A lot of excellent info above. To get rid of the white powdery residue, either use D2T 30 minute epoxy or put a fan on your jigs when your weedguards are drying from super glue. The fan will flash off the cyocryanate (spelling) faster. Definitely use teflon pull pins for painting and also if your weedguards are still too tight, pull off a few strands. Pm me your e-mail and I will send you a tutorial on powder painting and pull pins.

BTW, welcome to Tackle Underground

Do-It has the Poison Tail or Snootie jig you can use as a swim bait head jig.

If you want it to look exactly like yours, then yes you will have to carve out the tail section on both mold halves, or use it the way it is and see how you like it. It will probably have the same action, except it won't have the same profile. I don't think the fish really care.

Depends on how stiff of wire you want. I personally think .022 is too stiff. Many guys use .012 or .015. Decision is yours on what you want to use.

I have seen them on e-bay along with the coffin blades.

Thanks for the info guys.

Yeah, I figured .040 was too wimpy. The guy is using these for ocean fishing, so I assume he is using the correct tackle. You don't realize how big these are until you look at the mold cavity. Holy Moly are these big. You can kill somebody if you hit them in the head with these. I guess anything this big is probably geared as Musky tackle.

I have some questions for your guys regarding big spinnerbaits: Does anyone make these with .040 wire or is that too thin? I am thinking it is too thin, however I can get .051 and .063 pre-bent wire forms, so no problem there. I don't see anything bigger in a spinnerbait hook than 6/0, any bigger sizes anywhere else. Any other help or advice you can give me would be appreciated. I am making 200 pieces. Thanks in advance

A couple questions. So you cannot use an industrial thermometer, like from a laboratory? Also when you say no IR thermometer will work properly, why is that? I'm trying to learn here so pardon my ignorance.

If you know for sure that you are doing everything correctly, hot mold and hot lead then you can try the following: #1 Take all the lead out and clean the pot , take the plunger out clean that as well and finally take a look at the spout hole to make sure that there is nothing there that keeps blocking the lead flow. #2 Put in new and fresh lead. I would start with pure soft, only reason is , if you can't get good pours with this, then your pot is not heating correctly. #3 If after this you are: A. Getting getting good pours, then your pot is working properly and you may have an issue with the old lead. B. Still getting bad pours after cleaning pot and putting in soft lead, then send your pot back to Lee, may have an element that is not performing properly. Send it back to Lee to get it repaired. Cost is minimal and may be under warranty. All said and done there are a lot of variables to possibly solve this problem. Don't take this in the wrong context, as I am not trying to question your skills: How long have you been pouring jigs? Is the pot new, or did you buy it used? The Collins mold, have you poured this before? Did you get good pours? Does the Collins mold have air vents to release trapped air. Are you heating the hooks? Is the pot hot enough? You should have a thermometer or a laser temp gauge to take lead temp. This will save many headaches of having a bad to slow thermostat that can't heat the pot. What kind of lead do you use. Hard lead will harden faster and takes more heat to keep it fluid in a pot. These are just some questions you should ask yourself. You may have already thought of all of these questions, just trying to narrow this down for you. Others may have more input. Let us know what the final result is.

Welcome to TU, Pm sent

Yep Roto- metals is the cheapest place on the i-net where you can buy in bulk

If you need a bigger body profile you will have to dremel out the body sides. The Hack Attack has a strong 30 degree Gami hook, so you will might have to modify the hook eye and or the hook shank on the mold halves. As I look at your pic closer, it look like a flat eye hook, if that is the case, then you will have to cut the mold for that as well. Also if it is a flat eye, then it isn't a Hack Attack. Layout what you want to do first , get a game plan and then proceed. Make sure you can get the hooks and the hook sizes you want to use.

Looks like a Hack Attack jig, they are usually bigger bodied with a heavy hook. Don't know of any mold for it, however you can modify a sparkie jig mold or a bullet bass jig mold.

Like smalljaw mentioned Hagens is about aw good as it gets. However if none of these tools work for you you can make your own wire bending fixture. It will be time consuming to make, but it will be what you want. All you will need is a plate of aluminum, drill press and some hardened dowels. The dowels can be any size you want to suit your needs. This way you can place them where you want and can be customized to what you want the final outcome to be.