cadman

Totally agree with rayburnguy. You have to follow certain standards to achive what you want. Also you have to do this on a consistent basis so the outcome is the same all of the time. This is not for the do-it-yourselfer in my opinion. You have to have controlled heat. Also there is water quenching and oil quenching, among other things to consider. I too would like to know why you would take on something like this? Just curious.

Stephen, Welcome to TU. As far as keeping the hook eye clean. There are a couple of ways that come to my mind. #1 Take your forceps and grab the hook eye with them and then swish it through the powder. #2 If you are getting that much powder in your hook eye, I will bet you are putting way too much powder on your jig. Thinner is always better as it will also reduce paint drips. #3 Look into making a fluid bed, (PM me your e-mail) and I will send you plans, or use a powder paint sprayer. #4 I personally don't like #1. That to me only works on small jigs. If you are painting bass jigs they are bigger and heavier. So what I do is find a drill bit that will fit easily in the hook eye. As soon as you put your jig through the powder paint, immediately take the shank end of a drill bit and push it through the hole until it comes out the other end. There are many other ways I'm sure, as more guys will post their tips to help you.

I have not seen colored wire either. You can do what smalljaw suggested and get blade dye or you can try permanent magic markers. However I don't believe that it will stay on the stainless as stainless steel is not pourous.

Drake, I didn't look closely at the pics you posted. I did now and damn those are nice fish. Were those all caught on your jigging spoon? If so dude, that is money in the bank. If you can catch fish like that with your jigging spoons then definitely start selling them. BTW pardon my ignorance but those are salmpon correct? If so what kind of salmon are they? Just trying to expand my horizons.

I mix my epoxy like Mark does as well, and never had a problem with D2T. Mix both parts really well and you are good to go.

Barry, That looks really good. Is that powder painted or air brushed? Pesca, Yes that looks like a spinnerbait version of the Ultra-Minnow. If you want really good prices on molds, go to Zeiners and call them up. They are in Wichita, Kansas.

Barry, I was told that the Ultra V does not yellow. Which is good to know. I do know that if you put D2T on a white jig and E-tex, the D2T definitly has an amber tint.

Barry, Here is the info I found on your question. I got the answer awhile ago from a lure maker who was a die-hard D2T user. Here is his quote "Make sure you get the Ultra V flex coat." I am not sure if it is exactly the same as yours, but he said it comes in 2oz up to 1 gallon. The stuff is very good and similar to viscosity of E-tex. Let me know if you need more help. I am going to try it, as it is clearer than D2T and has a longer working time. Once you try it post here on your outcome. Everyone is always interested in a new product.

Barry, I believe yes you can, I have a list of clearcoats at home that were proven as winners. I will research later and reply back with my findings.

BJBarron, All bottom pour pots will leak at some time. Usually when they start to heat up from a cold start. I have 3 of them and they all do that. So when you plug it in, I would watch to make sure you don't have a stream flowing. If it starts to drip, take a screwdriver and stick it in the slot at the top of the plunger. Gently turn it one way or the other while pushing the plunger down slightly, and it will usually stop.

Like smalljaw mentioned, yes Wright and McGill is Eagle Claw, and they have been like that forever. I will vouch for the new breed of hooks the Black Pearl (Platinum) series are excellent hooks. Also Trokar is made by Eagle Claw. Finally, not to take away anything from Wright and McGill, but they are hook makers and not makers of rods and reels. I personally saw their rods and reels and not happy with the quality of what I saw. Now guys don't get all bent out of shape, this is just my opinion. If you like the Skeet Reese rods and reels then more power to you.

Drake, All you have to do is call them. I don't think they will send you a letter approving you to use their molds so you can then sell their jigs. I have been doing this for 8 years and never had a problem. Do-It knows that you are going to create jigs from their molds that's why they are selling and making molds. Now if you were going to take one of their molds and then have it copied and then start sellling molds well that is a different story. Everyone I ever spoke to at Do-it has never given me any problems. Even at the worst case possible, a company would usually send you a cease and desist letter before they sue you. However for your peace of mind call them and ask.

The tape I have has been discontinued. PM me your e-mail address and I will get a pic out to you tonight.

Drake, None that I know of. When I first started selling jigs, I asked Do-It Molds if I can use the name "Poison Tail" or "Ultra-Minnow" in my catalog, and they had no problem with it. They were very nice about the whole process, and I use all of their names in my catalog.

Sorry, I just looked, the biggest I have is a roll from WTP and it is 1/4: wide.

How big as far as size goes and how much do you need? I may be able to help you. When ou say chartreuse, I assume you mean yellow chartreuse? Post hear or PM me.

You might be able to take an aberdeen hook like a Mustad 32756, Eagl Claw #570 or a Matzuo #9014 and bend out the hook eye to a 60 degree. These hooks will bend, that's what they are made for. So if you get them stuck underwater, you will bend the hook out and then you can re-bend it back to where it was and start fishing again. Other than that, I don't know of any thin wire 60 degree hooks.

Tiger Drylac does, but they aren't cheap.

I don't use any Pro-tec color powder paints other than their Watermelon and green pumpkin. This is about as good to olive as you are going to get. Can't help you with yellow.

Most guys that use any water based paint use Devcon 2 Ton 30 minute epoxy (D2T) or Envirotex Lite (E-tex)

Scott, No, guys make custom molds all the time with special hooks that they like. So as you can see if you want a jig that a jig maker made, and you have to have it because " it's the only jig that works for you". Then you have two options. #1 Keep buying them from him, or modify a mold to use the hook he has. If you use a lot of these football heads with those hooks then it would be worth your while to mod a mold. If you use a dozen jigs or so a year. It's cheaper to keep buying them from him. The cost of making them yourself many times does not outweigh the cost of buying them. Many guys make custom molds for this reason. So the jigs are different and if they happen to catch on, they're the only game in town selling them. Honestly I would look for a differnt hook and call it a day. Fishing to me is 95% about presentation and trying to find where the fish are. The other 5% is luck and color. Just my 2 cents worth.

I didn't even know that, that hooks existed. You will probably have to mod a football jig mold. I don't have the hooks so I can't tell you what mold it would fit.

Mako, I hand tie skirts on my jigs, and I have only used Sally Hansen's on the thread wraps. I think you should leave it at that, If you go the epoxy route, it may be overkill. Just a thought.

Musky Glen, Here is an answer to your shiny dilemma and it does work. Once you pour and clean your shiny spinnerbait heads, immediately clear coat them with D2T. They will stay shiny until the epoxy is compromised. I have had a jig going on a year and still the D2T has stayed on. If you would like some pics PM me your e-mail and I can show you how they look.

A question for you two guys. Is Lumiflex the same material that the Starflash skirts are made out of ??????? Thanks in advance.