GEEMAN

I have used fingernail polish on my walleye sized jigs but I fish them in a lot of rocky areas and the polish never holds up for very long. I use S H Hard as nails to seal my stick on eyes (when I use them ) but that too doesn't seem to last too long. That being said, the cool thing with nail polish is you can get some wicked cool colors though. I have a few different colors of nail polish that I can try. I'll have to paint a few tungsten ice jigs with them and see how it fares. Too bad the ice season is almost done = I'm running out of time to give this stuff a good test run. Re: powder paint The candy and silver hologram paints turned out some really nice looking jigs on the few small tungsten jigs I painted up. The one jig I used regular color powder paint didn't turn out near as nice.

I got my hands on some unpainted 4 MM Tungsten jigs for icefishing a few weeks ago. I've only ever powder painted lead jigs and blade baits before and was wondering if I could powder paint tungsten heads or not. Since this was an experiment I only tried to paint 5 jigs. Three in a two tone color scheme and one in a three tone color scheme and one that failed before I could dip it. I cured them in a toaster oven set at 325 for 20 mins. I used a torch set on low to heat the heads. I just can't get used to using a heat gun. Anyhow, As Kasilofchirsn said, you need to what the heating time. It only takes a split second too long applying heat and the solder that binds the hook to the head will go poof ! I had that happen on one head but was able to glue the hook back into place with a dab of Clear Cure Goo. I'll paint that one with Acrylic paint sometime down the road and see how that goes. The four jigs I baked/cured ( after painting ) came out fine. I was wondering if the bake time might cause the solder to melt causing the hooks to separate from the heads but they didn't. One thing I did notice was one of the hooks broke as I tried pulling it out of my glove while fishing. Don't ask. LOL It broke rather easily which had me concerned. I was wondering if that was the result of a cheap hook or something else. After thinking about it and where the hook broke, I am thinking that the heating process may have changed the temper in the fine wire hook and made it brittle ? Dunno.I've had these jigs out 4 times now and caught a pile of gills, a few crappies and a few bass with them and aside from the one broken hook , I have had zero issues with the other jigs I have fished. I am guessing if a guy wanted to paint bigger Tungsten jigs that there shouldn't be any issues with brittle hooks due to the hooks being made with a heavier gauge wire. I am also uessing there should be no issues with powder painting Tungsten weights. Bottom line is that I am fairly happy with my results and will probably try to powder paint some more heads soon. I would also like to try some other paints and see how that goes. I like powder paint and all but it may not be the best option for these little jigs. I don't know jack about other types of paint save I hate vinyl paint so I'm going to try some acrylic paint too and see how that goes. I'm not too sure what to use to clear coat the acrylic jigs though so I am open to suggestions. Hope this helps

I ran across a small jar of plastisol I had forgotten I even had yesterday aft. Figured what the heck and tried my hand at dipping a few tubes last night. I was expecting the worst but considering it was my first attempt I was relatively pleased with how the whole process went. I had a few problems with bubbles , timing , coloring and a few other things but have found solutions on the board here to try and actualy solved a few myself through observations I made during the whole process. I used 1/8" brass rod cut in about 5" lengths for dipping horizontaly. I bent about an inch of the ends of each rod to about 45 degrees ( not quite a J shape )to hang on my drying racks. I have drying racks for when I tie bucktails/paint jigs that I made out of 6" mesh used to reenforce concrete sidewalks. Two squares wide by 3 squares tall with the two vertical sides cut off works pretty slick. Easy to store and you can make them any size you want. Anyways , I am relatively pleased with how things went and am looking forward to my next try. Unfortunately , I'll have to wait unitl I can rig up a vent fan/fans or can move the operation to the garage. The better half was'nt just too happy with the smoke/smells generated in the basement. LOL

T , I am going to try to duplicate a tail called a Sword Tail. It's simular yet different than a Stinger tail in the Cabela's catalog. No cuts to be made on the tail save one diagonal one. It should'nt be too difficult to reproduce I would'nt think ? Famous last words eh ? LOL I don't recall the website off hand and used to order them by phone. Last order I placed 2 years ago I was told they were discontinuing the Crappie size so I stocked up then. I have 75-100 tails left but have been thinking of making them for myself for about a year now. I also want to make a size about 3" long/wider diameter than the Crappie size for Walleyes. The Swordtail is a great little multi species tube. If it were regular Crappie tubes I was after I would'nt even bother trying to make them as buying them would be way cheaper. Since they are'nt made anymore ( that I know of ) I want to try my hand at making them for myself and a couple fishin buddies. I have the right diameter rod to use to dip them. I also have a jig design in mind for the dipping ceramonies and will cobble that together one of these days. All I really need now is some plastic , color ,glitter a little luck and lots of patience and I should be all set to start making a mess in the basement. LOL Thanks for the input all !

First off , THANKS ALL for the great info provided on this site. Though I've been pouring my own jigs for years , some of the tips I've learned here have increased the quality of my jigs BIG TIME over where it was just a year ago. I have ZERO experience pouring plastics and am wanting to get into pouring/dipping my own plastics. To be more specific , I am wanting to try my hand at making my own Crappie sized tubes. Long story short is I am unable to buy a style Crappie tube I used to due to the style being discontinued. In fact I think the site itself has gone belly up ? Anyhow , My first question is is there a difference between the plastic you would use to make 4" and bigger tubes vs the smaller Crappie tubes ? At present , I'm looking at making single color tubes ( if that makes a difference ? ) though multi colored ones may be in my future. Right now I think it's best if I get the feel for single colors and learning the basics first. From what I have read so far I'll be dipping with a hot plate/alum pan set up. Even though from what I've read the microwaze route seems to be the best way to go ? Again , I think I'll take my lumps learning the hot plate route first = learn the basics. I feel I have a good idea of materials ( rods ,wire ,thermometer etc. )I'll need to aquire for dipping so that should'nt be a problem .... I HOPE ! LOL I am looking to make 3 specific colors. The first is smoke ? ( a transparent black ? ) with a fine black,blue and silver flake in it. The second is clear with a fine holographic flake in it. The third is just the standard glow color. I don't plan on adding any scent or salt. In time maybe , but not right now. I would appreciate your advice as to what to and where I should order material wise. Plastic , colors , glitter , quantities etc. Also a recipe for the smoke color would be much appreciated. I don't make my stuff as a business or to save a buck. I just enjoy making and fishing with stuff I've made so won't be needing huge quantities of plastic etc. Thanks for your time.

I'm looking for a discontinued mold ( Made by DO-IT I think ) I'm not certain about the details but I believe it was called a tear drop mold. NOT like the current Tear drop mold DO-IT makes. This one is not rounded like the current tear drop mold offered by DO-IT but but more a rounded tear shape with no collar at all. There's a local guy whose rather undependable that I can get the jigs from but the quality is'nt there , he charges too much IMO and he does'nt use the hooks I prefer. The guy knows I'm looking to make my own jigs in that style and for whatever reason is'nt too forthcomming about specifics about that particular mold. I know , strange. Bottom line , I would MUCH rather make my own if at all possible. I just need to find that mold. Thanks for any help.

Thanks for the suggestions all. I went and got myself some hard as nails and am going give that a whirl. I think I have my wrap problem solved just wanted to know other options than the crappy head cement ? I was using. I was having problems this spring with some jigs I tied up comming unraveled after a few fish. By pure dumb luck I had run into a pattern that was absolutely killing the Walleyes and Saugers on the local river here while most other guys were pulling zip with the same old same old jigs and rigs. Anyhow , I assumed it was the head cement I was using that was causing me problems. That and rookie mistakes. Well , anyhow , I've come up with a few more color/material scemes to lay on those fish and just want to make sure I don't end up with pieces parts on the bucktail front again after just a few fish. LOL PS , The tutorial was great and is how I tie my bucktails. Thanks again !

I'm interested in hearing what others use on the thread wrap when finishing bucktail jigs. I've used a few different things like Super Glue , water based head cement , Zap a Gap etc. but still have a problem with threads unraveling from time to time. The Super Glue works the best but is a pain to use due to the small tubes/ stick factor on fingers , tools , work bench and anything else I touch. LOL I just started tying my own bucktails this last winter so am still in the learning stages. I know there's got to be somthing better out there than what I'm using. Forgive me if this topic has been brought up before but I could'nt find anything on the subject. Thanks for any help.

A long shot here but perhaps you have a lead issue ? I've found in the past that when I used lead with alloys in it such as wheel weights some of my molds did'nt turn out decent jigs consistently. Wheel weights ( tho I hav'nt used them in years and won't anymore ) are ok for things like sinkers and such but not so good for molds with smaller cavities or jigs with collars etc. I ONLY use soft lead now. I get mine at the local scrap metal dealer and if I can't leave a mark in the lead with my thumbnail I won't use it.

HI , Been lurking on this site for quite a while and am impressed with the all the good information that can be found here. I've been making my own jigs for quite a while now and am considering getting into making my own plastics next. Anyways , THANKS for all the good info and a great site. Hopefuly I can contribute somthing usefull down the road.