smalljaw

So are you looking for a shaky head or a swing jig? I apologize but your terminology is a bit confusing, you say you get better hook sets with the rugby head that isn't on a swivel? What do you mean by "swivel"?

Apdriver is correct, Jon Barlow has done a great job of listing alternative hooks for molds. The other thing is that if you want to know if a certain hook will fit a certain mold, all you need to do is ask, and most of the time he goes above and beyond by letting you know which sizes will and won't work besides the sizes you asked for, a true asset to have.

The beauty of custom tackle is you make it how you want it. Most will use 2 to 3 tabs of material, I've made finesse style jigs with 1.5 tabs and even some micro jigs with 1 tab and less. For baits from 1/4oz up to 3/8oz I use 2 tabs on average, for heavier heads I use 2.5 most of the time with 3 tabs only used for certain types and sizes but for the most part 2 tabs will work with most everything.

some questions for you. The reason that jig doesn't have a weed guard is because it isn't designed for fishing in cover. The head is 3/8" in diameter, that coupled with a short hook helps keep sparse grass off the jig but it is meant as an open water finesse tactic. If you are using it around cover, chances are that you can do better using a different presentation, the mid west finesse technique is basically used to catch suspending and cruising bass in open water that normally won't hit larger baits. The reason for the 5313 hook is simple, it solves 2 problems with 1 hook, the first problem is there are anglers that want to use a larger hook, the 5313 is a short shank hook so the size #1 hook is more like a #1.5 but it still has the same bite as a size #1, and the same thing for the 1/0. The other problem it solves is the strength, a lot of guys don't know how to finesse fish, they use line that is too heavy on rods that are too stout and they bend out Aberdeen hooks. The solution would to be to use a heavy wire hook like the Mustad 32833 but then you run into a problem of the guys that finesse fish a lot, they tend to use light line and lighter power rods which makes it tough to set the hook. The 5313 from Owner is a 1X strong hook that won't bend out for the guys using heavier tackle and it is still light and sharp enough that you can get good hook sets with light tackle. The Mustad 32833 also has another problem, the hook leg is too short so the hook wouldn't end up in the center of the head, instead it be positioned slightly forward and it would make you rig your plastic off center in order to get the same flush fit. I'm not sure but I'm thinking the Gamakatsu 604 in a size #2, #1, and 1/0 might fit but like I said, I'm not sure.

I'm a jig tier and bucktail is not hollow, deer belly hair is. It is a common misconception, the only hair on a bucktail that is hollow are the hairs on the back and toward the bottom and it is only hollow in the base of those hairs. The difference between bucktail and synthetic aka-craft fur is the action, bucktail has a subtle action, it is preferred over synthetic material because it mimics the profile of a minnow perfectly when wet. Synthetics should never be ruled out, they work better during warm water periods because they have more action and a fluid motion in the water. Synthetics have an action similar to marabou but it doesn't compress as much so you get a slightly larger profile using synthetic material.

Jeff, get some clear powder and use a table spoon of clear in 2oz of the black. The clear won't wash out the color but it will make it fluff up better preventing the problem you are experiencing.

My second pair of gate shears is now pinching off the sprue instead of cutting it which is creating more work as I have more filing to do. So now that I need a new one I was wondering what you guys use, and I don't want to use diagonal cutter, I have a set of Snap-On diagonal cutters and those have the same tendency to pinch the sprue off instead of cutting flush. I appreciate any help, I was looking into the Xuron flush cutter but there are so many models and they are made for plastic model part trees so I don't know which ones to get so any advise would be great.

I do the same as Apdriver, I prefit the weed guard before putting glue or epoxy into the base hole. One word of caution, they should be snug without being tight and angle means a lot, I found this out years ago. I was in a hurry and tried to get a weed guard into the hole and it was too tight, but before I pulled any strands off I angled the weed guard just a tiny bit toward the hook and it slipped right in.

Ok, now there is a lot of different answers so I'll try to make this much more simple. When it comes to sealing the eyes, you don't have to do the entire head but it helps if you do because if the eye sockets aren't deep or the eye is large enough to take up the entire socket you'll end up with edge of top coat on the head which can cause it to lift and peel. BLT made a point, if you want to make it look nice do the entire head and Devcon is probably the easiest to use if you don't have experience with clear coats because it works with 1 coat and is self leveling and gets thick fast enough you don't need a drying wheel, simply coat and hang to dry.

The eyes you got from Barlows are most likely from WTP which uses a good adhesive. All you need to do is stick the eys on and they will hold for a little bit. That said, they should be sealed, you can coat the entire jig head and over top of the eyes with Devcon 2-ton epoxy or you can use Sally Hansen's "Hard as Nails" clear and go over them. When you buy cheap eyes from ebay or other sources the adhesive is really bad and you will need a drop of super glue on the eye socket of the jig before putting the eye in place but the eyes you bought won't need that.

The Owner 5304 isn't a sickle but the deep throat does the same thing, and that is hold once the point penetrates. You are looking at a high dollar amount but you pass it along to the customer if they have to have that style of hook. BTW, most guys don't understand what the bends of hooks are for, most will want a certain hook because of brand name parroting or because a hook "looks different." EDIT: I forgot, if you can get away with a 30 degree hook, Mustad makes the 32850 which has a sickle style bend.

Yes, they sell to the public but you have to add 10% for the excise tax to your order. I'm not sure about the swivels but I've order blades from them in 100 count, the exception is painted blades need to be at least 250 blades. I buy the swivels alone and then buy the split rings from the separate, I will buy 1000 swivels and 2000 of the split rings and put them together myself, it is a lot cheaper as I pay like $321 or something like that shipped. If you don't need many go to Barlows Tackle, they let you buy the swivel and split rings separate which saves you a lot, for 100 swivels with the rings on I think it is $85 but if you buy the swivels along with the rings and put them together yourself it comes like $55.

Erick, it depends on the head size and blade type along with the length of wire used on the hook leg. The easiest way to get a bait to experiment with is to make the blade arm 1/2" longer than the hook leg and in this case the blade arm will be 2". That is a starting point as I don't know the type of blade, if it is single or tandem or double, and I don't know how much wire is going to be coming out of the head. All of that stuff will affect the bait, for me, if I'm making a slow roll bait for fishing deep, I'll use a single blade, a willow for clearer water and an Indiana for off colored water, dirty water I'll slow roll shallow with a Colorado blade. The key for deep slow rolling is to have a steeper angle on bend of the blade arm to decrease drag to help keep the bait down, and because the blade will be close to the hook you don't want it extending past the hook too far. I like to have the very back of the blade even or just a hair past the bend of the hook, and for that reason you have to either adjust the loop size to attach the blade and swivel or you have to adjust the wire length either coming out of the head or the length of blade arm. So start with the blade arm 1/2" longer than the hook leg, this will get you close and then adjust accordingly to get it the way you need it to be.

I agree with Cadman, pouring multiple cavities is slower for me. I tried it many times with my production ball head molds, I'd load the hooks and then over pour each cavity so I'd end up with a single large connected sprue and I'd be able to pull all the heads out at 1 time. But after I'd get all the heads I wanted done I'd spend another 45 minutes cutting all the jigs free from the sprue, between the time it took to load the mold with hook and the time spent cutting jigs free I did better pouring 1 at a time.

Thanks for the heads up! Just for your information, both Barlows and Lure Parts Online have better pricing than TW's sale price.

You have the pictures backward, the bottom pic or #2 is the blackfoot mongoose and it retails for $145. It comes with a bobbin cradle, c-clamp and a material clip. The top one or #1, is a Montana Mongoose, it retails for $234 and there is a lot more going on with it. It has a cam lever that can be locked both forward and backward which is a big deal for fly tiers, it also comes with a hackle gauge and a bobbin in addition to what the blackfoot comes with. It also has a fine adjustment screw to get the exact resistance you want on the rotary feature and it also has a lock allowing you to rotate the vise and lock it in any position. What they mean when they say cam operated is the jaw locking mechanism, there are 4 ways vises can lock the jaws to hold your hooks, there is the mechanical lock that is used on 2A vises which are the cheapest kind of vise, then you have tension locks like the Regal vise uses, then there is the thumb screw like what is on my Griffin Odyssey, and then you have the cam lock which is almost as easy as the tension lock as you simply put you hook in the jaws and turn the lever and it is locked. I almost forgot, the Montana Mongoose also comes with a pedestal, the blackfoot does not. Now for tying jigs the blackfoot is fine, the Montana is better but most of the features really benefit fly tiers who require more precision than someone tying a jig like myself. If you tie flies, especially small ones like down to a size 28, well the Montana will be the best bet, but the cheaper one is still lifetime warranty and well made and will serve you well and it has the same hook capacity.

The blade you want for a Rooster Tail is called a "swing blade". They used to make them with willow blades as well but they were had to get started in smaller sizes but the swing blades work well. You can use the folded clevis as Fatman does as Mepps also uses a folded clevis but I believe the Rooster Tail uses a Stirrup clevis also called an easy spin clevis.

If you use 26 or 24 gauge wire then you shouldn't have a problem with my method. I cut the wire a inch longer than normal and wire tie the skirt in the usual way. Once I get to the end and finish the wire twist, instead of trimming the wire and folding it over, I wrap the excess wire around the rattle until the rattle is firmly against the jig, if there is any wire sticking out I trim it off but I've done it so many times I can eye ball how much wire I need so little to no trim needed.

It may chip off after awhile but not just a few casts. First thing, what temp are you curing at and for how long? The next thing, how sure are you that the oven temp is correct? If using a toaster oven, they are notorious for not being accurate, when I checked my oven with an oven thermometer the dial is at 385 to get the oven to 354 degrees. I cure my heads at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then add on the 3 minutes the oven takes to get to temperature, then add another 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how many jigs and what size they are, for the jigs to reach temp and that is when my time starts. So when I put my jigs in the oven, it is 21 to 24 minutes, after they cool I can take one and throw it against the concrete floor in my shop and it won't crack or chip, but after a couple trips dragging on rocks it will wear some of it away but it takes time.

I think you are looking for the "Skirt Master" tool. http://www.skirtmaster.com/

I use the Worth #2 ball bearing swivel as well. There are only two ball bearing swivels I'd use for spinnerbaits and under spins, the first one is the Woth and the second would be the Sampo.

I prefer the shaky head models with a screw lock, they take an extra second of two to rig but the screw lock holds the worm better than any other method. I don't have the Randy Howell model head for the reason you specified, they opted to go with the Gamakatsu 111, a way over priced bronze hook and the only black nickel hook I know that will fit is the VMC 7150 in a 3/0 and 4/0 and that is a deep throat style hook. I think Do-it missed the mark with that mold, so many other hooks and they went with the worst hook Gammakatsu makes.

That mold calls for 5/32" but 3/16" works as well so you'll want 4mm eyes.

You got the right answers but I can help a little bit with the heat. If you are having trouble with getting the heat just right, try doing what you are doing now only dip and remove faster, speed can be your friend. I find a lot of people new to powder painting will dip and pause a second or two and that is where you end up with too much paint. So the next time painting heat your jig and dip and remove a little faster and see how it goes. This is something that takes getting use to and you get a few different answers because what works for one person might not work well for you but if you keep at it you'll develop your own way.