smalljaw

If you go to Barlow's and LPO look at the blades and look at Worth and Lakeland catalogs. Barlow's provides blade dimensions that you can match up, most of the blades those places sell are either Worth or Lakeland and they also sell the Hildebrandt blades. As for blade cup, a shallower cup will spin at slower speeds and start spinning almost instantly. They will spin faster than a deep cup because of how easily they spin and they have less lift so the baits will run deeper. Deep cup blades spin at a slower speed and have a wider arc so they have more lift, they have more vibration because of the wider arc but if you want the bait to run deeper a shallower cup blade is better.

I like the minnow head for the float-n-fly jig. I like the head in 1/16oz and 1/8oz, the 1/16oz with a #2 and the 1/8oz with a #1 hook. The mold comes in assorted sizes or you can get the production mold which has 2 sizes with 3 cavities of each size. The assorted is good as you have all the sizes you need but if you only need two size the production molds are better.

Cadman, those triangle blades are called Royal Willows or just Royal blades. Lakeland came out with them quite some time ago, I found them in 2011 or 2012. Anyway, they swim at ridiculously slow speeds and they have a wide arc with a lot of thump.

The only issue with the dollar store nail polish is the smell. SH takes a little longer to set up but sets up pretty hard but the smell isn't as strong and is gone after a few hours. I tried this L.A. Colors stuff from Family Dollar, 3 days later and it still stand and I only used it to coat some thread on a hair jig.

What is probably happening is the UV resin is breaking loose from the socket. There are 2 ways to fix the issue, the first is to do the entire head in the UV resin. The second is to apply the UV resin to the eyes and cure like you have been doing and then go over the eyes and entire head with Sally Hansen's clear nail polish. I tried the UV resin and it is ok but it has a tacky feeling after it is cured so I found if you go over it with clear nail polish it would get rid of the tacky feeling and make the finish even harder. Now the first option isn't great because the UV resin is expensive, it is why I no longer use it, so try the clear nail polish over the head and eyes after the UV resin and see how that works.

I will echo Cadman in that I really like the color of those heads!!! What I'm surprised by is how smooth the Createx when on with an artist brush. Very nice!!!!!!!!!!

Owner 5318 should work fine but it can be a bit pricey. A very good hook that won't break the bank is the VMC 9147, I got some in a 2/0 to try with tube jigs and 1 trip sold me. I also like the Eagle Claw 570BP, that is the black platinum version for the old bronze 570, very good hook and most dismiss it. Mustad 32746 is a good bet as well but before I pay for the Mustad I'd go with the VMC 9147, it is stout for a light wire hook and very sharp. As I mentioned, the Owner 5318 is the premium option and to be honest I use that in a 3/0 for 1/8oz Freestyle jigs for finesse swim baits.

Lakeland manufacturing makes a line of pike and musky blades but the sizes will resemble regular blades. I have some size #4 willows and that are close to a size #6 regular willow blade. As for the Terminators, most guys lose the blade and the swivel because they are titanium and some of the baits don't have a completely formed top loop. So after casting a few times the split ring holding the blade and swivel eventually finds its way off the loop. I've never heard of any bass size spinnerbait having the blade come off the split ring, the swivel and blade falling off yes, just the blade, no. Now on a musky bait with a really large blade, well I have no experience with that but the Terminators losing the blade and swivel has been happening for years.

You do know you can buy the Worth swivels direct from Worth without the split rings on don't you? They use a light size 2.5 split ring but you can add a heavy duty one yourself as the holes accommodate .035" wire. Go to LPO and get some jump rings or heavy split rings and buy the swivels without the rings, simple, and I believe Barlow's Tackle allows the option of buying the swivels without rings as well.

Just about any heavy wire 60 degree hook will fit the Trokar Arky jig mold. I have that mold and I use the VMC 7161 as well as the Mustad 32786, the Eagle Claw 786BP, and the Owner 5317.

I don't know well that mold is going to work. There is no vents, no gates, and it is just a Z-Man Shroomz head that was laid in some type of mold putty or resin. I would not hit that with lead unless I knew exactly what is was made out of, not rated for high heat or if it is retaining any moisture could result in injury.

They were unveiled at ICAST in July of 2019 but they haven't been released for retail as of yet. I was told Eagle Claw has not provided a timeline to when they will be available either. I make a 1/16oz and 1/8oz ball head jig with a 3/0 Eagle Claw Lil Nasty for finesse style swim baits and they work really well with 8# line and a medium power spinning rod. I don't lose fish on them, if they get the hook the only way they get off is if the line breaks. If you are making a head specifically for the Damiki rig then the lil nasty is perfectly fine, the wire is stronger than the Matzuo and just as sharp if not sharper. If you feel you want a little bit stronger hook try the Mustad 32500 skip jack hook, it is made with slightly heavier wire.

Yes, you can just epoxy over powder without baking it. I'm sure the UV will be fine as well but I've never tried the UV cure except for UV head cement from Loon.

I really like the Eagle Claw Lil Nasty but it is a really light wire so be aware of that. Matzuo is out of business but even if they weren't I'd still go Eagle Claw. The wire is just as light as the Matzuo so you need very little pressure to get it to penetrate. I also gave up on Matzuo because of the sheer number of bad hooks and by bad I mean unusable. I think before you settle on one hook you should check out some others as well, Mustad makes the 32500 that goes up to a 2/0, it is a sickle style but has more rounded bends so it is a sort of hybrid style but it is also a little heavier wire than the Lil Nasty. I don't know how much longer until it is available but Eagle Claw is coming out with the L570 Pro-V hook, it is a laser sharp 570 with the sickle bends. The 570 wire is a little heavier than the lil nasty but for a Damiki rig the lil nasty will work well.

I got them in a #5 and #4 to make a double royal bait. I made it 1/2oz with .035" wire and it had so much torque even a slow retrieve couldn't keep it from rolling over. I since then used that #5 blade for a single blade bait and it thumps so hard it makes .035" wire feel like I'm running .029". They also spin at a ridiculously low speed so if you want a thumping blade that is the one to get.

Lakeland has a blade called a Royal blade or Royal Willow blade. I think they have more thump than a Colorado or Mag willow. https://barlowstackle.com/Royal-Willow-Spinner-Blades-P1956/

Get yourself some CSI lure markers. They aren't really markers, they are valve operated paint sticks. They come with foam tips, a wide rounded tip, a fine tip and a couple of chisel shaped tips. Anyway, you put a tip in and you shake the marker up just like a rattle can of spray paint. After you shake the paint you push down on the tip which will open the valve and the paint will flow into the tip, it will take a minute for the tip to absorb enough paint to begin using. I use them for stripes and dots after powder coating and then I cure in the oven at 350 degrees and it seems to bake right into the powder without the color washing out and it holds up. They might be worth looking into and are easy to use.

Want harder lead, 70-30 mix of lead and antimony. I poured a Midwest finesse jig with that ratio and tried to pull the wire keeper out or loosen it up, the keeper bent and never came loose. The issue is it is too hard and in some molds it doesn't work well. So I use 3% to 5% antimonial lead now and that works well. I use to have wheel weight lead and I'd melt it down and pour 1/2lb ingots and then pour pur soft lead into 1lb ingots so I wouldn't mix them up. It also made it easier to keep the same ratio of hard to soft but now I just go with the 3% to 5% antimonial lead and it is hard enough without being too hard.

You can use Rit dye and it works well. A sharpie will work to add stripes or accents but I wouldn't do a lot of hair with it. The reason being is it fades out after a little bit.

I remember Hank Parker saying it was made with .031" wire. If Allen says he measured it to .035" then that is what I would go with. You'll still get plenty of vibration of it since it uses a #7 Indiana and a #3 Colorado.

You have to use the gel super glue, regular super glue wicks up the fibers of the weed guard.

Devcon 2-ton epoxy. If it says 2 ton then you have the 30 minute and it is the right stuff. BTW, Devcon 2-ton has an actual working time of 12 minutes, not really a full 30.

Welcome to TU, I'm glad you found us!!!! You are right, the stuff you got looks like it was intended for other species but most of it can be used to make bass and pike lures.

The Du-Bro EZ Twist is expensive and it only does up to .031" diameter wire. I think it would be good for leaders and rigging more than it would for making spinners but that is just what it looks like to me.

Another quick observation, try using a gate shear and cut the sprue off. I could be wrong but I'm guessing the lead is still a little warm when you are breaking off the sprue. If it is, there is a good chance you are causing the lead to break free from the hook and the wire. I know a lot of people were having issues with the mid west finesse jig mold because they would break the sprue off instead of cutting it. Working the sprue back and forth or twisting it off is something I stopped doing because light wire hooks would get slight bends in them and sometimes I'd actually work the head loose. Try using a gate shear, diagonal cutter will work but you may not be able to get close enough.