smalljaw

I'm just the opposite, I would rather the "r" bend over a closed loop any day, I used to fish a closed loop but I like to use mono for spinnerbaits and I've lost too many fish and spinnerbaits because of the line wrapping around the closed loop. As far as the line sliding on the "r" bend, I don't have a problem with it, I use a palomar knot and it stays in place but I have had major sliding problems while using braid.

I've been using the ultra minnow for 6 years and I can honestly say it's one of the better spinnerbait head out on the market right now, and as for the problems you hear about, well everyone has a different enviroment as well as different methods in which they pour so don't base your decision on that alone. I will tell you this, if you do go with the ultra minnow head, make sure you use soft lead and not wheel weights, alot of the problems you hear about that mold is because of lead that is not real soft, so the only way to know if you'll have problems is to try it.

Go to www.luremaking.com , it's the website of real pro sportfishing from Canada and they have the white with orange tips, you have to call to place an order but they are good to deal with as I have ordered stuff from them before.

Do-it has what is called the slip jig which is basically a worm weight with a collar on it so you can add a skirt, it's an excellent lure!

The only time I ever had that problem was when I tried to epoxy 10 jigs with a single use of Devcon, by the time I reached the 8th jig it was getting to the point that it was had to apply and was very thick, but now I limit myself to 4 or 5 jigs and then mix more and by doing that I haven't had any problems.

Yes, powder paint and powder with glitter can be applied with an airbrush but not just any airbrush. You need to get a badger hobby sand blaster, it looks just like an airbrush but the nozzle is larger in order for the course media to flow through it.

I've used the seal coat from CS and it is a pretty good product but I still like D2T better, the seal coat doesn't have the durability 2 part epoxy has and D2T dries as clear as the seal coat, the advantage to the seal coat is you don't have to mix it but it must be stirred, and it sets up fast, in fact if you go over a spot as it sets up you'll get lines and bubbles which is another reason I went back to the epoxy.

Silicone is a great material in the fact that you can store it anywhere and not really have to worry about it but rubber on the other hand is a nightmare. I like rubber for the action it gives in the water but you have to dry it really good before you put it away and if you are going to store rubber for long periods of time it needs to be coated with talc and stored in a cool place or it will melt.

Try waiting 10 seconds after casting to remove the bait from the mold, and also try to get the bait out by grabbing the sprue and not the wire or hook. If you are having trouble getting the bait out of the mold try smoking the mold in order to make the bait come out easier.

I agree with what everyone else said, it very dangerous and remember, the spoon is metal and a great conductor of heat so I don't think you'll even get the lead to melt before the spoon becomes too hot to handle. Pouring lead is just like any other tackle making endeavor, it's going to cost you money to start but if you buy good equipment it'll be that much more enjoyable. I use a Lee melter and pour using a ladle, I've become quite good at it over the years but it does take time to get a feel for it so if you get yourself a bottom pouring melter that would be best.

I made my first few with a flat eye arkie jig and what I noticed is that the blade rides close to the head and fishing it in cover pins the blade against the head leading it to get hung up and not having any action but I began to use a regular eye snootie jig and attaching the blade with 2 split rings and it has made a world of difference. The first thing it does is it makes the bait rerally move side to side when burning it and the second thing I like is that the blade has more travel, it doesn't get pinned to the head and comes through cover alot better, now its the only one I use.

I'm not sure about finding a Gamakatsu to fit the PT mold but I can tell you this, I've been using a Gammie for my 3/8oz snootie jigs and I went back to the Mustad hook because the Gammie hooks do not work well in cover, if you set the hook on a limb or rock the mustad is still sharp and the gammie is junk, its that very reason I stopped using them on spinnerbaits but you can't beat the gammie for crankbaits, they hook fish when they just sniff your bait.

Go with the poison tail jig, it performs extremely well around wood cover and the hook up ratios for me are great with this jig and I think that is because it uses an EWG hook. Another good jig that I like is the Snootie jig, I like that jig for fishing grass or swimming over limbs and laydowns, it has a little different fall than most jigs and that seems to entice alot of strikes.

I've only used glow powder a few times and only white but I believe you need to use a white base coat no matter what color glow paint you use.

I use Devcon 2T for the weed guards because I'm going to use it as a top coat over my jigs anyway. You can use a lot of different types of glue but some super glues tend to wick up the weed guard so try to use a gel if you go the super glue route, another thing is to make sure the glue or epoxy that you use is water proof because thats where the jig is going to go and using something else could prove disasterous, good luck.

On my small PT mold I can get away with a 2/0 hook on the 1/8oz a 3/0 on the 1/4oz and I can put a 4/0 on the 3/8oz without much of a problem, the only issue I had with this is I get a little flashing around the hook eye but it only takes a minute to clean up.

I like stick-on eyes myself as it makes for a more professional look but you can get good eyes by painting also, if you go to stamina, they sell a product called eye dotters, they're $0.99 for a pack of 5, they are simply a paintbrush with a little foam ball on the end instead of bristles so all you have to do is dip in the paint and dot the eye on.

I think the insert would get damaged from the heat, but there are lots of alternatives, a sharpie isn't a good idea since it will come off in a very short amount of time because it's ink, on the other hand there is a product called quick coat lure markers, these are basically a maker that uses actual paint and are quite easy to use. The markers come with a few interchangable tip and all you have to do is shake the marker like you would a paint can, then press the marker down so that most of the tip is inside the marker body, this is the valve and after a few seconds the paint will begin to flow into the tip and you are ready to paint. You can go an extra step and use clear nail polish or epoxy to coat the painted weight afterwards to give you a more durable finish.

I'm with cadman, you can't beat powder for ease of use and durability but I give you the pros and cons of both so you can decide for yourself. The pros of powder are that it one coat and done, very simple and easy, all you need to do after painting is bake and the lure has a hard durable finish and now with fluid beds, and spray guns you have multiple ways of applying it. The cons are few but the biggest one is not being able to paint fine lines and detail, and you have to bake the lure after painting in order to have the finish durable, those are about the only things I can really call cons for the use of powder. Vinyl has alot of pros and cons but I'll give you the pros first, vinyl can be dipped, brushed, and airbrushed fairly easy for either method you choose, by using an air brush you can paint fine lines and lots of detail depending on your airbrushing skills, you can mix paints together to make different colors. The cons are its fumes can make you sick, you have to apply a white base coat no matter what color you are using and if you are using plain white you need at least 2 coats, you need to apply an epoxy top coat in order for the finish to be durable, it also needs to be thinned out if its a long time between use, if you are doing a small number of lures the drying time is fairly long, around 15 to 20 minutes between coats. Those are the main things for me now its up to you to decide which is right for you.

That looks very much like gold vein powder paint, look at my gallery, I have a spinnerbait painted with it, of course depending on how it's applied the effects can vary but thats what it looks like to me.

Yankeejigger, I don't have the shakey head mold, all I know is it accepts larger hooks for light weight, Gloomisman didn't specify what kind of hook only he wants a larger hook in a ball head jig, sorry for the mistake!

Gloomisman, how would a shakey head mold work for you? They are a round head but use a 60 degree hook instead of 90, that mold will uses a 3/0 for a 1/16oz and the hook size goes up with the weight size.

Do-it has the round head standard barb mold and I believe it has one model that is 1/16oz and 1/8oz that call for a 2/0 or 3/0 hook. Amazingly the only ones that have 1/4oz cavities take only a 1/0 hook as the largest.

Floatfly, a 5/8oz spinnerbait with a #5 colorado blade should have a size 3 swivel at least.