Kasilofchrisn

No that's how I do it also.I am not sure I could do it the other way.

I personally do not use those types of skirts so I won't be trying it anytime soon. Just thought i would give you the idea.

I would think you could heat and powder paint them in a fluid bed. The powder shouldn't stick to the silicone.

The same way virtually any fly tie starts. By wrapping thread around the hook shank over the top of itself. Here is a great tutorial on tying on squirrel tail for a dressed treble trout spinner. Youtube is a great resource for this stuff. Check youtube for other ties such as feather trebles for your musky spinners etc. http://<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/djReRqrMPKY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I just started making spinners this winter. I got a Hagens wire former for Christmas. I'm not very good at tying dressed hooks yet but mainly because I need more practice. I had a guy give me some squirrel tails that he caught on his trapline and there is some learning curve to it. I think in the long run it's better to learn to tie them yourself. It doesn't take a lot of tools either.

Good Advice I certainly agree! I like the wire keepers way better than the lead barbs. They are smaller so tear the baits less and hold much better.

For the biger stuff like that the ww by themselves should be fine. I never mix my alloys for jig casting. Never found the need. Just use what I have for my saltwater stuff. I buy Drop Out mold release by Frankford arsenault. Love the stuff. Tried the Home depot stuff and was not impressed. The drop out sprays thinner and solidifies faster. The other stuff left thicker lines of graphite in spots in the mold as it takes a bit longer to solidfy and comes out much faster. I ordered enough drop out to last me quite awhile. For the most part the graphite stays on the mold surface and lasts many many pours. No need to clean the jigs afterwards. Clip the sprues file them smooth and powder paint.

FUBAR: "Fouled(or the other "F" word) up beyond any recognition" Basically means you destroyed the mold and it is no longer useful for any real purpose. Could be any brand mold that you have ruined by unsuccessfully attempting modification of said mold.

Couldn't agree more. It is amazing stuff. It lasts a lot of castings as well

Yes, but it depends on the jig. Wheel weights are not good for small jigs or those with intricate parts but for my bigger saltwater stuff it isn't a problem. You do have to sort them first tossing the steel and zinc ones. Then clean out tons of dross and clips after it is melted. I have a big pot just for melting scrap. I also have a magnet on the end of a bent piece of all thread for removing the clips from the pot.Once fluxed and cleaned they are ingotized. Only clean fluxed ingots go into my shop to be made into jigs and sinkers. They are also good for bigger sinkers. Iv'e used a few hundred pounds of wheel weights over the years. Anymore I only use them if they are free. Around here wheel weights are hard to come by as so many people make saltwater sinkers out of them.

I sure will thanks Apdriver. If your ever in the area look me up. Hooligan(smelt) fishing has been real good. We also did good on the Morels. Picked up a couple of gallons on Saturday in just a few hours. Hope to get out a do some more fishing soon. Try out some more of my homemade trout spinners.

Never heard of people using canned Tuna. But whatever works I guess. Around here a sardine or herring wrap is really common though. As for bait in Anchorage there's lots of options but I would try B and J's http://www.bnjsg.com/onlinestore/ first before heading to the big box chain stores.

If your using quickfish or flatfish bring a fillet knife and some magic string. Fillet a herring or sardine and wrap the fillet meat side out onto the bottom of the plug. Work great.

Every river is a bit different. I have personally never fished the Nushagak. Getting guided one day is a sure way to gain a ton of knowledge that really really helps. Especially for the inexperienced. Kings are like Muskies in that they sometimes call them the fish of a thousand casts. One report showed guided anglers caught one king in the Kenai every 15.5 hours for guided anglers versus 41.9 hours for unguided anglers. I know that is a different river but it shows how king fishing can be. I would join up on the Alaska outdoor forums and do some searching there. Lots of guys there who have fished the Nushagak.

I can't tell you what sizes as I buy them off the shelf locally and know what I want just by looking at them. To rig one tie an Octopus hook on with a Salmon egg loop knot. Where legal I tie a double hook rig with the first one a sliding hook and the back hook fixed. I would most likely use a 5/0 hook or 6/0 hook for kings. Slide on a bead then the Spin n glo. Usually I tie to my mainline with a swivel. I use a slider to attach my backbouncing weight(cannonball) or a diver in front of the swivel. Size of weight or diver depends on the current flow and depth of water. From there it all depends where and how you are fishing. Back bouncing or back trolling are usually the most effective methods to fish them from a boat. And casting out and waiting when shore fishing. From shore pyramid weights are popular but other styles that do not allow the weight to slide downcurrent easily also work well. If bait is legal open the egg loop and place a piece of cured skein eggs in the loop. Where are you going to be fishing? My biggest king is a measly 65# but friends of mine have caught them up to 94#.

Yes cast industries in Springfield Illinois. http://castind.com/ The video is here:

If you make your own cups they are cheap. Buy some knock out test caps put it in your precut PVC cup and knock out the center and discard. Remove the remaining ring and save it. Put you membrane over the bottom of your PVC then put the ring back on. Done. One cup ready to use. PVC is relatively cheap to buy and cutting it is easy. Plus you can make any length cups you want. Most of my cups are 2" dia by 12" tall for big saltwater jigs. I also have several 3" cups by 4" tall for doing smaller jigs.

I buy mine from TJ's tackle. They have the best price especially since they give you extra jars. http://www.tjstackle.com/

I believe the closest thing is the ponyhead jig mold. Now some guys like Smalljaw have modified their Ultra Minnow molds to accomplish the same thing. Careful work with a dremel tool on the mold.

Used my hot pot 2 to melt some tin today for some tin flutter jigs. I have to say I much prefer the ladle and pot over the pour from the pot method. I did like that I could melt and pour the tin this way though as I don't have a lot of it. For most of my bigger jigs I made a hook tool for dipping them in my fluid beds, It is made from Stainless TIG welding wire and some scrap 3/4" stainless tubing. Drilled a hole through the tubing in the center. I bent one end of the wire 90* leaving enough tag end so I could secure it to the tubing with electrical tape. Taped it on good then bent a hook in the other end. I made a few of them so I have an extra one handy.

I received a Hagens for Christmas and I really like it. It is easy to learn and fun to use. A friend of mine tried it and fell in love with spinner making almost instantly and was making quality spinners in just a few minutes.

I would buy a powder paint airbrush and use it. If a light mist of paint gets on the back then you can use Lacquer thinner on a Q-tip to clean it off.

I use a powder paint airbrush from TJ's tackle. Run it at 1/2 psi or so and you are good to go. Works great for me. Look up some of Smalljaws posts on the subject. He is better than I am with the powder paint airbrush but mine still turn out good.

Another major Issue is the managers of our DNR and fish and wildlife agencies support these lead bans, Years ago those people who became forest rangers and wildlife people where those outdoors people who loved to camp,hunt and fish. Nowadays the people working for and running these agencies are the "tree hugger" or "Bunny hugger" types of people who then want to support more of an anti-hunting/fishing agenda. It's a shame that we are at this juncture where they want to take away our lead jigs and sinkers.

What I hate is when people compare our lead jigs and sinkers to the ban on lead for waterfowl hunting. Two completely different scenarios. Shooting lead pellets over the same ponds and sloughs out of the same duck blinds for generations in areas where ducks rest and feed is vastly different than using lead jigs and sinkers for fishing. I just wish more people would understand that. Also people who only fish occasionally may not use enough tackle to realize the price difference and how much different it really is.