Outlaw4

i have a collins custom cnc and it makes nice jigs

not sure about best but ive been using TrueCoat for a couple years and so far so good.

i have been using the KBS aerosol spray on lots of stuff. So far its been pretty good at not flaking off and holding color. And i've had one can spraying stuff now for a while. I'd say you could do a lot worse

anyone had success with glow paint? airbrush useable preferably? wicked had a W212 transparent glow in the dark base, but i have never used.

my 2 cents. don't forget the rod in this equation. i think a mono rod and a braid rod are different things (actions). and the weight of the spinner is a factor for casting (power). So if you have a rod you want to use, that might be your deciding factor. If you have a super fast action or too heavy power, braid might not be the best, if you have a super parabolic, mono might not be the best. maybe my musky background, but i'm going braid for an inline spinner. wire or flouro for a leader. pre-make leaders and tying them on while fishing is indifferent to tying anything on. i live in pike county and braid direct is a cut off nightmare in the making. im adjusting for depth with spinner design and speed. colorado shallower, indiana, french, willow as need for depth increases. and combinations of those. in the end i'd just experiment a bit and see what you like. in my experience its a bit of to each their own

dip (thinned paints) for basecoats. still should do this way anyway maybe hand paint everything else. most efficient use of paint. can paint to any level of detail required

and its really fast, it just one coat and is dry to the touch in minutes. have to deal with aerosol fumes like anything sprayed but its not too bad

I've been using KBS clear spray. Just actually did another batch for a guy last night. Do It freestyle jig with flat glow eye stickers. So far been able to wear hooks out before any eyes fall off. If i was doing 3D eyes i might dip them. But you can see the clear sealed around the eyes

do you have a link (or name) of ones you use?

How are you guys getting them off? Have started making some small jigs and having some trouble getting sprues off cleanly. Using slightly hard lead. Around 5%. Its hard to hold them and break sprues off, and so far anything i cut them with leaves a flat spot.

i think you could make that work. in my jig buying days if i could have bought a hack attack jig with 3 included chigger craws id have been all for that. obviously lots of trailers for lots of situations but in whole getting a trailer designed for a jig seems like a good idea

anyone have a good source for gold foil? not real gold, just shiny gold color

need a pretty good flat surface on top with fairly square shoulders

i stuck a gamakatsu of some sort in there, its heavier wire but not all that long id have to double check the #

i wanted to make some soft plastics back during pandemic when lots of stuff was sold out. i bought an injector couple molds and plastisol from do it and honestly it seems to be fine for my low volume personal use. if i was doing lots or selling or doing really specialized stuff, but i can shoot some craws and worms and go fishing whenever now

yeah i was planning on doing myself if its feasible. just wasn't sure if I was missing something easy. maybe ill get a couple of the gold powder coat options and give that a go and see. maybe could spray some gold chrome airbrush over black powder that would look good.

im guessing this has been covered before but i missed it if it did. needing to gold plate some jigs. doesnt have to be real gold of course but shiny gold nonetheless. what do i need?

you can also run line ties through the lip slots. do this all the time with thru wire. i just drill a hole or make a notch thru the lip. maybe could use circuit board to keep thinner slot? i personally like using screw in hook hangers / line tie on a new bait until i can get them in the right spots for sure. i do this on baits that are eventually going to be thru wire as well. i hate hooks that tangle with each other or on the lips. once you get that dialed then glue some in. if you are going to add any bevels to the joint to get added movement, i think maybe it'd be better to have the pin joint on the second section of the body. but im no expert here so may make no difference

ive had issue similar to that if trying to use faster setting epoxy. it starts to set up before it can evenly flow. not sure what you are using. id try a long curing like tru coat or etex, then mix for five minutes by a timer. thin with a little denatured alcohol if need be and put on the rotator overnight. With a thicker coat of tru coat i can actually see the epoxy leveling out when rotating for several minutes before it evens out, then its just about cure time.

good hooks the right size. single best reason to build your own. wired on skirt. second best reason to build your own. the rest is kind of personal preference. head style, arm length, wire dia etc...are all just tools for what you want to accomplish with the bait

ill try to put a pic up later if this does not make sense. if you are thinking a jointed bait like a wiley or what not, you can make open loops that the tag end goes back into the bait and tight wrap the other end to pull the open end tight into the bait. Then do the opposite on the other body part. There are a couple of good videos on youtube that show this. try searching saltwater lure building. This make a solid tight thru wire joint.

i use epoxy thickened with west systems 404. Can make as thick as you want.