Jigheads I've been making

[livelybaits]

These are from the sparkie, shake it and Yamamoto molds. I use a lot of 1/8 and 1/4 oz jigheads for the fishing around here. The shake it mold pours both the flat eye jighead and the standard eye or even the 60 degree. I showed the variety of colors I like to paint them. Red, red holograph, gold holograph, mix of gold and red holograph, regular gold, yellow and pearl white.

I'll work on some individual shots of them for the gallery.

[cadman]

Definitely would like to see some individual shots. From what I can see they look very nicely done. Several of questions though. Are you using Pro-Tec powder on the white pearl and on the gold? How do you like those two colors? Any problems with the pearl powder? Keep up the good work.

[MDC]

Lively

I'd be interested in seeing the red holi jigs

Hey Ted

I use the Pro Tec pearl from Benjamin and I really like it. Don't know about the gold tho.

I'm sending your other jigs out this week. I'll PM you instead of hi-jacking the post

Edited June 4, 2008 by MDC

[reeves]

livelybaits,

Those look very good, I like all the colors. Would like to see them matched with skirts, I'll bet they really jump out at you. Try passing a wire through the hook eye right after you remove the jig from the powder, while it is still soft, grab the wire and rotate it as you pull it through and you will eliminate all that paint in the hook eye.

For Ted:

I have used the Pro-Tec pearl white quite a bit. It sucks. Absolutely the hardest color to do. It doesn't seem to want to flow like all the other colors, and I have tried everything to overcome this problem. It acts like it wants more heat to flow, yet it is one of the lowest heat cure temps that Pro-Tec has. If you have any answers, I'm listening.

[cadman]

Lively

I'd be interested in seeing the red holi jigs

Hey Ted

I use the Pro Tec pearl from Benjamin and I really like it. Don't know about the gold tho.

I'm sending your other jigs out this week. I'll PM you instead of hi-jacking the post

Thanks Mike

livelybaits,

Those look very good, I like all the colors. Would like to see them matched with skirts, I'll bet they really jump out at you. Try passing a wire through the hook eye right after you remove the jig from the powder, while it is still soft, grab the wire and rotate it as you pull it through and you will eliminate all that paint in the hook eye.

For Ted:

I have used the Pro-Tec pearl white quite a bit. It sucks. Absolutely the hardest color to do. It doesn't seem to want to flow like all the other colors, and I have tried everything to overcome this problem. It acts like it wants more heat to flow, yet it is one of the lowest heat cure temps that Pro-Tec has. If you have any answers, I'm listening.

George,

I really haven't used pearl, so I can not comment. However, I do like the looks of livelybaits pearl jigs. I'll have to find time to try it. I will say, I have Pro-Tecs Gold and Silver, and I hate the color of both of them. I have no problem wih applying it, it's just that the gold really doesn't look like gold, and the silver is more like gray. I have found a substitute for both of those in a custom blend. I think I'm going to have to start thinning my powder supply, and get rid of some stuff.

[reeves]

I did a hundred jigs just like the one Lively has pictured and I bet 98 of them came out with a flat (no gloss) spot just below the hook eye. The rest of the jig looked just like those in Lively's picture. Go figure. I like the gold, it works for me.

Lively, sorry to hijack your thread, I'll shut up now. Great looking baits, keep up the great work.

[livelybaits]

MDC, Cadman and Reeves,

Thanks.

Yes it is the Pro Tec white and the gold too. I do OK with both of them. It's the Pro Tec "glows" where I have real issues. If you guys look at my other posts I lack an "exactness" to my work. I use a candle to heat them and then dip them, something I'll change in the future. Sometimes the red or gold holograph colors come out more black with red or gold flakes (but that's a good pattern down here anyway).

It's funny to see how things go for others: The "gold" came out good and has every time I've used that powder. The pearl white has been pretty clean too.

MDC,

I'll post another photo of the red holograph painted jigs for you. The ones that come out "heavy red" for me get a lot of strikes. I love that paint. (No worries on hi-jacking the topic, I enjoy seeing whatever people say or where things go in discussion)

Cadman,

I've had some "indoor" camera issues or I'd have the individual photos already done. I'll get the camera issue resolved or have a new camera here shortly and get some better detailed shots. I have pretty basic stuff. Where I hope to accel this year will be in modifying a mold to fit a lot better hooks for some really light jigs

Reeves,

I've never put a skirt on () But I'll send you some of these to see if you want to try that with these. I attach soft plastic tails to these jigheads for my uses-for these saltwater fish I catch. I will be also adding some red and white material to these to make what I call (in a broad general category) Bucktail Jigs.

I'll work on the other pictures. Enjoy interacting with you folks! Neil

[livelybaits]

I did a hundred jigs just like the one Lively has pictured and I bet 98 of them came out with a flat (no gloss) spot just below the hook eye. The rest of the jig looked just like those in Lively's picture. Go figure. I like the gold, it works for me.

Lively, sorry to hijack your thread, I'll shut up now. Great looking baits, keep up the great work.

George,

No worries. No hijacking here. And I will tell you that I "hand picked" the jigs for this photo. I'm very happy with 60% of the jigs I paint. The rest have various issues due to my own (inept) abilities. At any rate, the gold looks good but I lean heavy on the "red", holographic red, holo gold and the mix of holo gold and holo red.

The Yellow is for "pompano" jigs.

I'm a hack. But now that I've made you folks as friends, I'll get better.

[MDC]

Neil

Cadman and Reeves probably make as many lead heads as anyone here at TU. I don't know that I've seen Reeves' work, but Cadman does some really neat stuff with powder paint and has given me some pretty good tips. I use different hooks in some of my molds that what were intended. Some are heavily modified and some need no mods. Let me know what mold you want to modify and I'll try to help.

Also get an inexpensive heat gun and you'll wonder how you ever got by with a candle. Some folks heat their jigs in a toaster oven before dipping. I just heat mine with the gun then bake.

[FishinME]

Lively, how well do the "ring and barb" collars hold the platic to the jighead? Do these jigheads tear up your baits at all?

[Pop]

I hope this is not hi jacking the thread, but; since you are talking about gold color I thought I'd pass on what I have been doing lately. I have been spraying with Rust-Oleum Metallic Gold and covering with two ton expoxy. I tried covering with "hard as nails" and clear acrylic (gloss) but both dulled the gold too much. The jigs I have been doing are not being tossed at rocks etc., so I don't know yet how they will hold up, but as float and fly jigs and trout jigs they are holding up well. Pop

[IGETBIT2]

Do you make any with the weed guards?

[Pop]

I havn't, but; don't see how that would be very difficult. If you are thinking about buying some, I don't sell any jigs as I don't have the time. Just make them as a hobby when I have the time. Pop

[reeves]

Pop, I cast football head jigs for a customer and he powder paints and clears with 2 ton. They look awesome and are especially tough around the rocks and structure. You made a good choice.

[HookUp]

Couple tips I learned from the board and trial and error.

When I paint, I use a set of hemostats to hold the eye. No fuss, no paint, no work.

Don't paint the barb if you're covering it with plastic. If you're tying a jig, by all means, paint it.

Bail on the candle. It adds a black soot to the jighead which adds to chipping. Get an alcohol burner, bake the jigs, get a paint removal heat gun, or a propane burner - quicker heat and no soot.

Couple questions?

Where do you get yamamoto molds?

Why only 60d angle eye's? - and not the 90's?

What fish are you targeting with that fluke type bait in the upper right hand corner? Are you haveing luck? I fish mostly smallies, and they don't like my jigheads nose rigged.

Edited June 9, 2008 by HookUp

[FishinME]

What fish are you targeting with that fluke type bait in the upper right hand corner? Are you haveing luck? I fish mostly smallies, and they don't like my jigheads nose rigged.

Not to answer for Livelybaits, but that is how everyone rigs their baitfish imitation plastics around here for inshore fishing. I target speckled trout, redfish and a few flounder with the same setup as Lively has rigged. Only difference is that a lot of us here in Southeast Louisiana go with the unpainted jigheads. Maybe it has to do with water clarity or maybe with fishing pressure (or lack of), but painted heads arent a must here. However, it is extremely popular to dip the tail in chart. dipNglow dye. Go figure.

[Pop]

I have fished the flats in Florida a few times and we only used Strike King jig heads and fluke type bodies. The jig heads were painted red with black and red eyes. One problem we started to encounter was they were made with 4/0 hooks and when Strike King came out with their spinnerbait using the same jig, they went to a 3/0 hook. Most of the fish in Florida hit the bait from the rear and that reduction in hook size caused more short strikes than we got previously. I think a ball type jig head would be just as good. I like the idea of dipping the tails. Will try that here in Pa. in fresh water and see what happens. Pop

[zman]

nice looking jigs

anybody have any info on making a fluid bed for powder painting and even oven heating info for a larger scale

thanks

[livelybaits]

Thanks. Sorry for the long delay. With the heat of summer and a full schedule down here, I haven't gotten to play on the internet much lately. With some stormy days down here, I did a pour and made about 50 of the sparky and round jigs over the weekend. I haven't painted them yet and I may opt for a heat gun and toss out the candle.

FishinME,

Good question. That was a criticism I got from people who looked at my jig heads. My instant reply was "I like these collars because if I want to remove a lure and go with a different colored tail, it doesn't destroy the tail." They usually counter with "the fish pull the lure off the collar." OK, well then slide it back up and cast again.

I haven't take the individual photos of the jigs yet but I still have them sitting out so I can probably get to that today.

Flounder? I use these jigheads to target everything down here. What's different here than up in the northeast for fluke is most likely the depth. The deepest I'm fishing for them is about 8 feet.

Skirts? I've never gone with skirts. Like to chase them, just never use them on my jig heads I did give about 100 of the jig heads to my business partner who ties flies and told him to make some bucktails out of them.

Yamamoto mold: I got mine from Barlows (I am pretty sure that's where I got it) and yes, this was a solution to a lot of the short striking fish. I'm using that jig head with one tail in particular, in very shallow water for redfish.

Powder painted jigs holding up to rocks: Down here, it's usually oysters I'm banging them on. If they're cured in the oven, they do really well. When they do chip, if the hook's still in good shape (no rust) I'll heat it back up and repaint it.