Some More Bucktails And Fluke Balls.

[makokeith]

I am really having fun making these. Especially since they are catching fish. Last week the white/green caught A 4 1/2lb seabass and 6 1/2 and 5 1/2lb fluke.

I have learned a lot since my last post. TY all who chimed in.

First thing is that I was using hard as nails , hard as wraps. Regular hard as nails is way better. No need for epoxy.

Also learned how to tie a finish whip instead just of half hitches. Much nicer wraps this way. No little tag end hanging out. I am doing the jigs by hand and the teasers with a tool.

The orange/green was a mistake. It was suppossed to be a different color on top but cooking it changed the color. I like it better this way.

All the white is super glow. The eyes on the pink/white and orange/green are glow. I like the gold flash on the orange/green the best. Matches the gulp nuclear chicken nicely. And the pink/white also matches the gulp.

[toadfrog]

Pretty darn decent job there buddy . I wish those ball molds came in smaller sizes to . I'd like to have them from 1/16 to 3.0 oz. You can make a mean set of spinners from them . Talk about a fluke killing machine . Just add a torpedo shaped lure body a clevis with a blade between that head and hook . Then hang on its going to hit the fan .

[makokeith]

Pretty darn decent job there buddy . I wish those ball molds came in smaller sizes to . I'd like to have them from 1/16 to 3.0 oz. You can make a mean set of spinners from them . Talk about a fluke killing machine . Just add a torpedo shaped lure body a clevis with a blade between that head and hook . Then hang on its going to hit the fan .

HMMMMMM You got me thinking. Do you have any pics that I can get some ideas from?

[Darkman]

very nice ..the ball jig is one that im thinking of getting...good job bro

[smalljaw]

Very nice!!!! The ear ball looks incredible also, I see lots of fish in your future but you'll have to stop tying first in order to fish!

[atijigs]

HMMMMMM You got me thinking. Do you have any pics that I can get some ideas from?

Here are a couple of pics. I have been playing with these for years. A past good friend of mine after fishing with me got a write up in the MPLS. and St. Paul papers for coming up with a great idea. His articles by Dennis Anderson did forget to mention the part of the great idea coming to him after saw he me fish with them. He applied for a patent with a slight change. So have at it guys. Here are some ideas. You can read his story at

Danlures.com. It's a great story. All BS but a great story.

[atijigs]

This is one of my favorites. 1/32 oz. Glow orange with white sprinkles. Looks very translucent to the human eye.

Salmon egg-leech.bmp

Salmon egg-leech.bmp

Salmon egg-leech.bmp

Salmon egg-leech.bmp

Salmon egg-leech.bmp

Salmon egg-leech.bmp

Salmon egg-leech.bmp

Salmon egg-leech.bmp

Salmon egg-leech.bmp

Edited August 24, 2012 by atijigs

[toadfrog]

HMMMMMM You got me thinking. Do you have any pics that I can get some ideas from?

I'll head over to the shop take some . Just read this reply today . They have been chewed up pretty good but you can get a goo idea of what I made .

[toadfrog]

Here you go . They are a little bit fished as you can tell . Never did try to sell any of these . Takes just a tad of work . I'm getting a little long in the tooth so before I kick it I just as well share a secrete lure now and then . These are 1/4 oz heads . target species Crappie , sand bass , smallies , Just pick something and throw one at it .

[smalljaw]

Makokeith, I just got back from a good day of fishing, and if you want your jigs to be more effective try using the Spirit River UV2 bucktail and flash, I've been playing around with it and I've been catching more fish on the jigs. The stuff is easy to work with but they have everything you could possibly need and it has made my jigs better, I never realized the difference between regular material and high quality material but there is and the difference is amazing, from the look to the ease of tying to the action in the water.

[Musky Glenn]

Smalljaw, how about posting a photo of your jig. I would like to see one better than Makokeith's. I just don't see anything that makes me think these are made with regular material and not high quality material. Just my $.02 worth. Musky Glenn

[BLT]

The ball jigs are big sellers. I sold a lot of them in the 6oz. range in the De. beach areas. Yours look nice. I also do them in 2 color, makes a nice difference. People I sell to don't want the swivel on them, just use a split ring to put the hooks on. Orange was the biggest seller by far this year.

Your minnow heads look also. Very nice work.

Toad, I may have a ball mold to sell, but no eyes on them, just the round ball with to brass eyes. it's in grams, but it's like 1.5-2oz., with 2 sizes in between. I just have to find it lol.

[smalljaw]

Smalljaw, how about posting a photo of your jig. I would like to see one better than Makokeith's. I just don't see anything that makes me think these are made with regular material and not high quality material. Just my $.02 worth. Musky Glenn

Not meaning that Musky Glenn, I had a great day out yesterday, it was the first time using anything with UV enhancement and it actually seemed to make a difference. I will also tell you that when I tied my first buck tail jigs I did what everyone else does, I went to a local fly shop since there was no internet when I began doing it, and I purchased some buck tail and some were more expensive than others and when asked what the difference was I was told about quality but it didn't look different so I got the more affordable option. I did that for a long time until a friend want a jig made and he specified the material to be used and he even purchased it and brought it to my home for me to make him his jigs. Side by side they looked no different from what I made before but working with it was super easy and fun, I didn't have hackle break off when wrapping it, when I tied the buck tail the end of the tail didn't flair so bad that I had to trim it before moving on as I was able to pin it down and cover with thread. I'm not sure is you tie buck tail or other material like rabbit but I do and have done so for quite some time and this was the first time using premium materials and I was and still am very excited as my creations caught fish and how easyit was to use, when getting a rabbit zonker in position to tie I didn't have 3/4 of the hair falling off the hide like normal. I knew from previous posts that makokeith is only starting so I figured I would let him know what material I found that works well both in terms of tying and catching fish, I apologize to you and makokeith if I was a little overzealous and it came off as saying he wasn't using good stuff. I had mentioned that he did make really good jigs and if not for his questions I would have thought he had been tying for a long time, all I wish to do is give some help but you seem to have a problem with my help so if you do have a problem with me you could send me a pm and tell me exactly what I did to offend you because I have not a clue as to what I said or did to make offend you.

[ING]

Here you go . They are a little bit fished as you can tell . Never did try to sell any of these . Takes just a tad of work . I'm getting a little long in the tooth so before I kick it I just as well share a secrete lure now and then . These are 1/4 oz heads . target species Crappie , sand bass , smallies , Just pick something and throw one at it .

It is looks great!

If I see the thumbnail right, the clevis with blade is squeezed between weights. It could make problems with blade rotation. Isn’t?

[toadfrog]

Nope the ear ball is attached to a wire shaft that goes through the rest of the parts . Any weight goes toward the tied treble away from the clevis and blade .

[ING]

Nope the ear ball is attached to a wire shaft that goes through the rest of the parts . Any weight goes toward the tied treble away from the clevis and blade .

It is smart!

[Musky Glenn]

Smalljaw, I have no problem with you at all. I just wanted to see a better jig as these look as good as any I have seen. I only tie for my own use and use bucktails from my friends who kill deer. I use other materials some times as the need arises. I would still like to see your jigs are they posted in the gallery? Thanks for your explanation of better quality materials. Musky Glenn

[Musky Glenn]

Just a quick question from someone who hasn't used ball jigs. What is the purpose of the swivel? Looks like it would work just as good without it, but surely it doesn't.

Smalljaw, I went to your gallery section and saw your jigs and spinnerbaits. They look nice. Musky Glenn

Edited August 26, 2012 by Musky Glenn

[makokeith]

Musky Glenn, I started using them last year from tsunami. I did well with them but they cost too much. I just wanted to copy their style. I asked about with and without and got many mixed answers. So I pour with them on. I keep the balls with the trailer hook off on the boat. I gave one to a budy to rig and he put the trailer hook direct to the brass eye and tied his leader to the swival. We both caught equally.

Smalljaw, I will deffinately check out their products. I have been meaning to check out some uv stuff. May even try dipping jigs in the powder uv.

Toadfrog, I am going to stop in a place this week and check out some spinner stuff. I know fluke like the pretied jigs with little spinners.

[smalljaw]

Musky Glenn, I started using them last year from tsunami. I did well with them but they cost too much. I just wanted to copy their style. I asked about with and without and got many mixed answers. So I pour with them on. I keep the balls with the trailer hook off on the boat. I gave one to a budy to rig and he put the trailer hook direct to the brass eye and tied his leader to the swival. We both caught equally.

Smalljaw, I will deffinately check out their products. I have been meaning to check out some uv stuff. May even try dipping jigs in the powder uv.

Toadfrog, I am going to stop in a place this week and check out some spinner stuff. I know fluke like the pretied jigs with little spinners.

I really dismissed all that UV stuff when it came out thinking it was all gimmick but based on how the fish reacted I could only point to the UV materials because I tried similar jigs and nothing and my buddy wasn't doing anything either. I gave him a completely different jig, colors were bland but they were UV enhanced and he began catching fish which is why I think there may be something to it, or perhaps it as a fluke but we're going to try again next week. I'm glad Mucky Glenn questioned me as I went back and reread my previous post and it did sound like I was saying you weren't using good material because if he didn't call attention to it I may have comee off wrong without being able to explain what I meant. Makokeith, I will tell you that whether or not the UV really works, the Spirit River material was a pleasure to work with, I went and got more of it from flyfishing outfitters. I know there are a bunch of premium brands out there but I only tie jigs so I'm not familiar with all of them but I found this Spirit River brand by accident and now when I began looking around they seem to have around the best prices of the premium materials and like I said, it was just so fun to work with as the rabbit hair stayed on the leather, securing the buck tail was easy as pie because it actually took some pressure to make the ends flair so I was able to tie it in with a lot less thread than I normally would have used. So check it out and Musky Glen, thanks for brining my attention to a post that was made without much thought, it allowed me to explain myself a little clearer.

[makokeith]

I did not take offense at all. I understood what you meant.

[BLT]

Musky Glenn, I started using them last year from tsunami. I did well with them but they cost too much. I just wanted to copy their style. I asked about with and without and got many mixed answers. So I pour with them on. I keep the balls with the trailer hook off on the boat. I gave one to a budy to rig and he put the trailer hook direct to the brass eye and tied his leader to the swival. We both caught equally.

Smalljaw, I will deffinately check out their products. I have been meaning to check out some uv stuff. May even try dipping jigs in the powder uv.

Toadfrog, I am going to stop in a place this week and check out some spinner stuff. I know fluke like the pretied jigs with little spinners.

Are you using a teaser hook above the ball also? About 14" up, some go 18", some down as low as 7" above the ball. Tie a long dropper loop, and just rig the loop through the hook eye. It is a great strip/chunk bait rig.

The "minnow" style way of rigging also.

Most I talk to think if you are in a high snag are, the swivel makes you hang up more then the non swivel rigging. Some open the eye of the hook, bend it shut around the ball eye making sure the point is pointing up. I just put the hook on the split rign keeping the hook point up. Something about bending the hook eye open and shutting I don't like.

[makokeith]

Are you using a teaser hook above the ball also? About 14" up, some go 18", some down as low as 7" above the ball. Tie a long dropper loop, and just rig the loop through the hook eye. It is a great strip/chunk bait rig.

The "minnow" style way of rigging also.

Most I talk to think if you are in a high snag are, the swivel makes you hang up more then the non swivel rigging. Some open the eye of the hook, bend it shut around the ball eye making sure the point is pointing up. I just put the hook on the split rign keeping the hook point up. Something about bending the hook eye open and shutting I don't like.

Heck yeah with the teaser above, I use a dropper about 12" and add a 5 baitholder. I use 6" gulp grub. It is deadly. 60 percent of the fluke are caught that way. 10 percent more are foul hooked on the bottom jig because the fluke are going for the teaser. I like to use strip baits on the jig. That gets the other 30 percent. I fish deep water for fluke and have caught mostly big fish this way. You can also drop down to the bottom and then lift the jig up about one foot and dead stick the rod. I do this on the bucktail and then jig the fluke ball.

For my trailer hook I have been using an open eye sewash. I have tried with the swival and without. Have not seen much of a difference yet. But again, I try not to drag the sticky bottom.

Also I like to thread the hook into the grub all the way to where the body ends and the tail begins.

Edited August 26, 2012 by makokeith

[BLT]

De. area is very stuck on the Kahle hooks for flounder. I use a 1/0 for up to 2 oz., after that, a 92553-BL beak hook in 5/0. Ideal for me is a weight that bounces on the bottom, not drags.

That being said, most of my flounder fishing is from a pier in late April-early june. I use shad head jigs with gulp, or 1/4 oz. tandem bucktails (White or orange). Been a lousy flounder year for me.

[toadfrog]

The ball jigs are big sellers. I sold a lot of them in the 6oz. range in the De. beach areas. Yours look nice. I also do them in 2 color, makes a nice difference. People I sell to don't want the swivel on them, just use a split ring to put the hooks on. Orange was the biggest seller by far this year.

Your minnow heads look also. Very nice work.

Toad, I may have a ball mold to sell, but no eyes on them, just the round ball with to brass eyes. it's in grams, but it's like 1.5-2oz., with 2 sizes in between. I just have to find it lol.

Ordered the small one already may wind up needing 1.5 and up . be keeping you in mind .