Weed Guard

[rockslide]

   has anyone tried to make these guards

[Jig Man]

I've done some similar with stainless wire.  They were more pain than gain.

[smallmouthaholic]

These hold up much better and you can make them yourself w/ flexible wire

 

Edited February 28, 2014 by smallmouthaholic

[tubetragger]

These are my go to hooks  for river bass since I do a lot nose hooking,I started making my own using berklley 20 and 30lb steelon nylon coated wire.I have

been doing this for the last 2 seasons and had great success with my home made version.....jeff

[cadman]

These hold up much better and you can make them yourself w/ flexible wire

I already make something like this myself, however always looking for an easier way. Do you have a tutorial you would like to post on how this is done?

Edited February 28, 2014 by cadman

[BassBull]

I do the same as Tubetragger. Works very good on wacky regged senko's and a tung. worm wieght in the current thrown into snags. I put the hook in a fly tieing vise and take the light wired coated cable and tie it to the hook . I use the same hook as shown and it takes about a piece that is 3 " long. Then I don't bend it back until needed. You might want to try one our two at home because when you bend the cable to a V-SHAPE for under the hook you might find the correct angles and such for your needs. The cable does bend back if you want to change some of those angles. I also put on 2-TON on the threads because the do take a beating !!!!  Good luck      STEVE

[bass100]

I make these also and they are quick and easy to make.  Take the wire you have chosen and fold it in half.  Then hold the

V-bend of the wire you just bent against the hook shaft on the hook point side.  Take one of the wires and bring it around the left side of the hook shaft and put it through the eye of the hook and take the other wire and bring it around the right side of the hook shaft and put it through the hook eye.  Then pull both wires and it will lock the wire in place on the hook shaft.  Then tie around the wire and the hook with braided line the same way you would tie a hair jig.  I then take a black sharpie and color the braid.  Epoxy and let cure.  Then just bend the wires over to the desired position.

[CarverGLX]

Other tips.....

 

When you tie the cable on the hook shank put a few wraps closer to the eye of the hook than the cable. This will allow you to adjust the angle they want to stay at.

 

By turning the loop of the doubled cable toward the eye of the hook and using straight shank worm hooks you can make a keeper that is better and more durable than any of the options using heat shrink tubing. Adjusting the size of the loop and the diameter of the cable will adjust how well the keeper holds the bait in place. It works for anything from finesse to flipping hooks.

 

When you tie them on use acetate floss.

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/synthetic-body-material/630604.aspx

Once you have them tied you can put a drop or two of acetone on the threads causing them to melt. This leaves a very good finish that will never come untied. Fly tiers use it to make hard ant and bug bodies. Some major brands use it when making feathered trebles as well.   

[smallmouthaholic]

I already make something like this myself, however always looking for an easier way. Do you have a tutorial you would like to post on how this is done?

Cadman- I currently do not have any tutorials to post. I used the kirbed Gamakatsu Octopus hooks. You can also coat the thread w/ Sally Hansons "hard as nails". I do not run the dual wires through the eye of the hook. Make sure whatever you coat the thread w/ doesn't run and set in the eye of the hook.

[smalljaw]

What kind of wire is used on these? My buddy uses them and I could not believe the price but I could never find anything as thin with the right amount of flex, everything is either too stiff or too flexible or too thick, any suggestions??

[cadman]

Cadman- I currently do not have any tutorials to post. I used the kirbed Gamakatsu Octopus hooks. You can also coat the thread w/ Sally Hansons "hard as nails". I do not run the dual wires through the eye of the hook. Make sure whatever you coat the thread w/ doesn't run and set in the eye of the hook.

 

Thanks for the reply

 

What kind of wire is used on these? My buddy uses them and I could not believe the price but I could never find anything as thin with the right amount of flex, everything is either too stiff or too flexible or too thick, any suggestions??

 

I have a similar problem with wire stiffness. 

 

 

Although I do not use many of these, I need to make about 100 of these for a friend of mine once I figure all of this out and he wants a double wire weedguard. See pic below. I have tried to stick the wire in the mold and then pour, but the mold has already been cut several years ago, and no room for a wire to stick out of. Also not a lot of room behind the hook eye and the lead body.

 

[CarverGLX]

What kind of wire is used on these? My buddy uses them and I could not believe the price but I could never find anything as thin with the right amount of flex, everything is either too stiff or too flexible or too thick, any suggestions??

 

I use AFW Surflon seven strand. Either 90# with the nylon coating burnt off or 60# coated. The size of cable will change with the size of the gap of the hook. Using #1's  or 1/0's though like most do for this 60# is best to me. I use spinning rods for whacky worms and floating worms though and you may like a stiffer guard than I do. If you burn the coating off you have to clean the cable up a little and seal the ends to keep them from unraveling. I heat the tag ends and do a quick swipe through clear powder paint. There is no real need to cure these.

Edited March 1, 2014 by CarverGLX

[bass100]

I was asked to post some pics of how I put my wire on the hook so here is a couple.

 

1)  cut a piece of wire and bend in half

 

2)  put the tag ends of the wire through the eye of the hook from the bottom of the hook

 

3)  put the hook between the two wires and slip over the back of the hook. (use pliers to pull on the tag ends)

 

4)  when the wire is pulled tight it is locked into place on the hook shaft.  You can now tie off the wire and epoxy.  When the cure is done bend the wires to the desired position.

 

I have made a few of these for the guys and no one has had a problem yet.

[bass100]

I forgot to mention that I use the bent eye hooks.  You can use a straight eye hook but it may limit the wire thickness that you can use.

 

I don't wacky fish much at all but I do use these hooks with my neko rig alot.  Without the weedguard you want your hook point to be pointing towards the bait but with the weedguard you can have the hook point facing away from the bait which will give you better hook-ups and still be weedless.

Edited March 1, 2014 by bass100

[cadman]

bass100,

    Thanks for the great tutorial. Since I don't have a lot of room on my hook/lead combo, I think threading the wire the way you do will be the ticket.    Also I do a lot of wacky worm fishing around wooden docks, and I can easily go through about a dozen of these a day, when the hook gets snagged in the posts. So adding the weeedguard will definitely cut down on all the losses. You also have a Pm from me.

[smallmouthaholic]

My buddy uses them and I could not believe the price ...

 

It times time to make them properly w/ excellent durability.

[smalljaw]

It times time to make them properly w/ excellent durability.

 

I understand that but I also have the thread and vise that I could do those for much less because the cost of the octopus hooks plain versus the ones I saw with the weed guard attached. I is also going to help me in the long run as I'll often loose 3 or 4 hooks when wacky rigging in cover, and on some of the lakes I fish, there is no better way to get bit in the dog days of summer other than wacky rigs but you have to put it in cover so this will help me a lot and save my buddy some money in the process. For that I appreciate all the information!!

[smallmouthaholic]

I understand that but I also have the thread and vise that I could do those for much less because the cost of the octopus hooks plain versus the ones I saw with the weed guard attached. I is also going to help me in the long run as I'll often loose 3 or 4 hooks when wacky rigging in cover, and on some of the lakes I fish, there is no better way to get bit in the dog days of summer other than wacky rigs but you have to put it in cover so this will help me a lot and save my buddy some money in the process. For that I appreciate all the information!!

 

Of course you can do these much cheaper w/o business expenses and the P.I.A. 10% excise tax. I eat my own cooking and pro-staffers get my Weedless Wonder hooks before they're ever put up for sale.That said, I'm still experimenting as various baits require different size hooks. Exposed wire ends must be coated w/ powder paint,liquid electrical tape or shrink tubing for durability.

 

I have developed a wacky worm w/ internal "O" rings for a perpendicular hook placement w/ these new weighted hook models in 1/16 and 1/8oz. w/ dual wire guards. Both the worm and weighted hook required custom CNC molds for precise production. These rigs performed flawlessly last summer during testing.

 

 

The models pictured have clear shrink tubing on the ends.The original models w/ flexible, dual wire guards have their ends coated w/ powder paint. So far ,they hold up the best when coated w/ Component System's waterbase, epoxy paint. I am trying liquid electrical tape and various shrink tubing to reduce manufacturing time and durability issues.

 

Notice how these weighted hooks w/ dual wire guards stand up by themselves on a flat surface. That's the trick for proper wire guard adjustment

 

Edited for spelling

Edited March 2, 2014 by smallmouthaholic

[rockslide]

smallmouthaholic what size wire and brand do you use

[smallmouthaholic]

smallmouthaholic what size wire and brand do you use

I use non- coated wire.Some may like coated wire. You'll have to decide which pd. test works best for you. Coated wire is much stiffer. I use Malin 1x7 non- coated S.S.wire  from 60-120lb.test.

[Painter1]

Could I get a link for where you guys buy the wire?

[cadman]

I'm looking into getting my wire from McMaster Carr. They have all that you ever need. You want to get the stn. stl. spring wire.

[rockslide]

thanks for all the help! flex wire is what worked best for me thats what im going to stick with for now!