Blade sizes

[swampman]

I am making 3/8 and 1/2 oz spinner baits, wondering what size willow and Colorado leaf blades are working best. I am using .035 wire, thanks in advance for your help. Oh, also any recommendations on a good powder coat gun system ? 

[billwv68]

#4 or #5

[smalljaw]

It will depend on where you buy your blades from. Most places sell either Lakeland or Worth and the Lakeland blades are 1/2 size larger than Worth,  so a size  4.5 willow in a Lakeland blade is the same as a size 5 Worth.  All you have to do is ask the vendor which blades they carry. So for me, I use Worth blades and a 3/8oz bait takes a size 4.5 willow or a size 4 or 5 Colorado depending if it is a single blade or not. For 1/2oz I use a size 5 willow and a size 5 or 6 Colorado, again it depends on single blade or not.  Now this is my deal, consult a chart until you understand how blade affect the bait but my rule of thumb is when it comes to double willow blades, drop the bottom blade 1/2 size, so if you use a 4.5 on the swivel, the clevis blade should be a 4. If I make a tandem bait, I use whole size willow blades so the size 4.5 would drop to a 4 and the Colorado blade would be a 2, and if I was using a size 5 willow the Colorado blade would be a size 3. For double Colorado baits I drop 2 sizes as well, if you use a 5 then the bottom blade is a size 3, and I only use whole sizes in Colorado blades.