Thread: Looking for a good source of jig heads

Originally Posted by Cray

Ok Rich, got curious and sent email to vendor. They replied they had gotten some of the other company's hooks in and they were more like the o'shawneesey than a sickle. Other company told them it was a manufacturing error so they have chosen not to stock them at this time. No Matzuo's so eagle claw lill nasty is the choice now on sickle.

Cray,
I worked with Matzuo engineers for the better part of two years to try and get their hooks right. The issue that we found was they were very inconsistant from one size to another. The 4/0 hooks I was using had a giant length from the bend to the eye of the hook. This forced the hook back in the cavity of the mold and often times didn't allow for a proper pour. To combat this, we ended up having to modify our molds to allow for the 4/0 hooks. Keep in mind that these were 5/8oz, 3/4oz, and 1oz jig heads. We used a drill bit slightly larger than the eye cavity and recessed both sides. This provided enough room to slide that longer hook bend forward and allow for the hook to sit properly in the mold. Unfortunately, the 5/8oz, and 1/2oz production molds we used had one more cavity (6) where as the 3/4 and 1oz had (5). In order to use the 4/0 hook in those smaller molds, we were forced to eliminate two of the cavities thus making each one a 3 cavity mold. The recess for one hook eye took way too much meat out of the mold which entered the ajoining cavity. To combat this, we switched those over to a 3/0 hook.

Then the fun began. The 3/0 hook bend didn't have the issues that the 4/0 hook did. They basically had the same leg length as a standard Mustad hook that the molds were designed for. What I ended up finding out was that all of these hooks were built on different machines. Some in totally different companies. The tolerances were all different. We began to look at other companies.

The sickle craze on the Detroit river hit a breaking point. Everybody had to have them. We sold 1000 sickle hook jigs for every 1 normal hook. Those numbers are actually generous. There was a downfall however. First, you gotta understand that the Detroit river is deep and fast with tons of snags. You might take one drift and snag up/break off, 5 times. Other times, you don't. Losing jigs is the name of the game. Which is good for the jig business!!!

With the standard hooks, they have bend and give to them. Oftentimes you could bend the hook and get the jig back. Bend her back in shape and carry on. This saved valuable retying time. Tournament fishing, we had no less than three rods sitting next to us and ready to go at any one time. The sickle hooks on the other hand are brittle. Brittle to a point that they brake before they bend. Again, guys didn't seem to care because they were needle sharp. The downside to this was the sharpening process. They are chemically sharpened. As a result, you cannot touch one up with a file to make it sharp again. If it is dull, it is junk. I also believe the chemical process contributed to the weakness of the hooks.

Last year, we pretty muched provided a game changer to the local industry. Everybody and their brother wanted RED sickle hooks. What we found in our testing was that the standard Broze and black chrome hooks were NOT prone to as much breaking as the red. What we gathered was the anodizing process used to dye those hooks along with the chemical process used to sharpen the red ones greatly reduced the overall strength of the hook.

My busness was to provide customers what they wanted and needed. At the same time, unlike other companies, we actually tested our products. Many color combinations hit the cutting room floor long before they were ever introduced to the public. I provided this feedback to our customers and, as a result, they begain to see the value and benefit. This year, I notice many of our competitors have gone to doing the same things that made me a river name! Attention to detail, removing paint from the eyes, actually baking their jigs to harden them!!! The list goes on and on. The majority of these companies are using the color combos we created!

Sorry, post was getting long. Guys were tired of purchasing junk from these companies. Their market value went down. Another contributing factor was that we were providing higher quality products at much lower prices than the others. They HATED it!!! We were doing things with molds and different hooks that nobody else was doing. We found ways around mold issues, addressed issues with bait keepers and so on.

Fast forward to the Matzue issue of today. We have to let the customers know that they will be seeing a change. The plus side is that Eagle Claw is an american owned company. A big selling point that was lacking with Matzuo. We have tested their products for a number of years (Specifically the Lil Nasty hooks) and found them to be of the same quality and craftsmenship as the other hooks on the market with zero need to alter our molds. In fact, my company has been using these hooks in ALL of our jigs in sizes up to 1/8oz simply because we didn't need to alter molds like we did with Matzuo.

Keep in mind that we are prodimonately talking walleye here (except for the smaller jig heads). These jigs take a beating, don't last long, and often are lost before needing replacing.

I sold my company last spring (although it is still operated with the same standards that I set). I do still do some marketing and stuff for them however (notice I have not mentioned the name in any of this). It is for reference material only as I am not trying to specifically sell anything! There is a reason for that. We used to be a member sponsor on here and still would be however, the majority of our marketing shifted from the small bait market (crappie jigs) to the larger bait market. We could make more jigs, and make more money. I couldn't see selling small jigs at high dollars like other people do. It just didn't make sense. Yes, we still sell them, we just don't market them very much! Hence the reason to no longer be a member sponsor.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR HOOKS:
Here is the company I was referring to in my previous post. They might have just what people are looking for regarding a "different" company selling sickle hooks. They are small time so you won't find them in Barlows or Capt n Hooks.
VOODOO

Another company that might be of some value is RAVEN. I know they make sickle hooks but I am NOT sure if they make them for jigs.

Wow, that took me a long time and a lot of words to get to that point. Just figured a little history and back information would be in order. Let me know if you need any help and I'll be glad to try and point you guys in the right direction.