Soft Plastics for Teardrop shape ice fishing lures

[shipahoy41]

This is how to make the teardrop spoons for ice fishing or to use in soft water fishing. Folks, small soft plastic lures are great to use on teardrop shaped ice fishing lures. I love to use the 1.25 inch little squirts because they are dynamite on crappie as well as the big bluegills we have here in Alabama.

This is what SlabMagnet said. http://www.crappie.com/crappie/jig-t...f-spoon-lures/ "Originally Posted by SLABMAGNET

WELL I PUT YOUR BAITS TO THE TEST, BOTH CAUGHT CRAPPIE!! WE CAUGHT 128 CRAPPIE THE OTHER DAY, YOUR HOMEMADE BAITS REALLY HELD UP WELL TO THE ABUSE. MY BUDDY KEPT USING THEM. THANKS AGAIN"

These are my handcrafted teardrop ice fishing spoons and the soft plastic trailer I choose to use with it.







Here is how to make the teardrop ice fishing spoons. (Video by Shipahoy 41)
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/jig-t...ideo-included/

This is a soldering and then powder painting lesson to make the teardrop jig. These are deadly on panfish, shellcrackers and even Crappies when tipped with a wax worm or small soft plastic like my little squirt. If you take a tin shell, solder, gold hook, flux and powder paint you just might be able to fool Bluegill, Shellcrackers and some Crappie whether you are fishing hard water (ice) or freshwater. People fish them year round under a slip bobber. The nickle finish acts like a flash under water. The small weight of the teardrop gives stability to the hook yet it is easy for the fish to inhale.

Needed:
Soldering iron from Walmart
Gold hooks (Solder will not adhere to bronze hooks)
Flux
Shells from Rod Building Supplies | Lure Making Supplies | Fly Tying Supplies | Fishing Hooks
.032 thin diameter solder
Thinner - to clean the flux off the jig after soldering
Powder paint - various colors
Small forceps
Six inch piece of 2x4 wood
Heavy duty aluminum foil
Baby Spoon
Small butter knife
Rag

Directions:

Wrap the piece of 2x4 with the heavy duty aluminum foil. You will be soldering on this so you do not mess up your desk area. Put the shell and gold hook on the work surface. Open one or two jars of the powder paint and have them ready for use. Once I get my tools rounded up I like to plug in my soldering iron and let it heat up while prepping my materials. First things first, the tip of the soldering gets hot .. up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit, so don't touch it. If you're using a new soldering iron you will want to put a small amount of solder on the tip of the hot iron before you start working. This is called tinning the iron and you only have to do it with a new iron. Once you start using it will usually have some solder on it already and be ready to go.


a) flux the shell and the hook using a paintbrush.
b) place the gold hook onto the shell.
c) Pull out about 8 - 10 inches of solder.
d) Take the heated soldering iron and place it on the hook and shell with your right hand.
e) With your left hand touch the solder to the shell. It should flow instantly.
f) When the shell is full of molten solder take the solder wire that is in your left hand and use it to keep the hook upright.
g) You will see the solder begin to harden. Take the forceps and grab it by the hook and hold it over some powder paint.
h) Use the baby spoon to dip some powder paint and sprinkle it over the lure. It should melt instantly
i) Use the small knife to grab a dash of an accent color powder paint and apply it to the lure. It should melt too.
j) If it does not completely melt use your soldering iron and just barely touch the lure and remove. The powder paint should finish melting.
k) Take the rag with a little thinner on it and clean off the excess flux on the back of the lure.


Ice blades are usually soldered to Mustad 3282 (nickel) and 3260B (gold) hooks. Bronze hooks will NOT solder unless you scrape the finish off. The process is simple. Solder a hook to a shell (Get them at Jann's Netcraft) and powder coat the Teardrop or Pinmin while it is still warm. Soldering is nearly instantaneous, if the solder doesn't flow around the work in 1/4 of a second then something is wrong and you need to start over again. Don't let the joint move until it has cooled enough to set, it should look mirror shiny all around. (Once it sets I apply powder paint to one side only leaving the nickle plated back as it is.)



Cleanup
After you have made all the solder joints, clean the lure nickle plated back with thinner to remove all the left over flux.


http://www.crappie.com/crappie/jig-t...drop-ice-jigs/

[crappiepappa]

AWESOME post Ship. Thanks for sharing. Had I known this 2 weeks ago I could have saved a bundle on ordering some teardrops!

[swollencrappie]

thanks for the info!!! If a person is short on time and or money to buy all the needed items, Arkie Lures is also having a big discount sale on their ice jigs. here is the link and picture just in case. at 50 cents for a pack of 3 it is going to be hard to beat that and they glow in the dark. Ice Jig

[CTom]

I enjoy reading all about this ice fishing. I quit it about four years ago...getting too old to be slipping and sliding around on ice. One fall is all it could take to end life as I know it so I decided to eliminate that portion from my life-equation. I don't miss it at all.

That's some nice work you do Mike. And you are right, "these are not just for ice fishing, you can use these all year round". You may not live where ice creates its own season with the fish, but man, small jigs like the ones you show will hammer fish when its warm too.

American made.....that's the best part.

Good job Mike.

[snake River]

You did a good job on ice jigs Mike you got the polkadot down perfect and I've used the ice jigs but I didn't paint them silver and they were quite well in the summer months when the sun can shine on them so they flash.

[shipahoy41]

You did a good job on ice jigs Mike you got the polkadot down perfect and I've used the ice jigs but I didn't paint them silver and they were quite well in the summer months when the sun can shine on them so they flash.

Snub nose the end of a round toothpick to make the eye. Dip in paint and dap it on the lure.

[shipahoy41]

I enjoy reading all about this ice fishing. I quit it about four years ago...getting too old to be slipping and sliding around on ice. One fall is all it could take to end life as I know it so I decided to eliminate that portion from my life-equation. I don't miss it at all.

That's some nice work you do Mike. And you are right, "these are not just for ice fishing, you can use these all year round". You may not live where ice creates its own season with the fish, but man, small jigs like the ones you show will hammer fish when its warm too.

American made.....that's the best part.

Good job Mike.

Hey my friend. I fell through the ice about sixty years ago at the age of nine. Brother man does NOT fish hard water. The teardrop with wax worms catches crappie, perch and gills year round.

[shipahoy41]

AWESOME post Ship. Thanks for sharing. Had I known this 2 weeks ago I could have saved a bundle on ordering some teardrops!

Be sure and post a photo of those you make. Thanks for the compliment.

[CTom]

I've lived in a world that's ice 40% of the time for 64 years. I've taken the plunge three times and thank the good guy for not getting any wetter than I did any of those times. One had the potential of doing me in. I figure that my luck was running short on ice and I don't need all the headaches that come with wandering around on the stuff so I sold it all. I don't miss it one iota.