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Originally Posted by Slab
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So been playing around making up some new jigs and such. When I can’t go fishing this makes for a nice snack. I enjoy the process and the learning is great. Recently I started using very small willow leaf blades- size 0/0.
Look at how small this jig is at the 1/16th ounce size. Short shank EC 571 hook and a small rolling swivel and the small blade. I could add any kind of plastic bait and catch fish with this. I have been down sizing everything and this is about as small as I imagine going. My method is long lining and for that the 1/16th oz size just seems to work out perfectly. I have issues casting 1/32nd oz sizes and don’t seem to catch any better using those.
When the lure is swimming behind the boat, water resistance becomes a constant and plays a role in how the lure behaves. I noticed that most under spin designs swim in a cocked fashion- tail up. This is because of the resistance the blade creates as it spins. The blade and the hook eye establish a linear alignment, almost on the horizontal, which cocks the hook and the bait. Now the “minnow” swims weird.
I have tried several techniques to limit this cocking and to some degree I had success. Really though the only way to reduce it is to reduce the resistance the blade creates. This can be done by using willow leaf blades. Viewing underwater footage on my confuser screen of willow leaf blades in action, I see that the majority of them encounter the plastic bait and fail to fully rotate. They spin a few times and then flail and flop after hitting the bait. Obviously moving the blade away fixes some of that but is that really a huge issue ?
So a skinny blade acting erratically might be just the ticket. I will need more time to figure whether I want freely spinning or sporadic spins and awkward swings. For now, my lures spin pretty steadily because of the design.
Using Colorado blades creates resistance and that enhances the lure’s ability to get noticed. I have tried using large Colorado blades and at times they do pretty well. Winter time not so much, or so it would seem. According to the experts the fish want little minnows. A few will say larger minnows. Who really knows. I am going small.
I bought some of the ball bearings swivels that have split rings on both ends. I wanted as small as I could get and size 0 is it. Obviously everything gets harder to fiddle up when you are using fingers that are plump and eyes that are fading. I was able to get the blades onto the split rings without using pliers and that made everything a little easier. These swivels however are not cheap and I doubt that they are needed, let alone better than rolling swivels.
I dislike split rings and when making small baits the ring elongates the lure needlessly. Adds extra hardware and so I try to eliminate them and go with just the swivel. This makes assembly much simpler as well. I simply cut one eye near where it meets up with the other, ease the blade through the gap, and then using pliers, squeeze it closed again.
Once secured in this fashion the blade will not pull through. There is no stress being applied so the ring stays closed. The blades spin beautifully when rigged in this fashion. High quality rolling swivels from China spin just as freely as ball bearing swivels. The only time they do not is when there is considerable pressure being applied to separate the swivel. That is when bearings come into their own. A small blade never engages to this level so no advantage.
Once cut the swivel is different. There are two wires entering the barrel, and once cut one will be left unneeded. The other wire with the loop will spin but the clipped wire can interfere some. However the other end of the swivel is completely free to spin and does so with enthusiasm. This allow me to skip the split ring and shorten the over all length.
I went through some of my old surf fishing tackle and discovered something I bought long ago and forgot about until it was in hand. Swivels that come with one eye open already.
Not sure you can see this but on one eye there are two wires entering the barrel, on the other just one. That one wore is also larger. There is no section of cut wire to interfere and both eyes spins very smoothly. This lets me skip the split ring and simply east the blade in and then close with needle nose pliers. The kind with ridges in the jaws is definitely needed. Smooth will just spit the eye out.
I was able to fiddle around some and once I got a few under my belt did up 50 of these in record time. A bit of a learning curve but once mastered very fast and easy. Look Ma….. no split rings.
I ordered some more and they are going to be on a slow boat from China. $2 for 50 of them size 8 isn’t too shabby at all. I ordered enough to avoid having to buy more anytime soon. The jig at the top was made using one of these split open swivels. Very difficult to find these and it took me a few hours to find them. On Alibaba- “open eye rolling swivel” will get you close, from there you look at the items they think you might be interested in also. There you will find them.
Recently I experimented with electro plating and shared with you guys that it was a disaster. Don’t bother. Huge hassle. But I still want some shiny chrome and gold heads. So I researched fingernail polishes and they require two separate applications to get a somewhat chrome effect. Powder paints offer chrome ( somewhat chrome that is ) and they too require two coats. The chrome goes on g=first, then a clear coat to cover it. Without the clear coat the effect wears off quickly and you end up with the very popular shiny primer look. Popular meaning that is what most end up achieving.
So I looked around some and Prismatic Powders offers a super chrome and that looks to be promising. Again requires a clear coat. By the way that clear coat, well it takes away from the chrome look. Some say it ruins it. Chrome is a very hard product to produce in fingernail polish, paints, and powder paints. I decided to try this chrome for myself and as I looked about some more on their website saw how transparencies are layered over shiny chrome or aluminum to produce dazzling effects. I got all excited.
So I ordered the super chrome and also got a yellow/green transparency that will produce a wicked look. Got a gold transparency that should also be cool. Finally had to get some purple transparency and will give that a go as well. The package arrives later today, but shipping is pretty quick from them. The UPS man got lazy on me and neglected to visit so I had to wait two extra days.
I had been trying to stay focused on just the colors I feel will be the best. White, pink, and chartreuse yellow, but adding a few extras might be nice. So soon I will have weird yellow, gold, weird purple and chrome. I intend to add eyes to the chrome so I can use my UV fingernail polish clear coat material to seal it. Hopefully I will not lose much of the shine. I have clear powder paint if needed.
I wish I had a bigger budget. No really. I would be trying all sorts of stuff. My hand tying has slacked off considerably as the plastics are just too fine. I have some that are beautiful and my hand ties, well not so much. Oh well.
I did also order a new mold. Do-It’s cork screw worm head mold. This mold is made to add rubber worms to it and fish for bass. I think it will be a great head to troll with as it’s shape will glide smoothly through the water. The screw lock is something I have wanted to try out for a while. Not sure I will like it, but never know unless I try. The screw lock can be left off and the jigs poured just fine as well. They will make for an interesting hand tied jig.
I however will be using them to attach plastic baits. these can be screwed in place and no requirement for glues to secure the bait. I am sold on being able to secure the baits and not have to play the slide them back up game. Eventually they end up around the bend and the whole mess spins up the line into knots.
I saw a video where a feller was saying that if the screw lock doesn’t lock like you want it too, you can use needle nose pliers and open up the screw some, and that will provide a large bite. So I get to experiment some. Oh joy.
These will look very nice once painted as well, but attaching eyes will not be easy to do. I doubt I will fool with sticking 3D eyes on them. Might just paint some on if I felt they needed it.
The main thing is going to be how they track when trolled. I suspect they will swim along very nicely. There is plenty of weight forward of the eye so they should swim in the horizontal attitude that I feel is important. Personally. Anyways I will be able to modify the mold to create my under spin design if I so choose.
So far I have six jigs and this makes seven.
Bat Jig
Live Bait Jig
FreeStyle Jig
1/16th Pony Head
1/32nd Pony Head Jig
Herring Head under spin Jig
and Now the Worm Head Jig
