Late this past summer as I geared up for my AK trip, I had the itch to try jigging for Rockfish and Cod so I made three, cast lead, crippled herring jigs and then bought some of similar size and weight to test them against. Well the results came back quickly that they both caught fish as most species up there will bite just about anything you put in front of them. The main difference in catching rate that I could tell was in the angler's skills. The guys on the dock beside me were catching, but I was hauling up fish at a two to one rate; putting at least a dozen of the 32 fish we caught between 5 anglers. My most productive jig was one of the self cast herring jigs. The others I tried also caught but this one must have been just the right combination of weight to depth, rod action and line tension because it felt "just right".
The jigging bug has bitten me but the cost of factory made jigs is biting my wallet. For my birthday I received 12 jigs at the average cost of $6.00 per and these were mostly 20, 40 and 80 gram jigs with only two @ 170 grams. Total of $70!
So I started researching how to make them and where to get some lead. Found the lead locally. Guess how much a 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights weighs? 140 #'s! Total cost $42.00 or 30¢ a pound or 2¢ an ounce. Which equates to an 80 gram jig containing 6¢ of lead.Wow! what a difference. With a little holographic tape, printed eye sticker, a clear coat of epoxy and assist hooks the tally runs up to less than a buck fifty each. And that is mostly for the hooks. Sure feels better thinking about losing that amount to the ocean gods who lurk below and ensnare tackle permanently than losing $5, $10, or $15 each time you break off.
The inspiration came from the posters - jcool3 and edmartz - THANKS!
Now I just need a trip to the big pond to go jigging!
The jig that started it all,....the balsa masters, the mold and the backs of the jigs.
The above jigs are 2@160 grams, a 150 gram. The herring is a 100grams. The silver and green are 70 and 90 grams respectively.
They are between 3 and 6 inches long.
The mold was made out of Durhams Rock Hard Water putty which is mostly talc with some quartz and iron oxide. Very heat resistant stuff when cured.
Love it Steve! ;D
Especially with the rod and reel combo. Perfect for west coast NA cold water jigging. ;)
Steve I like the stuff you do. You are either very talented or very cheap. ;) Confession time, own up. Which is it or is it both? ::) Dominick
Quote from: Dominick on November 20, 2015, 11:47:57 PM
Steve I like the stuff you do. You are either very talented or very cheap. ;) Confession time, own up. Which is it or is it both? ::) Dominick
If you make your own jigs you can afford that rod & reel.
Great work Steve!
Quote from: Dominick on November 20, 2015, 11:47:57 PM
Steve I like the stuff you do. You are either very talented or very cheap. ;) Confession time, own up. Which is it or is it both? ::) Dominick
Gee, Dominick, you put me on the spot. Let's see.... Frugal, yet generous where it counts. Inquisitive, Crafty and creative by nature...and a frequent dumpster diver. ;D
Steve-O nothing to be embarrassed about. :-* I really like your creativity. :-* I think I should have used frugal instead, I thought I was being funny using the other word. I have now buried the c word. Dominick
Steve-O is frugally talented. When you make it all yourself. It makes it that much more rewarding.
Thanks, guys.
Okay, now let's turn off the spotlight on me and see who wants to take one of these jigs fishing....preferably in the Pacific northwest area where it is intended to fish...but California waters will do.
Anyone hitting the waters in the next little while?
PM me and I will send you either a killer fish catching jig....or a bottom snagger...whichever comes first.* :D
* conditional upon actually going fishing with it in said waters and sharing photographic proof AND the adventure on this site afterwards.
Disclaimer: this offer is valid for only a limited time....like this or next month only. CONUS, HI, AK only.
And no this isn't any preemptive ploy or marketing strategy to pre-advertise a start up jig manufacturing business. Just something fun for me to do and share. That's it.
Steve You and I are kindred spirits when it comes to rock fishing, save your money for the great upgrades and let the rocks have their share without breaking your bank.
i would be happy to carry one these beauties ou to my secret rock fishing spot but it won't be until January before I get out, I'll pm you my address. After I slay a few fish and record the deed with my trusty mini waterproof camera and post it up here I would pack that jig up and mail it on to someone else to try it in other waters, why should the tank be the only thing traveling the world?
Alrighty then! January fits, too. Specify color preference and size, please. I just edited the weights.
Larger sizes are 160 grams the wide one is 150 grams.
Smaller green and silver sardiners are 70 and 90 grams or in the 3 oz range. And I'm getting some super stout assist hooks either tomorrow or next week. Or you can say no hooks, I use my own.
PS- DH, got it!
this will be fun. I'm game in FL when ready.
Quote from: broschro on November 21, 2015, 07:36:56 PM
this will be fun. I'm game in FL when ready.
When you most likely hit the water next? David Hall is talking January. I would love to see one put a hurting on some AJ's, snappers, groupers and whatever else you can jig up. Let me know, red, green, all silver, or striped. Silver with black stripes coming up next.
150+ gram silver, blue, purple, I use mostly just straight glow in the dark stuff usually but I think these will kill them any color so surprise me.
Nice job on the Jigs, Steve....a man of many talents.
Quote from: Steve-O on November 21, 2015, 10:41:51 PM
Quote from: broschro on November 21, 2015, 07:36:56 PM
this will be fun. I'm game in FL when ready.
When you most likely hit the water next? David Hall is talking January. I would love to see one put a hurting on some AJ's, snappers, groupers and whatever else you can jig up. Let me know, red, green, all silver, or striped. Silver with black stripes coming up next.
I try to fish at least once a month red and silver sounds good pm me when ready.
Quote from: David Hall on November 21, 2015, 10:49:04 PM
150+ gram silver, blue, purple, I use mostly just straight glow in the dark stuff usually but I think these will kill them any color so surprise me.
Roger that, the assist tubing is glow in the dark. I may pick up some glow paint this week for the future batches as I see many commercial varieties have the stripes in glow.
Quote from: broschro on November 22, 2015, 12:53:01 AM
Quote from: Steve-O on November 21, 2015, 10:41:51 PM
Quote from: broschro on November 21, 2015, 07:36:56 PM
this will be fun. I'm game in FL when ready.
When you most likely hit the water next? David Hall is talking January. I would love to see one put a hurting on some AJ's, snappers, groupers and whatever else you can jig up. Let me know, red, green, all silver, or striped. Silver with black stripes coming up next.
I try to fish at least once a month red and silver sounds good pm me when ready.
My last fishing session was on Halloween day with the meter long carp so I felt good ending BIG. Almost went today but have the big kids in town for a week next week and whoa! The honey-dos were endless! ;D
PM sent for address. Will send a Red Stripe this or next week....(no, not the Jamaican beer.).. the jig....but it is a good name for my jig. ;)
I've been reef fishing in my yak a lot lately. I'm rigging up to go deeper water and would love to bounce one of these for a GT. I'll be in the water a lot between now and March.
Quote from: noyb72 on November 22, 2015, 02:30:39 AM
I've been reef fishing in my yak a lot lately. I'm rigging up to go deeper water and would love to bounce one of these for a GT. I'll be in the water a lot between now and March.
PM me an address. What waters are you fishing over reefs, If you don't mind? A GT from s kayak could be quite the adventure.
I yak fish here in the high mtn desert of Utah and Alaska. No jigging here locally, but i suppose i could for walleye in some of our reservoirs but haven't yet.
I fish the Leeward and Southern Coasts of Oahu mostly.
PM inbound.
Ron
Quote from: noyb72 on November 22, 2015, 06:34:33 PM
I fish the Leeward and Southern Coasts of Oahu mostly.
PM inbound.
Ron
I guess you ARE talking about some deep waters. A kayak jigging report from the islands will be awesome!
Okay for Ron, David and Jamie. There are jigs in the mail to you! I ordered some stouter 5X assist hooks and 200 # kevlar line but they won't arrive until Monday so off these went.
If you feel your target species of fish will chomp right through the G-katsu 5/0's, then by all means swap them out with whatever you may have.
My order of 5X strong hooks are made from 2mm forged wire which I feel will hold up to most anything I would ever fish for unless the fish can bite through the kevlar line, too, like a shark, Dogtooth Tuna or other toothy critter and I'll put those on future jigs going forward.
Anyway, there's a note in each with a request for the pics and report and the jigs should be at your door in a few days.
Priority Mail® 2-Day
9405 8036 9930 0120 3275 20 (Sequence Number 1 of 3)
Scheduled Delivery Date: 11/28/2015
Shipped to: DAVID H.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
SAN JOSE, CA 95123
Priority Mail® 2-Day
9405 8036 9930 0120 3275 44 (Sequence Number 2 of 3)
Scheduled Delivery Date: 11/28/2015
Shipped to: JAMIE S.
XXXXXXXXX
ST AUGUSTINE, FL 32084
Priority Mail® 3-Day
9405 8036 9930 0120 3275 68 (Sequence Number 3 of 3)
Scheduled Delivery Date: 11/30/2015
Shipped to: RON J.
XXXXXXXXXX
WAIANAE, HI 96792
Got it! It's in the box and will have to wait until the last week of December, our rock fishing closes on 12/30 so I hope to get out before that but have to wait until I get back from PV.
Thanks Steve I will get some good action shots with this jig.
I'll be fishing out of Moro Bay twice before the month ends so if the "agreement" is still in place I'd love to fish a couple and let you know how well they catch....that is if I can keep them from hooking rocks ;D
Just got mine two days ago and have it out of the box. Can't wait to give it a shot, if not this weekend then next for sure.
Ron
I love me some rock fishing but definitely won't be going out until late April or early May here in South Central AK. I do mostly lead jigs of a crippled herring type in multiple sizes. I have found that my success for hookup is just as strong using only assist and no bottom hook. I lose fewer jigs as well. The little ring at the bottom will be mashed almost flat at the end of a day of banging on bottom rocks. I do the same thing when jigging for halibut as I am often on the drift. Just thought I would mention it as I have just recently starting doing away with the bottom hook and find it works for me.
Do you have a post showing your Durham rock hard molds and how it is set up to pour lead?
In order to mix posts even more has anyone used circle hooks as assist hooks? Ken
Just got mine two days ago and have it out of the box. Can't wait to give it a shot, if not this weekend then next for sure.
Ron
Ron, glad to hear it arrived and will be getting wet soon. All my fishing waters are hard now - iced over. :(
I have found that my success for hookup is just as strong using only assist and no bottom hook. I lose fewer jigs as well. The little ring at the bottom will be mashed almost flat at the end of a day of banging on bottom rocks. I do the same thing when jigging for halibut as I am often on the drift. Just thought I would mention it as I have just recently starting doing away with the bottom hook and find it works for me.
Do you have a post showing your Durham rock hard molds and how it is set up to pour lead?
In order to mix posts even more has anyone used circle hooks as assist hooks? Ken
Ken, circle hooks work very effectively. I got a couple of jigs in a trade with Dominick which he had gotten from William aka SaltyDawg. I switched to 8/0 circle hooks keep the little fish off and much less bottom snagging. Worked great. Probably a 6/0 or 7/0 would do well to.
here's a pic of the Durhams product. and the molds I made from it for my jigs are the yellow brown boat looking things on page one of the thread. They are boats because I mixed the putty in a banana split ice cream disposable plastic boat serving bowl. More MacGyvering... It was on hand and the putty releases itself cleanly when cured.
The burnt looking mold was actually torched by me during the first casting session to make sure there was zero moisture present. You know how hot lead disagrees with moisture. :o ;)
I made these as an open pour mold since flat fall jigs are keeled on the bottom and fairly flat on top. I could have gone to more trouble and made a traditional two piece mold with male/female line up lugs but this style of jig doesn't really warrant it. Just pour lead until full or slightly over fill and let cool a minute then flip it over softly to harden. I got in a hurry and broke a jig last week by tipping it out to fast.
The molds look like they will cast dozens of jigs each before going south. The can of putty was $6 due to a dent in the can and a $2 off sticker on it. Takes 6-8 ounces of powder and 2-3 ounces of water. Stir and pour, then grease up and insert the wooden master. I carved mine from balsa and did not copy any commercially produced jig.
I bend my own wires as well and usually never put hooks at the bottom for the same reasons you stated but do include them on most as the jig can be reversely attached to the mainline for a different action underwater if the jig is asymmetrically shaped. The heavy keel makes for the flutter action when slow jigging.
I will try to do some pics during casting and add those next round. I do this outside and only when there's blue skies for zero chance of a water droplet hitting the molten lead.
Good info. Thanks. It answered my questions. Ken
Quote from: Steve-O on November 21, 2015, 05:00:34 AM
Thanks, guys.
Okay, now let's turn off the spotlight on me and see who wants to take one of these jigs fishing....preferably in the Pacific northwest area where it is intended to fish...but California waters will do.
Anyone hitting the waters in the next little while?
PM me and I will send you either a killer fish catching jig....or a bottom snagger...whichever comes first.* :D
Where's the like button?
* conditional upon actually going fishing with it in said waters and sharing photographic proof AND the adventure on this site afterwards.
Disclaimer: this offer is valid for only a limited time....like this or next month only. CONUS, HI, AK only.
And no this isn't any preemptive ploy or marketing strategy to pre-advertise a start up jig manufacturing business. Just something fun for me to do and share. That's it.
I got a chance to get some family out here visiting from Massachooozits and my son and two of his kids onto my super secret rockfishing hole last Sunday.
Set up Steve-O's rest white and blue jig on my 250g jigging rod with my accurized jigmaster 501 and 60lb braid.
The rest of us (6) fished my home made pipe jigs.
Big fish of the day was close to 10lb Ling COD, caught by my grandaughter Madison with Stves jig and it went on to out produce my pipe jigs up until a huge Ling bit through the line the hooks are attached to the jig with and escaped with th hooks! The jig came back a bit chewed up and no hooks but fine other than that.
I'm going to put new hooks on it and it is ready to go on to the next angler,
So who is up next that wants to put the "patriot" through their fishing grounds?
Let me know I will get it in the mail and headed your way,
And least I forget we did get pics, and video, and it's on it's way here.
Thanks Steve this was fun!
David, Thanks for sharing this. Glad to hear the jig produced fish for you and especially you granddaughter. My new hooks arrived a few days after mailing the jig to you. Any hooks stout enough will work, even circles up to 7 or 8/0. As long as they stay tangle free and don't upset the jig action too much.
Hope to see some photos or video of the catches.
If anyone is interested in trying it out you can send it along its way....if not....Merry Belated Christmas!
Thanks Steve, your jig out produced everything this day and caught the big fish of the trip a 10lb Ling COD.
Unfortunately I am having trouble uploading the pics, for some reason the site doesn't like my iPhone pics format and I don't know how to convert them on my iPad. I will get it figured out and post them.
David, thanks for the update.
My phone (Android) and my iMac and iPad seem to share the same disagreement. The mini SD card from my phone shows as "no pictures on this disk" when loaded onto the iMac.....grrrr. >:(Something Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had between them back in the day. ::)
Steve....just saw the thread. INCREDIBLE!!!
They look Awesome!!! Great job!!
Quote from: edmartz on April 24, 2016, 04:07:01 AM
Steve....just saw the thread. INCREDIBLE!!!
They look Awesome!!! Great job!!
Thanks, man! Taking a bunch with me to Alaska in June for offshore, near and onshore jigging for Lings and rockfish. The island i go to is steep so even on shore one can cast into 120' of water if you give it a decent cast and let the line peel off. Pretty funny to watch your spool lay out line like forever when you only cast maybe a hundred feet offshore and the jig just keeps going down. Lots of coppers and quillback close in. Pacific cod to 30" in 40' right off the boat dock at the lodge.
I got a bunch of jigs from Jiggng world for Christmas then found a local lead source and started these. A buck a pop is easy on the wallet when you think of breaking off down deep.
I sent some freebies out on the forum with the condition of getting reports and pics back on how they did.
Only David H replied.
I'm waiting on going out soon. I thought i posted a report but not 100% sure. Going out in May will give it a go with The jig and post a report. Thanks Steve
Steve,
If you have an extra one, PM me I will pay for one and give you pics and a report. Also PM me your address I will send you some stuff to try!!
Great looking stuff. It always feels better catching fish on stuff you made!!!
Keep it up!!
Eddie, PM answered.
Cannot believe I just let this go? Anyway this is Madison, or Mad Bear as she is affectionately called.