Pretty pleased with myself,wet weather thought bubble had me carving balsa to make master copies,then moulds and the requisite blanks for paint and prep led to these .then a trip north to tackle some lure eating beaties and this was the result. Now have 4 sizes,280gm,435gm 580gm and 630gm. random weights because thats the nature of my rather amateurish carving skills.
Awesome work! looks like fish don't see non-standard weights!
Nice!
Great to catch a fish on tackle you made yourself!
Excellent! Nice picture. I guess I don't use these type a lures enough, 'cause it never occurred to me to rig the hooks like that, so they don't snag the line, which probably ruins the lures action.
I like a jig that doesnt waste time and gets where its going in a hurry. Very nice work there.
Awesome pictures of what works. You did a professional looking job on the finish. Great idea 💡 using the glow hootchy on the attack hook too. I'm jealous, and inspired. Thanks 🙏
Great work! 8)
Proof of concept 8)
Marc..
Great Work Mate.
Your Carving skills seem to be up to par. ;)
Nice jigs and Reds! That looks like a Pilbara, West Oz, backdrop. The Hi-Viz is a clue too ;D
Beautiful jigs and fish. The fish look very similar to the American Red Snapper ( Lutjanus campechanus). What is their name in the land of Oz?
Close Rothmar2 but back of Dirk Hartog. Hi Viz is only so they can find my carcase if I go overboard. LOL No one will be able to get to you in time to save your neck.
Conchydong they are Red Emperor .The large of which was 12kg. They are a Lutjanus .
Shark Hunter, the worry was that they wouldn't flutter correctly as that's the trick to it. They might look good in Balsa but once made in lead,If the jig falls backwards after the lift instead of gliding forward and fluttering down then they will fail (no predator likes its prey to flee from them, then suddenly turn around as if to attack) and you can't work that out until you've incurred the expense for the moulding silicon and had a go.If you get it wrong its back to the drawing board.
They need to be heavy and glow as we are jigging in water up to 350metres deep.although these fish came from 115m.
a couple more fish that ate them on the last trip
Nice work on and off the water. Dominick
Those look great! There's nothing like catching on something you've made yourself.
Nice work, .. Lou
As we can see these jigswork great . Can you post something more on your molds. Balsa ? And more pictures are always welcome. Thanks 🐠🎣
my latest batch,various designs,have yet to test these ones
one caught on the older style
gstours I start with a balsa carving (usually pretty poor) then sandpapering to get things how i want them to look .I then seal that with varnish and use a high temperature silicon (Wacker 4670 made by Barnes Corp) to pour the moulds. Some are single piece moulds others are two piece. I then pour the lead and go from there as far as decoration is concerned.One tip for any one considering it.You must get the lead really hot .You cant preheat the silicon like you can an alloy mould so i often find the first pour is rubbish until the silicon itself gets real hot.If i was better with a camera i could video the process. but its not hard If a clutz like me can do it anyone can.and in US you have access to much better materials than we do here in Oz at much more realistic prices.
Great stuff :)
Nice work Dean, & thanks for all the info, the young lady in the first photos, looked real happy about it all, good memories, now to get from Sharks bay , Denham, to West side of Dirkhartog Island, do you go through steep point, or around the top. I am thinking of your feul supply, & so on, cheers Don. for those that dont know, it is 75Kms to Steep point.
Great post & pics... Jeff
It takes a lot to fool a fish. You did it. Good work. Dominick
Donnyboat, The reds were caught out from the south passage so its a 40km haul across shark bay,down the inside of Dirk Hartog and out the passage. All up 75km But to get to the open ocean it is quicker from Denham to go to Turtle Bay at the top of Dirk Hartog. only about 38km to the ocean. Trouble is the sharks are prolific there and I draw the line at catching just to feed those grey coat mongrels They park up under your boat in numbers and nothing gets through.
Quote from: Gadget on January 15, 2019, 05:50:45 AM
Donnyboat, The reds were caught out from the south passage so its a 40km haul across shark bay,down the inside of Dirk Hartog and out the passage. All up 75km But to get to the open ocean it is quicker from Denham to go to Turtle Bay at the top of Dirk Hartog. only about 38km to the ocean. Trouble is the sharks are prolific there and I draw the line at catching just to feed those grey coat mongrels They park up under your boat in numbers and nothing gets through.
Sound so similar to my experience from shore in WA, sharks ate everything! :-[
Yes Good Dean, thanks for your reply, I have anchored @ turtle bay, & slept overnight, we caught some nice snapper not far from there, caught our quota, & was getting a few cod as well so we kept fishing, the sharks moved is, & as you said, that was the end of it, I have never fished through the South passage. I find I can catch more fish around Geraldton, & dont have to go so far, by car or boat, thanks for all the photos & info, great value, we will have to catch up some time, cheers Don.