Gather together your lead pot,lead,welding gloves,mold,mold inserts,and ladle,and put the mold on top of the pot while the lead is getting hot to preheat your mold.
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-02-26213756_zps45425f1b.jpg)
Open mold and insert your lure insert
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-02-26213828_zpse01e7e9e.jpg)
Close mold and pour lure
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-02-26213857_zps4dc113c6.jpg)
Open mold once lead is solidified,it only takes a few moments
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-02-26213935_zps62c6fc37.jpg)
Extract lure
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-02-26213954_zps44e4137c.jpg)
Trim any tags and flashing while still wearing gloves,and once lure is cleaned up set aside to cool while pouring others
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-02-26214054_zps151a0170.jpg)
Once cooled insert a hanging wire into your lures insert and clean the lures whith denatured alcohol to remove any residue from your hands or gloves,this step also helps during the painting process
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-02-28161516_zpsd888561f.jpg)
Gather your required color of paints
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-02-28161007_zps6a818f3d.jpg)
And do your finest of painting jobs,don't worry they dont have to be perfect the fish don't really care,as long as it looks edible it will get bit
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-02-28161016_zps425b331b.jpg)
Add the whites of the eyes,any waterbased paint will do for this and the details
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-02-28210814_zps0f3bfe8d.jpg)
Add your details to your lure,dots stripes whatever you desire,I have found the simpler the better
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-02-28211946_zps3bb0ec8f.jpg)
Now for the messy part,using the hanging wire as a handle you will now coat your lures with a nice coat of 30 minute epoy then hang by the nose until dry.I usually leave them hang for two days so that the epoxy sets up rock hard and then you don't have a chance of damaging your lures.
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-02-28161557_zpsf90c538f.jpg)
Now for the part where everyone has a go at it rig it up and fish it,I personally like a large expensive barrel swivel as the hook attachment hooked to the split ring on the lure but some prefer the solid rings and of course I will agree that they are inherantly stronger but I don't use anything above an 80# topshot so I will never break a 200# + barrel swivel.
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-02-25212828_zps2d0045c7.jpg)
I hope you all enjoyed my tutorial on how to make a jigging lure from a prefabricated mold.
Coming soon,making your own POP molds for jigging irons and How to make your own rubber shrimp mold and lures.
Thanks for the post Saltydog. The jigs look great. I'm looking forward to the rest. Bob
thank you sir
WOW! Looks like something that I would like to try!
Very nice job Saltydog, thanks for sharing.
See if you can make me a couple in Green, White and Red, I want to give them out as gifts to some friends.
If you make a mistake on the red and it comes out too light, no worries, I have some friends in Ireland also. ;D
Sal.
Very nice! Thanks for sharing! I want to give this a try also, when I get some more spare time on my hands :)
Cheers,
Paal
Salty...how are you connecting the split ring and the swivel? Hard to tell from the photo
Thanks
Andy
Sort of related: Since the "head" of the jig is heavier than the tail, wouldn't it make more sense to tie onto the tail and attach the assist hooks there? Most butterfly and knife jigs are rigged that way. Just curious...
On the swivel you just rig it like the solid ring,most of the fish I go after are less than 100 pounds and I haven't seen the need arise for solid rings or 900 pound kevlar line,most of the fish we go after are between 10 and 30 pound Blackfin and yellowfin up to 100 pounds or AJ's that can get pretty big but nothing the guys are pushing in the big oceans like Bluefin.
Now yes they do fall in a head down way but that is part of the reason why I use them,the hooks fall with the bait not above it and you always get bit on the way down most of the time,and when the fish want something a little slower and more crippled looking you just bend the lure and it does side to side arks or leave it strait and it will do a fast side to side with a faster retrive.And to answer your question on a fast retrieve it doesn't have the time to dive.This lure also allows you to bounce bottom but now that you mentioned it I will tie one on backwards and jig it on my trip next weekend to see how that works,now I have to go make a few with the whole insert,this is getting as addictive as reels.
Now for a main reason I make my own,well 10 to 30 dollars a lure is to steep for a hunk of lead.And it is more rewarding to catch fish on your own creations.
Great tutorial saltydog, thanks for sharing.
Noticed you use Do-It molds, they must be the best sinker/lure molds ever made,pure precision.
There are a lot of two piece sinker molds about over here. They come with clamps and all sorts of supporting equipment and are a nightmare to use.
Yes I agree Do it has some of the easiest molds to use by far and there machining is very good,but I have run into a few other brands that are complete nightmares,especially the older ones.
Saltydog,
Im looking forward to the rest of your tutorials on making your own jigs with great interest. Any plans for making some aluminum jigs like: Tady 45's (any of the Tady models). I love throwing iron and plastics and you'll have my undivided attention; so please "do your thing" with these tutorials.
BTW, glad this section was added to the forum.
Leo
Sal thanks for your color choice,these will probably catch fish and also make great gifts.I never thought of national flags as color patterns but they look like they will work.
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-03-03205142_zps5221072a.jpg)
Thanks
William
They look awesome William, nice job ;). Of course they'll catch fish, I do and I'm Italian ;D ;D
Very nice.
Sal
Wow, very nice.
Mexican Flag is a hugely popular West coast color scheme for everything from Tuna clones to lead jigs. Really sharp casting, I've known people who have tried to get that finish from a mold for years on bullets.
Ron
It does take a little to get the finish right but when you do they hold up pretty well and the action these lures produce does work really well especially for tuna.Just got back from my overnight trip and I caught one Blackfin on the green red and white but the other 11 and a Yellowmouth grouper were caught on a glow in the dark 4 oz. with the assist hooks tied on the head as usual.The whole boat with 30 anglers caught 32 Blackfin with 12 of them being mine.They were from 12 to 32 pounds being my largest with 9 being over 20 pounds,got quite a bit of good quality meat for a while.
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-03-11191355_zpse297e63b.jpg)
And quite a few nice fish.These are the two largest,sorry no on board photos it was a rough trip with 10 to 12 footers and alot of spray,no camera was on deck.
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-03-11170528_zpsbfbba0a0.jpg)
I have found that with assist hooks the rigging of them will get you bites or leave you wondering why you can't get a bite,on this trip I had to go to double 4/0 octopus hooks snelled to a doubled up piece of 100 pound braid just like in the picture but without the heat shrink tubing or they just would not touch it,you really don't need all that fancy stuff on your hooks to catch fish or 900 pound kevlar cord,just a simple rigging will sometimes get more fish when they don't want to turn on.
whoa, the dog is lookin' good !!!!!!!
Just a shot of how I was rigged up on these jigs.
(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii608/saltydogreelrepair/2013-03-13112638_zps00cba70b.jpg)
gd stuff
Lot of guys use Envirotex Lite (Etexj) epoxy to coat their plugs and jigs. It is super tough and thin, doesn't turn yellow, flexible, but takes longer to dry (12 hours). i use it to coat my jigs and in rod building to coat my rod wraps. I also add holographic glitter and different colors of mica powder (tkbtrading.com) to the Etex to add color to my lures. Find Etex at Michaels craft stores (use the weekly coupon to get it 40% off - less than $20 for 32 oz.)
How did I miss this? Those are some fine looking Jigs William! ;)
Are you taking orders? How much for six of those bad boys? I will rig them myself.
Who made the mold and where did you get it?
This is a great post. :)
Great post , I've been shopping for jigs for some upcoming trips.havent made the plunge because of cost and not sure what to buy .I think I'll make them instead.thanks for the info
Hey Salty: how does one use those jigs for Tuna? I took the ones you sent me to Mexico twice but I have not used them since we did not do any bottom fishing. Are those jigs only used bouncing them up and down near the bottom?Dominick
Most of the jigging we do with them is drop em down or cast out and retrieve in an erratic fashion to get the tuna pumped up. They can also be used to bottom bounce. The faster the retrieve the better.
It is a Do-it mold, I got it from Barlows online tackle store in Dallas. Model no. SBL-2-46
Great post Saltydog! Were you using GLOW spray paint to paint the glow painted jigs. If it is spray paint what brand and where can I purchase a couple cans. I have been powder coating my jigs but would like the spray paint if I could find it. I use the glow white on my jigs for cod and have caught lots of fish.
I enjoyed your post and learned a lot :).
Bill
I use a white base coat of flat white then coat with glow in the dark spray paint from Wal mart, it doesn't have to be expensive because the epoxy is what keeps your finish intact and lasting.
Thank you for the information. I will get the materials togeter and see what I can do. Thank you for your time, reply & effort.
Bill
Not a problem, that's what we are all here for to learn and share knowledge.