04-01-2004, 07:40 PM
[cool][blue][size 1]I make all of my own jigs. One of the reasons I first started making leadhead jigs was to be able to have the size weight I wanted on the size hook I needed. Too often, when I was buying jigs, I had to settle for what jig manufacturers thought I needed, and I could never get the right balance of the weight and hook size, to properly fish the size and type plastic I wanted to fish. [/size][/blue]
[#0000ff][size 1]I think fishing the shallow and snaggy waters around Lincoln Beach, on Utah Lake, kind of triggered my buying a mold that I could customize to pour lighter heads on larger hooks. My first experiments were a great success, since I could fish plastics slow and close to the shallow bottom, without constantly snagging and breaking off.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I took my lighter heads on larger hooks to Willard Bay and found that they worked well there too. I cast twisters or shad parallel to the rocks and could fish them a lot slower without getting "a piece of the rock".[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]There are a lot of times when the fish are in a neutral or negative mode and will not chase a fast moving lure. Hauling a heavy head fast enough to keep it from snagging may be too fast for the fish. And, after all, they are the final vote.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Another thing you get with lighter heads is a slower fall. Bass, walleyes and other predators are sometime suckers for a slow fall, but will shy away from a jig that power dives to the bottom unnaturally. With a slow fall you will often get a "pop on the drop".[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I have been carrying on some PMs and emails with a couple of Utah walleye fans, who wanted examples of the styles and colors I found most effective. I have attached a pic of some of the light stuff. The top three are 1/16 oz. "minnow" heads cast on 2/0 hooks. The Roadrunners are 1/8 oz. and 1/4 oz. With the spinner creating drag, you can move them slower without hazard, even in heavier sizes. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]By the way, those "minnow" heads have the barb close to the head and pointing upward. They are designed for fishing tube jigs. You can fish them with tubes or twisters equally well.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]To be able to pour a head on a larger hook than the mold is designed to accomodate, you need to be skilled with a drill. It requires that you elongate the hook eye portion of the cavity with a light touch of a good drill bit. Do not mess up a good mold if you are not going to be using it for a lot of your new creations. I have a mold that makes six of the same size heads, so modifying one or two does not put me out of business for ever using smaller hooks again.[/size][/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][size 1]I think fishing the shallow and snaggy waters around Lincoln Beach, on Utah Lake, kind of triggered my buying a mold that I could customize to pour lighter heads on larger hooks. My first experiments were a great success, since I could fish plastics slow and close to the shallow bottom, without constantly snagging and breaking off.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I took my lighter heads on larger hooks to Willard Bay and found that they worked well there too. I cast twisters or shad parallel to the rocks and could fish them a lot slower without getting "a piece of the rock".[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]There are a lot of times when the fish are in a neutral or negative mode and will not chase a fast moving lure. Hauling a heavy head fast enough to keep it from snagging may be too fast for the fish. And, after all, they are the final vote.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Another thing you get with lighter heads is a slower fall. Bass, walleyes and other predators are sometime suckers for a slow fall, but will shy away from a jig that power dives to the bottom unnaturally. With a slow fall you will often get a "pop on the drop".[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I have been carrying on some PMs and emails with a couple of Utah walleye fans, who wanted examples of the styles and colors I found most effective. I have attached a pic of some of the light stuff. The top three are 1/16 oz. "minnow" heads cast on 2/0 hooks. The Roadrunners are 1/8 oz. and 1/4 oz. With the spinner creating drag, you can move them slower without hazard, even in heavier sizes. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]By the way, those "minnow" heads have the barb close to the head and pointing upward. They are designed for fishing tube jigs. You can fish them with tubes or twisters equally well.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]To be able to pour a head on a larger hook than the mold is designed to accomodate, you need to be skilled with a drill. It requires that you elongate the hook eye portion of the cavity with a light touch of a good drill bit. Do not mess up a good mold if you are not going to be using it for a lot of your new creations. I have a mold that makes six of the same size heads, so modifying one or two does not put me out of business for ever using smaller hooks again.[/size][/#0000ff]
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