Mark do you have a do-it sparkie mold that mold make a good blade jig mold the eyelets fit well and add the keeper wire and you have some pretty nice bladed jig heads. I have one and I'm going to pour some over the custom molds I all ready have I like to tinker when im in my shop. Ill keep you post...

I like using # 5 connection link stainless steel I also use Wey wire form in 525 and 375 stainless steel I keep them all in bulk. I have custom aluminum molds I had made so its easy to pour a few hundred up of both sizes when needed. Thanks for both of your replies. I was afraid that the connector ...

Thanks. What connector wire do you use to make the blade eye connector?

Basshunter55 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 26, 2023 4:11 pm

Ive been tying custom jigs for over 40 years now I use upholstery thread no skirt slipping down no skirt failure

What hooks do you use for your chatterbaits? Are the eyes already open when you buy them?

I've found that reels with brass main gears last.

Find a piece of 12 awg stranded copper wire and cut a 3" length off of it. Remove the plastic wire jacket and use one strand to attach the skirt on any bait. Wrap twice around the collar, just above the rubber band and keep the ends roughly the same length. Pull it as tight as you can get it by han...

I would reinforce the the rubber skirt band by adding some thread wraps, so you don't lose the skirt material when the rubber band breaks, which it will.

Update: I tried tempering the 5/0 stock Victory jig hooks with my 1000 degree heat gun, and the eyes still snapped. Same with the Mustad hooks. So I used the propane torch to get the hook eyes red hot, let them cool on the metal tray I use under my lead pot when I pour, and then opened the eyes with...

Future 50 incher, no doubt!

Congrats!!!

Thanks for the info, guys. Now, I have a few lines for leaders to check out, though I don't use fluoro, so I need to find something that floats from Sunline. For the last 15 years or so, the best one I found was Defier. I use it as leaders. Almost any 20lb mono will work, because mono stretches a b...

I fish 50lb braid to 20lb fluoro leader, and haven't had a break off in the three+- years I've been fishing that combo. No matter which braid, I use Sunline saltwater leader system FC100 fluorocarbon. It is designed to be used as a leader for salt water fishing. I heard about it on the Tactical Bass...

Slazmo wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 03, 2023 7:01 pm

Quench in motor oil or quenching oil.

Would I quench the hook while it's still red hot? Would quenching make it less brittle?

I heat my jig hook eyes red hot so I can open them without breaking to insert a chatter blade.

Is there a way I can re-temper them so they won't reopen as easily, but not become brittle again?

It has been for me. I don't need heroic hooksets at the end of a long cast anymore. With no stretch, the hooks penetrate with just a sweep set, and I can winch fish out of grass and tules. I use a 4' length of 20lb fluoro as a leader.