In the last couple of years I've started to make my own jigs but I've yet to produce a product that is up to my standards. I have some questions and am hopeful that some of you bobber and jig gurus out there can help me out..

1) I've got my own molds but was wondering what the prefered hook is. I tried the Cabela's pre-painted jig heads but lost several fish due to poor hook quality and/or getting spooled compensating for weak hooks.
I've tried Gamis but was'nt impressed.

2) What is the type of paint needed for painting heads? I've painted my own but am looking for a quicker process than primer and two coats of color all to chip off on the first rock they hit.

3) Where does a guy find quality mariboo? I'm talking the stuff that pulses like a beating heart in the current.

Thats about it for now. Thanks to people that help and I'll re-post if I think of anything else.

I'm kind of surprised that no one powder-coats their jig heads. Possibly it is the lack of color assortments, maybe the high price. But aren't there do-it-yourself kits for doing this sort of thing?

We powder coat all our heads, the paint seems to stay on forever. Use the 630 style hook, good heavy wire but you need special molds to pour them. As for marabou you'll have to check with your local fly shop.

Ihookum,

The best and simples way to paint your jig heads is with finger nail polish! I used the dollar a bottle type. I paint all my heads with 2 coats of white first (primer), and then ad my final color to the head when I finish the wrap. You can't beat it, and its cheep! You have an unlimited rang of colors also!

I use and prefer # 2- 630 Eagle claws hooks. They have a larger eye and make it much more easer to tie your line to.

Cowlitzfisherman,

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????

I use heavy wire 2/0 gami hooks and I powder coat my heads with Protec powder coat paint. You can get the paint from Bass Pro, its only $3.99 per containor. You can probally paint a few hundred jigs per container. The stuff is hard as a rock. Best paint for jig heads ive ever used.

Guess I'd better call the patent office and cancel the paperwork...

Fingernail polish? On a jig head? Suuuure, that's why you've got that little makeup case. So where exactly do the fake eyelashes fit into your fishing tackle equasion?

Ihookum
Another alternative to pouring and painting lead jig heads is to use solid brass beads. I tie all my jigs using brass beads and they work just fine. Using this method you can choose whatever hook you like too. I currently use the heavy wire Gamakatsu hooks or the extra strong Owner jig hooks. It really comes down to personal preference.
Mark

www.firstcastjigs.com

Fobbman,Ihookum

I hope that you take my idea seriously about using finger nail polish to paint your jig heads!


Try my method and you will become a believer! A friend of mine who makes "HURLEY JIGS" worked this one out with me about 2 years ago. He now is selling thousands of his jigs to places like "Bob's Sporting goods" in Longview. All his jigs are painted in this fashion. You cannot buy a better assortment of colors then what is available in nail polish colors. You can even buy it in glow colors! He also sells his painted lead heads separately (all are painted with nail polish.
There is almost nothing out their on the open market that is as "hard" as nail polish paint. Again, once you have tried it you will become a believer!

Cowlitzfisherman,

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????

STLHDR, The hooks that you use w/ the brass bead head is that a special jig hook or do you tie a wire extension forward of the eye to attach the bead to? Del

Thanx to all who replied. I'm going to try both methods for painting the jig heads. The only reason I have'nt tried the protech stuff was I did'nt see the colors that I needed in Bass Pro or Bobs in Longview. I'll gve the finger nail polish trick a try.
As for hooks I tried the Gamis and eagle claws and was'nt impressed with either. I'm primarily useing smaller hooks and jigs. The largest jig you'll see me useing is a 1/8oz.
#2 and in most cases especialy summer water I'll have a 1/16 #4 hook. I'll try the owner hooks but I'm afraid to see the price. I'm also gonna try mustads, a guy I work with swears by them.
The reason I asked the question on the mariboo was out of the last 4 packs I've bought not one turned out worth a *#!@... The mariboo would almost stick together and look like toothpicks sticking of the back of the jig. I'm allready starting to make silver jigs thats why I need the good mariboo.
Again, thanks to everyone who replied.

IHookum....hang in there,keep trying.

Try the Mustad's you'll like them.

As far as the maribou goes,I've seen a ton of jigs that just lay there and as you said "look like toothpics in the water."
But Hey I saw an ugly jiga fish...once;rolleyes:

Roger at Silent Approach Jigs Palmers his Maribou and Rabbit(along with a few other types we test)....these things come alive in the water.

Oh Ya...I have a question about the brass heads??
why not just paint em black
according to the experts on "what fish see"....doesn't brass turn black at about 3-4 feet....so as long you fishing shallower that you're O.k....just curiuos....Os

Del W
The hooks I use are the 604 Gamakatsu heavy wire jig hooks. I attach them with a wire.
Mark


www.firstcastjigs.com

Del W
Put a straight pin through the bead hole, hold it alongside jig hook shaft and use a fly bobbin and thread to bind it on. Voila..... Then dip it in Fishermans lure coat, color of your choice, (twice). Works great for making colored hooks also, siwash or whatever.

Tip Up
'Peri'

I had been taught previously that using a less-pure lead for sinkers would create a pinging sound as it bounces on the bottom. With that in mind, I have to wonder if using brass (definitely a ping there) or fingernail polish (click?) might actually attract fish.

How about any bad scents that the polish might give off? Any thoughts on that?

And that polish with that glitter in it....hmmmm....

Fobbman

I almost never use "pure lead" for my jig heads, I always use tire weights! I personally don't think that a fish is that dam smart! How in the hell does a fish know what finger polish smells like? Fish eat whatever they thing looks good at the time!
Just 3 days ago, a friend and I, were fishing the South fork of the Toutle, We both caught 2 nice fish about 8 pound each. When my friend cleaned his fish, he noticed that its stomach was extremely large. So he cut it open! There inside it's stomach, he found 3 large alder wood chips the size of your thumb!

So you tell me, do you think that fish are really that dam smart? They eat whatever they think looks good at the time, and they don't give a dam what it smells like! Look at RT's hemorrhoid formula.

Painted Jigs may, or may not make a "different" noise then unpainted jigs, but do you really think that a fish knows what that may mean? I think not! Besides, if you are dragging your jig on the bottom, to are fishing it way to deep!


Cowlitzfisherman,

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????

I'm going to have to disagree with you on the scent part Cow. It has been well studied and documented that the fishes sense of smell is extremely acute, and while they probably wouldn't know WHAT that smell is they would certainly know if it smelled unnatural to them.

As for the sound, people have been known to drift jigs instead of bobber them. So the sound that they make as they hit the rocks can either get their attention or spook them.

As for the wood chips...well, either he was a bit wickie in the whacky woo or there was something about that wood that turned him on. May have to bait up with balsa next time I'm out.

Os,
How do you palmer maribou? Thats purdy fancy talk for a hillbilly like my self..

Since the jig is traveling hook first I don't think the color of the jig head matters that much. I use the brass jig heads and have had success with them using the gamakatsu or owner hooks.
Stew
Bleeding Dodger Blue

First Cast Jigs Pro-Staff
TH Custom Rods Pro-Staff
Team Flexoril
Modelo Negra cerveza mas fina

Hey Cowfish, the sounds of "butt wax rules" was heard in more than one springer hogline in the Columbia a few weeks ago. I posted that tip over a year ago on ifish, but I don't know if that's where they got the idea this year. I can't read minds like Os can. It just works on Kwikfish and plugs for 'nooks; likey due to fish liver oil and chems the 'nooks like. ... As for the brass jigheads, I like them. They don't chip if you like to driftfish them after floatfishing them up off bottom first, and the flash of brass can be an additional attractant (I have seen these brass jigheads show up brass, not black, in up to 10 feet deep of gin clear water - same with the chrome jigheads Mark uses too). And why not paint them black? How about so you don't have any chipping or scent concerns - not to mention no reason to waste your time getting messy: duh. ... I think in some cases the ticking noise of the brass may attract fish curiosity, as it often does when backbouncing bait or even as the beads in some plugs do.

RT

RT

I do a lot of jig fishing and experimenting with the maker of "Hurley Jigs". Burlyne Hurley makes and sells a lot of jigs in our local area. We fish together all the time, and continue experimenting on new colors, weights, hooks and you name it!

One thing that stands out, to me, more then any other thing, is when you "know" the water that you are fishing in and where the fish usually laid, you got about a 75% more chance of hooking a fish there then the next guy does! Lots of times, it didn't matter what color jig or colored head we were using; it just boiled down to who got to new hole first and put the jig in front of the fish. The guy who got his jig lined up first in the hole usually got the first fish!

Time after time, it's been a foot race to the next hole to see who can get their jig positioned first for the drift. There are days when color does make a difference, but there also are days when colors seem to mean nothing. Most important thing that matters to me personally is to make sure that I always tip the jig hook with shrimp or shrimp tails. That way even if the fish doesn't like the color of the jig that I am using, he probably will eat it anyway because of the shrimp.

I am a firm believer that's it how you present your jig to a fish that gets you success! I have made hundreds of different colors of jigs, but almost always have fallen back to my most favorite 3 colors. People that know me also know that I catch lots of fish on jigs. I always try to keep it simple, and explain to them the basic ways they should be fishing the area and what colors work best for that area. Jig fishing is real fun, but sometimes people make it harder then it really is. It's been my personal experience, that the guys that "know" the holes will be the guys that hook the most fish from the hole!

I also use scents on my jigs sometimes, but I catch just as many fish without using scent. Maybe that because I always tip my jigs with shrimp (but then again I caught a lot of fish on just a plain jig!). Burlyne used to make the brass-beaded jigs years ago and he caught lots of fish on them. He has pretty much given them up now and has gone totally to the lead headed jig now. After what I saw last week, maybe I should start soaking by jigs in Alder chip juice!

Cowlitzfisherman,

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????