My DIY Projects and Great Adventures

[Micanopy]

After so much disappointment in the design of the Do-It Herring Head Underspin Jig Mold, with its ridiculous wire situation. I mean using the mold as instructed left me with wires that simply fell right out when finished using the thing. So I tried this, then I tried that, and now this is my last attempt I think.

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This is my Bat Jig Mold, with a #1 EC hook. It does not have a spinner of any sort.

MODIFICATION: I bought very small files at Harbor Freight for $4. Nice little set. I selected the shape best suited and applied it GENTLY. I stroked alongside the hook shank tunnel. With the tunnel, to widen its channel just enough. This mold already takes a wire bait keeper, so I only needed stroke one small area. I think three maybe four times. I actually checked in between them for fit, as I was only certain of one thing, being my first attempt to mod a mold, I wanted it to end up tight. No lead flashing through. As in snap shut tight.

So I cut those wire forms to use for wire, the ones I bought recently, and laid that little section of steel with bent tip, piggy back fashion along that hook shank in the tunnel. Half effort for each side too, mind you, otherwise you get an offset, won’t glide properly.

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Mold filled in its usual way, and the results were unremarkable in that regard.

The wire is solid and it is able to be bent to build at least two things…..for now. A wire bait keeper can easily be made, wire easily bent and trimmed to length. But I like the spinner blade idea. Beetle Spins are said to be great lures, and they and those spinner baits we think of for bass, both use triangle shapes.

This wire came out beautifully aligned, too. Sits up against the shank perfectly. Yes- I did get lucky. I was able to slide a needle nose down between when cool, and separate the wire and the hook, and bend it slightly near the head. I also cut away the collar on some to move that bend even further forward.


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Paint went on the easiest of any so far. I simply dipped the dumb head, no shielding, no pliers, just heat and dip. I did have to use my jig pincer thingie to clear two eyes when done. Super easy. Loved it.

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Crinkle finish…..I noticed that the silver crinkle begins to move at about 175 F. I plan to set my toaster to that and then apply the heat gun- blowing against the silver to see if it can be shoved around on the surface. Never know. I plan to try it. Experiment some with it.

Anyways here they are out of the oven, first one assembled.




This is a quarter ounce Bat Jig head, a #1 Eagle Claw sickle in the evil Black and Chrome finish, three inch glow type grub.

The wire is rock solid. No movement at all. This can be used to “tune” the spinner bait, just like the Bass Masters do.

This means that I can make lures that can accommodate big plastic baits and big blades. I can also make little lures that have little plastics and little blades. And everything in between. It also means that I can add a wire bait holder to any mold really. Can add an under spin to any mold too I guess. It really could not have been easier.

Some suggest positioning the wire, assuring it remains in place, and striking with a hammer or using a vise or Dremmel. I chose file because my fingers are not those of an artisan.



Same quarter ounce head, but jig on left is using a 1/0 hook and a two inch grub, and a nice willow leaf. That larger hook wanted more room so I squeezed the mold together harder, and then cut away the extra flashing. Once I decide which hooks I really like, I plan to modify, but for now I plan to leave it working for the #1 size. Then there is the wire keeper. The Do-It wires are a lot harder to manage. Trust me. These wires are easily laid along side the hook shank, no fancy shapes to conform to. The bend can be moved around anywhere inside the cavity and still get buried in lead. A ton easier.

So I can scale my spinner jigs according to head size, and then use different lengths of wire to move smaller blades in closer, larger blades away some, different shapes, colors and styles of plastics. Nice diversity. Small baits with big spinners, big baits with little spinners. Need to “tune” the jig, easy enough with just your fingers. Move the blade in closer, extend it out further, not problem, use your fingers. Moving wire to 90 degrees gives maximum distance, and if more distance than that is needed, I will just use a longer section of wire.



Gonna paint some spinner blades up, too. Yup…..UV enhancements with a series of lines over top. Shamelessly steal ideas from them there Walleye people. Salmon folks, too.



Here both wires have been flexed by my fingers into jutting out straight down. The blades will still spin at their most efficient speeds. Wire’s angle doesn’t effect that because the swivel is straight back both ways. Best position to spin freely, so best in slow speeds. Not sure how many re-adjustments that wire will sustain, but I imagine once tuned it wouldn’t need attention.

I could also skip the blade, swivel and ring and form a loop on the end of the wire. Then make that jig the top one of a two jig setup, running line from the underwire to a bottom jig. Have the bottom jig using a spinner. Could experiment with them very close together, or them spaced in normal fashions. Suspect each jig would move differently, and that fouling would be reduced. I hate tangled lines. Just hate them.

So I am excited that Dr Nip offered me some encouragement to think out side the box and mod the mold. The Herring Head no longer has my favor. Even the Freestyle can be my Huckleberry now. Really any mold that can have it’s hook shank gutter widened ever so carefully, to allow the thin wire to be laid beside it.

I can cut away the lead collar, or leave it and add Chenile over top, doesn’t matter unless you like Slab Sauce. Then it makes a big difference. So if there is a mold that you like, but you always wished it had a bait keeper, or a whirling blade thingie, well I kind of figured out how you could manage to make that happen. Really nothing to be intimidated by. Dr Nip knew I wasn’t gonna destroy any molds. I just kind of followed his lead. You can manage fine. I know that because I didn’t throw my mold through the garage wall. No dirty words.

I am keeping my mold. I love it. Underspin Bat Jig…..hmmmmm