AUGUST

[Micanopy]

Long day yesterday so we stayed home today.



I wanted to do some experimenting. I made up a couple of dozen of the Bat Jigs in the 1/8th ounce size. I am using the size #2 Do-It Whacky Hook which is very sharp and has an aggressive posture. I had bad luck using the recommended hook, which is size #6, and lost way too many fish with that one.

I dipped in white, then white, then UV Clear. I am kind of tired of monkeying around with the eyes, so considered skipping them. But alas I slid one on and wondered if I could just skip glue and pour UV resin over top of it and let it reach the edges and then cure. I think it worked great. My first attempts had me using too much resin. Later I was able to daub it on straight from the bottle and once I had the right amount, it covered very nicely. Then a quick hit with the flashlight and out onto the deck they went.



The eyes are on solid and it was with a minimal amount of effort. Give it a try for yourself.



This serves as a trial run for my idea of using printed eyes. I see now that they will work great.

I did have one issue, and that was that I like to apply three coats of powder paint and that has the effect of filling in the eye cavity. My system would work best with a deep cavity and less paint.



I made other colors and this is just a one dip into UV Clear powder paint. It had the deepest cavity and those eyes are encased nicely. Hit with the UV flashlight they glow a beautiful bluish color. The pure Glacial White heads also glow with that bluish white color. There have been some early mornings when I saw this bluish glow on other jigs made like this. Looked like little LED lights almost.

UV light is present underwater and at greater depths than visible light. To me it makes it easier for the stupid fish to spot the thing and lock on.



I made some with my custom spinner blade design as well.

The idea was to get some ready for when my order from Bob’s Jigs arrives. I ordered up some of those Stingers and want to have something with a bit of heft to it to lead the way. Looking for something sleek. If I have guessed correctly, this size head should make a nice match for the baits and give them a minnow look.

I am still waiting for my Print A Lure mold. Didn’t realize the thing was made in Israel. Small wonder it takes so long to get one.

BTW- whilst studying the other evening I hit on something interesting. Seems people have issues with their CNC molds not completely filling the cavities. Somewhere I read to add a piece of tape to the mold’s surface, near the handles. That that will allow air to escape and let the cavity fill completely. Then after about 200 pours you remove the tape and use it normally from there on.

I was having issues with my new Collins CNC mold not filling completely. Next time I go to use it I am gonna apply some tape and see what happens.

Dr Nip once said that if he had to start all over from scratch that he would skip the Do-It molds and just buy CNC molds. I now understand what he meant. Currently Do-It molds run about $65 shipped, and a quality CNC mold about $130 shipped. So double the price. However when you consider your time, efforts and sanity cleaning off the slop from the Do-It molds, the CNC molds make perfect sense. I do realize some don’t care but hey…..that ain’t me.

My issue with them is that they make all the cavities the same size. So you have to buy multiple molds to cover the spread with a specific design. I suppose this is because hairy legged hobbyists don’t buy CNC molds. Professionals do, and they want to pour seven at a time. Still I would like to have 1/42nd up to 1/4 ounce offerings.

I can’t wait to get some eyes printed up so I can test my experiment. The idea being to make 3D eyes in place instead of elsewhere and then transferring them over only to have to then secure them in place. Today’s experiment has given me all the confidence I needed to proceed with my idea.

I also thought some more about adding eyes to my plastic baits. Grubs would be a little tricky to do, but I have plenty of baits with flat sides. I can make my Magic Mushroom heads and make a nice minnow looking bait.



I played around some adding eyes and just looking at them. No sense in gluing as it will never last. I ordered up some Clear Plastisol so I can begin adding eyes. Easy to do if you don’t already know. Stick eyes in place, dip the head of the bait into Plastisol at 350 degrees. Just dip enough to completely envelope the eyes and remove, lay on a flat surface and allow to cool. No glues which don’t work anyways because plastic baits continue to leech out their compounds and this destroys the surface the glue was attached to. Cute little guy Huh ?

Everything in tackle making seems to be advancing towards realism. Making a bait look more like a real minnow. We crappie people like bright neons colors and such, but we might be missing out on the move towards realism, too. Subtle and subdued tones might be just as effective, and maybe even more so. I have never really given them an honest go. I see that chartreuse and that is the one I grab for every time. So I am gonna gravitate towards trying to create more realistic baits and see where that takes me.