Quality Jig head alternatives

Someone posted about added split shot to hooks to make his own jigheads .

It got me to thinking . I’ve been wanted a jighead or weighted hook with a size 10 or 12 hook for gills that had better hooks than what’s easily available .
I’ve found that fly hooks are sharper than most jighead hooks .
I’m thinking of adding some tungsten beads to streamer hooks with a little fly tying thread and while I’m at it , I’ll dress the hook to help hold plastic bodies on .
I have most of what I need already except tungsten beads . I have some brass beads that’ll give me an idea of how it’s going to work .
Thinking of using Bobby Garland Itty bit swimmer for my plastics .
Downsizing for the summer.
I’ll let ya know how it works .

Sounds like a good plan. Interested in hearing results. :popcorn

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

Someone posted about added split shot to hooks to make his own jigheads .

It got me to thinking . I’ve been wanted a jighead or weighted hook with a size 10 or 12 hook for gills that had better hooks than what’s easily available .
I’ve found that fly hooks are sharper than most jighead hooks .
I’m thinking of adding some tungsten beads to streamer hooks with a little fly tying thread and while I’m at it , I’ll dress the hook to help hold plastic bodies on .
I have most of what I need already except tungsten beads . I have some brass beads that’ll give me an idea of how it’s going to work .
Thinking of using Bobby Garland Itty bit swimmer for my plastics .
Downsizing for the summer.
I’ll let ya know how it works .

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What you want is a tungsten bead and a wide gap euro nymph hook. They make great jigs [emoji106] a 4mm tungsten bead on a #10 hook is 1/64oz give or take a little

I personally secure mine with uv epoxy.

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Dont mind the barbless hook, just what I prefer. Attachment 462595Attachment 462596

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Thanks Kevin !
My first attempt failed .
I tried wrapping behind the bead with fly tying thread but that leaves a hump that wouldn’t let me slide the plastic snug against the bead .
The plastic body messed up the thread on the hook shaft too .
I’m going to need to epoxy the beads on .

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

Thanks Kevin !
My first attempt failed .
I tried wrapping behind the bead with fly tying thread but that leaves a hump that wouldn’t let me slide the plastic snug against the bead .
The plastic body messed up the thread on the hook shaft too .
I’m going to need to epoxy the beads on .

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I will bet just a big drop of super glue would work as well. The UV seems to work well though, i use these heads with my panfish worm material often, one has nearly 1000 fish on it so far and bead is still on!

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:popcorn:popcorn

Great idea Kevin. Something else I need to add to my never ending collection of lure making stuff!! LOL I’ve tried to do that but never seem to get the right hook/bead combo. The UV resin is the way to go, of that I’m sure. No muss, no fuss and it stays where you put it. I have a couple in my box and they hold up well, and mine are hand ties. I too am watching to see where this goes.

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Originally Posted by skeetbum

Great idea Kevin. Something else I need to add to my never ending collection of lure making stuff!! LOL I’ve tried to do that but never seem to get the right hook/bead combo. The UV resin is the way to go, of that I’m sure. No muss, no fuss and it stays where you put it. I have a couple in my box and they hold up well, and mine are hand ties. I too am watching to see where this goes.

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Oh it is definitely not my idea! There is a whole type of fly fishing out there called "euro nymphing" it uses these type of 'flies' on tight line with 10-14' rods for trout. Basically just like dipping with a crappie rod. I first saw them and thought "thats a crappie jig if ive ever seen one". So i started just using the hooks and beads for all my small panfish plastics!

You can get the beads bigger as well but they get expensive quick. I can make these 1/64 for about 30 cents each last time I purchased.

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Second attempt.
I took them fishing this morning, unfortunately it was windy , a steady 7mph with gusts to 15 .
Made it difficult to fish the light jigs .
With my 5’6” St Croix Avid paired with my Shimano Soare XR 500 and two pound test Floroclear, I was able to cast from 30-40’ with a trout magnet body .
With a Boddy Garland Itty Bitty Swim’r , almost as far.
I can’t say it made a difference because I lost or missed more fish than I usually do . :( .
The hooks are sharper than what I usually fish with . I got one too close to my shorts and it went past the barb without any effort . I had to pinch the barb down to get it out without damaging my shorts .
Didn’t seem to matter , a few minutes later I caught a bluegill with the barbless hook and landed it .
I’ve order some different tungsten beads and will probably order some different hooks , even some barbless .
I’ve ordered a UV epoxy kit too .
These are brass beads not tungsten.

Nice, once you get it dialed in I bet you like them.

Went down this road years ago. What I found out after spending some money that about 97 percent of tungsten beads…jig heads….are not much better than lead. Anyone that advertises 100 percent tungsten is telling a lie. About the best one can hope for is something at or around 95 percent. And the price will reflect that. Learned that no tungsten beads or jig heads are made in the USA nor will it ever be…too many pollutants involved. All of it comes out of China. But once I found some good tungsten jig heads the thump was really amplified.

Regards


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Gill curious if you have tried out those spoons?


Regards


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Originally Posted by Alphahawk

Gill curious if you have tried out those spoons?


Regards


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I have , a couple of them a couple of times . The yellow/black Daiwa one got a couple of hits and one hook up that came loose.
I was waiting to report when I catch a nice one on them . :)
Also I’m picky about where I throw them . I don’t want to hang them up and loose them .
Also lake McIntosh has toothy critters in there that love shiny stuff .

I’m waiting to hear of that too.
I have some tiny spoons that I haven’t been able to cast, they’re that small. I’m going to get em back out and try em on the .15 braid and the 5’ rod. It’s the only rod I have that will cast really light stuff. Hope they keep you busy.

I’ve purchased UV epoxy and have been using it to glue the tungsten beads to streamer hooks .
I’m having an issue with the epoxy not holding the bead totally in place .
Sometimes when I’m unhooking a fish and put pressure on the bead , the bead slides back .
Hasn’t really become an issue , I just slide it back to the hook eye and the plastic body holds it forward . The epoxy does keep it centered and keeps it on the hook , but has anyone been able to find a specific UV epoxy that will lock the bead in place .
I like fishing with the streamer hooks , they hook well and the hook is long enough to reach the split on a trout magnet body , putting the hook Point at the rear and catches some of the short strikers .

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

I’ve purchased UV epoxy and have been using it to glue the tungsten beads to streamer hooks .
I’m having an issue with the epoxy not holding the bead totally in place .
Sometimes when I’m unhooking a fish and put pressure on the bead , the bead slides back .
Hasn’t really become an issue , I just slide it back to the hook eye and the plastic body holds it forward . The epoxy does keep it centered and keeps it on the hook , but has anyone been able to find a specific UV epoxy that will lock the bead in place .
I like fishing with the streamer hooks , they hook well and the hook is long enough to reach the split on a trout magnet body , putting the hook Point at the rear and catches some of the short strikers .

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I use solarez and some nail epoxy that i cannot read the brand of. The key is to fully cure it, it takes longer than the 15 seconds some claim... I personally cure mine for 2 hours or so.

And i also fill the bead completely with resin. You could try putting a small drop on the hook shank behind the bead too as an insurance

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Originally Posted by Kevin22

I use solarez and some nail epoxy that i cannot read the brand of. The key is to fully cure it, it takes longer than the 15 seconds some claim... I personally cure mine for 2 hours or so.

And i also fill the bead completely with resin. You could try putting a small drop on the hook shank behind the bead too as an insurance

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I was only doing the 15 seconds.
My UV light looks like a flashlight . So I’ll give it 30 seconds and see how that works .
Sounds like you have a fingernail curer .

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

I was only doing the 15 seconds.
My UV light looks like a flashlight . So I’ll give it 30 seconds and see how that works .
Sounds like you have a fingernail curer .

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I need to buy a fingernail one, but for now i clamp my flashlight in my fly vise by the belt clip and place my heads under it for a while.

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I’m going back to Trout Magnet jigs .
One reason is by going to the 1/64 TM jig and TM body , I gained 10-15’ in casting distance.
The other reason, I expected to to a rise in hookups and in less fish getting off on the way in .
Didn’t happen. I was still getting hits without hookups and had fish just come unhooked .
One of the epoxies I was using , Bondic Pro UV Resin kit worked pretty good . It is thick enough not to be too messy and cured fairly hard .
But I was having beadheads slide on the hook shaft when unhooking a fish .
I ordered some Piccassio UV resin based on reviews and some craft syringes to use it with and was totally disappointed in it . Very runny and stinks . Plus there was a warning on a paper included that said not to get it on your skin and to use in a well ventilated area.
That thirty dollars would have bought almost 200 TM jig heads .
Jus thought I’d add this for those thinking of trying this .

A couple things.

You just have the wrong resin, like i said you need fly tying resin or to get lucky and find a good nail/craft one And you have to fully cure it with the correct light. The light is probably more important than the resin type to be honest, it took me 5-6 cheap flashlights to finally spend the money to buy the correct one. I currently use an ultrafire with 18650 battery. You shouldn't be able to move the bead with pliers let alone your fingers once properly cured.

Your lack of hookups were probably not due to a dull hook fron the start.

The TM jigs cast farther because they weigh more. Pull out the jewelry scale and youll see that not all jigs are the listed weight, plus you have hook weight as well. Not all tungsten beads are equal either, every brand 4mm i have are different weights.

I can glue some up and post in the classifieds if anyone is interested, they will be for material costs plus shipping since they take no effort and Id like to help people in this regard. I can find the time this week to sit down and do them.

Its impossible to see, but this fish was on one of my panfish worms with the tungsten jig head. I fished that head for 5 days without any issues. Attachment 463189

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Thanks Kevin .
My ultrafire UV flashlight arrived today .
I was using a rechargeable one . I put them side by side and the difference was like night and day. The ultrafire is so much brighter . I had some lithium 123 batteries already so that’s what I’m using in mine .
The Bondic glue works good , I probably just needs to cure it better . The new light should help .
The other stuff , I left an honest review on it , if they use it .
I totally agree about the differences in jighead weights .
Most 1/64 collarless weigh less than the ones with collars .
I still use the streamer hook jigs on my small plastic bodies . They just look so much better and look like a unit .
I can always use the tungsten bead heads on my homemade spinners . They add a little weight without bulk .
Thanks for all of your advice and guidance.

Not to distract from thread, but, Kevin, that sure is a great shot of one beautiful Gill!

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Originally Posted by moonrunner

Not to distract from thread, but, Kevin, that sure is a great shot of one beautiful Gill!

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Thank you! I was blessed to be able to fish a crystal clear northern lake last month and the fish were absolutely stunning!
Attachment 463196Attachment 463197

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A nice seed from thereAttachment 463202

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Gill,

I might have missed it but have you tried slotted tungsten beads epoxied on 60deg fly jig hooks?

Thinking one could dab epoxy into the slot of the bead plus get more action from a jig hook?

Personally for trout I use Hanak or Fulling Mill hooks. You might consider the FM Jig Force 5130 hook with a slotted bead, these hooks have a longer shank just like a regular streamer hook.

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