cadman

You can usually only go up one or down one hook size. So on a 3/8 oz head you can use a 2/0, 3/0 or 4/0. However on a 1/4 oz you can use a 2/0 and a 3/0, but a 4/0 might be too big and you may have to modify the mold to make the hook fit.

What A-Jay said. On the nickle blanks, they are very shiny, so no need to polish them. On the brass blanks they need to be polished and clear coated to keep them from tarnishing. However if you want the silver and brass blanks to shine like gold chains and shiny car bumpers, you will have to get the blanks gold and silver plated. It costs about $75 per color lot to have this done. So you are looking at $150 for plating costs just to start out. Those are your options.

I use X-mas ornament hangers. Buy them after X-mas and get a 100 pack for like 25 cents.

This is a correction to my post above. I meant to say that the crane swivels fit just fine in the cavities mentioned. Apparently I did not proofread my response. Sorry about that, and yes crane swivels do spin better than barrel.

Very nice looking jigs, job well done

My barrel swivels fit fine. I don't know what brand they are, so I can't help you there.

I will check later tonight when I get home from work.

What is the Do-It mold # or model, and what cavity are you looking to swap, and what size crane swivel. I have all the Do-it Pony head molds, so if I have the correct size crane swivel I will check it for you. Yes crane swivels do spin better than barrel swivels, and since you are only using the swivel to hold a blade, strength of the swivel will not be an issue.

Thanks, that was the best day on the water I had all year. Would have taken pics, but it was raining pretty good on and off all day.

Well went out to Geneva this weekend Sunday to be exact. My friend and I boated 20 fish in 8 hours. Crappy weather but the fishing was fantastic. The 5 biggest fish were (1) at 3.6 lbs (3) over 4 lbs and 1 at 5.2 lbs. All the others were between 12 and 16". All were caught on jigs and rattle traps.

Lot of small fish on Powers however if you want to try to learn how to fish jigs, than the small fish will teach you and keep you busy. Biggest fish we got out of there was 3.9 lbs my wife got last year. Other than that, that lake will always produce fish. They are either on the hump in the middle of the lake, the inside bay of the big point when you are heading out, or along the buoys by the sand bar working the whole length of the lake. that is where I find all of my fish.

Sorry, I thought you were fishing the Illinois River. Can't help you there.

Well Powers Lake report on Sunday. We got 3 bass and one northern pike in 4 hours of fishing. All bass were small, the biggest being 14". Northern was 22". I was more concerned about running the outboard, to make sure the repair was done. It worked fine. Off to Delavan or Geneva this weekend.

I haven't been out in a couple of weeks either. Boat was in the shop and piked it up Thursday. Going to Powers Lake this Sunday. Hopefully the boat will have no issues. I'll let you guys know how we do later tomorrow.

On something like this, I would just get some lacquer paint that matches closely (model paint) and use a small paint brush and touch it up. The fish won't know the difference if it really doesn't match exactly.

This is the correct chemical name for it if you want to buy a quart. Thanks for posting I couldn't think of the name of it at the time.

Just be very careful the vapors are very bad for your lungs. Do not put the bottle to your nose to see how it smells. Put in a couple of drops and mix it in quickly and it should be more liquid. If not put in a couple more drops. You don't want it like water. I am really surprised that he will send MEK through the mail. That is a no-no. However it should help with your issue. You can also by MEK I believe in quart cans at Home Depot, Lowes, Menards or your local hardware store.

If it is the glass bottle, put a couple of drops of MEK in there. Do not breathe the vapors. I have had 2 small bottles, one opened and one not opened for two years. No problem. You must keep the bottles closed all the time. Do not leave open. Apply as quickly as possible and close jar.

Depending on what the construction is and material, I can also get you a price on a hundred count. This way you will have something to compare to. It may be cheaper to fabricate here in IL instead of Florida, you never know. Any bait can be sold as your own invention as long as there is 10% design change. So taking three concepts and incorporating them into one, would be good enough.

Primetime, like I mentioned don't post pics, don't tell anyone. Even if you don't decide to make these available for production down the road, if someone sees your idea they will beat you to it and then you will wish you hadn't done that. On another note, when you are ready, you can PM me and we can work out all the designs and try a few, to see if it works for you. I have had a few ideas stolen from me, and well that was the end of that. All my current stuff that I do will die with me to the end. I can't afford to do mass production, and I don't trust anyone else to help me, so I keep it to myself.

First of all if you have a really good idea, don't post any pics on the i-net, your idea will be stolen in minutes. The only person you can trust is yourself. Now I am in sheet metal design. I make all my own molds as well as all of my own blades. There are several thing you can use. Stainless steel comes to mind as the first material. Then I would try aluminum. On the aluminum, I would use 6061T6 aluminum. It is very hard to bend, but it is machinable, strong and very light. If you have any other questions and would like to discuss further, you can PM me, and I can probably get you some designs. Also if you are looking for some stainless steel, I can probably get you a small piece free of charge. All you have to do is pay for shipping.

If you are looking for a one part paint, well it is not going to happen anytime soon. I had a chemist make me some, and although it quite impressive powder paint, it is very expensive to make . Even in batches of 50 lb boxes. I dropped the project and decided against it due to cost.

Just, be careful so you don't break the rattle collars when you put them on the jig. Use some water or vegetable oil so it slides on easier. If by chance you do break one, you can still hand tie it onto the jig by making one wrap over the skirt tab, one wrap over the arms and another wrap over the skirt tabs. It takes some getting used to but it does work. Finally when it comes to the rubber rattle arms, in all actuality it is easier to tie these on with thread.

I use the rattle collars that have the flapping arms. I put the rattle collar onto the tabs. I then put the skirt onto the jig. Push the collar as far as I can up against the head, and then I wrap my wire over the skirt as well as over the collar legs. This way the skirt is tight as well as the rattle legs and they won't fall off unless a bass pulls off one of the rattles. See attached picture. The collar at the top of the page is the one I use and the rattle on the bottom of the page. Rattles and Rattle Holders.pdf

I'm really sorry to hear about that, that really sucks, and I apologize for assuming you didn't ask ahead of time. Now my situation is this, in our subdivision, we are not allowed to keep any boats, cars, vans or any other vehicle in the same spot for more than a week. Reason being is they don't want people working on their cars, outside and making it into a repair shop. Now I do keep my car out there but it doesn't sit out there covered with leaves and garbage all around. The vehicles have to be driven regularly. However we can park a boat on the side of the house, with no fence or canopy. However the boat has to be parked on a paved area. It cannot just be backed in on the grass. There are no permits needed to park your boat on the side, but the village inspector has to approve it before you decide to park your boat there. Again they don't want people leaving there boat with all the grass overgrowing the property and making it look unkempt. I live in northern, Illinois and I keep my boat in a storage place that has a security system night and day, and I put my boat in garage, that I lock with my own padlock. My space is 25' deep by 10' wide at the door. I have a 619VS Ranger parked in there with a swingaway tongue, and there is plenty of room side to side, and fits no problem in length. I did put a provision in my contract, that I need access to the gate 24/7. Reason being is that sometimes I need to get the boat in at 9:00 or 10:00 pm, and the office is closed. So they did give me gate access to that. You just have to explain, that you need to get your boat in and out any time of the day or night, as you do tournaments and you can't keep your boat on your driveway. I currently pay $225/month. Now many people are going to say that whoa that is expensive, and yes it is. However, I don't have to deal with any neighbors BS, and my boat is in a garage, so I don't have to cover it, and it is safe and secure. I don't have to worry about sun damage, or anyone trying to steal anything off of my boat, or kids damaging it. One other thing, and that is you can store your boat outside in a fenced in storage yard, but my buddy did that, and someone put bullet holes in his hull from outside the fence. There was a problem with his insurance and the storage facilities insurance, and now he keeps it inside as well. I have looked for cheaper alternatives, however I have not found any yet. Yes, I can probably buy another boat in 10 years with what I pay for rent, however it works for ma currently. I wish you good luck in finding a space.