smalljaw67

The UV resin used for coating thread is different than the Alumi-UV you want to use. You are thinking about resin like Loon UV that gets hit with a small hand held UV light for 10 to 30 seconds, Alumi-UV needs a 300 watt light to cure for a few seconds otherwise it takes 10 minutes or more. Just get some Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails clear nail polish or some brush on super glue to seal the threads.

You have the perfect conditions for a 1/8oz to 1/4oz hair jig. I've done well with 1/8oz hair as deep as 18', the lighter weight forces you to work it slow. Another deal that should work is a Spro Phat Fly type jig fished under a float for the shallower spots, it is basically a float-n-fly. There is the standard jerkbait or ned rig bait, and if going ned rig try a craw profile bait right now.

Chris, I can't add anything to help you with the scrounger that hasn't been covered. However, I can help with your cold water presentation. For me, the underspin or fish head spin in a 1/4oz to 3/8oz with a regular 4" Zoom Fluke, not the super fluke or super fluke Jr., nothing fancy. I real it slow along the bottom, just fast enough that the blade ticks the bottom, you wouldn't believe how well that works in water temps in the mid 40s to low 50s.

Get some worm oil and add a drop or 2 of anise extract. Don't get cray with the oil, you only need a little bit.

If you want to learn jerkbaits just start with the basics. Go with a suspending model and something easy to use. Going Megabass right away is ok if you want to spend that but don't start going all over the place just yet. I have a ton of baits and they all work at different times and places but if I reduced to 1 bait I could make it work. So now you have the Megabass Vision 110, use that and learn it and since money isn't an issue, I'd say to get yourself a Lucky Craft Pointer 78, it suspends well and has a smaller profile but is still heavy enough for easy casting. Once you understand how those baits work, then expand your horizons with other baits but a 110 and a 78 will be a good way to learn as both those baits will work under various conditions.

The Senko which we have dubbed "skunk repellant" is the go to. It could be a 5" T-rigged weightless or a 4" rigged wacky style, it doesn't matter, it will get bit.

Chris, I usually match skirt colors with the head color. Not exact, maybe slightly darker or lighter usually with an accent color that gives some contrast. Before I paint a jig or spinnerbait I will use local forage as a guide, like when I crappie fish I'll take pictures of the crappie and the bluegill that I usually catch with them as well. I also do the same thing with craws and minnows and then I use those pictures as a guide to creating color patterns for my lures.

Patent will run 20 years and the chatterbait patent was issued in 2009 so another 10 years. BTW, there are some guys that were contacted by Daniel Nussbaum, the president of Z-Man just for having pictures of bladed jigs with directly attached blades posted on the internet. I know there are a ton of them on Instagram but the lure making sites are always looked at by these guys, I know the Do-it message board and *** were both sites that Z-Man had guys take down pictures.

Trial and error, it really is that simple.

Sorry about your father, I could not imagine. Your hair jigs look really good, they look as if you had been tying them on a regular basis, well done!!!

I don't think that will work in my lakes, 34 degree water temp and will soon be ice.

Gilmore jumpers have front and rear props. you can tell the bait in the picture never had a front prop because of the line tie location, it isn't straight out of the nose.

That is pretty cool!!!

That is good stuff!!! I use the really fine grade of that stuff but it isn't available in large rolls like the standard size. It is sold by fly material companies like Montana fly and it goes by the name of "centipede legs". It is a good time for us tackle makers that use this kind of stuff, the square rubber is now available but you can get it in more colors and with print on it. I'm sure it will only be a year or two before there are more print patterns available on rubber.

I like using a fluke on a chatterbait and on underspins. The regular 4" fluke, not the super fluke, the super fluke is great as a regular soft jerkbait but for trailers use the regular fluke without the belly split.

I suggest trying a pair on at a local retailer before ordering. Costas are notorious for sizes being different across their lines. One style in a large/x-large might fit fine but on another style it may be too tight. Most good sunglasses will have a standard distance across no matter the shape of the lens but Costas do not, if the lens has a slightly different shape then the size is often different even if two are listed as being medium. They are one of the best sunglasses on the market but try them on before ordering. I have a large head and I like copper lenses with a black frame, there is only 1 pair they make that fits, the Rincon.

The answer to your question is yes, you can pour a 1/2oz head on a smaller wire form. I've done that for a long time, I don't like the hidden weight spinnerbait because it falls flat. I actually had a custom mold made for hidden weight spinnerbaits when they started getting popular, I should have got one and fished with it before having the mold made. I have long since sold the mold so now I make a compact bait by making smaller wire forms and pouring heavier heads on them. You need to be aware of the blade size and spacing when doing this because there won't be a lot of room if you use standard size blades for a 1/2oz bait.

The 3" on a 1/8oz football head is killer for cold water smallmouth!!!!

I like that!!!!!!

You have had no issues with previous heads so what changed? Are you using a different brand of powder? Are you using different lead? When was the last time you checked the oven temp? I cure my jigs at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, it takes my oven 4 minutes to reach that temp and it takes the jigs 3 minutes to hit temp. So I put my jigs in the oven for 22 minutes, that means my jigs are at temp for 15 minutes. If you put your jigs in for 25 minutes without the oven preheated that means you are only curing at the desired temperature for a short period of time. I'm guessing that you are using a toaster oven and if you are I'll bet the temperature is off by 10 degrees or more. My current oven is set at 325 and the oven thermometer reads 354 degrees, just about perfect. My old oven was taken out of service when I had it set for 400 degrees and it only hit 335. If you can't get an oven thermometer right away then try curing you jigs for 45 minutes at the current temp and see if it makes a difference, if it does you'll know your oven temp is off.

I think there is a terminology issue here. When you say wide gap do you mean EWG? I ask because most, if not all of my round bend hooks are wide gap. For me I use the bend to identify the hook, it is either round bend, sproat, or EWG, because wide gap could be either an EWG or a round bend hook. I use a 2/0 EWG for the super fluke Jr. and a 2/0 round bend for the finesse worm.

Super Fluke Jr. is the main thing I use with a 2/0 hook. I also use that size for T-rigging thin finesse style worms, most anglers will drop shot a 4.5" straight tail finesse worm and it does work well. However I will sometimes T-rig one with a 1/16oz worm weight when it gets tough, it really works great in clear water.

You are correct Tom however they are thinner than most heavy wire hooks. I use a size #1 and a 1/0 that are actually a small diameter. The size #1 I use in the 1/8oz has a wire diameter of .038" and the 1/0 is .041" which is very small for this type of hook. The main reason I use this hook for that jig is it allows me to use heavier tackle without issue but it still works well using a spinning rod with 8lb line and I've landed countless numbers of 3lb to 6lb smallmouth on 8lb line using that jig. It is a 2X strong hook but it is also the thinnest in that category, a win-win jig hook that can be used a lot of different ways effectively.

The hook hangers on that bait are fine to remove to change out the hooks. I've done the same to old Zara Spooks, what I do is I use a small amount of Loctite threadlocker blue on each tiny screw when I'm putting them back in. I can say that I've never had any fail after countless bass and even a 37" tiger musky.

I'm posting a link to a video I did with a little larger jig. It is a 1/4oz football head with a 1/0 Owner 5304 deep throat jig hook. The 1/8oz is the same jig just a little smaller, I will use the 1/4oz if there is some stain on the water. The Netbait tiny Paca chunk works well on both jigs.