harshman

Are you still wanting to use the 28 degree bend hook like the poison tail??? If so stamina or barlows has both the EWG hooks and standard gap hooks available. If you are wanting to use a different bend these are both good places to start looking for hooks www.staminainc.com - Stamina www.barlowstackle.com - Barlows IMO stay away from Stamina though...slow shipping and always out of stock on at least one item you need. Hope this helps Harshman

I use a very small drill bit and a dremel and drill out the ones I have to clean or a jig eye tool like what munkin posted Harshman

I'm all in favor of little Dixie. Maybe we can just have a vote before launch on what to do for the length limit? Harshman

Great Video! Like you said safety should be first thing you think about when pouring lead. I would also add ventilation to your list of manditory things when pouring lead, that smoke coming off of your lead pot if where a majority of your lead particles come from when you are pouring. I'm not trying to go off on a rant I just know a few people that have had lead poisoning and would hate to see anyone else be bothered with this illness. Sorry if I have offended anyone. Harshman

I talked to the guy that runs the shop last night and he expects a few booths to be set up Friday night but the majority will be Sat. He also informed me that there will not be anybody set up Sunday like originally planned, so if you go I would think Sat would be the day to go. Opens at 9a.m. Harshman

I'd vote onthe 26th. Harshman

If you can save up the money try and find a Bass Hound. I bought a used one for $400 and there not uncomon to find at that price. i wouldn't trade it for any other small water boat in the world. I love fishing out of it with my wife it is perfect for any situation. I realize a new one is rather spendy but IMO it is worth every penny. http://www.directboats.com/basstender102.html Harshman

I'll find out if they really expect any "vendors" on Friday the 15th. I'm personally probably not going until Sat. Harshman

Everything and anything, new and used for sale at this flea market. This will be my 4th year attending and I haven't been disappointed so far. Harshman

I like Coffman if we go towards a big lake. I would also vote for little dixie again. I would like a chance at redemption with that @#$*! Lake Harshman

Just a heads up that Twin City Marine in Wentzville, MO is planning a Fishermans Flea Market Feb 16th-17th. It is usually a pretty good turnout with items from new to used and alot of tourney fishermen trying to get rid of overstocked items they though they couldn't live without.... ;D ;D Harshman

Count me and the misses in. Harshman

Making you own spinner baits can be slightly cheaper than buying pre assembled ones but you gotta be careful how overboard you go with options or cost can get out of hand. I just recently built 10 baits...will post pics tonight... that only cost me about $2.50 each and I think they look just as good as a $4.00 + bait. Barlows, Stamina, and Janns are great places to get the items you need to make any bait your heart desires. But be warned once you make your own baits you will never be the same again..... it is a very addicting...expensive habit. With that being said there is no greater feeling than catching a fish on something you made yourself. Harshman

Jaskoh Congrats on the engagement I can do a 1/4 oz no problem, not sure if I have any straight offset hooks that small but I know I have the EWG's. Let me know if you guys want to make some lures, now that deer season is coming to an end I will have some free weekends and evenings to play in the garage. Harshman

BPS caries a smaller diameter wire in a variety of finishes copper, black, silver, etc. I use that on most of my jigs and it ties very similar to a thread but a lot more durable. You have to make a few more wraps but the end product is very similar to what GMAN comes up with. Harshman

I personally use a toaster oven to heat my lures. You can get a more uniform and controlled heat on the lead and won't run the risk of melting the lure down and having to start all over. I got a cheap toaster oven for what it sounds like you guys are spending on a propane burner. This also allows you to heat up multiple lures very quickly making your use of time more efficient. I use the same over to cure the baits which I feel is very important, the coating becomes rock hard after this step. Other wise it chips off very easy. If you StL guys want to have a tackle making play date you are all welcome to come over and use my shop if you like. Send me a PM if anyone is interested. I enjoy sharing tackle making ideas as well as learning new ones. Just my 2 cents worth Harshman

Booneangler you don't have to clean the pot when you are done if you don't want to. I just let the lead cool in the lead pot and then reheat what is in the pot for next time. You can open the mold almost as soon as you pour the lead, you can watch the spur at the top and once it has turned into a solid you can open the mold. I would wait until the lead has fully cooled before doing any trimming. I would highly recommend a hot pot that does not use a ladle. It is a lot safer and you get a higher quality pour. And like I tell everyone that is new to bait making, use extreme caution it is very, very, very addicting...don't say nobody warned you in six months when your garage looks like a small manufacturing factory. ;D ;D ;D ;D On a side note I noticed you want to make the shaky's with the screw loc head.......G-Man remember just a few months ago we were making them without a special mold.....wonder where DO-IT gt their idea from to make that mold????? I almost went crazy when I seeing a mold for exactly what I had been pouring for almost a year....so much for having a corner on the market with that idea huh? Harshman

I would spray if quality is what you are after. Even good old rattle cans are fine to use if you are just getting started, just a lot harder to control the paint in a rattle can. If you are going to stay at this long term get a quality air brush and a good compressor. make sure to post some pics of the baits you are making we always like to see new creations around here. And as usual here is my typical warning.......Bait making is EXTREMELY ADDICTING....so use extreme caution when starting a new hobby such as this ;) Harshman

Looks good G-MAN Not to be picky is there any way to have clearer pics? Does your camera have a Macro setting? That setting is how I get quality zoomed in pics on my camera but all cameras are different. Harshman

I get mine same as Jig Man Stamina is usually slow shipping and they are always out of stock on at least one item you want. I haven't had this problem with Jann's or Barlow's yet both are very easy to work with. Harshman

Chris, I would defiantly use a smaller toaster oven for your next bake.....however it would be funny to see you on an episode of COPS one day for your neighbor turning in what he thought was a meth lab, can you imagine the look on your face when the police bust in and your sitting in the kitchen table putting skirts on a jig ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Bad boy, Bad Boy, what ya gonna do, what ya gonna when your oven smokes blue. ;D ;D ;D ;D On a serious note I have been pouring and powder coating my own jigs for a couple of years now and have never seen anything like what you described. I have had the occasional drip of paint that cones off of a head if I have excess paint on the jigs but never a complete lead melt off. Wonder if you had some lead that wasn't pure with some other alloy that melts at a lower temp??? Better luck next time. Harshman

Sounds like you have the right steps in mind. Can't wait to see the final write up. Harshman

Great Idea Harshman

I have been using power paint on my jigs for a couple of years now and sold hundreds of jigs without incident in sizes ranging from 1/16 oz to 1 oz and every hook size in between. If done right it is absolutely the best finish you will ever get on a jigs as far as performance and appearance goes. One thing you have to keep an eye on sometimes though is the second bake or "curing" step is you have an overage of paint on your jigs it will heat up and pool the lowest point possible, sort of like self leveling epoxy. I have found that some paints take less heat on the initial pre-heat to get less paint on the head to make sure this does not happen, watermelon and hot pink are two of my problem children. As far as the tempering and alteration of the hooks and baits I have had no problems as long as you follow the powder painting specs on the container. I use a small toaster oven with a home made rack in it to hang my jigs by the hooks. I would also caution against cleaning out the eyes before the cure unless you can do it with out chipping a lot of paint off of the jigs, the paint is very brittle at this point and very easy to chip off in large chunks if not careful. I wait until after the curing process and use a small drill bit in a Dremel to clear out the eyes other wise like Fish Chris said it is impossible to get the paint out of the eye otherwise and this is not something you want to find out while fishing. Harshman

Jig man's also right, once you make a trailer you will have to make you own jig to put in front of it Be prepared to spend twice your initial budget, once you have everything you think you need you will want tons more stuff to make the baits better. I am a perfect example of this being that I have just placed my third order to Stamina in the past 2 weeks and I have one in at Barlows ;D ;D ;D ;D This stuff is way addicting but so rewarding in the long run. Not many thing in life better than success you have created. Harshman