Dave A

I find the the wire interfers at the spout most of the time. When that happens, I use the small ladel. Partial pours will always happen- make sure that your mold is hot, the lead is pure soft lead and you pour in one motion- no stopping. As Bluebasser mentions, the increased capacity of the 20 really shoots the lead out of the spout, one of the features that I like. MAke sure you use the wooden knob- mine was missing and I end up using a plier or wrench to lift the lever cause it's too hot with bare hands. And I would recommend getting the ingot mold to store the extra lead in the pot. Good luck!

I have the 20 and it works well until you start using dirty lead, then you have to clean up the port often to keep a good stream flowing. Have a wire ready to clean up.

Thanks Ted- I was wondering if that worked out.

Has anyone had success finding any? Thanks, Dave

You can adjust them by bending the wire on which the blade spins. Hope this helps, Dave

Here's a rough mock-up:

Contact Richard Prager- he does all my custom work. Below is a picture of his recent work for me. Hope this helps, Dave

MAybe you could use a conical spinnerbait body that is casted using a pull through wire. This body would slip onto a wire, allowing the free swinging hook and a spot to slip a skirt onto. I'll post a picture later.

You know, even though I have alot of different color/pattern skirt tabs, the most productive for me in the clear waters we have around here are Black, Pearl white and white! I can tell you that two of the largest bass I have caught were on topwater- Black Jitterbug and Black Buzzbait- in the middle of summer, and they both had injuries. This supports your theory in that if they were 100% healthy, they probably would not have been looking for such easy prey. When you catch that giant, please post a picture Dave

Fishing has been slow for most folks on Long, Austin and West lakes in the KZO area. Long and West got sprayed for weeds recently, not sure about Austin.

Thanks- if the wrap is causing the separation, maybe I should be using a thinner thread rather than 17 lb fluoro. I'll try your suggestion and post the results! Thanks again, Dave

I am still trying to figure out how to get the puff without the V shaped separation in the middle of the jig. I am tying without a vise and am using 17 lb fluorocarbon. I use a diagonal cutting plier to make the groove needed and am using 1.5 skirt tabs per jig. Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks, Dave

I did- nothing yet. Hopefully others will make some and try them in different locations.

It's been a few years, but this is what I recall: With no bend in the blade, the action was too erratic. But, I didn't want the usual rhythmic chatter, so I bent the blade at various places and found this location to provide the hunting action I wanted. The amount of bend also affects the action, which is why the bend is so slight. When I get a chance, I'll compare the action with the bend at the top and post the info. Dave

Thanks guys-

I did.

A friend wanted heavy underspin swimbait hooks, so I modified a bottom bouncer mold and can get 1/2, 3/4 1,1.5 ounce. The modification was easy. This is a pic of a 3/4 oz version.

Thanks to Smalljaw, I am trying to make puffball jigs. I am using up some of the old jigheads that I have laying around. This one is dark GP dalmation with some backbone blue added for accent on what I believe is an old weedless wally jighead. I tie a couple a night for the practice.

They look great!!

X2 on the Senkos. There are endless other baits that are effective, but the senko is tops in my book. Dave

I make my own 1/2 oz, black no trailer counter rotating 2 blade buzzbaits. I caught a 21" LM last season on it and have a 19" so far this season.

Just a heads up that hand pouring senkos in an open pour mold will lead to the salt settling to the bottom of the mold, meaning that it will not be evenly distributed throughout the bait. What I have experienced in the past is that such baits will be hard on one side. Also, hand pouring baits with salt is a little tricky, since that salt is always wanting to settle to the bottom of the cup, so alot of stirring is needed. Before you pour, please read one of the guides available on Tackle underground or the Do-it website so that you are aware of the safety issues associated with pouring plastic. Hope this helps, Dave

Good lord- I wanna be just like you when I grow up!!

x2 on the Stankx baits!

Holy cow!! 150 each time? And I thought I was overdoing it with all my orders!