What type of metal and gauge wire do you use for making wire weed guards like on Eagle weedless hooks or Johnson weedless spoons?   I'd love some weedless spoons that don't break the bank. (I thought I'd try rounding the end off a #5 willow blade with metal sheers and seeing if I could get a flutter out of it.  If not I'll just buy blades from janns.)  I see guys using 45lb Nylostrand on jigcraft but thought a spool of something would be more forgiving to work with. Or would 20lb Nylo work better?  I've heard of guys using orthodontic wire but seems costly.

 

Also I'd like weedless hair jigs and I don't even see a source for them so I thought I'd tie them up too. Any thoughts as to why they aren't on the market? I could peg a small grub with 1/16 bullet but winter fishing is tough enough so I thought I'd give them some extra subtle lures that won't get snagged when I lay them down in the rocks for a minute or two.  I'm fishing shallow (5-10ft) gin clear, unpressured water w/ a stable environment so finesse presentation is even more important in winter.

 

Old guitar strings would be ideal...Ya know any guitar players?

For the Spoon, the stainless steel wire is probably somewhere around .020 diameter. For the weedguard on the hook that is about  .012 diameter, which compresses more.

Old guitar strings would be ideal...Ya know any guitar players?

Yep!

 

Guitar strings work very well. Check your local music store and ask them if they will save old strings for you. You want plain (not wound) steel strings. The plain strings are the same for either electric or acoustic guitar.

They're available in sizes from .008" to around .024" or so. 

 

Or, you can buy them new, http://www.juststrings.com/plainsteelguitarbulkstrings.html  A dozen strings would make a bunch of weedguards.

 

Tom