"David" wrote in message
5.252...
"Bob La Londe" wrote in
:

"David" wrote in message
5.252...
Howdy folks !

Been lurking a while and living through the tournament posts as where
I am it's 7 degrees this morning and I hate ice fishing.........
I've been making lead jigs lately and have been using mostly
Gamakatsu 604 hooks. It's a great hook but they are really expensive.
Anybody have any ideas or opinions on another hook that's cheaper but
is as good quality ? Strength, sharpness, etc.. Ive got some Mustad
32746 ultra points ordered but haven't
seen them yet......... Dave Ayers /

Depends on the jig you are making, but TTI-Blakemore owns several hook
lines and makes lots of jig hooks. TJ in marketing there has always
been good to me so I may be a little prejudiced, but I would contact
them and ask for a sample pack of jig hooks. If you are a recognized
small manufacturer he might give you some samples for free. Even if
he doesn't recognize your company I am sure he will give you one set
of sample hooks to try at a substantial discount.

Matzuo probably has the cheapest jig hooks, but I do not like them
personally. Again it depends on what you are making. I am sure they
would be fine for crappie jigs in the small sizes, but I do not like
them at all for swim bait jigs or flipping jigs. Actually if I was
going to go cheaper I might look at Eagle Claw before Matzuo. Their
hooks are definitely stronger than Matzuo.

Owner probably makes one of the most commonly used hooks for jigs and
spinnerbaits. I have mixed reviews on Owner personally. Mostly good,
and their cutting point is every bit as good for penetration as TTI's
X-Point hooks. A couple of their designs make me go, "Hmmmmm..."

On the flip side. Gamakatsu hooks are pretty darn good as well. I do
not think that their conical point on most of their hooks is as good
as the X-Point or Cutting Point, but it is sharp, and they make a good
strong body hook also. Not sure what a 604 is, but I am sure you
selected it for a reason. Make sure anything you switch to has the
same or better characteristics as why you chose that one. Nothing as
frustrating as having 500 cheap jigs hanging on the wall that you do
not like to fish with. Worse, having 500 hundred cheaper jigs on the
wall that you can't sell.

Bob La Londe
www.YumaBassMan.com




Hi Bob,

Thanks for your input. The jigs I am making are for large / small mouth
bass. Mostly fished in shallow water to 10 -15 ft depth. I use an 1/8
ounce do-it walleye jig with a 3/0 Gamakatsu 604 aberdeen type hook but
these are 2 x strong and won't bend. Sharpness is good to excelent. Do
the point test by trying to hang a jig on your thumbnail. If it slides
off easily the hook isn't sharp enough. I paint with powder paint and
cure in the oven for super hard finish. Don't know why I bother though
as I usually loose them long before they get the chance to get beat up
;-) I then use living rubber skirts in the fine size and use 2 strips
for a nice full skirt. All hand tied with nylon upholstery thread with
uv protection and sealed with various sealents to keep them from
unraveling. Makes a nice looking jig and produces very well I might add.
We usually fish them with a 4" or 5" single tail grub topped off with
some craw spray to make them extra yummy...... Damn, making me hungry
just talking about it......... If we get into river current situations
I also have 1/4 ounce jigs with the same set up. This spring I will be
experimenting with the same set up as above but with the do-it shakey
head ball jig in 1/8 & 1/4. These molds are all set up to use a 3/0 90
degree bend hook.

At the moment I am just another hobbyist that enjoys doing this in my
non fishing months. Some of the guys in my club want to buy some of them
and they don't like my price with Gamakatsu hook.

Then ask them if they want it with a cheap hook or if they are beating you
up for a good jig at a cheap price. If you get a business license and a
sales tax license I suspect you could buy directly from Gamakatsu as an OEM
at a better price if that is the hook you stay with (Give TJ a try at
TTI-Blakemore and tell him Bob sent you.) Of course that may also a
commitment to making a little more of a job out of it, and marketing
yourself atleast locally.

Some of the best known nationally are Bass Stalker (now owned by Uncle Josh)
and Terminator. They do not sell for two or three dollars.

I don't see how so
many people sell these for $2.50 - $3.00 each as there is much hand work
that goes into the making of each one.

The key it seems to me is the time to attach skirts and rattles if rattles
are used. Probably why so many cheap jigs use rubber bands or rubber hose.
Put the skirts inside a hard tube with a cut for the the hook to stick out.
Slide the rubber ring over the outside of the tube. Remove jig, band and
skirt all together and viola. One local jig maker I know personally uses
stainless steel tie wire for his jigs. He makes two wraps with the tie
wire, and then uses a safety wire plier tool on it, cuts off the excess and
folds the end back. He makes a pretty good jig with an Owner hook for close
to the price range you are talking about with no rattle. His rattle jigs
cost a little more. He uses the rattles that snap into the special three
hole skirt rubber rings, but instead he attaches one with the same tie wire
he uses to attach the skirts. He's pretty fast at it. Uses some of the
same methods on his spinnerbaits and buzzbaits.

Anyway, if your buddies want hand tied then charge for it. If they want
rubber band skirt prices then give them rubber band skirt jigs.

I've got to come up with some
method to keep the hook eyes from getting full of paint as busting the
eyes is very time consuming and a pain in the butt....

Do you dip or spray? If spraying its easy. Mostly you won't fill it
anyway, but you can stick the eye (depending on your design) through a piece
of paper. Or if production is a key maybe make a bunch of little clips to
clip on the eye when spraying and then take off right away when done. If
dipping you might need to use a plug in the eye, like a round tooth pick.
Most of the guys I know who dip have a rig that clips onto the hook when
they take it out so that the jig will dry head up hook down and not get a
paint sag bump on the head. I have seen this rig be as simple as a bunch of
clothes pins (The plastic spring ones work better) screwed to the side of a
board and sticking up. Any paint sag or run will just coat the first half
inch or so of the hook instead. If you do it this way then you can just
take your plug out of the eye pretty quick and move onto the next one
recycling plugs as you go.

Bob La Londe
www.YumaBassMan.com