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[cool][#0000ff]Since IFG and BLM have touted the effectiveness of my deadly lead creations, I have had a couple of requests to post some pics and info. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]First of all, they are NOT wheel weights. They are flattened torpedo sinkers. I would have said "hammered", but then IFG would get all excited. That means something else to him.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I started making and using those things back in the late 70's, for deep dredging perch from Deer Creek and Yuba...when they both had large perch. In Deer Creek they also seduced a lot of big rainbows and browns, and a few walleyes. Ditto on the walleyes at Yuba.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The first ones were mostly painted to look like the small perch that were the main prey of the larger fish. I called them "Perch Urchins". I experimented with different prism tapes and paint jobs and found that a lot of colors would work. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I got my supply of the torpedo sinkers on a closeout table at Smith & Eddies. They went for about 10 cents a package, with 3 - 5 sinkers per package, depending on size. I just hammered them flat and either painted or prism taped them. I used mostly VMC bronze trebles, size 6 on the larger ones and size 8 on the smaller ones.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Last year I began pouring lead casting spoons, once I found some molds. I can now make more uniform "depth chargers" in sizes from 1/8 oz to 2 oz. I have also come up with a lot of new color patterns, some of which I still have to test on the waters. The basic perch, white, chartreuse and hot pink are still the proven killers.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Here are some pics of the first generation of "wheel weight" lures, and then the new generation of poured lead "casting spoons".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]By the way, you can cast these things. They cast like a bullet. But they do not have a lot of action, unless you give them a slight bend before you paint them. Once altered, you can even use them for fast trolling. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Their best use is for vertical jigging, both in open water and through the ice. They get down fast and they deliver bait. What's more, when you have a strip of bait on the hook, even a slight wiggle makes them an "articulated" jig, that flutters nicely. You don't have to give them a lot of action. In fact, they actually work well on occasions when "dead sticked". The weight really loads up the tip of the rod so you can easily tell when you have an "inquiry".[/#0000ff]
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So Pat, when will you and Petty hold the next wheel weight smashing party? I have a good supply of wheel weights that I found at Wal-Mart last night. I can't wait for the party to begin ]
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Dale id consider doing another class sometime this month. i did one last month and it snowed and only had half the people that signed up come.
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[cool][#0000ff]Ready to "get hammered" are ya?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Petty has the molds for the casting jigs, and I have both those and a lot of the torpedo sinkers left over. We can have a smashing good time.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]By the way, if you are using wheel weights, be sure to use only the weights off radial tires. You get a lot better mileage with those.[/#0000ff]
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Are your antics lures gone up in price I still have a few of them from the early 80"s...
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[cool][#0000ff]I'm not sure how that works if they are used by an antique fisherman.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Yep, you got some of the originals. [/#0000ff]
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if you use the wheel weights do you just pound them onto a swivel?
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[cool][#0000ff]We're just pullin' yer chain on the wheel weights. Some anglers do use them for sinkers in heavy waters, but you cannot use them for making lures unless you melt them down and pour them into a mold with the wire inserts to form loops on either end. And, I usually do not recommend using tire weights for making small lures, because they are too hard. There are other metals in the lead that raise the melting point. They are a good cheap source of lead for making simple molds, like sinkers and big jigs though.[/#0000ff]
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Ive never had a problem with lead from wheel weight's you just have to make sure when it is melted that you clean all the impurity's of the top then it's good and you can poor them 1/8-1/4 very easy.why spend the extra on pure lead when tire weight's will work.later ash
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[cool][#0000ff]I agree that the weights can be a good source of cheap lead. But, the impurities on the top are not the antimony and other hardening metals in the lead. They are permenantly amalgamated with the lead. Even "100% pure" lead floats up some slag that needs to be skimmed off.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The melting point of tire weights is about 10% higher than pure lead, and it cools faster too. That means that if it hardens quicker in your mold it may not reach all of the small nooks and crannies in a detailed small jig. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I agree that there is no problem pouring simple jig heads down to 1/8 oz. with wheel weight lead. But, a lot of us also make small stuff, down to 1/64 oz heads. Believe me, you just can't get good molds with the really small stuff. In most cases the alloyed lead hardens as soon as it hits the hole on those small heads and you do not get anything at all.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When making super small jig heads, even with 100% pure lead, most experienced jig pourers will even pre-heat the molds, to reduce the number of partially formed heads.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Been there, done that.[/#0000ff]
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Hey Pat, I still have a few of those Perch Urchins I got from you a few years ago. Do you think I could put a slight bend in them now to get a better flutter on them as they fall?
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[cool][#0000ff]It is better to put the bend in BEFORE you paint them, but I have successfully made some slight "warps" in a few, after they were painted. Most of the paints and epoxies I use can take a bit of bending without cracking. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Be gentle.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Are you still using those to bonk cisco at Bear Lake?[/#0000ff]
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Yes, they are still working, especially the ones that look like small perch. I was thinking if they would flutter, they might even work for the cutts and macks. I think they work on the cisco because at 30 ft or so they might have a brownish color to them and gold Kastmaster have always been a good color to use. Or it might be the contrasting colors.
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[cool][#0000ff]Yeah, that original perch color has proven to be good in a lot of places. Bear Lake has perch, so it is a "natural" color there. But, it also works in Strawberry and many other lakes that do not hold perch. Probably a combination of the contrasting colors and the vertical bars. Both of those are "trigger" mechanisms for many species.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As far as the flutter is concerned, the original purpose of those heavy lead spoons was not to flutter or create a lot of action, but just to plummet to the bottom and deliver some bait. They are part of what I have come to call my BDD system...Bait Delivery Device. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No matter how fancy some of the jigs and spoons we use, the thing that ultimately gets most predators to munch is the "sweetener" we put on them. The cutts and macks in BL love cisco, but will also hit chub and perch meat...and even strips of carp. The lures draw them in, but the groceries seal the deal.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Ciscos are also attracted to color and motion, but seldom actually hit the jigs. Fishing with bare hooks results in more "force feeding" (snagging) hookups. It is reasonable to assume that a spoon that zig zagged more erratically would probably "reach out and touch" more ciscos, especially if they stay back a little from the lure.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am going to be experimenting with hammering some of those poured lead "casting spoons" into a flatter configuration. They have a wire form that runs all the way through them, for strength and support, so the lead is unlikely to break. But, if I can get them thinner, so they flutter more, it might be a good deal.[/#0000ff]
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boy the things you can learn by reading this board
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[cool][#0000ff]Sorry about that. Rereading my last epistle it does seem a bit "out there".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Stay tuned. Next weeks topic will be how to perform brain surgery through the left armpit...to reduce scarring.[/#0000ff]
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Ever try any flattened weights at the Gorge?
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[cool][#0000ff]Yep. The heavier casting spoons up to 2 oz. have been proven on macks. Only problem is that some guys use them for snagging rigs. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The smaller macks will hit them when they are aggressive, but as often as not it takes a more finesse presentation to get the big fish. Too much weight and too much action sends them high-tailing it outta the vacinity. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Where they do well is on Lake Mead and Lake Powell, for deep jigging stripers. Use a silver, white or blue and silver down deep, with big sweeping lifts and drops, when the stripers are feeding on deep shad, and you can have a lot of fun...and a lot of exercise.[/#0000ff]
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no sarcasm I really found it interesting, and I know nothing about fishing with jigs
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[cool][#0000ff]Man, you're missing out on a lot of fun fishing. That's about 75% of my fishing, and I know a lot of other BFTers prefer jig fishing too...for just about all species.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Shoot me a PM with your email address and I will send you a 55 page writeup I put together on jig fishing. It will give you some idea of what you are missing.[/#0000ff]
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