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Football heads work fine for finesse jigs. I make them all the time. In fact almost any jig will work as a finesse jig. Finesse (to me) is more of of a profile or cut of the skirt than the jig itself. Some people would claim that a light weight head makes a finesse jig but that is not nescessarily the case, although not in itself untrue. Pick a jig that suits your needs and make a finesse jig out of it.

i'm looking for unpainted bodies of the 5&7 ive looked but can't find any was wondering if anyone may have a source

I have several of Gene's crankbaits. Very nice stuff. I'd pay attention to his experience when he chooses to share.

I make a bunch of different type of finesse jigs and a 1/8oz football with an FG-12 weed guard has been really good. For a typical finesse jig in a 1/4oz I like the Eakins style and I use a Do-it Weedless round head mold. Snoot, I have some youtube videos with that head and it is my favorite for dragging on rocky flats and down 45 degree banks. I tie it conventional style with a crop top or spider cut but the smaller 1/8oz and 3/16oz I use an FG-12 weed guard and in 1/4oz and up I use the FG-30 weed guard. In my opinion, The Eakins style weedless round head is probably the best simply because you can make it with some weight with a standard wire hook and the round head works everywhere so you can throw it in grass, rock or wood. I like the brush jig but it uses too heavy of a hook which leads to needing a MH rod with heavier line, when I fish a finesse jig I'm using #8 or 10# on a medium power casting or spinning rod depending how heavy the jig is.

It's all in personal preference sand cast molds make a different looking bait( not as shiny and not fine tuned) they make good baits though you get what u pay for aluminum milled molds are very fine detailed I think all mold makers should put MADE IN USA at least on info page!!!! Gr8 idea to put it on mold!!!!!! Most importantly what ever your wallet will allow you to buy They all will catch fish if you make & fish them correctly

Fill injector and burp it Inject slow and staedy. should take 4-5 count. Hold firm pressure 10 secs. Remove injector and top off imediately. As soon as level goes down top off again. When level goes down again top off more. The sprue must stay full at all times. Large baits will want to suck in alot of hot plastic as they cool.

I just use the standard Arky Do-It mold.

http://www.fishhound.com/content/yamamoto-japanese-american-connection

If you get another Air brush get a larger nozzle. You are not doing detail work but top coating. Lay it on thick and shiny and put on a turner and come back in 30 minutes. Three coats make a good finish usually.

?? I didn't realize Iowa is in China.... Living in Minnesota we make lots of Iowa jokes....but our geography is better than that.

His molds shoot better than any others I have. I don't have any swimmbait molds but I wouldn't be afraid to get one. I personally like the hex bolts better than wing nuts but that just comes down to personal preference.

Yes very happy with it, wish he would of used wing nuts instead of little hex heads but other than that works and shoots fine.

The effective lip angle is dependent on how your bait sits in the water and body's attitude while it is swimming, so I don't think there's a simple solution unless you build a bait to swim perfectly horizontal, which is a rarity.

They are $3.99 at Cabelas but I don't know if those newer ones are the same as the older ones from 7 years back. I have a bunch of them from back then when they marked them down so I scored. I saw on Ebay one guy is selling them for $2.99 each. Some of those on ebay are pretty expensive also. I like the original colors being they work awesome the way they came. My favorite is the white one with orange belly with chart top. Good luck finding them.

look on ebay for the used baits......im getting some great baits cheeeeeep right now...$1/$2 ...i cant find blank bomber fat A in 6f or 7f.. but been killing it on the bay picked up 10 so far its a great bait dont know why they stopped making them....my bass fishing is in pike waters so i give alot back to mother nature .....

I would do this, except he was wanting a transparent bait. Similar to the lucky craft ghost minnow color. Anyone have a good way to remove the paint completely without damaging the bait?

Get him to send you some of his baits and repaint them in colors of his choosing. Ben

good luck......up north i dont see a market for them big boys...pike and muskie fishing maybe....but bass nope...my local stores have those big baits on the shelf and i havent seen 1 move....those strike kings are jinormis..I havent seen any painter selling them.....maybe try Alibaba might find something there

They are only $4-$5 new, so why bother trying to find blanks?

Make them! Haha I know it can be hard to perfectly match a store lure. Rapala told me the same thing. Maybe try eBay. I have noticed you can find just about any blank there. If it comes down to it, you can just make a good mold of the original and pour it out of some clear material like Alumalite or Smooth On.

I am looking as well for them. I emailed Berkly and they do not sell blanks was the reply. I did stop at a few local bait shops that have custom painted baits and they all said that the custom baits they have are either the " glass minnow" or the "pearl" that the painters repainted. From what I was told, you can get a break in price if you by them in bulk say in the 50 to 100 quantity.