Big Epp

Working on some ice jigs. I made some with aluminum disks, small lead weights, and epoxy. I was reading the bit about soldered ice jigs, but saw it only works with gold hooks. I wasn't sure if it would work with the components I have available. I put a picture of them up in the gallery. Does anyone have an ice jig they like they would like to share? The water I'll hopefully be fishing has panfish, bass, walleye, and muskie. I'll probably target panfish and walleye.

I use whatever is available. Makes for more variability and more of a challenge, which can be a pain in the neck. I happened on a good supply of old redwood, so I'll be working primarily with that for a while. Every product has different properties, and I suppose you just adjust your approach to the material you are working with.

Love all the ideas; thanks to everyone who has shared so far! I found this article from Field & Stream about preserving tails for lure making: https://www.fieldandstream.com/hunting/how-to-preserve-bucktails-fly-tying/

So I've been carving lures and making spinners for a couple years now. Recently I started pouring my own lead jig heads. Now I'm dabbling with hair jigs, and I'm starting to get the itch to tie some of my own flies. I tied my first bunch (3) of flies probably 20 years ago. Two were very successful for bass. One I tied with strips of an old white sock, the other with a curl of my hair. Behind much of my lure-making is a desire to save money and be creative. About a month ago I found a freshly killed squirrel (clearly it had no more use for its tail), and took its tail for tying fur. Earlier this week I did the same with a deer on the side of the road. I reached out to a local deer processing place and the guy is going to save me some deer tails. Right now he's going to sell them to me for $2 each, but I may try and negotiate some sort of trade. Does anyone else use "creative" methods for sourcing materials, and if so, could you share?

Nice! Looks great. How do you make the body with all the bristles sticking straight out like that?

I'm pretty new to fly fishing/tying. Looks to me like the little foam strip keep the fly on the surface while the fly itself sits just under the surface, giving the gills a lot to look at. Is that correct? Looks great!

Nice fly! Looks like it would be great for bluegill.

dang! I was hoping for a workaround on the price... I pored some with the owner 1/0 and really like them. I guess it is what it is.

what size do you use?

Thanks all! I was able to get some good pours with the 1/4 and 3/8 oz heads. I got a started kit, and the smallest hooks they sent were 2/0, which don't fit in the 1/8 oz cavity, so it gives me some time to prep before trying the smaller head.

I just got the do-it poison tail mold. The 1/8 oz head takes a smaller weed guard and does not come with a base hole pin. Can I just separate a regular sized weed guard in half for the smaller head? Is there a way to pin it, or do I just mold it with the guard in place? Thanks!

I wonder if that crystallization is similar to what they call torrification. Basically changing the properties of the wood with heat so much that it becomes way more stable. They do it with some wood doors.

I'm wondering, has anyone found a good alternative? This post is pretty old, do you know if anyone's made a good hook that can fit in a stock Midwest finesse mold?

The first body i made consists of a 3/4 ounce barrel weight and a ~1/4 ounce bullet weight. I wanted to paint them, so to keep the pattern consistent I glued them together with some gel super glue. It held fine for a handful of test casts. Once I get the design right I'll clear coat them together for added security. I'm going to test it with a different blade, because the one I used was too small. If it still doesn't work I'll add beads. I'll get a picture up when I get one working.