Missionjigs
New member
Thought I would pass this along to you guys that pour your own jig heads for Bass. I made the full swap to wire weedguards about 3 years ago and for good reason, I don't lose jigs. I have converted a bunch of guys to the wire guards on their jigs and they ask for nothing but wire.......I have gone through a bunch of wire leader material to find what works best and I'm fix'n to share a few secrets that I don't talk about to most but since we all have a passion for the art of "Jig Craft" I want to make it easier for you guys that may have questions about wire weedguards and how to get them poured in the jig heads we use........ Here we go........Like I said I have gone through a bunch of wire and the "best" wire I have found comes from Berkley, it is their Steelon Leader in 80 pound test and that is the best I have found and I use it on jigs from 1/8 oz all the way up to 1oz. I stick 98% of the fish that strike and like I said lose'n jigs is a thing of the past for me. I cut a 1-3/4" section of wire out of the spool and use it as a measuring wire for the rest of the spool when I start cutting. Here are the tricks to getting a wireguard in the jig heads. First off you need a few teflon base pins that can be purchased from any online tackle store (they take the place of the metal base pins that come with a weedless jig molds) I take a 1" section of the teflon pin and with the jig mold lay'n on the desk in the open position I tape it in place with Scotch Tape on the right hand side of the mold. Bring the pin up to the head as close to edge as you can get it and tape it in place (this keeps the lead from flowing into the base pin cavity and it holds the wire in place when the mold is closed for pouring) Next step is to take 2 of the 1-3/4" wires and place them side by side*****IMPORTANT ***** WITH THE 2 PIECES OF WIRE HELD SIDE BY SIDE TAKE THEM TO THE POUR SPOUT OF THE LEAD POT AND TOUCH ABOUT 1/4" OF THE WIRE AGAINST THE POUR SPOUT TO MELT THE NYLON COATING TOGETHER. This does 2 things, first it bonds the 2 wires together and second if you DO NOT do this you will get an air pocket in the lead head every single time. I always take the lead sprue and wiggle it back and forth and when the sprue is removed this way there will be a cavity/hole right where the sprue and head meet. Next step is to lay the wire in the base pin cavity then place your hook choice in the mold. I always run the wire past the hook almost to the pour hole. Now close the mold and pour, you should now have a nice wireguard poured into the lead head and it ain't come'n out..........I always clean the lead heads and then flex the wire to the hook barb and cut the excess wire right behind the barb. When you get everything cleaned and cut spread the wires to form a V. Now it's powder paint time, I use a BernzOmatic pocket torch that sets on my desk top to heat the heads for paint...keep the weedguards pointed down and heat the head from the side until you know its good to go for paint. I always bake my heads at 375-400° for about 30 minutes then I turn the stove off and let it cool down to ambient temp. When you have your lead heads in the oven make sure the heads are far enough apart that the wires can't touch you will not get them apart when the nylon melts together and you will ruin not one jig head but 2. Also bake'n the heads melts the nylon into the twisted wire core and gives it the stiffness you want.............I hope this helps ya'll out. If you try it let me know how it goes. I may try to post pics tomorrow, I'm horizontal now and ain't get'n up.
