Lincoln stuff

[TubeDude]

I didn't have any copper to make a hole cutter. So I cut the foam pad to length. And then just cut them in strips so you have little rectangles. And then I just trim the corners with scissors. And then take the rotor tool to it for final shaping.

You did well. 

You can take a rotor tool (Dremel for the rest of us) and insert a drill bit down the center of the foam, then insert the drill into the Dremel (a little rubber cement restricts the turning a little) and take a piece of 80 grit sand paper adn lightly apply and it works like a lathe.  You can make a cylinder pretty quickly.  I like TD's method, but getting scrap copper is not always easy and new copper plumbing pieces from Home Depot and the likes can be expensive.

---

I just don't have the time for all of my hobbies so I have to look for semi-production ways to crank stuff out.  

I got some Gamies in 4/0 (couldn't get TD's 8/0 over the counter), some wine corks from a hardware store, and cut the grove.  Glued them in with some epoxy, shapped them to the shapes and sizes I wanted (4 different floatations), sealed them with some wood filler and sanded down, sealed with some clear fingernail polish.  

When floating they should have more of a minnow profile verses a sphere or cylinder and have an open gap.  They are designed to "cam" into the jaw when pulled past the "lips".  

Now, when I have that thing they call time (I know I use to have some of that), I'll get the material ready and make molds.  I have two different floating foams, one hard and one soft, both more boyant then EVA but only time will tell if they are strong enough.  I'll add pictures of the molds as they are made.  Once the mods are created, I can pour 4 jigs in about 5 minutes so cranking them out will be easy.  Will take longer to paint them.

TD, I know the Santee Cooper rigs catch fish, but I'm not sure that they are better then FLIGS (do you have FLIGS copyrighted yet, I'm pretty sure it is your creation? lol  Am I allowed to use that name?).  If I decide later to make them I'll have to decide if it's worth the effort.  They are fairly easy to buy on-line as peg floats.

You know, I feel I am a pretty good lure designer, good maker, LOUSY painter.  I many never post that picture.  

My philosophy is that if the fish vote for it, it doesn't matter how purty your paint jobs are to other fisherfolk.  I don't believe that fish (especially catfish) have to have an anatomically accurate paint job of their fave food before they will munch something.  Truth is that if they like the sweetener (bait) the flig or float is just a "BDS"...bait delivery system.  But I have proven to my own satisfaction that there are times and places where one color pattern works better than some others.

I like the idea of molding your own foam bodies.  It costs a bit to get set up with materials and molds, but if you are going to be making a lot it can be a worthwhile investment.  I have the cutting, shaping, hooking and painting "down Pat", but it would still be nice to shorten the process.

We have quite a few Utah cataholics fishing a variety of rigs...including the Santee.  Like everything fishing, these things are a subjective subject.  Some swear by them.  Some swear at them.  I know they work, but somehow I just prefer fishing fligs, and getting those hard hook-setting strikes.

And yes, "FLIG" is my original term for floating jigs...but I have not trademarked it.  Never planned to go commercial.  Don't care of anybody else uses it...unless they try to trademark it away from me.  Then I might get rankled.

If you would like a few of the 8/0 hooks, I can "hook you up".

Once I get my mold complete, we can trade some completed 4/0 fLIGS for a few 8/0 hooks. 

I agree on the BDS.  I just don't like the way the bait hangs directly below the float.  I feel I get interference from the line and sometimes get hooks bumped out of the way.  You did say "sware at" didn't you.

I actually wish I could get some 8/0 circle jig hooks to make some specility fFLIGS out of.  I love the results I get with circle hooks when I don't have to gut hook them.  It takes some practice to learn to let them turn and move away, and it is not a method to be used everyplace, but......

You wouldn't have some circle jig hooks laying around would you.  LOL

I would be happy to trade you some of my 8/0 hooks just for the completed lure bodies...without the hooks.  Or I could provide some hooks in advance and you could pour the bodies on them.  See the attached pic for the type and size of the hooks I use.  Believe me, they are tough.  Can't bend them with 50 pound line.  And even at about 50 cents apiece they are still less costly than Gammys...especially in that size.

I have had mixed results with circle hooks.  I find them to be a better option when using a Santee rig than with fligs.  Almost all of the fish I catch on fligs are hooked in the corners of their mouths...just as with circle hooks.  The incidence of swallowing the whole bait and flig are about as rare as having them swallow a circle hook.  And the angle of pull on those big 60 degree bend flig hooks makes them "cam" into the corners of the mouth almost as well as circle hooks.  The attraction quality of the fligs on bait seems to make the fish chomp hard and head away from you perfectly.  One second the rod is straight and the next bendo. Most strikes  result in self-hooked fish...and in the corner of the mouth.

---

I didn't have any copper to make a hole cutter. So I cut the foam pad to length. And then just cut them in strips so you have little rectangles. And then I just trim the corners with scissors. And then take the rotor tool to it for final shaping.

As with all journeys, it matters less how you get there than that you make it to the desired destination.  Sounds like a workable solution to me.  I recall my own first efforts at "fligonometry" and I assure you I tried some pretty whacked out ideas until I found the best ways to get 'em done with the materials and tools at hand. 

Since I build rods I usually have a lot of different sizes pieces of rod blanks available for plug cutting.  But I also have some odds and ends of metal tubing...accumulated over the years as a homeowner and tinkerer.  If ya got it...use it.  If ya don't got it, find a workaround.