Posted By: Bud B
1/24 oz double eyelet jigs - 06/23/20 07:27 PM
I don't tie jigs, so I don't normally post in this forum. I've poured my own jigs for many years and injected my own plastics the last few years, but that's all I crappie fish with. No tied jigs.
But I thought some of you who pour your own jigs might be interested in this. I've found, like I'm sure many of you have, that two jig rigs are hard to beat for crappie fishing, and I fish them a lot, much more than a single jig, both for fishing vertically, as well as casting and retrieving. I use a bigger jig on the bottom than most people do, usually a 1/16, 3/32, or 1/8 oz jig, with bigger plastic. But I've always liked a smaller jig on top. The last few years, that's been either a 1/32 oz round head jig or a 1/24 oz pill head jig. I've thought for a while that I'd like to use a double eyelet jig for the top jig. But you don't find one that small. There's a good reason for that.
Any insert in a jig mold weakens the body of the jig. And that's even more true with my jigs. I don't pour lead. I use a bismuth-tin alloy. Bismuth-tin isn't flexible; it doesn't bend like lead. So if you make anything too thin with it, it just breaks. So I knew that any insert I tried to use in a 1/24 oz jig (1) would have to be very tiny, to not weaken the jig body too much, and (2) would have to be very strongly attached to the hook. There's no way a jig body that small would hold an insert strongly enough by itself. I ended up finding a very simple solution, and I really like the jig it has produced.
I just slip a size 12 crane swivel over the jig hook. I'm using the cheap bulk crane swivels from Barlows because that's what I had. I would probably buy a nicer crane swivel for this application if I didn't already have a lifetime supply of the cheap ones. But they have held up fine so far. I have yet to break one.
![[Linked Image]](https://i.imgur.com/g9mbhzI.jpg)
I modified one cavity of my Jacobs mold, using a small end mill and a dremel tool, to make a spot for the swivel.
![[Linked Image]](https://i.imgur.com/byoYf0Y.jpg)
And this is the jig it produces. I have fished it hard, hung it up, and banged it on bridge pilings, and haven't yet broken one at all.
![[Linked Image]](https://i.imgur.com/QmDEnEF.jpg)
And here's the rig, after being eaten by a bunch of crappie, being bent and straightened, and suffering various other abuses.
![[Linked Image]](https://i.imgur.com/tvQ9thz.jpg)
I just use palomar knots on the top jig, since the rig itself keeps it in the right position, and a loop knot on the bottom jig. It fouls less than other two jig rigs I've used, and does a great job of catching crappie. It has become my standard two jig setup.
One caveat: I'm pouring bismuth, not lead. Bismuth does pour better than lead, so I can't guarantee you can get the same results with lead. But, as consistently as this jig pours perfectly, I suspect it will pour just fine with lead too. So, for those of you bored at home, here's a project.
But I thought some of you who pour your own jigs might be interested in this. I've found, like I'm sure many of you have, that two jig rigs are hard to beat for crappie fishing, and I fish them a lot, much more than a single jig, both for fishing vertically, as well as casting and retrieving. I use a bigger jig on the bottom than most people do, usually a 1/16, 3/32, or 1/8 oz jig, with bigger plastic. But I've always liked a smaller jig on top. The last few years, that's been either a 1/32 oz round head jig or a 1/24 oz pill head jig. I've thought for a while that I'd like to use a double eyelet jig for the top jig. But you don't find one that small. There's a good reason for that.
Any insert in a jig mold weakens the body of the jig. And that's even more true with my jigs. I don't pour lead. I use a bismuth-tin alloy. Bismuth-tin isn't flexible; it doesn't bend like lead. So if you make anything too thin with it, it just breaks. So I knew that any insert I tried to use in a 1/24 oz jig (1) would have to be very tiny, to not weaken the jig body too much, and (2) would have to be very strongly attached to the hook. There's no way a jig body that small would hold an insert strongly enough by itself. I ended up finding a very simple solution, and I really like the jig it has produced.
I just slip a size 12 crane swivel over the jig hook. I'm using the cheap bulk crane swivels from Barlows because that's what I had. I would probably buy a nicer crane swivel for this application if I didn't already have a lifetime supply of the cheap ones. But they have held up fine so far. I have yet to break one.
I modified one cavity of my Jacobs mold, using a small end mill and a dremel tool, to make a spot for the swivel.
And this is the jig it produces. I have fished it hard, hung it up, and banged it on bridge pilings, and haven't yet broken one at all.
And here's the rig, after being eaten by a bunch of crappie, being bent and straightened, and suffering various other abuses.
I just use palomar knots on the top jig, since the rig itself keeps it in the right position, and a loop knot on the bottom jig. It fouls less than other two jig rigs I've used, and does a great job of catching crappie. It has become my standard two jig setup.
One caveat: I'm pouring bismuth, not lead. Bismuth does pour better than lead, so I can't guarantee you can get the same results with lead. But, as consistently as this jig pours perfectly, I suspect it will pour just fine with lead too. So, for those of you bored at home, here's a project.
