Clip on spinner jigs

[Memory Maker]

What size blade do you use, what color and how much do you pay for them both individually and in quantity

I’m trying to figure if it is worth while to buy in quantity

[bignose]

I generally as a rule of thumb, I start with a #2 gold (brass) Colorado blade on my 1/8 oz. spinner jigs.

I buy in bulk from Barlow's and eBay.
Tochterman's has blades in stock, upstairs, but not always the size I need.

The brass #2 Colorado blades go about from $.05-$.09 each in packs of 100. The painted blades are a bit more.
These are unlaquered brass blades and will tarnish in brackish water. Gold plated blades are considerably more expensive and I can't always find them in size #2.

After using the clip on style, I found that they tend to hang up more on obstructions because the jig head pivots around the clip, and the looped tie in point tends to slip. It was my dissatisfaction with this style that led me to the Do-it Spinner jig mold.

Premade 1/8 oz. spinner bait heads used to be available from Jann's but these used a stiffer wire. There are some of these being sold currently on eBay, these have a twisted (closed) tie in point rather than the R-bend that the Do-it wires use (the R-bend hangs up less, but if you use a snap clip to attach your lures, the closed eye works better.).

Lurepartsonline offers a 1/8 oz. R-Bend style but once again, these use a heavier gauge wire.
The difference is .032 in. for the commercial heads and .029 in. for the Do-it wires.

Woody used to get his premade, but I don't know where from.

[Mark]

I use Colorado blades in size 3. Jann's Netcraft offers a nice color variety of blades. But they are not cheap. Some may cost 75 cents apiece or more. As we've discussed here, color differences often matter more to the angler than to the "angled". Still, I like colorful baits so I'll pay the price to make lures I find attractive.

The other thing I'll do with blades is recycle them. No matter which ones you use from expensive to cheaper kinds, they'll chip, fade, rust or get stained over time. A little steel wool may bring the shine back on a silver or gold spinner. That may make us happier but I don't think it matters to the fish. You can also repaint them. Sometimes I'll take an old blade and powder paint it with the same color I used on the jig itself. I think that makes a nice presentation and it holds up well.

These are two well-worn jig spinners with repainted blades:

Blade colors (3).jpg

I use the larger when targeting stripers and the smaller for perch and pickerel.

I have not had the problems with clip-on wire spinner forms that Stu noted other than they may come unclipped. In fact, I lost a few jigs completely during the act of casting in my early days of using my homemade spinners. I was thoroughly perplexed until I realized the problem. I solved it by pinching the wire that clasps over the main stem of the spinner form with needle nose pliers. (You may be able to see how I pinch them tight in the photo above.) I have lost no jigs since. The will not come unclasped after making that simple modification.

I have never sold my spinners so I have never calculated their cost. Each requires a wire form, a number 3 blade, a number 3 split ring, a hook, lead (mostly recycled), powder paint, a little bit of bucktail, and a few strands of crystal flash. Just guessing, I'd say each spinner has no more than $1 worth of materials.

But the real value to me is the fun of catching fish on a lure I have made or modified. I don't view my handicraft as a cost-savings process. In all likelihood, given my stash of materials and the tools I have acquired to make lures, it isn't. I use very few baits that I have not constructed or changed in some way, even if it is only replacing trebles with dressed in-line hooks on commercial plugs. I find it all very enjoyable.

[bignose]

Doing a little quick homework / research:
Barlow's sells a package of 100 clip on "jig spinners" size #3 for $28.61 (Item # 410473). These come with a hammered blade
These use a 0.029" wire, the same size that the Do-it mold uses.

[Mark]

I use these in size 3:

https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/jig-sp...rm/325615.aspx

They're roughly 15 cents each in lots of 100, or 18 cents each if you buy only 25.

I don't know the gauge but they've never broken, handling channel cats, pickerel, perch, bass and legal stripers.

They come with no blade. But that allows me to customize with blades of my choice.

A split ring is needed to add the blades and split ring pliers make that job much easier.

https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/split-rings-pliers/