Painting jigheads?

[Slackdaddy]

I live by my Roadrunner jigheads in 1/16 and 1/8 oz.
But the colors are mostly bright florescent, tried to spray paint a few but it quickley flakes off.

Does anyone have tips for painting jig heads?

[bignose]

I use traditional vinyl paints applied with a brush to my spinner jigs.

Why do you want to change the colors? The bright florescent paints, especially chartreuse green / yellow have been very effective.

You may be able to dip them, unless the swivel would get in the way. I dip my round head jigs.
I hang them inside a cardboard box with slits cut in it so the paint drips inside the box.

I have not converted to powder paints, the spinner jigs shape would allow that.

[Slackdaddy]

Not so much for around the tidal water, but I use them on the mountain rivers for smallmouth.
For stained water I wanted to try darker colors, to match my darker grub tails, dark green, brown, etc.

I have some medium green paddle tails I would like to match for tidal water.
I have darker jigs, but not with a spinner, IMO the spinner adds a flash that may excite the fish in the murky water.

[bignose]

In that case I would buy a little jar of vinyl paint (Tochtermans has this in stock) and use a disposable paint brush.
Just be kinda careful to dab it on avoiding the swivel and hang them by the slot /box method so the paint runs away from the swivel.

[Mark]

Slackdaddy,

I use powder paints in newly poured jigs. I don't think they would work for your scenario. It sounds like you want to touchup or change the the colors of your jig heads. In powder painting you heat the jig head (I use a heat gun) and dip it into the powder. It makes a beautiful finish and there are many colors available including the darker ones you seek. But to get good adherence you'd have to burn off or use a wire brush to remove the existing paint.

On the other hand, I'm not sure the jig head color matters to the fish. But if it adds to our confidence in the lure it may help us to catch more.

[J.A. Veil]

If you can find fingernail polish in the colors you want, it may be an inexpensive way to change colors. Look in the clearance rack. It will chip, but is easy to reapply with the built-in brush. My wife was throwing away an old jar of a dull pink color. I applied it to an unpainted jighead, and it held up well and caught fish. After painting, I hang the jighead by the hook until the paint is dry.

I am not so sure that a chipped jighead looks that bad anyway. Nature often has flaws and different colored patches on animal bodies. Predators go after them too.

[Slackdaddy]

Thanks for the tips,,
I'll look at the finger nail polish route,, it should stay on long enough to see if it makes a difference.

What got me thinking is when I ran the south branch last week for smallies.

The white and chartreuse 1/8 Roadrunners were not working their magic,, water was tainted with 1.5' visibility. rumor is to use dark colors in tainted rivers.
I had dark grubs but only the white and chart jigs. was wondering if I would have had better luck with all dark set up

[Mark]

...I had dark grubs but only the white and chart jigs. was wondering if I would have had better luck with all dark set up

There's also the dark day, dark lure school of thought...

Only the fish can tell us and they're not talking!

But some (humans) say that contrasting colors on a lure make it more noticeable to fish.

I believe that since the actual jighead is such a small portion of the lure's overall size, its color has little impact on the fish. It's also at the head of the lure. Many predatory fish strike lures from behind which I believe minimizes the importance of the jighead color even more.

However, nail polish is good for a variety of uses on fish lures. I use Sally Hansen Hard As Nails as a clear coat finish on my jigheads. I also use it to coat the wraps on a bucktail jig and on flies as head cement. It makes a nice all around sturdy finish.

Good luck on your lure modifications.

[DanMarino]

I love the smell of my Sally Hansen Hard as Nails!

[elkfish2]

I pour and tie my own jigs , I call them disposable.
I think the best color is Not a solid color .
So I use sharpie's , you can see the lead thru the color and gives is a nice natural look.

[Mark]

I pour and tie my own jigs , I call them disposable.
I think the best color is Not a solid color .
So I use sharpie's , you can see the lead thru the color and gives is a nice natural look.

Very nice! Great idea.

Mark

[bignose]

Looking great.
I may try that on next year's spinner jigs.

Is chipping a problem?
I could always put a clear vinyl coat over the nail polish.

[elkfish2]

no chipping .
if I do clear them I usually do before I tie onto them.

[elkfish2]

These are all clear coated

[YakMonkey]

I pour and tie my own jigs , I call them disposable.
I think the best color is Not a solid color .
So I use sharpie's , you can see the lead thru the color and gives is a nice natural look.

What is the name of the jig on the first pic? is it free style jig?


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