Does Do it have it or anything close?

[Billmo]

http://www.charkbait.com/cs/images/lures/BigHammer/IMG_5235.jpg

This is becoming a really popular head out here in Southern California for saltwater fishing boiler rocks, kelp beds, basically anykind of inshore shallow structure. But man are they exspensive.. Most places charge 5.00-7.00 for 2 heads depending on weight only.. I know there are a bunch of lead guys on here and i figure if i get into pouring lead this would probably be one of my first investmens..

[toadfrogbaits]

Snootie mold Really close to that . Best place to order molds Is Ziener"s Bass Shop . Jim Ziener is good folks.
http://www.zeiners.com/shoppingcartindex.html

[BareKnuckleJigs]

Do-It has many Weedless 'heads.  Not sure if there are any with that Collar plus the Wire, but any 'head with a weedguard and a big eye will catch fish like the 'head in the pic.  PoisonTail, Grass, any 'head with a flat side to stick a big eye on, and a plastic-holding Collar (if they're using them with soft plastic), will serve You well.

[Denny Welch]

You might want to look at Do-It's Style 9 Shad Head jig mold.  It doesn't have the wire keeper, but maybe you could modify the mold to accept a wire.

http://do-itmolds.com/shop/index.php?route=product/category&path=1_7_217

[Billmo]

Thanks for the replies everyone.. Yeah they are used for swimbaits.. anything from a 3" up to a 9" slug style bait.. The number 9 is pretty much the head without the weed guard..

I might have to just wait for Do It catalog and slowly go through it and see if I can find something..  There is something about the #9 head shape that works really well when throwing those bigger swimbaits..

[Denny Welch]

I fish the Big Hammers quite a bit for stripers and usually use the 9.  I'm usually fishing in the water column and rarely get hung up so I don't miss the weed guard.  It wouldn't take much to drill a hole in the mold for the weed guard.

[Partycrasher]

I modified my style 9 to have the eye exit out of the nose like the one shown.  With that attachment point, you really don't need the weed guard.  Its surprising how much it changes the action by moving that eye up to the nose (60 degree hook).  You accentuate the side to side wobble out of swim baits like Big Hammers, Lunker City Salt Shakers, or Berkley Saltwater Swim Shads (aka Flat Backs).  I have my 1/2 ounce cavity modified to take a 5/0 Eagle Claw 730 (or equivalent) and it's perfect for 5" Big Hammers, 4.5" Salt Shakers, and the Berkley Swim Shads.  I clip off the collars and use a drop of super glue on the hook shank.  Its one of my go-to search baits for bass, Pike , walleye and Musky and I always have one rigged on a separate rod.  I did an In-Fisherman article on this a couple summers ago.  I paint some silver and some gold and that usually compliments whatever tail you are using.  My favorites are Big Hammer Wookie Wacker, Lunker City Arkansas Shiner, and Berkley's Senorita.  Great lure !!!

[Billmo]

Hey partycrasher can you post a pic of one of the heads? would love to see the modification.

[Partycrasher]

I'll do that tonight.  Marc

[Partycrasher]

Cant get it to accept a picture in the gallery.  "Not a valid picture file".  Any help?  Thanks, Marc

[Partycrasher]

Thanks Jerry for working some magic and getting the photo on the post. 

Shown are the 1/2 and the 3/4.  The collar and the hook eye opening (top) pour-out but I just clip them off.  When you make the connection point the nose of the jig, you allow side to side wobble of the entire body created by the boot tail.  Like I mentioned earlier, its fairly weedless.  I say fairly, because it certainly isn't weedless like a weedless jig.  But for weedlines and sparse weed flats it snakes through very nicely.  Because of our toothy-critters here in WI, I tie a 12" long .013 single strand leader directly to the head which also helps slice through some weed contact.  This contact is deadly so I am always "flirting" with the weeds. 

What is so fun about this bait is that you can literally catch Bass Pike Muskies and Walleyes with this.  You never know what you are going to hook.  I primarily fish for Bass and Muskies, but I consistently take my biggest walleyes of the year "by accident" on this bait. 

Marc

[Muskygary]

Very nice! What plastic bait is that? Looks like a big hammer?

[Billmo]

that's awesome.. I think something like that would work for me especially if I found a way to add a weed guard to fish it in the kelp.

[Partycrasher]

Without having to drill holes for fiber weed guards, just put a piece (or two) of .013 or .014 wire in the mold right where the weedguard would be.  A light wire weedguard works great and is much less visible.  You don't even need to cut a groove at the start.  You can close the mold on .013 and it will pour.  Just trim a little flash.  When you figure out the position and angle that works, then file a tiny groove with a needle file for the wire.  Turn a 90 on one end that goes into the head so it doesn't come out. On the other end I don't like a sharp wire end so I turn a small piece (1/8th inch) back on itself (almost flat) so it's a "hemmed" end.

Does this make sense, or I could send a picture?  I have done this with this jig head.  For what I do, it didn't make much of a difference so I stopped making them that way, but it may work for you. 

[Billmo]

it does make sense.. pretty ingenius.. thats why I love this forum.. alot of good guys with great ideas, and helpful hint.