There's been a mess of commentary on molds for the diamond jig type of ice bait. None are available domestically that are not custom made and then there are those floating around in the Ukraine. People can make their own molds using a simple Do-It mold with a half-large cavity. Bass jigs come to mind here but certainly this isn't limited to them. Using JB Weld High Temperature putty, mix up enough to do as many cavities as you want and press the compound into the cavities, then shave the excess off with a razor blade quick. Press the jig you want to copy into the putty fairly close to that pouring gate of the mold. Press the jig into the putty only half way being certain that the hook's eye and the hook are roughly half way into the putty too. When this side is set brush the face with a bit of oil or wd-40 you've sprayed into a cup. Mix more putty and press it into the other side of the mold's cavities, shave it flush, then close the mold and squeeze tight until the mold is fully closed. Clamp it lightly. Based on how long the first side took to set, open the mold when that time has passed. Remove the jig and use a fine flat file to removes any flash that occurred, then use a dremel with a fine, tapered, cutting bit to create a pouring channel into the cavity made by the jig. Fly tying hooks can be had that have the same flat eye as this type of jig comes with so often and all one needs do is bend a slight angle to get the hooks to lay indie the jig hooks hook channel. Then cast away.
Tom Junge [Young], a very good friend of mine came up with this idea and he's now selling these jigs in a local bait shop....lots of them. A little ingenuity and thought can go a long way towards getting what one wants without really having to go any further than Menards or a hardware store and spending $6. The hooks can be had at Scheels or any fly tying outlet. Have at it.
Seen here are two of his jigs next to the purple 4mm tungsten I showed the other day. The hooks he is using are fly tying stock and have a slightly longer shank and hook gap is a little wider than the factory one but that is not all bad for hooking and holding fish. I'll note too that Tom hand powders his jigs with powder paint to keep from having too much powder coating the heads as one would get by dipping. There's less paint on these than one would get with an airbed. The jig of his on the bottom carries an Ice Tickler very well and has the flat eye. The other head uses a conventional eye. Both of his creations use very high quality fly hooks. He has a lot of them as he's an ace fly tyer too.
