Hey old-timers, help me out!

[tdarin176]

Hey old friends,
   I inherited some old school do it jig molds when my grandpa met Jesus this fall and wanted to pick your brains before all your knowledge kicks the bucket as well.  (Just kidding)
I can’t find anything on these molds, maybe they’re really old or maybe they just sucked back in the day.   What do the different color handles mean?  I’ve got some orange, blue, and a lot of black.  Even seen some red.  Is there a timeline I can figure out from handle color?  The boys and I on our junior high fishing team are going to make these over the winter!

Now for some of the molds:

  1. Erie Rig mold ER-6-A- blue handle
Anyone have a pic of what this lure should look like completed?  Looks like I can still pick up .033 wire shafts for it.  Do I troll this for walleye?

2.  Weedless Wally- Jws-4-ay orange handle
Looks like a normal bass jig to me.  It’s not even unwrapped yet.  Is it any good?

3.  Weedless Stand up jig sub-3-ay -black handle
Anyone have a tip on finding 3/0 eagle claw 1623 hooks?  Is this a bottom dragging bait that stands up?  Maybe tip it with a minnow?

4.  Weedless Spinner wsj-3-a orange handle
   It looks like a spinner bait with a jig weedguard too?  Any ideas where I can find a short arm wire form wsa -1?

5.   Slide-along jig Saj-4-a blue handle
How do I fish this guy?  Do I need to tie some buck tail on the back?  Another 1623 hook mold

6.  Bass spin jig ark-3198fs orange handle
.32 nylostrand?  .070 connector sleeve?  What on earth is this science experiment?  Haha


Anywho-  thanks for your help guys.  I can’t wait to learn this stuff with my friends in outdoor rec class!

[21xdc]

I think the different color handles showed the price point of each.

You have some desirable molds.

[Les Young]

Sounds like the number 6 is a spinnerbait mold. Wehn 21xdc says you have some desirable molds he knows what he's talking about. He's one of the top  lead/tackle crafters there is anywhere.

[efishnc]

I think the different color handles showed the price point of each.

That was my understanding...

There are even older molds (before they started painting them) with bare wood handles.

[ctom]

Welcome to Do-It Mold's forums Tdarin!

I think the 1630 Eagle Claw hooks called for in the old molds are just 630 hooks called for in today's molds. Lots of things have changed since those molds were made, including Eagle Claw's hook numbers and use designations.

[Fatman]

the 1623 hooks for the slide along mold are tough to find.  The whole number is 1623 CR - it has a crimp in the shank so the hook won't spin inside the head of the jig. 

[bigjim5589]

The .32 nylostrand refers to the weed guard material. Used to be, you could get weed guard fibers in larger bulk bundles, and in different diameters. I still have a few in the old bundles. You made your own weed guards then.  So, that would be fibers of .32" diameter, and of course they're made on nylon.

That Erie Rig mold is for making a trolling, inline spinner type of lure.

The Slide along is a cool jig, and that's an old one.

That Weedless Wally is a very high demand mold. I've been looking for one for many years, and they're very hard to find. Not long ago one sold on Ebay for over $300. 

And yes, the handle colors at one time designated the price points, but now they paint them all black and prices don't vary much. 

I have some of the rest of the molds that you have, and they can be good jigs or spinnerbaits to fish with. The 1623 hooks used in the standup jigs, as has been said are no longer produced. I've got that mold and it's been modified to use regular 90 degree Aberdeen jig hooks, such as the EC 570. If you go that route, the Mustad 32746 is a great hook to use.

[Coosa Redeye]

I would love to get my hands on that weedless wally.