As bass fisherman we are always looking for ways to save money, painting your own jig heads and weights is one of those ways. Here is a short recap of the first time I had the pleasure painting jig heads! Karl from KaRu...

As bass fisherman we are always looking for ways to save money, painting your own jig heads and weights is one of those ways. Here is a short recap of the first time I had the pleasure painting jig heads! Karl from KaRu lures sent me a package of jig heads, paint and some written instructions to get me started however I was tied down at work with 13/14 hour shifts playing war games at work for most of the week. I got the package the Saturday before and had just been itching to get started on this so once the extended shifts were over I rushed home and dove right in, Jigs-check, Paint-check, Oven-check, heat source-check. I was at the kitchen table and grabbed the instructions to read but like I said the long shifts were finally over and I was excited about getting started so I warmed up the oven, got a torch out and set it to low heat after I burned my fingers on high flamethrower burn a village down setting; but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The first thing on my list was to set out all the heads by size, find a rack to hang them from once I had the paint on and a metal tray to do everything over while using D's table. I also lined the bottom of the oven just in case I made a mess I wanted to make the cleanup as easy as possible. I than preheat the oven and sat down at the table to start my fist paint job. You need to remember the blowtorch is set on flamethrower, I put the jig in the fire and tried to re-read the instructions on the side of the powder jar, it says I need to hold the jig in the flame for a count of 10, as I try and count to 10 the hook started to glow red, I smelled BBQ and WoW! OH My God my fingers hurt so badly and I realized I just couldn't let go of the hook; it seems that my thumb and finger had melted around the hook and fused together. As fast as I could I swished the jig around in the powder, but first had to take the lid off the bottle. Anyone ever try and unscrew an old Uncle Josh Pork container after it sat in your boat for 4 or 5 years? Keep that thought in mind and add to the difficulty a searing pain with a faint hint of BBQ that all the while knowing it was your very own flesh that enticed my two the boys to the table to see what Daddy was cooking.

Ok I got the paint on and used my other hand to pry my fingers from the molten steel, promptly dropped the head on the metal tray. Thank god I had the foresight to use one because had I dropped it directly on the table I'm sure I would be telling this story over the phone to the local fire department in a panicked call for help to control the blazing bonfire that used to be our house. Next stop is the sink to cool the fingers, a stop by the freezer to grab some ice, a trip to the bathroom for some burn cream and gauze and then swathed in bandages I head back to the table and get ready for jig number two.

Man this might not be as fun as I had hoped. Look for Part 2 in the near future!!! as soon as I heal.

See you on the water!

Ron Fogelson

Ultimate Bass Administrator