Finesse Heads Then And Now

[dtrs5kprs]

Might get lost in the Classic scramble, but Ned Kehde was kind enough to send an example of a wire guard head from the late 1990's. It was made by Mineral Springs, a KS company that has since changed ownership and moved to TX.

It is a very similar design to the original Gopher head, with perhaps a bit more lead running down the shank. At a guess, it is about 1/8oz, with a 1/0 or 2/0 basic Eagle Claw 570 style hook. According to Ned, they used it with 4" worms and grubs when fishing brush and wood. This was prior to the use of the 3" Dinger/Senko, and later the various Elaztech baits. As you might imagine, he finds the hook to be too large for finesse fishing. I agree completely.

Hook size aside, I was struck by the stiffness of the wire weed guard. It is not as heavy as spinnerbait wire, but is at least the same diameter as in-line spinner wire, and not at all flexible. Ned tells me they used to put a bend in the guard near the hook point. I've fished some old hair jigs with a similar design, but lighter wires.

For comparison, it is pictured with one of my 1/8oz wire guard finesse heads below it. Lends a useful sense of scale to the idea of "finesse" versus "ultra finesse". There are several similar heads available from Northland, VMC, BPS, PJ's, etc., with large hooks.

With a 3/0 Mustad grub/dart/a-rig jig hook above it for scale:

[fishingaddiction]

Good write up Dave. That weed guard looks like a dock cable compared to your jig. Bet it would be difficult to get a good hook up with that guard in the way, but would provide good protection from hang ups. Hook size is too large, might be okay with it's intended purpose which is with the larger worm attached.

[dtrs5kprs]

Good write up Dave. That weed guard looks like a dock cable compared to your jig. Bet it would be difficult to get a good hook up with that guard in the way, but would provide good protection from hang ups. Hook size is too large, might be okay with it's intended purpose which is with the larger worm attached.

Ned's info implied they bent the guard to make them hook up better. You would have to cut it at least. The old hair jigs I had were the B&C jigs Billy Westmorland used to feature on his show back in the '80s. They had that style of guard, including the bend. Darn good hair jig for the day. Color choice was easy. You could have black or black.

[Fish24/7]

Dave, ever consider using something besides poisonous lead to make your heads?

Something a bit more environmentally friendly..

[dtrs5kprs]

Dave, ever consider using something besides poisonous lead to make your heads?

Something a bit more environmentally friendly..

Maybe down the road for states where it is illegal to fish with lead baits. Thank God we live in fly-over country where folks have common sense about that issue

[Fish24/7]

it also means spending a little more for a safer product but most folks are still against that issue when it comes to their tackle.

I doubt lead based tackle will ever be illegal in MO. We have tons and tons of the stuff still in the ground just waiting to be mined.

[abkeenan]

If regulations in states want people to switch to Tungsten then how bout they make it frickin' affordable. Spending $40 on on 8 bullet sinkers just ISN"T feasible. Bring the prices down closer to lead and sure I will get Tungsten stuff. That or find a cheaper alternative metal that is safe other than Tungsten. Until then......no way Jose.

[Smallieguy87]

When i was younger and had just started bass fishing and more specifically finesse fishing plastics i always stuck with a pretty standard round ball jig usually around an 1/8oz. That wasnt all that long ago(15 years give or take) now it seems like there's tons of different jig heads all for slightly different presentations or fishing methods. My tackle box went from just a couple slightly different ball heads to all sorts of jigs! I always kept some around with a weed guard but rarely used them and when i did i always found i was trimming it slightly or just removing it completely. As far as tungsten goes i do have a few football jigs made by keitech that i enjoy but as stated the cost if pretty high so i find im always buying lead.

[Fish24/7]

tungsten is just one of the many alternatives to lead btw

do you want to spend a little more to help conservation matters, or buy lead and save some dough?

the costs will eventually go down as more and more manufacturers switch to lead free alternatives

(i'm not trying to start another debate over lead, so guys( you know who you are) just let it go )

[Sac River Jim]

papi and i have been pouring 1/16th and 1/8th mushroom heads on a #1 eagle claw lil nasty sickle hooks by the thousands since the first of the year. we got tired of changing the pins in the silicone mold designed for #2 hooks so we built a new mold. anyhows the 16 1/8th ounce came out on the money but the 16 1/16th oz were .02 over. he decided to make a new 1/16th oz mold that came out nice but we have 400 3/32 oz mushroom heads w/.027 dia. weed gaurds with a #1 lil nasty sickle hook in them. i convinced him not to melt them down till i try them on a ned rig. 3/32 is what Stacey King has ordered from papi for years and the wire is light enough but Dave I was wondering if you've tried a sickle hook yet. the lil nasty hooks are sharp and they are cheap enough but i'm not sure about the gap and getting a good hook set with them.