IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => Jigging => Topic started by: pete/ny on Nov 21, 2019, 04:03 PM
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I just got somw-e tungsten jigs and all the eyes are completely closed shut with paint or epoxy.I won't mention the name but rest assured I will not buy these again.So now that I got them what is the easiest way to clean these eyes out? Thanks in advance.
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Jig eye buster tool works great for doing them.
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I use a candle and a sewing needle.
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I use a candle and a sewing needle.
Good idea
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I use a dental pick.
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The "regular" eye buster I use for open water fishing is too big for my small ice jigs. Cabellas apparently has one for ice jigs but I just use the hook on one of my larger jigs to clear my ice jigs. Likely ruins the larger jig but does the job.
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I believe my eye buster is a eagle claw and works great on small jigs.
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Thanks everyone for the tips.One of them should work.
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I heat up a needle or a paperclip and push it through.
Like you I don't buy jigs with paint in the eye anymore. But I suppose when ordering online you never know what your gonna get.
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Heat up a bodkin from my fly tying desk. I try and inspect my jigs when I get them so I can address this before they go into my jig boxes.
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I also use nail clippers. Pinch them around the base of the eye and give a few spins. Then I take a safety pin and poke it through the hole. Usually the paint comes off but takes a little "picking" once in a while.
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When I have gotten jigs with painted eyes, I've sent them back. There's no excuse why they should ever send them out that way.
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I dont buy jigs with paint in the eyes either.i make and sell my own steelhead jigs and make sure all eyes are clear of the powder paint.
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After breaking off with nail clippers I have had the rest of the paint break off of tungsten jigs piece by piece.
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If they are epoxy painted or powder coated, good luck. Paint has to be taken out of the eyes before you cure them or it will all chip at once.
If they are acrylic paint, I use an exacto knife to clean the eyes after painting and clear coating. It's a pain in the butt but it works. Kind of slice off both sides of the eye, then poke the tip though the eye to get the middle out.
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I also won’t buy them no matter what the price with paint in the “eye”!!
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If I find paint in the eye of an ice jig I pick it out with the hook of a large jig that I no longer use.
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I just got some from Big Sky Jigs and Flies. Eyes full of paint and 3 of the eyes broke while trying to clean them.......never again. Terrible quality control.
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Dental pick
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I use an old salt hook.
Put hook point through eye and spin the jig and hook opposite directions. Usually gets out all the paint
No need for fancy stuff.
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I use an old salt hook.
Put hook point through eye and spin the jig and hook opposite directions. Usually gets out all the paint
No need for fancy stuff.
A saltwater hook in a tiny tungsten jig eye? :o
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A saltwater hook in a tiny tungsten jig eye? :o
Yup. I just use the tip of the bigger salt hook to clean out the eyelet.
I dont see the need to buy a specific tool to clean out jig eyes.
Its pointy, fits in the eyelet, cleans it out pretty well.
Ive never had an issue using it
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I just use an old worm hook or whatever. Always some hooks laying around. Take a look at Acme Professional Grade jigs. Great colors, no paint in the eyes and good price for pack of 2.
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Yup. I just use the tip of the bigger salt hook to clean out the eyelet.
I dont see the need to buy a specific tool to clean out jig eyes.
Its pointy, fits in the eyelet, cleans it out pretty well.
Ive never had an issue using it
I tried this last month while making some jigs.
And I was honestly surprised at how poorly the saltwater hook worked.
I believe it was a 6/0 or 8/0 Eagle Claw hook.
Switched to a 4/o or 5/0 freshwater hook and it was much better.
This was removing uncured paint before going into the oven to cure.
The Eagle Claw saltwater hook had less taper to the point than the Eagle Claw freshwater hook.
Granted the way I powder paint these there's seldom one that needs cleaning but the 1/48. Oz and similar sizes do occasionally get some paint in there as they're just so small and harder to work with.
But if the saltwater hook works for you then keep using it.
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I use a hook to break it out.
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I just got some from Big Sky Jigs and Flies. Eyes full of paint and 3 of the eyes opened while trying to clean them.......never again. Terrible quality control.
that's disappointing. i've ordered from them 3 times and been very impressed with quality and value.
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I have a small jig head i use for cleaning them out. But i'm now to apoint where i'll gladly pay and extra buck a jig to get it with a clean eye.
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like someone below I use an old set of nail clippers and an old hook. I try to do all mine before I get on the ice, nothing worse then loosing a hot jig to a pickerel and wasting time trying to get a new one tied on.
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I usually use an old pocket knife and a small stiff wire or paper clip on them before they go in a jig box. I also try to buy them without paint in the eye.
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I usually cut the paint off of each side with a small Tajima box cutter knife with the snap off blades I have and then use a hook or needle to clear the center of the eye. I found some paint to be brittle and can chip off easily, especially epoxy if I just jam something through the eye without cutting first.
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I am a fly tyer and with the poor quality of hooks and price for tungsten jigs I have been tying my own tungsten jigs. No longer have a problem with cheap hooks, poor paint and I can tie what ever sizes and colors I choose at less than a quarter of the cost................if you already have the vice.
(https://i.postimg.cc/N2hXJLZm/ice-jigs-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/N2hXJLZm)
(https://i.postimg.cc/6TRn7LG0/chironomid.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/6TRn7LG0)
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I have a collection of carbide circuit board drills down to .010.I put them in a pin vise and cleans out eyes perfectly.I check the ones that I buy before putting them in the jig box.The ones I make myself I clean them out before curing(not tungsten ones).Those get air-dried with high quality epoxy finish that is thinned out.I usually don't bother with painting tungsten jigs,but make a lot with lead.Powder paint works perfect,and I don't believe powder works on tungsten,heat curing will destroy them.
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I usually cut the paint off of each side with a small Tajima box cutter knife with the snap off blades I have and then use a hook or needle to clear the center of the eye. I found some paint to be brittle and can chip off easily, especially epoxy if I just jam something through the eye without cutting first.
Agree with this, and I use a steel dental pick to poke the hole clean.
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i have always used another hook and pliers to poke out closed eyes.
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i have always used another hook and pliers to poke out closed eyes.
X2, little scrape with a knife and another hook works well.
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Baked powder coated jigs are hell to clean the eyes out.easy to clean before curing process.i no longer support a company that cant clean up the eyes before selling jigs.
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Baked powder coated jigs are hell to clean the eyes out.easy to clean before curing process.i no longer support a company that cant clean up the eyes before selling jigs.
I don't, make all my own and don't have to worry about that anymore.
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I was gonna comment that heck, I can't even see the hole anymore, but that just doesn't sound right. ;D
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I also won’t buy them no matter what the price with paint in the “eye”!!
Me either, anglers are quick to praise good quality, should not be hesitant to identify those who sell inferior product.
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Baked powder coated jigs are hell to clean the eyes out.easy to clean before curing process.i no longer support a company that cant clean up the eyes before selling jigs.
Yup!
One sign of quality is clean jig eyes.
One sign of poor quality is painted over jig eyes.
I make most of my own these days.
I don't find it all that difficult to keep the eyes clean to start with.
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I guess I'm of the minority. Painted eyes don't bother me much. I carry a push pin and nail clippers (lightly clamp around base of the eye and give it a spin or 2... usually peels right off)) in my jig box to clear the holes if needed. No biggie.
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X2 on the nail clippers. I've always got one around somewhere. Took me about one time cleaning eyes on the ice (decades ago). After that, any new purchases saw the workbench where I could have a sip of tequila, a puff of cigar and remediate the issue in perfect comfort.
These days my purchases seldom have the eyes painted shut and if they are, the above still applies.
I've poured lead for decades (some folks say that's had a noticeable effect ::)) and painted. First it was that vinyl liquid stuff but now it's fluid beds and powder. Always made sure the eyes were clear before they went anywhere. Just part of the process.
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Yup my dad taught me how to melt and pour lead when i was 14.we would have a community melt and pour every Saturday.everybody would get together and the adults would pour and us kids would cut flues and sort by size.i still have some sinkers we made way back then.still have all the gear ,plus added a ton of different molds.i make my own jigs too and clearing the eyes before oven curing is a must when using powder paint.its almost impossible to break the paint out of the eye after curing but its brittle and easy to remove before the oven cure.
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I cut out little tin foil squares and fold them over the eyes dip in powder and pull off tin foil with a small needle nose.