Lead Gill Mould

New in the shops is the Lead Gill fish shaped pirk mould offering a more professional looking lure than the normal chrome tube type we knock up in the garage.

You've got the choice of two mould sizes, 16oz and 24oz. The moulds produce a true streamlined fish shaped lure that sinks straight down, and due to it's shape, is easy to work and retrieve.

The actual moulds are well made and produce a smooth product. The final finish of the pirk is excellent with minimal sign of cast blemish on the lead surface after removal from the moulds.

In the mould kit, you get a length of wire and some plastic tubing. The wire goes through the middle of the mould prior to pouring the lead. With the lead just poured and solidified, the wire is quickly removed from the mould to leave a hole through the centre of the pirk. The plastic tubing, once the pirk has cooled, is then pushed through the pirk to protrude at both ends. The tube needs cutting off to leave about 3mm sticking out beyond the ends of the pirk.

Now, with a cigarette lighter or candle flame, gently heat the ends of the tube which, if you turn the pirk in your other hand at the same time, will form a neat bell shape and shrink to give a professional looking finish. The plastic sleeving allows easy threading of the line, plus protects the line from the actual lead and avoids wear on the line when the pirk is worked.

To rig the pirk, you need only pass the reel line through the pirk down the plastic sleeving, slide a 8mm bead on below the head and add a suitable treble or single hook as preferred. I think I'd rather use a short leader of say 80lb mono rather than trusting to straight 50lb line just to eliminate any slight chance of line wear.

To improve the effectiveness of these pirks, there are several options and accessories. Car accessory shops etc, sell a variety of fluorescent yellow and orange, or gold and silver aerosol sprays. A quick blast of this over the pirk can help increase catches.

Lead Gill themselves also supply holographic strips that can be stuck on to the pirks, but these need to be overpainted with nail varnish for protection. They also do stick-on 3-D eye's that give the lure a more lifelike appearance.

Another tip to improve catches with these lures is to add a fluorescent yellow or orange muppet to the hook, and add a rattling booby bead about 9ins above the pirk.

The Lead Gill Pirk Mould costs £18.50 plus post and packing for both the 16oz and 24 oz versions. The holographic stripes come in a pack of 10 for £1.70, and the 3-D eye's cost £1.35 for 10.

AVAILABLE FROM
Mick Ball
Town Moor Baits of Doncaster
26 Marlborough Road
Town Moor
Doncaster
South Yorkshire
DN2 5DF
Tel: 01302 738774