I know the fact but asking for opinions

[AndyLane]

Doesn't matter what you call them, Roadrunners, Pony heads, Horse Heads or whether you fish the Blakemore Originals or hand poured imitations. I think most would agree that it is a fact that these are proven to be without a doubt an Extremely Effective spinner jig/lure. I am curious and would like some of your opinions. Why? What makes them more effective than other spinner heads on the market. What makes them more effective than the Awesome belly Spinners I see a lot of y'all make? Is it the head design and the angle of the swivel/blade? Vibration? I know. I know. No need to ask why a round wheel works better than a square one. It just does right? :huh:
Whats your 2 cents?

 

[Jig Man]

Not for sure about the clear water fishing, but in the heavily stained water that I fish mostly, you need all the extra flash you can get. I believe the spinners and any other flash you add will help the fish see your bait better. I also believe the spinner bouncing off underwater obstructions helps attract their attention as well. I have fished the roadrunner for a long time and deffinately believe they work better than a straight jig when the fishing is slow. But I'm not sure the horsehead is any more effective than the spinners I bought from Ronny. I have been having good luck them. They swim true like the roadrunners do. I believe that has a lot to do with how effective one is over the other.... Just my 2 cents!!

 

[Ron Don]

I don't think that "road runners" are better than other belly spinners. They are just the household brand!

 

[AndyLane]

This post was a bit of a me just venting. I ran into this guy I knew when I was younger. I have fished with him a few times but to be honest never really liked him. He is one of those arrogant types who thinks he invented fishing but who I've never seen fill a limit. I was telling him I tied my own jigs and about the belly spinners I had made. He responds with "Oh thats nice but I bet these bla bla bla jigs that I paid bla bla bla for work better than any tied jigs and I bet I can out fish your spinners 10-1 with a roadrunner." I just had to smile and shake that one off. I just said "Ya know its good seein ya again. Maybe I'll run into ya on the lake sometime." I have found that the high road is always the smoothest.

 

[Jig Man]

Yea, some friends are better left in the past... I'm going fishing, see ya'll later!

 

[Shoemoo]

No offense to the guys that like belly spinners, but I think the in-line orientation of the swivel on the RoadRunner/pony/horse head makes a difference. I've seen underwater videos of them in action, and the way the head is weighted and the drag from the blade makes the eye into a pivot point. They run with the nose down at an angle and the swivel on a horizontal plane. This means there's less friction on the swivel as the bottom loop of wire doesn't rub against the inside wall. The hook rides up, keeping the body and tail material from interfering with the blade.

There are a few things about the official RoadRunner I don't like. The hooks, for one. The regular RRs come with bronze hooks, and I don't like bronze because it rusts easier than plated hooks. I've seen RRs in the package with red hooks, but it looked like the red coating was flaking off. I also prefer sickles, and they're not an option. TTI-Blakemore has also gotten sloppier about the paint jobs and keeping paint off the swivel. I've gotten a few that had paint clogging the swivel and keeping the blade from turning, and I don't like having to clean them before I fish with them. I have a bunch of RRs because the local Cabela's had packs of 3 heads on clearance because the paint covered the hook point and no one would buy them otherwise. The paint ended up being pretty easy to scrape off, but I wouldn't have bought them if they hadn't been cheap.

Belly spinners are great when you don't like the official RoadRunner and don't have one of the imitation molds. But IMHO the RR head style is superior. I prefer a quality horse head with sickles to the real thing, but with the company cracking down on individual sales I'll probably end up starting to pour them myself eventually.

 

[smalljaw]

I wouldn't say the road runners are better or catch more fish than belly spinners because they really are different baits. The thing with the horse head road runners in they have always been a cross over bait as the larger sizes ended up in bass circles because they are a great finesse cast and retrieve bait that ended up being a killer on suspended fish that usually have lock jaw. Belly spinners are more of a vertical presentation, I've done the cast and retrieve but they don't run the same as the horse or pony heads but like all other baits there will be times when one outfishes the other.

 

[Fatman]

I make my own, both horsehead and pony. I have to agree with shoe with less pressure on the swivel because of the head style.

I've got 2 that came in a prize pack and the sprue spot still has almost an 1/8th inch of lead still there, and on one so much flash that it's going to have to be stripped to use it.

I can't comment on the belly spinners yet as I haven't had a chance to try them.

 

[mitrisin]

The last trip I made here a couple of weeks ago. I caught just as many if not more on Boolies. Mostly the 1/32 oz. I was fishing primarily Boolies and Road Runners tipped with Crappie Nibbles.[/font]

 

[New River Rat]

The lures that catch the most fish are the lures that YOU have the most confidence in. The satisfaction is increased by catching on a lure that you made.

I'm an old Mid-Atlantic Hillbilly, and homemade anything is better than store bought.

 

[eyecrosser]

It's all about flash and vibration. Particularly in stained waters. Color combos and blade styles vary according to water clarity and temp. That's just my rule of thumb.

 

[eyecrosser]

I didn't realize they were cracking down on individuals copying their jigs. IMHO, I have to agree that the quality has diminished over the years. I guess they figure they have the market cornered and can afford to skimp on their products now. I think if you take the time to pour your own RR style heads, put on the blades, paint and tie you should be able to market them as long as the blade doesn't say RR. Also, have recently seen some competition or tournament RR'S as they call them with crystal or cactus chenille being the only real difference. They are pretty proud of those jigs too.LOL If several of us have our own molds we can pour and tie them ourselves and pass them out or possibly in a swap. Speaking of swap need to get tying. Remodel has been a blast thus far.lol

 

[Fatman]

eyecrosser - they've gone after individuals selling them alot!! I pour alot of them (horseheads/ponys) and yeah I'm proud of the ones I make. The rule of thumb on them is you can pour them for personal use, you can give them away or trade for other jigs or materials (and as I told someone on another board - NO you can't trade them for green paper)

 

[Bucho]

How do you guys think about an extention? Take some heavy mono, burn the end to a bulb for grip, glue a small swivel to it and tie that against the head
Just gave it a shot, its not pretty but I find the idea somewhat promising. No fuzz with copyrights violation, plus I like my headshapes the way they are...

 

[Fatman]

Here's the easy way

You can do it at the tail or put it up against the head of the jig, here's just one of may threads on it
[url]http://www.jigcraft.com/jigcraft/showthread.php?tid=5542&highlight=belly+spins

 

[Bucho]

No offense to the guys that like belly spinners, but I think the in-line orientation of the swivel on the RoadRunner/pony/horse head makes a difference. I've seen underwater videos of them in action, and the way the head is weighted and the drag from the blade makes the eye into a pivot point. They run with the nose down at an angle and the swivel on a horizontal plane. This means there's less friction on the swivel as the bottom loop of wire doesn't rub against the inside wall. The hook rides up, keeping the body and tail material from interfering with the blade.

This sort of made sense to me, so I tried to achieve the same effect on my favorite head shapes in a subtle manner, without having to fix myself half a dozen of new molds. I´ll fix a few ties to an alabama rig and pull it through my tackel dealer´s test tank for evaluation one of these days.

 

[Fatman]

While horseheads work GREAT!!!!!! and I make alot of them, you can't deny the results of all the fish being caught on the belly/tail spinner set ups. I haven't had a chance to try my belly ones yet but I'll carry both in my box.

 

[creekychub]

No doubt that a little extra flash and vibration can help catch more fish, especially in off colored water. Fish need to know the lure is there, whether by seeing it or feeling it (lateral line), and usually a combination of both!

Bucho: That mono extension is a sweet idea! I'm gonna have to try that out.

 

[Pup]

Bucho, I like your mono neck too. Very creative. :icon14: :icon14: