How To Coat Your Own Leads

By Chris Thornhill

Why Coat a fishing lead?

For those of you who like to make your own fishing tackle, here is a step by step guide of how to coat your own fishing leads.

The main reason for coating the lead is so that it blends in with the lake/river bed and can't be seen by the fish.

Coated camouflaged leads are mainly used by Carp fishermen as just one of many tricks devised in the ongoing battle to fool the wary old carp.

Of course these leads can be used when targeting other species of fish and if the fish can't see it then it must me an advantage to the angler. So what have you got to lose?

Another reason for coating the lead is to prevent sharp edges from forming if the lead bounces against rocks or gravel which could damage the line.

Also due to the coating being tough plastic it won't, chip, crack or peel off the lead unlike some shop bought leads that have only been painted.

If you were to buy a Coated lead in the shop they usually start from 15 SEK for a cheap one, so there is also the advantage of saving you money aswell if you have a habit of losing them.

 

Equipment needed

Here is a list of equipment that you will need if you want to coat your leads:

1. A source of heat (burner or gas/petrol stove will do)

2. A pair of pliers.

3. Plastic powder coating in various colours (Colours  available  are,       Black, Brown, Green, Mottle, Gravel & Sand) It goes without saying that your choice of powder colour should be similar to that of the the lake/river bed that you intend to fish. Brown & Green are probably the 2 best choices to start with in Sweden.

4. Leads

5. Bowl of cold water.

6. A sharp knife

7. Swivels, Split Rings & Shrink Tube (Optional)

Step 1.       Hold the lead by the brass loop with the pliers and slowly heat the lead over the flame continuously turning the lead so that the lead is evenly heated.Be careful not to heat the lead too much as it will melt and drip everywhere burning anything it  touches. It takes a little getting used to, toknow how long to heat it, but be aware that it does not take long to melt lead.
Step 2.  Once it is hot enough dip the lead into the pot of plastic powder ensuring it is completely covered. Leave it in the powder for a second or two. Remove the lead, and the powder will stick to the lead and begin to melt.
Step 3.     Now Heat the lead again over the flames until it melts and becomes smooth & shiny.Again be careful not to heat it too much as it will catch fire if it becomes too hot. If there are patches of the lead that have not been hot enough to stick the plastic to, quickly heat it again and give it another dip in the powder or sprinkle some over the reheated area.
Step 4.     Once the whole of the lead is smooth & shiny, submerge the lead in the cold water ensuring you keep it suspended for a few seconds until it cools and the plastic becomes hard. If you drop the lead straight into the water the plastic will not have sufficient time to cool, resulting in the plastic being becoming disformed and leaving excess plastic that may tangle your line.
Step 5.     When the lead has cooled down which usually takes a couple of minutes, remove it from the water and trim of any unwanted plastic. You should now have a camouflaged lead, or at least a lead that blends into the lake/river bed making it just that little bit harder for the fish to see.
Attaching a Swivel If your lead has just a brass loop you can always attach a swivel if you prefer to as i do. If you have leads with swivels already attached, just slip a length of shrink tube over it to tidy it up and reduce the possibility of a tangle.
Step 1. Thread the split ring over the brass loop and then thread the swivel to the split ring in the same way. (This is not as easy as it sounds, believe me)
Step 2. Then cut a piece of shrink tube long enough to cover the brass loop, split ring and half of the swivel. Then heat the shrink tube with a lighter until it shrinks to size. The shrink tube is put on to reduce the possibility of a tangle and keeps it neat & tidy.

 

Hints & Tips

1. A small pot of plastic powder will cover a hell of a lot of leads and will last you a long time.

They can be bought from The Tackle Box in England for £2.75 (about 35:-) Here is the link to the page:

The Tackle Box

You can also but lead moulds and all the accessories needed to make your own leads here aswell

2. When the powder is nearly empty sprinkle the remainder of the powder over the hot lead as you will not be able to dip it in the pot. Just have a sheet of paper under it to catch the excess powder. This prevents any waste and makes it easier to get it back in the pot.

3. Why not try mixing two different coloured powders together to make a new colour option to choose from. I mixed Green & Brown together to make a speckled camo colour. (See the pics at the bottom of this page)

4. If you really want to be adventurous, you could make your own leads aswell as i have, and save even more money. Plus it's much more fun than buying them.

5. I have calculated it, that to make 1 lead & coat it costs less than "1 Kronor", and it certainly doesn't hurt as much when you lose one. This doesn't include the original cost of the mould and other lead melting equipment. Just the price of the Plastic Powder, brass loops, swivel, shrink tube and of course the lead for melting.

Either way its much cheaper and a hell of a lot more fun.

6. An alternative coating to leads are Jigg & Shad Heads for predator fishing. They are coated in the same way as leads but with colours visible to the fish.

                    

   

  Homemade Shad Heads with Plastic Coating

They colours i have used are Black, Red, Yellow, Blue & Orange. Coating leads and Jigg/Shad heads are just a couple of past times of mine.

Other things i make are Floats (Pike Floats, Marker Floats, course fishing floats), Carp Rigs, Pike Traces, Lures, Spod Rockets, Throwing Sticks, 'D' Rig Hooks, Boilies, Rig Bins & Flies amongst others.

...........And last but not least, if you do decided to make/coat leads be careful because molten plastic & lead burn like hell if it comes in contactwith your skin.

This is a voice of experience with scars to prove it.

 

Tight Lines

Chris Thornhill