With R-bend safety pin spinners as well as spin baits it seems obvious that I'd want to tie directly for the reasons you mentioned.  I fish with a baitcaster and use braid so I'm pretty much set up for fishing the junk, weed lines and such.  That being said, my trips to WCPP are in late summer so I'm mostly fishing deep.
But this is all great information, MT.  So, now, jig heads.  How do you choose em?  My only experience using jig heads are the cheap ones you get at Bass Pro where the colors flake off and the hooks bend out with every cast.  But then is that just the way jigs are?  What constitutes a quality jig head?  There are so many variables in terms of shape – ball head, football head, painted or not, plus different sizes of hooks and gauges etc. etc.  Those Cobra jigs you recommended look excellent but seem to be designed for Musky/Pike/Lake Trout.  How do you choose them and what do you look for in quality jig heads?  Obviously the application will make a difference but I’m interested in hearing what you or others have to say about it.