Crackled Darter and Sick Sucker

OK Dieter, now you throw another two at me that I have not seen, the green one I can kinda see a dual diving plane but the black one I can not see very well in the photo, what kind of diving plane it has, but they look good as always.

 

David J 

Hi , David ,

 

The top lure is a typical darter , you could find plenty of pics in the internet , if you search vintage lure sites .

I was not that satisfied with the action doing a first blank test in the tub , so I've moved the tow eye about 2,5mm or 3,0mm further rearward , closing the old hole with an epoxied toothpick .

 

Naturally the lure  is a bit tail heavy , but the diving planes  still do shoulder into the water sufficiently , ...also tested a little taped-on ballast underneath the chin , but as espected , it slowed down the anyway subtle wiggle even more , .....the lure's main action is to swim in a wave pattern , when constantly retrieved and to dart sideard/downward , when jerked and flicked with rod tip manipulaton .

 

Earlier in my luremaking carreer I've also made smaller ones like 3 1/4" in length, but yet about keeping the relation of body diameter and length , as the lure requires a certain guidance in the water not to flip over , ...but as said , tow eye location is critical .

 

The lower lure is a "Sick Sucker" , named this way by author Charles K. Fox and his buddies back during the 1940's , ...he introduced this lure in his "The Book Of Lures" issued during the 1970's .

 

As far , as I remember , these guys ran a very short-lived luremanufactury back in the day , which had commercialized the "Sick Sucker" as well , but still it should be very hard to find in the internet .

 

This lure is also unweighted , but yet swims about level , under rod tip manipulation it kinda "Walks-The-Dog" on the surface(yet not as pronounced compared to a stickbait like the old "Heddon Zara Spook") , .....under constant reeling it would submerge to about 1 to 1 1/2 feet and come back in rather straight without a wiggle, so should be used as a diving glidebait at that stage .

 

If the body is made a bit shorter compared to the outer diameter , it would therefore gain less guidance in the water to come up with a little more action , both on the surface and also underwater .

 

I haven't made a lot of these , also did not fish them as much , as I find Charles K. Fox's "Whirligig" to be a lot superior and more appealing actionwise , yet more difficult to make .

 

The "Sick Sucker" has a fully rounded nose of which the lower half(chin) has been planed down rearward , then transisting into an apex about the same length of the cut out plane in front .

 

Here you should find a better view of that lure  , just scroll down to find it :

 

http://www.lurebuilding.nl/enggallery1.html

 

You see, that one is a bit shorter compared to its outer diameter , .....you do not neccessarely have extend the corners of the apex upward , it's just for the looks .

 

Good Luck , Dieter