Leaderboard

I taper all of my jointed swimbaits, wider on top and narrower on the bottom. I started tapering them to try and stop the baits from rolling on fast retrieves. Tapering keeps them from rolling even when you burn them back to the boat. For me, tapering from 7/8" at the top to 5/8" at the bottom removes enough buoyancy from the bottom to help require less ballast, and keep my bait lively. I do this for floaters, too. But I like my floaters to have just their backs exposed, so they "tail" on a slow retrieve, or on a pause. Wake baits typically have more of the back out of the water at rest, so it shouldn't be quite as critical. If you want it to swim sub-surface on a pull or faster retrieve, then you'll need to play with the shape of your lure to see what works. The Slammer is a great wake bait, and it's basically a cylinder, so that should give you a starting point. If you want to walk your bait, too, it needs to be slightly tail heavy, so the tail has more inertia and keeps moving after the head has been stopped on the pause. Small walking baits, like spooks and sammies, hang almost vertical at rest. The larger you bait, the higher the tail should float at rest, so you don't have to work as hard to get it up and walking. Think of big walking baits as surface gliders. I've never tried to make a walking wake bait, but if I did, I'd probably cup the face of the lure, rather than add a bill, to get the surface commotion. Think of how a Gunfish is shaped. I think that would work.

I see this all to often. We all know that the better the environment the fish live in the better reproduction, size, quality, quantity, and taste our fish that we all love will have. This is common sense! Why does this kind of conversation always become so politically charged? We the fishermen need to work together on these issues in way that best suits us so that we don't have to worry about regulation/politicians doing it for us in a way that might not suit us. End of story. Sorry for the rant but so tired of seeing what should be constructive conversation turning into an argument.

Bob hit the nail on the head. My suggestion to you is to do what makes you happy. Customers can really bog you down with requests. They will eat up every piece of free time that you have in life to make them what they want. I have known guys that made 30K a year painting baits. But they are constantly in the shop EVERY week. I use to take orders and request for baits. But one day at the ramp I had a customer ask me why I was out fishing instead of working on his order. I thought he was kidding but he was not. Since that time I only make baits when I feel like it. I make them the colors that I want. People can buy them or go somewhere else. I love making crankbaits. It is a wonderful enjoyment for me. I won't let anyone ruin that with their expectations and demands. So do what makes you happy. Skeeter

OK, still as of now, this country still has a capitalist economy. What I would like to see in a soft plastic lure is: Plastic that is tough Can be poured/injected in any hardness Plastisol is transparent once it is heated and has gone thru its phases Has a very long shelf life Odor that dissipates after its cured After discarded, will dissolve in water with no harmful chemicals in 30-60 days Cost would not be out of the normal price range for average hand pour/injection guys Should have no or minimal bubbles while using product Should not yellow if no overheating occoured When it reaches its working temperature, has enough body to hold glitter but not so thick as to impede hand pouring. I hope someone who is much smarter than me and has the resources could come up with this product. But for me it has to have all these abilities. Hardest one to acheive would probably be #3, which is a must for me.