Leaderboard

Thanks for all the replies guy's, you almost all got it. YES , this was a little vent about those "Silver Platter"wide open questions. Please don't take it wrong, questions keep this place alive. And the youthful exuberance of the beginning lure builder keeps it fresh, however, some of those initial questions are easily answered with a quick search. I think Vodkamans "Note to new guys" response hits the nail on the head and should be made into a sticky at the top of the page of ALL forums. I know this place is full of good people ,willing to share ideas and offer various options for different phases of building, painting, top coating, weighting and all else that have been discussed ad nauseam. Do a little research, it's almost all here! Thanks guy's, Douglas

So guys might do this, but I haven't seen many or if any posts about softening hard lines in our paint work. I have a technique I use that I will share. So if I'm doing stripes, lines or hard edges that I don't want so obvious I take (wicked White) from createx dilute the hell out of it so its like a transparent white. the I fold over a piece of Tulle (a type of mesh they use for weddings) fold it in half a few times and shoot the white trough the mesh, its so fine and the mesh stops you from over doing things and disperses the paint very well. Spray the ares you want to concentrate on and there you go! soft edges.

I loved Rowhunter's post, very funny and a few of the recent novice posts have been a bit naive to say the least, but; JW - I disagree. I say ask away. It is difficult to search when you don't even know what you are searching for. Lure building is quite specialist and the subject is full of special words and phrases that are meaningless, confusing and difficult to comprehend. New member's point of view - Anyone who walks through the TU front door, has already made the decision that they are going to make lures. They are enthused, tried to read a bit but got nowhere. It takes a lot of information to build your first successful lure and they need all that information now. Old member's point of view - I opened up TU, pressed new content to catch up on the day's threads and it was just full of SOS (Same Old Sh..). It's not fair, what am I not paying my money for! I want something interesting to read, something that I can get my teeth into. I want a whole page of interesting, virgin (never been asked before) questions that I know the answers to. Well, on a good day, there might be two or even three threads that grab my interest, or I may go a week of nothing. It is certainly not because I know everything, in fact, more than half of the day's threads are subjects that I know very little about and I am just not in the mood for taking on new knowledge today. After skipping past the painting threads, topcoat threads, Knock-off threads, sales threads, powder and spinner threads, mold problem threads, I am down to threads that I have already read, which means don't bother scrolling any further. So I scroll back up to see if I missed anything - nope. I decide to check out the new guy threads, to make sure they are being serviced and maybe throw a bone, but they are well covered with good advice. The one thread that is under serviced and tempts me to answer, has asked such a broad question that I could spend two days answering and I only wanted to donate half an hour. Note to new guys - write down on a piece of paper, everything you don't understand or don't know. Break it down into small, individual questions. Try a search, but if you get nowhere or don't understand, then post a new thread with your SINGLE question. This will only take a member a couple of minutes to answer and you should get at least half a dozen answers to choose from. From the special words and phrases used in the answers, you should be able to go back to the search function and be more specific in your searches and glean a lot more information. Note to old guys - If someone asks for the world on a plate, don't just tell them to do a search or go away and learn it the hard way, that is just inconsiderate, unfriendly, not helpful and rude. I got enough of that attitude when I joined. Pick a small part of the question and give a short answer. Do a quick search yourself and post a couple of links to the same answer to show that the information is out there. Giving the search words that you used to get the information is a powerful way to help. If everyone was forced to go away and search and learn the hard way, we would have NOTHING to read! Dave

Hi I'm new to the site and I would like to start my own Custom Tackle company. I plan on buying cheap Chinese knock-off baits and putting my own paint job on them. I have a few questions for you guy's here who have put countless hours into your own efforts. It is a lot easier for me to just ask general questions than to search the great amount of information here, so. Where can I buy the cheapest baits? ( higher profit margin ) What kind of paint should I use, where can I buy it, and what colors should I get? What do you guy's use for a top coat, where can I buy it, and what is the procedure for application? How do you make a lure glide? How do you make a lure suspend? How can you estimate amount of ballast? Do I need to pay tax? That's it for now, I've got a bunch of orders to fill ! Thanks, Douglas Custom Sar cast-ic Bait Co.

I usually hit both parts of my D2T with my hair dryer in cold weather, so they become more runny and easier to squeeze out and mix. The resin is always thicker than the hardener, at least for me. An associated question. Is there an epoxy that will prevent me from dropping a freshly coated lure onto my garage's carpet strip? Hahaha

Your right. I can't see where you matched it up with the next piece. Nice job. Ben

Be forewarned! If coffee had been created on the first day, it would have only take four days to create the world. If bass fishing and lure making had been created on the first day, the rest of the world would never have been finished.

Maybe a good newbie question should include, "Can I find this through the search feature?" That way, we could help them narrow their search, so they don't wind up drowning in past stuff, trying to find their answer. Myself, I don't mind answering a question again that's been asked before. This site is about learning and sharing.

Nice looking swim bait! Very similar to BTS 5" open pour. I like your colors. PM sent

Great post Vodkaman

Since I started making lures, it's not nearly as painful to lose a lure anymore, even if it's one I built myself. Homebuilt lures cost less, and losing one is an opportunity to sit down an make more. I have done jigs, spinnerbaits, and buzz baits for a long time, and have so many I couldn't possibly use them all in 10 years. Started painting hard baits last year, so now I can start over stocking those too.

Great post Rowhunter,thanks Mohawkman for getting it.Unguarded tackleboxes and side ways lips. Great stuff.

You could always start with a carving knife and a piece of balsa, bass or cedar. Pick a lure design you like to use and carve one yourself. www.lurepartsonline.com has all the belly weights, lips, screw eyes and everything else you will need to make your own. Good Luck!

Seems like I remember reading somewhere (maybe here at TU) that Mann's bait company sold unpainted bodies. Might be worth checking out. Ben

I could spend all day looking thru Reds molds.

Cheapest lures: unguarded tackleboxes Paint: Sherwin Williams Top coat: Not a necessity, just eats profits Making a lure glide: balsa wings Suspending lures: tape a sinker to it Estimating ballast: don't bother Paying taxes: just don't get caught. Change company name often

When you catch your first fish on a lure you made, you'll understand.