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On my musky trip to Ontario last month I bounced my baits off of rocks many times trying to get inches off of shield rock walls and reefs. It pays to be brave but it comes at a cost lol No issues except for a small chip in the clear coat on one dive & rise jerk bait. But I was also deflecting that lure off of the rocks under the water for a week as well

Closest I have done is if you google a lure called a believer I have made variations of those out style of lure I have poured lexan lips into the resin body in the past I quit working with crankbaits personally so I stopped exploring options here

Oh and if it’s strength what you are describing would fall short compared to poured resin or foam lures with hardware molded right into the blank I have had hollow commercial style baits cracked on the first strike many times But the species I target are hard on lures

Don’t assume commercially made baits are what to strive for when you are talking quality. There are many smaller builders producing far better quality baits that command a much higher dollar for good reason Commercially made just means mass produced at a low cost. Many lack any creativity and have flaws One of the main reasons I build baits is I am disappointed in the quality of most store bought baits. Even when I find commercial baits I like I find flaws in durability, fowling hooks or missing things action wise. I find myself designing a variant that doesn’t have the flaws There is more garbage on tackle shop walls than good lures recently I have made the choice to turn out less lures and design to pursue only what I am 100% happy with. I am building less baits but they command a higher $ too Just something to consider before you go to far down that rabbit hole

You might try looking at places that sell jewelry making wire . I would think you should be able to find some Gold plated stainless steel wire that would work for you .

Well....... I found out tonight why I don't see jig spinners built like this, they don't work. If I would rip them fast they would work for a little while. But most the jig and everything would spin. I guess, no secret weapon was discovered with this experiment. Oh well, that's part of the fun. I did catch a couple 16" smallies....... On store bought topwater baits. But don't tell anybody, ok.

That is my experience with BP 262 also. I had half a gallon left when I quit pouring when the Pandemic hit, and is still good. I just poured a bunch of 5" swimbaits and Zoom craws, and all I did was stir/shake it and add heat stabilizer to each new batch. No caking, and very little sludge in the bottom of the gallon jugs. I did shake it every six months, or whenever I remembered.

At Rowhunter's suggestion, I'm starting a PVC thread. I use it for all my lure building, for the following reasons: It is totally waterproof, so I can shape a lure, and then test float and ballast it without any sealing. I have a 3 gallon bucket of water in my driveway that I use for test floating. It is buoyant. The Azek PVC decking is as buoyant as poplar, a hardwood I used to build my jointed swimbaits from. The Azek trimboard is even more buoyant, like medium density balsa. I can make really active shallow cranks with it. It is strong. The decking is as strong as any wood, for lure building, and the trimboard, although not as dense, is still plenty strong enough for any crank. And I use it for my smaller two piece jointed lures, too. I caught a 7lb largemouth with a PVC trimboard spybait I made that was 4" long, but only 7/16" thick, and I had drilled several 3/16" holes up from the belly for my ballast. She ate the rear hook, and the bait held up fine. Both are strong enough to hold screw eyes with just a small pilot hole. No need for any reinforcement, or setting into holes filled with epoxy. I usually use the gap filling/brush on super glue alone to set my hardware, and a lot times my bills, too. I use the accelerant (thank you Ben) dripped onto the glue to help it set quickly, once things are positioned. It machines and carves well. Although the sanding dust is nasty, because it sticks to everything, including my sinuses, PVC is easily machined and shaped with the same tools I used for wood. As with any work, sharp tools work best. I cut out my bait profile, and lip slot, with a bandsaw, and try to drill any ballast hole while the bait has the flat sides, so I can drill straight holes with my drill press. I use an oscillating belt sander with an 80 grit belt to do my major shaping, working from a centerline I put on the bait after I've sanded the bandsaw marks off. I "carve" details with a dremel sanding drum, and drill out my eyes with a multi-spur bit on a drill press. I typically sand down from 80 grit to 120 grit with a vibrator sander, and finish up with a small piece of sandpaper to get edges and details softened. Because it has no direction-oriented grain, it carves really well with sharp tool. It can be laminated into bigger lure blanks using the same PVC glue plumbers use for PVC pipe, or you can use super glue. If you use both the PVC primer and the glue, the two pieces actually melt into one solid piece. As long as the two surfaces are flat and mate, you're good to go. It paints well. I can shoot Wicked White as a base coat onto a raw PVC bait, heat set it, and never have any separation problems with my paint schemes. When I've had occasion to remove some paint to modify a bait, I've had to sand down to the PVC to get the paint off. It never peels. Occasionally, heat setting too hot can cause trapped air to bubble up under the seal coat, so I generally seal baits by rubbing crazy glue, or thinned epoxy, over them before I paint, if I want a super smooth bait. But any bubbles that do appear can be popped by the sharp tip of an exacto knife, and they lay right back down when I press them with my exacto knife handle. I've never had any baits with popped bubbles fail. And, because it is totally waterproof, I don't have to worry about nicks and scuffs from rocks and hooks. Any top coat works. I've used epoxies, urethanes, and concrete sealers, with no problems. In short, it make lure building faster and easier, and that make it even more fun, so why I use it.