Hughesy

I have used them and they have worked great for me. They worked so good, I now sell them on my site.

My hobby has been my business for more than 15 years now. I have been very blessed with more business than I can usually handle. It means 16 to 20 hour work days. Being the husband, the Dad, painter, the lure modifier, the bill collector, the employer, the janitor, the accountant, the shipping dept, the supply manager, the website designer, the research and development dept, the complaint dept, the shell answer man, the PR person, the tournament fisherman sponsor, and everything else that goes with the job is more than a full time job. I must admit, a lot of the fun is taken away when your hobby turns into a business. But I'm here to tell you all, there is nothing I would rather be doing. You have to love what you do and the people you do it for or its not worth doing. I am not a rich man by any means but I'm an happy man. There is nothing better than being your own boss and producing a product that you are proud of. It really make a guy fell good when you see the big time Pro's using your stuff. Makes ya think all of the hours and aggravation is worth it and it is. If you want to turn it into a business, go slow. If your product is good, you and your business will grow. Just don't up and quit your day job and say I'm going into the bait making biz. Do it slow and do it right. I can't tell you how many people build a few baits, put up a website, and think they are in business. In a matter of a year or so, they finally realize that its not working so the get out of it. Take your time, make smart, long thought out decisions, AND IF YOUR LIKE ME PRAY A LOT. You should do fine.

T Mike you old dog . I haven't heard from you in a coons age (what ever that means). Anyway, try shooting some lacquer just to see if it shoots O K. If it does, then you know its not the brush and its the paint. Let me know how it shoots.

How may coats of F/C do you use on a bait?

Sweeeeeeet Craiger. I had a guy looking for those. Now I know where to get 'em.

The foil we have made for us and it is glued and stretched around the bait and then cleared. The crawdads we use a template.

Coley, I use the wife's old panty hose. Just cut it up into 2 X 6 in. pieces. Then, fold it 2 times so you end up with a 2 X 2 square. That way the paint is going through 3 layers. Then I just stretch it over the supply bottle and squeeze the paint through the panty hose and into the air brush bottle.

I only use the thinner trick on wiggle warts or other baits that don't have a top coat sprayed on them. Some Norman colors don't have a clear coat and it will work on the if you buy the right color. It will not work on bait that have a clear coat on them. For bait that have a clear coat, I use a small sand blaster.

Dave, It kind of was a test putting everything back together. The fish are still kind of scattered on the Rock. They should be ganging up soon though.

Toby, I should have known you would know what it was. Where do you buy these. How do they not leak water? Who makes them?

I thought you guys might want to see this. I have never seen one before so don't ask me who makes it. A customer sent it to me and wanted it painted like it originally was. The paint job you see is painted by me but it is not my design. That's the color combo that was originally was on the lure. The prop spins and rotates the crankshaft which in turn lifts the wire legs up and down. Wire spring clips hold everything together including the hooks.The lure has to leak water, so maybe its a sub surface lure. Maybe it a gag lure. I really don't know.

fish45. I use a paper towel soaked in lacquer thinner to remove the paint. Then after all of the paint is gone I wipe the body with a acetone soaked paper towel to clear it out perfectly clear.

Coley, Yes, you should sand first with at least 400. It sounds like to me you have 2 non compatible paints. Even though they shouldn't react to each other, sometimes they still do. Some enamels do contain oil and it could be trying to push its way to the top of the water base. I would try to use the same type of paint on each application.

Skeet, tell me you're kiddin'. I thought Coley was a teenager. Now I know why his stuff is so good. The older the violin the sweeter the music! Not that you young wipper snappers aren't putting out great work. I'm loving seeing the skill, craftsmanship, dedication, and ingenuity continue to grow in the great art of luresmithing. Keep it up guys. It does nothing but get better and better.

Sorry Coley, You're right, I'm gettin old and things are starting to go. My mind, teeth, hair, eyesite, we won't talk about the rest. When ya work 18 to 20 hours a day, March seems like years ago! Great work!!!!

Coley, Do you realize how far you have come in the last year or so. Man that is true craftsmanship. Super design. Keep em coming Coley. I like it!!!!!!!!!!!

Mark doesn't have any. I'll grab one next time I get to Springfield.

beentheredonethat, I have only seen these baits on the net and in magazines so I won't be of much help until I get one in the shop and tear into it. As soon as I get it figured out I'll post it for ya.

The true tenn shad color was originally a pearl body.Then you paint the back solid black and then scale the back only with a yellow gold. Then a black stripe down the middle of the back.

VMAXX, I think your picture looks pretty darn good! For a finer mist you need to thin the paint down a lot. Also pay attention to the size tip or brush you are using or considering to buy. I use a Paasche VL1 and a H1 for the fine stuff.

If you have a bait that has water in it and you don't know where the leak is, take a hair dryer and heat up the bait. This forces the water out and then you can see where the leak is. Then, its just a matter of clear coating.

The other problem with the FLW and some other circuits is, if your not a sponsor of the tournament you will not get any recognition. John is not allowed to wear our logo in flw practice or competition because we are not sponsors. That yanks!!!!!

Wow Skeet you've been hard at it. That must of took some time and effort on your part to get all of that done. Very good information. Thanks for sharing that with us. I love it when you you guys get down to the nitty gritty. I also know what your saying about the pros not giving credit to the custom guys. Thats why it is very important to give your baits to the right people. John Sappington won the FLW Championship $250,000 with some help from our baits and he gave us credit http://www.flwoutdoors.com/ezineArticle.cfm?strObjectID=A5169FB7-17EA-46EE-BB5180D193A40165 Tommy Martin and George Cochran both stated they were using our baits in last years Classic http://espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/s/b_fea_2003_TG_lures4.html So ya see. Give em to the right people and they'll take care of ya. Again great information Skeeter. Keep up the great work.

Now thats one awesome Bluegill!!!!!!!!!!!! It doesn't get any better than that!!!!

Thanks to all of you guys!! But Jeff deserves a big bunch of credit for H&T's success. I come up with an idea. Shoot it to Jeff. And he designs the whole thing, builds the protos, and does all of the munfacturing. I couldn't do it without him. I couldn't have picked a better partner. To tell you the truth, I've had that magazine since it came out and must have looked at it 30 different time while sitting on the throne. I never once looked at that article. Don't ask me why. I would just thumb through it and skipped right over it. When I saw Pauls post, I ran into the john, dug it out of the mag rack and found the article. Couldn't believe it. Thanks again Guys.