Hughesy

Skeeter, you are da man! Thanks for sharing.

If I remember correctly the 3 ball model was the suspending wart. The floating ball in the originals would sometimes turn into dust. I thought maybe it was made of tungsten. They also came with a suspend dot on the belly.

The original warts that have painted bills are not clear plastic. They are bone, white, or off white. I like the bill clear. If you paint the bill, your clear coat will get all chipped up from bouncing off bottom and may create a place for the water to get underneath and start peeling.

I use a hacksaw or coping saw. Just string it up where the blade goes. Then tighten up the blade tightner to pull it tight.

Well, Jim sent me some to try out and all I can say is awesome! He sent me the 2 ball, 3 ball, and silent. They all ran great. I put a #4 hook on the front and a #6 on the rear. Very,very similar action of the old wart. Jimbo you hit it out of the park on this one. I would go into more detail but there is nothing else to say because they ran so much like the old wart. I see no difference in the action between JIms and the old warts, and yes they do have the hunting effect.

Don't know for sure but i think its a misprint. I have handled thousands of them and have never seen one like that. I'd hang on to it and not paint it. Might be worth a little more.

They came stock with #5 hooks. They can be hard to find. I would put a 4 on the front and a 6 on the back. On the ones that won't rattle, you can sometimes smack the wart on a table sideways and it breaks the rattles loose. You might have to smack it a couple of thimnes

Back in the day of the original warts, the mold became worn to the point that storm tried to repair it. You can see this repair on some of them by looking for a square border or square bump around the line tie. In doing so the figure 8 line tie became somewhat buried. This did not allow the split ring free movement so they started using the snaps. I think when they started making them in Mexico they redid the mold again and went back to split rings.

You're right on Jim. First chamber is the hook hanger. The the next one has the larger lead ball that rattles, and the last chamber has the smaller lead ball that is fixed.

I cleared one out this morning and its the front chamber that has the larger lead ball and it is the one that rattles. I was mistaken on my earlier post. Skeeter, the best colors in the ozarks are v86 phantom green craw, v63 green craw, sp60 missouri craw currently on ebay for $115, v209 red craw, v62 natural brown craw, v37 brown craw, and v38 green craw. I'm sure that other people have some other favorites but these are the most popular on Table Rock. As far as size, most everybody throws the regular wart not the magnum.

X2 on the small drill and dremal wire wheel.

There is some good info on the warts here http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/topic/42690-de-mystifying-the-wiggle-wart/

I don't recall wiggle warts having 3 chambers. Just 2.

The suspending models had 3 ball. The regualrs warts had 2. I think the front one was silent and the rear one rattled. Both of them lead. The suspending one had a third ball that floated around in the body cavity. Not sure what it was made of but i've seen some of them turn to powder.

The old warts were made of harder plastic and had lead rattles. The new ones have stainless steel weights and rattles. I think the new ones have the same shape and bill, or close enough not to change how they run. So I think its the difference in the weight between the old plastic and lead weights, and the new plastic and stainless steel weights that changed how they run.

Mark, If you have some that don't rattle, you can usually smack them pretty hard on a table and break the rattles loose. They did not make a silent model. The lead use in the old ones sometimes gets corroded but will usually break loose. The suspending models have one lead ball floating around the body cavity.

Blackjack is right on. It is violet, but it is crystal violet. It has a white looking powder in it that disappears when you clear coat it. http://prestigesalonsupplies.com/product/micro-glitter-crystal-violet/

Mark, The older ones say wiggle wart under bill. The newer ones will say Storm

If the bill is painted, it is white plastic. Sorry for the spellin', aint had much book learnin'

Great reply Arkie! We use almost the same process. One thing I might add is on pre rapala warts, the paint is easly removed by wiping it with a rag or paper towel that is wet with lacquer thinner. Use ruber gloves. You may have to wipe it several times to get all of the paint off. Use a Qtip wet with lacquer thinner around the hook eyes. Hold on to the bill and wipe the body until its clear. Let it dry for a while. Then hold on to the body and clear out the bill.

It all started for me over 30 years ago when I started painting and weighting smithwick rogues. This was before they had the pro rogues which were already weighted. I was a guide on Table Rock and the table rock bass just loved the purple and chatreuse color we painted up. Well the other guides wanted some painted and then the tournament guys wanted some. It just keep growing. The internet came along and I can remember a time when we were the only custom painted lure company on the net. Now, there is like a zillion of them and now, most of the major lure companies have ther own version of the purple and chartreuse. Started making some balsa square bills for a few years and had ideas for other lures when Bass Pro Shops ask me to design some lures and paint schemes for them. I'v been doing that for the last 6 years. Its been a great ride when you get to do what you love for a living. I love all of the people here and their sharing of their get ideas and talents. Its hard to make a living making and painting lures. If you stick with it, and put in the hours, and have a genuine love for it, you can do it. I applaud all of you! Hughesy

Check out his post on stencils

Hey Bass Kat, I usually don't post unless there is a question that hasn't been answered and I some how know the answer. Rest assured I visit the site everyday to see what going on. I have been very busy designing lures and paint schemes for Bass Pro Shops for the last 6 years or so. Its been a fun ride but it does bite into my tackleunderground time. I love this place and all of the people that visit here.

Well Curt its been a rough rocky road so far but the blacktop is right down the road. Welcome! I was one of the original moderators when the site was new. Too much biz came along and I had to pass it on. Ive been at this lure building stuff a very long time and I have never seen a site with so much outstanding info. I don't post much because the questions are always answered correct and in a timely fashion. Guys like me and Skeeter would have given anything for this kind of information back in the day. We carved them one at a time until we got what we wanted. Most of the time that took forever. Jerry, Thanks for everything. You have been a true man of your word. Heal up budro and prayers going up for ya.

The standard in the industry is 3 to 5% of the landing cost.