RiverMan

You got me thinking now Vodkaman, assume the molded lure would be indentical in size and shape to the wood master. If this is true, then both lures should displace the exact same amount of water. So if the weight of the plastic lure is equal to the wood lure you should have the same buoyancy, right? If I am thinking about this correctly this would only work if the two lures are identical....which in theory they should be if he chose to mold the lure. Getting back to the topic.....yes you can mold the lure. However, if you are to use a two-part plastic you will also need to add microspheres to gain buoyancy...this isn't hard to do. However, my experience be it limited is that plastics are maybe not the best match for floating lures. You might consider one of the foams instead which set up hard as a rock and are very buoyant. If you are only going to make a few as you have said for you and friends why not just stick to wood? Now that you have the design figured out it's just a matter of making more of them. Jed V. Jed

A burner might be ok if you are going to mold the lure afterwards but I can't imagine doing this for every single wooden lure.........like FF said, there are much easier ways to accomplish the same thing. You can etch scales into a piece of foil in 5 minutes. RM

Beautiful job!! Jed V.

That's exactly right, and we think we're so smart! These guys were figuring this stuff out without Tackleunderground! All lures of today are simply variations of yesterday. Interesting how they used to rig hooks in those days. The lure has three hooks on it. It also looks like the builder originally put the screw eye on the nose and then covered it up with paint and whatever else.....lacquer maybe? Cool picture, thank you for posting it. Jed

Well, I wrote a response to this thread a minute ago, lost control of my fingers for a second and the thread vanished! Where the heck it went I have no idea. Doggonnit! So I will start over again. Savacs, I would really like to find a better clear coat, one that allows me to dip the lure in, pull it out, and it sets up hard as rock in 15 minutes. That would be great! But all of the coatings that I have tried that I can dip a lure into are too thin. Other coatings I have tried have set up too slowly or been too soft. And, this is why I have stayed with Etex all the way along. As for yellowing, I have a couple lures done with Devcon a few yrs back that have yellowed...it's minor and along the belly of the lure but they did yellow. I used Devcon for about a year and for the most part I liked it and I think it's great for a builder coating lures for himself. I have yet to see a lure that I have done that yellowed with Etex although I am sure it will eventually happen with this product also. I checked the price of Threadmaster and near as I can tell it's about 4 times the cost of Etex. I build a fair number of lures each year and epoxy is a significant amount of production cost for me. The only way I could justify using Threadmaster is if it provided 4 times the benefit in one way or another than Etex does. As of yet I have not found a product that "overall" (convenience, price, hardness, clarity, etc.) beats Etex as a clear coat. If I do, I will very quickly switch!! Jed V.

I am always interested in finding something better but after trying at least 5 or more coatings I am still using etex. How one decides which coating is best for them includes more than how much it yellows, cost is a major factor, clarity, hardness, ease of application, cure time, and durability just to name a few. I have yet to see any yellowing on baits done with etex up to 4 or 5 years ago altho I don't doubt that just about any coating will yellow if given enough time. Jed V.

Yep, you did good! I have had 5 brushes and the one you ordered is the one I'm using now and I have no intention of replacing it.Be very, very, very careful of the needle or it will cost you. Jed V.

Beautiful work. Build a mold of that baby now so that you can reproduce it. jed v.

I have 3,000 floats in my garage if you are interested in them..........1/4, 1/2, and 1 ounce sizes in balsa and plastic. I was going to include them in a business I was starting but ended up going another direction. RM

I used to get them from a place in Lewiston Idaho called black sheep sporting goods. If you google their name, phone them, and ask that they mail you out some I sure they will. The stems are black and about 8 inches long so you can leave them full length or trim as needed. Seems like I paid about 10 bucks for 100. RM

It's fun to work with...I spent some time building floats several yrs back. You might look at some of the foams that are already formed into blocks and go from there...tons of options. I used to order plastic stems made specifically for floats but cannot remember where I got them. RM

I have found paint pens to be the best but everything I have tried including sharpies are a bit of a hassle and have a tendency to clog after using them a few times. If you could come up with something you print and just stick on it would probably work better than any pen you are going to find. Jed V.

Hey thanks John, great idea! JRHopkins....beautiful lure, true ingenuity!! Thank you for sharing. jed v.

DeHeron, here is a video of a glider that I build. http://media.putfile.com/BeerBelly6-Pool-Demo What makes a glider "glide" is two things primarily, weight placement in the lure itself and how the angler retrieves the lure. Have you ever fished a zara spook topwater lure? Gliders essentially do the same thing only underwater. By holding the rod tip low and giving a slack line a gentle pull or tug the bait will go one way, do it again and the bait goes the other. Eventually you get a cadence down and you can make the lure come alive! jed v.

I like it Dan, very cool! jed

That's really cool Dan, I'm glad it worked for you. I know there's alot of work in building the prototype, the mold, the materials, etc., etc. Awesome bait buddy. jed v.

"Real world" would actually put far less pressure on the joint than what you did while pulling on it. You said the lure would be used for bass........the world record bass is somewhere around 20 pds. If you were to hook this fish, the combination of buoyancy and a properly set drag would would probably result in less than 10 pounds of pressure on the lure at any one time. And, the fish would pull one way then another, then another, not just in one direction like you did in your test. Once the fish was close you either lip him or net him but I'm willing to bet you could easily lift the new world record bass directly out of the water by your lure without any problem. The lip of the fish would tear out before the pins would pull free. jed v.

Oh yea, it would be plenty strong enough. I have used cotter pins in the past and had no concern about them at all. You might overdrill the hole just a tad and make sure the pin is surrounded by epoxy, it will never come out. If you don't believe it, take a spare piece of wood, glue one in, let it set up and then try to pull it out.....you won't get it out. jed v.

I put them in ahead of time and then drill them out. Drilling must then be followed by some additional work with the leatherman.....it's a hassle but it does leave the bait totally sealed. I will add tho that I used to do it like Woodie suggested and didn't have any problems at all. RM

Man I have one that kills the smallmouth.....it throws up the most beautiful bubble with each pull...it amazes me everytime I use it. jed

I am interested in building a swimbait but don't really want to bother with molding my own soft tail on the back of the lure. I'm curious as to whether anyone has found a material that could simply be cut into the correct shape and used in this manner. Perhaps there is a place where tails can be purchased? Jed V

Good for you! Congratulations! Now hurry up and post pictures of the lure so we can all steal your idea, lol. Jed V.