RiverMan

Soup, I routinely lay things like this one the sides of baits and then epoxy over them. You have to experiment with the material to find what approach works best. Some materials look better over white paint, others over black. Some are somewhat translucent and must have a good paint scheme underneath them, others can be laid directly over the sealed wood. Just depends.... Jed

Great job, is this a molded bait?

Coley is exactly right, I used to try to put the lip in afterward which will not work everytime, huge bummer after carving the bait. I too have carved baits that are rounded and tapered but in the end a flat-sided bait will likely catch as many fish anyway, saves a ton of time in construction, and allows you to be much more consistent from one to the next. Jed

Hey it looks like you have a great start. I am a beginner to crank building but would guess that you could get this bait to swim like any other if done correctly. You might take a look at Chip's latest tutorial, it's a few subjects down in this forum and will give you most all of the direction you will likely need. Don't worry about getting the lure wet, it will dry fairly quickly if put near a heat source, wood stove, etc. If you are going to get the bait wet, why not get it very near the shape and size you want then with some rubber bands hold some weights in place along the belly to get the correct aspect and depth? I'm guessing you will have to use a considerable amount of weight to get this hummer at the level you will want him at. So long as you have the correct amount of weight and it is centered along the belly of the bait it should sit in the water correctly. Be extremely careful in choosing the angle of the bill, bill size, and tow-point as these design criteria are cricical to the final outcome. Again, take a look at the big trout lures Chip is building for an idea on how these things should be situated. Others more experienced than myself can provide additional direction. Have fun. Jed

Chip, I'm very surprised that you can get the stuff to come off of the polyurethane. They advertise it for coating tool handles and such and would think that adhesion would be a big part of the product, interesting. Jed

Clemmy, got a kick out that comment, had me singin that ole tune. Artbrush, I have used the plasti-dip on many occassions for coating foam lures and the stuff is quite amazing. Like Nathan tho, I'm wondering how you are going to get the stuff off of the lure. What if you first covered the entire lure with tin foil or saran wrap making sure it was tight against the lure. Then cover the whole thing with plasti-dip and let dry. In this way the whole stuff should just sllip right off, just an idea. Otherwise a guy could try some kind of release on the lure before applying it but this could turn into a HUGE mess. Jed

I found some holographic tape at luremaking.com but have no idea until it arrives how close it will be to the Lucky Craft Pointer finish. jed

I find even with a pattern, a thin blade on the bandsaw, and careful cutting they are still a major pain! I have yet to get one come off of the band saw that doesn't require a considerable amount of correction with a file. I have suggested to Jerry that he come up with a stencil for various sizes of lips for us lure builders. We could then just lay the stencil down on the lexan sheet and trace it out quickly...maybe he will take up the idea for his tackle supply. Jed

Very nice Chip, oh and if you need any pointers just let me know, lol. Jed

Coley, The lip is not large, maybe 3/4 inch long and a bit wider than that. The lip is probably at 30 degrees and the line tie is as close to the lure as I could get it. The lure bodyis quite long, maybe 5 or 6 inches. Jed

You know Ken after reading your post I looked and the lures that won't run do have the same angle on the bill, looks to be about 30 degrees and I attached the line tie to the bill. Strange thing is that I have another one in which the bill is the same and I put the line tie above the bill on the lure nose and it runs great. I think I got a bit too confident since the first several I made ran great. Will certainly be much more careful in the future. Jed

I have built a total of less than 10 crank baits, most I have yet to finish. Just now I tested all of them in the bathtub and only half of them would run! Luckily only one that I had completely finished will not run at all. Each of them I followed the advice of others here in making sure they were at least 1/2 to 3/4 of the way under water and that they were balanced slightly forward. All of the baits when tossed in the water sit perfectly left and right, bill down. Each of the bill slots were cut with a band saw prior to cutting out the lure body and as far as I can tell are perfectly straight. At this point I am a bit stumped as to why some will not run, strange. I think from this point forward I will be testing all of my plugs in the tub prior to spending the time to finish them!

If you are using part A and part B in seperate syringes it shouldn't be necessary to clean them after each use. You might label them so that a mix up won't occur. If using Devcon, just make sure you get the bubbles out at the top and then push evenly on the plunger so as to make sure the mix is close to equal. Jed

For this one bait you might just go with your idea of using Chip's wire. You can create one pretty easy by first turning it around something like a nail and and then use some wide mouth pliers to grab both sides at once while twisting/weaving. If you glued this whole thing in a good distance with Devcon it won't go anywhere. Jed

Gotcha, thanks Chip, a wealth of information you are. Jed

Sorry for the "long subject" boatnik but I type very fast and at times get carried away. My experience has not been the same as your with crayfish. I have not fished with live crayfish for years but used to spend a considerable amount of time in the summer throwing "dads" as a kid. Bass, cats, and carp would all slam crayfish with claws, without, hardshell, softshell, large, small, whichever, they love em! If you have caught many crayfish you have undoubtedly noticed that they come in all forms. Certainly though there will always be "exceptions" to the rule and I have no doubt there are cases where eyes, legs, antenna, etc., will make a difference in catch rate. One summer I noticed a large (3 lbs maybe) smallmouth patrolling an area in about 3 feet of water. I threw everything I had at him and he wouldn't take a thing. I later caught a small rough fish and returned to the area. I hooked the rough fish through the mouth with a single hook and tossed him out. The bass immediately swam up to the fish and sat motionlessly looking at him for what seemed like a solid minute. The bass then swam up to the fish and swallowed him, just like that. In this case I have no doubt that they eyes, fins, and everything else made all the difference. Best Regards, Jed

Hi, Are you wanting to join the wood to hard plastic or soft?

So Chip, I have found the center of gravity before on my lures by spinning them on a table. Once you have this, I don't follow you on your idea for weighting. Are you then trying to keep an equal amount of weight on either side of the the fulcrom? And if so, how does this effect the idea of trying to keep a somewhat "nosedown" disposition on the lure? Thank you again. Jed

Jtexas, I am a biologist but without doing some research cannnot give you an absolute answer. My guess is that it may make a difference having eyes at times, particularly when fishing something very slow and/or in very clear water. Think, however, of the millions of fish that have fallen for spinners, spoons, and jigs, all of which have no eyes. Keep in mind too that a fish has a brain the size of a pencil eraser. They do certain things because evolution has taught them to do so; those who didn't follow the rules of survival throughout history didn't live long enough to pass on the genetic code of carelessness and stupidity. A fishes needs include finding food, keeping from getting eaten (cover), and reproducing, that's it. Fish detect prey through their sense of smell, sight, and the detection of vibration along the lateral line. Depending on the species and water conditions, each of these sensory functions may become more or less important. It is my guess that fish strike because of 1.) impulse---they have been feeding on various items (macroinvertebrates, crustaceans, fishes, etc.) since birth, if a minnow is hurt, take him before he escapes or someone else eats him before you, 2.) hunger, 3.) the prey item meets the criteria for proper form, color, and function. If you are a bass, pike, perch, whatever, prey items may be available to you for a very brief period of time, a shiner swims by, a crayfish comes out, etc. I sincerely doubt in most cases they can be so picky as to spend time looking for eyes. And finally think about this, if fish were intelligent enough to swim up to a lure and ponder "does that have eyes?", we would never be able to catch them as they would also note the lure doesn't smell right, has hooks, and includes a line towing it through the water. All that aside, it's important to have a lure that gives us confidence. If you're confident the lure looks good, fishes good, and will produce, you will likely also fish harder and more attentively, leading to greater success. So if eyes on a lure make you a better fisherman then by all means include them always. Jed

LIKE THIS

Chip, Regarding the scale, I know you are using it to help determine crank-bait weights. My questions is do you determine the weight using ratio proportion.....that is the weight to be added is based upon a proportion of the weight of the lure? This is then used as a constant to determine the weight needed in other lures. Jed

I am kinda coming in after the fact here but would echo all that has been said above. This site is the best and thanks to all of you pros out there that have given your time up to allow someone like me to build his own baits. jed

Well done!

Thank you Joe, I will give this method a try. Out2llunge, Right now I am working on what looks like a large jerkbait but with a larger, rounder, and more vertical lip in hopes I will get a slow wobble. I plan on fishing the bait behind a dropper weight or diver like you would a kwikfish. The bait is about 6 or 7 inches long. Jed

The chinook baits I am currently making from cedar/pine taper at the head and tail. To get the rough shape of the lure I have been first cutting out the side profile of the lure followed by the top profile. Despite my effort to go slow and be careful it seems that I my top profile cuts are never quite as good as I would like them to be. I'm wondering how others here do it, do you use a grinder maybe for the top profile shaping? Do you cut the side profile then reassemble the cut out pieces and cut the vertical? Thank you. jed