Skeeter

Hi Fellas, I need some buzzbaits. I need about 6 standard 1/4 oz. single bladed buzzbaits that have a heavy wire, black and brown pumkinseed skirts, and will run STRAIGHT. I don't mind doing alittle tuning, but I don't want to have to bend the heck out of them. You guys know what I mean. If anyone makes these, please send me a PM. I will get back to you. Thanks, Skeeter

The Big O is made of balsa, the Bandit is made of plastic. If the baits are the same size, then this is what is causing the difference in the lip. Just because baits appear to be the same ........ there is always something different. Like Tally said, do a search and you will find your answers. Skeeter

I don't see why not Terry !! Should work just fine. It might also help get the nose pointed downward when it is sitting in the water also. Skeeter

There are rattles made for crankbaits. I have found them on the web before. They are made of glass and have one steel bearing in them. They are 1/2 inch long. The are made in 7mm and 5mm. The 5mm is the smaller of the two and has a better "click" than the larger ones. But they aren't cheap. I paid $40.00 for 100 of them. These are simply the best type of rattles to put in a crankbait. When I install a rattle I do not want the rattle to go behind the lead in the belly of the lure. I want my lip of the lure to lean downward in the water so that it starts to dig as soon as I turn the handle on the reel. Putting the rattle behind the weight hinders this. I understand why some would want to get the rattle toward the tail. You would think that since the tail swings so hard that that would be the best place to put it. But....... if you really study how a crankbait moves you will see that the head moves back and forth as much as the tail of the lure. The lip of a crankbait causes the head of the lure to swing back and forth. This in turn causes the tail to do the same thing. The shortest area of swing in a bait is the middle of the lure. This is the area that moves back and forth the quickest. The rattle is short. It does not need a long swing to get the bearing to hit the sides of the rattle. Therefore the rattle will get more of a workout in the center of the lure. This is where the rattle should go. Cut a hole for the rattle completely through the lure from one side to the other after you have cut out the lure. This will ensure that your hole is straight and level through the center of the bait. Then you can shape your lure. When you are ready to install the rattle put just a "drop" of 5 min. epoxy on the rattle and get it seated in the CENTER of the lure. The epoxy will hold the rattle in place. Next fill the hole with wood filler. If you use epoxy to close the holes then it will add weight and definitely muffle the sound of the rattle. Using the wood putty really helps keep the sound of the rattle good and crisp. Plus you can sand the putty down to match the sides of the lure easily. If you are adding a rattle to a bait that is already completed, then drill your hole where the kill dot is on the side of the lure. You can mix black paint in with the epoxy and fill in the holes on the sides. That way you will not have to clear coat the entire bait after it is installed. You can use the 5 min. epoxy for this. Since the black paint is in the epoxy you will not have to worry about yellowing. If you have any other questions..... just ask. Skeeter

My first shot at this thing would be to widen the lip. It really doesn't take much lip angle to get a bass size crankbait to wiggle. If that did not work I would remove your current line tie and place it in the lip as close to the nose of the bait as you can get it. Those are the main two things that I would try. This bait appears to be a pretty good sized lure. I classify a big crankbait as anything over 4 inches long. I have read allot of what the muskie guys do with their plugs to get them to work and it seems to be a little different. Really big plugs seem to be an animal of a different nature. But....... the two things that I have suggested should get that bait on the right track to moving correctly. Skeeter

Got my card to my Dad yesterday. Art Brush, My eldest was sent to Iraq last year. He was injured and sent home last August after 8 months of duty. That was the greatest present I could ever recieve........ Regardless what day of the year it was. I was lucky. I will pray for your son. May God Bless and be with him. Skeeter

BOY!!!!!!!!!! I just got schooled. Thank you professor Coley! Skeeter

You only have three options: 1. Widen the lip. 2. Increase the angle of the lip. 3. Change the placement of the line tie. Skeeter

That a boy Blackjack !! Skeeter

Congratulation Jed!!! It is wonderful to see a memeber get the publicitiy that he deserves. Skeeter

Dick, This is probably the most informative post I have seen on the subject. Thanks for sharing it with us. Skeeter

Many of my rods do double duty too LaPala. I use to spend allot of time tying on new lures also. It just got rediculous. The pros have 3 or more days to practice for a tournament. We only have that one day a week or less to get out there and find them. That is a very hard task. Allot of the pros don't even figure out the fish untill the 3rd day of a 3 day tournament. :idea: Cutting down on the amount of tackle that we carry just makes the lure selection much more simple. I am glad that you can enjoy a day of fishing. Having that time to ourselves is priceless. In a world where everyone wants to "stay in touch" it is great to enjoy some time to yourself. Skeeter

Tball, Send me a PM and I will answer your questions. Skeeter

BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Skeeter

Shoot Jerry, you were suppose to be older to make me, Coley, and Charlie feel better. Your underware probably has Pamper written on them. :-D Enjoy your vacation. Skeeter

Have a Very Happy Birthday Jerry!!!!!!!!!! How old are you any how? Skeeter

I'm with Swede........ go on molding bud!! Skeeter

I am not sure. Pen light will definitely not cut it. The light has to be at 1200 watt intensity or it will not completely cure. It may feel hard, but the coating will not cure to the core. These lights usually come with some type of amplifier to bring the lights up to intensity. Skeeter

I have talked to the guy at epoxycoatings. They will take a bait and coat it for you and send it back for you to see. It takes two 1200 watt UV lights to cure the epoxy. It is completely cured in 2 seconds. That's right..... 2 seconds. The product is around $80 a gallon if I remember correctly. You dip the lure and let it hang untill it quits dripping. Then you run it through the lights. There is a bulb on each side. You need some kind of little production line to move the baits through the lights. The lights are blinding so you will have to have some kind of set up to protect your eyes from the lights. The bulbs are about 3 ft. long each. You can set yourself up with one of these units for about $1500.00 plus the $80.00 for the epoxy. The bulbs will loose intensity over time. They will have to be replaced every 1 to 3 years depending on how often they are used. Skeeter

His opinion does not matter. Chip is a lure maker like the rest of us. To me a custom lure maker is someone that modifies a lure from its original state. Just like Calvin Johnson when he makes changes to Bagley or Rapala lures. Other than that you are a bait maker. That is what I am. I am not a custom crankbait maker. I am a crankbait maker that takes alot of pride in his work. I work very hard to make a precission crankbait. I do not need a pro staff to tell me if my lures are good or bad. I AM a crankbait fisherman and I know for myself if a lure that I make is good or bad. Most of the pros out there do not know what the properties of a good crankbait are. Because a person fishes for money does not mean that he knows crankbaits. You can put the best crankbait in the hands of a "pro" and if he can't find the fish then it does not matter. Either your baits produce when put in the right hands or they do not. It is that simple. Some folks just have to make themselves feel better. I have taught quite a few folks to make crankbaits myself. But that does not mean that I make a better crankbait than they do. Personally I do not care if someone has alot of money to throw on promoting themselves. It does not mean that they are good at making crankbaits. That is true for anyone. None of his pro staff are crankbait fishermen. Big deal if they use his baits. I for one am not impressed. I have two sons. They are 20 and 23 yrs. old. I have taught them how to fish crankbaits. I would put my two boys against any of the pros on his staff anytime, anywhere. They are that good. No brag........ just fact. Skeeter

Tally, I guess all of us that are serious about our sport go through the same things. I always felt that I had to prove how good I was to others as well as myself. When I did not perform well I was so hard on myself. I would beat myself up for days. A little of that is good. But too much can destroy a good life time of fishing. For me, I had to learn to control myself mentally. It is something that I had to practice. I still have those days that I beat myself up when things do not go well. But they happen allot less than they use to. Fishing for large fish is a very tough thing to do. Especially in the types of lakes that you and I fish. It is a discipline. It is really great when everything that you plan comes together and you find those fish on a rock pile 100 yds. off of the bank. You are not alone my friend. I have had many days of the big ZERO. But I have learned allot by sticking with it. On the other hand, I have brought in some pretty heavy sacks to the scales on tournament day. When others asked me how I did it, I just replied..."Hard Work". Which is just what it is. Skeeter

Since you have started making cranks......... That is all you should fish!!!! Something tells me that someone with 100 rods could not do as well as you with two. Skeeter

Give Yourself a Chance The fishing industry is full of information for anglers. We read our favorite web sites, magazines, and publications about our favorite fishing pros and the techniques that they use to produce winning weights of bass. Most of us are interested in the equipment, lures, and methods in which they were used. We try to increase our knowledge base at catching bass so that we to can increase our catch rates along with our bank accounts with winnings from tournaments that some of us enter. Personally, I have read a lot about bass fishing over the past 19 years. More than likely, you have too. In one article that I read years ago, Gary Klein made the statement that you have to ?give yourself a chance? if you are going to win a tournament. His point in the article was to use a bait that the fish will bite with the current conditions, not the bait that we want them to bite. I thought about that statement over a period of time. The more that I thought about it, the more that I realized that the statement applies to more things than just choosing the proper bait. What I am going to share with you are some of the realizations that I applied this principle to. It has greatly increased my skill as a fisherman as well as making my time fishing much more enjoyable and fulfilling. 1. I am not a professional fisherman: For the longest time I compared the results that I would achieve on the water with the results that professional fishermen produce. I really use to beat myself up mentally when all of my time, preparation, and hard work would produce either marginal or no results at all. After years of doing this, I realized that I do this for a hobby, not a living. I do not spend a very large amount of my time on the water like a pro does. I have learned most of my fishing knowledge by experience. I do not have a fishing partner. I rarely speak to other fishermen on what they are doing. For me, the satisfaction comes from figuring it out by myself. Even though I work hard and prepare myself and my equipment the best that I can, I am still not as proficient as a professional. Accept what you and your skill sets are. Add that to the time that you spent on the water and judge your success accordingly. 2. Fish your strengths: For those of you that fish competition, you have come to learn that casting for cash is a game of odds. Your best method for beating the odds is to fish your strengths. For years I carried around a massive amount of tackle for all kinds of conditions when I fished competition. I was constantly afraid that I would not have something that I needed for the conditions that I might face. But one day I noticed that there were certain baits that I depended on the majority of the time. When I thought about it, I realized that 95% of the fish that I catch come from using those baits. So I went through my box and thinned out a tremendous amount of tackle. Some of it was real painful to take out. I had carried those baits with me throughout the years. But they went. I could not believe how much lighter my box was. Everything else went into a zippered duffle bag that I took along with me in the truck when I competed out of town. That way I had it if I really needed it. Fishing your strengths will not always work, but you will perform and execute much more efficiently if you do what you do best. 3. Pick your battles: Most of us have a certain time of the year that we look forward to. It is a time of the year that we excel as fishermen. For some it is the spawn, for others it may be the fall. But one thing for sure is that we can find the fish and put them in the boat. It is that time of year that you need to put your entry fee money down. The majority of us are working class people. Entry fees are getting more and more expensive. Add the cost of gas for the tow vehicle, boat, hotel, and meals and you are talking about a lot of money. If you are going to throw your hard earned cash into the ring, then do it when you are at your best. If you are a large mouth fisherman, then do not enter tournaments where the overall population of bass are spots. If you are a deep structure fisherman, then don?t enter tournaments on shallow lakes during the spawn. We all like to think of ourselves as versatile fishermen. But the only time that I will go to something other than my strength techniques, is when there is no other option. Choosing what tournaments or lakes to fish is a variable that I can control. 4. Buy the best equipment that you can afford: I am not talking about running out and buying 10 of the most expensive rods and reels that you can find. I am talking about buying the best equipment that you can buy for your most preferred technique. For example, I am a crankbait fisherman. I throw crankbaits 95% of the time regardless of the time of the year. I have two rods and reels that I use for that technique. I have one 7 ft. rod for large crankbaits and one 6?6? rod for medium to small crankbaits. The rods are different brands but I use the same model of reel for both rods. They are very light, fit me and my hands very well, and I am extremely accurate with them. I don?t have to think about my equipment when I am throwing my crankbaits. This frees my mind to concentrate on finding the fish. I have nice rods for other techniques, but they are not the quality of my crankbait rods and reels. They do not need to be. I don?t use them that much. Maybe what I have to say here is not for you. But adopting these techniques has really helped my productivity. If you are having problems with deciding what to throw or what tournament or lake to fish, or if you are constantly beating yourself up mentally for your performance on the water, then give these suggestions a try. Skeeter

Excellent work. Skeeter

The pleasure was all mine. I am thinking about getting in the truck and driving back to your house for another one of those sauger dinners tonight. This site and the people on it are truely special. Coley and his wife took me in and showed me the warmest hospitality that I have ever experienced. They watered me, fed me, and packed me something to eat while I was on the road. The reason that Charlie only had half a shortcake is because I ate the other half when he wasn't looking. :-D You see.... eveyone thinks that I am just being a nice guy when I teach them how to make baits. But it really works out well for me. Once they learn to make the baits they want to give me some. I left with beautiful handmade baits from both Coley and Charlie. I left with T-shirts, lower unit lube for the Skeeter, new crankbaits, plastics that Coley poured, 4 different types of wood that I have never used, and a new clearcoat to try. I have known both of these guys for some time thru the site. But when I arrived at Coleys house I was treated like I have been stopping there every day for a long time. I never felt strange, never felt akward or uneasy. I felt right at home as soon as I got out of the truck. Charlie, Coley and his wife are truely special people. I have been blessed to have them as friends. Skeeter