Skeeter

www.lairdplastics.com I ordered a 4X8 ft. sheet of .060 (1/16 inch) polycarbonate, had it cut into 2X2 ft. squares, and shipped for around $50.00. They have two locations in Wa. Here is one of them...... Laird Plastics, Inc. 650 South Industrial Way Seattle, WA 98108 Tel: 206-623-4900 Toll Free: 800-610-1016 Skeeter

Excellent work. That is one beautiful lure. Skeeter

You got one ahead of you CJ. If he does not take it I will check on it for you. Thanks, Skeeter

I have about 20lbs or more of poplar and maple wood. It is in different sizes. Most of it is about 1 3/4" high and 1/2" to 1" wide. It is perfectly smooth sanded and square. I have sold my house and I am getting ready to move in a few weeks. I am not going to take this wood with me. It is just too nice to throw away. The guy that gave this to me worked for a stair company. The wood has been squared and run through power sanders to size. If anyone would like it I will give it too you. I do not want to piece this stuff out. I want to get rid of the whole thing in one shot. You will have to pay for the shipping by UPS. If you want it send me a PM. First come first serve. Thanks. Skeeter

I have some. They have produced for me as a jerk bait. Skeeter

Once you thin the epoxy the coat that you apply will not be very thick. The second coat will give you enough protection. Skeeter

In my opinion this red hook thing is garbage. I truely believe that fishermen need to take just a few baits, learn to use them well and most important......learn to find fish. That will increase your catch ratio more than red hooks. Too many folks look for the ultimate bait, the ultimate color, and the ultimate equipment to help them find fish. Personally, I believe your mind is the greatest fish finder there is. Skeeter

Cody, Get some forstner bits to cut your holes. They are made to cut a perfect circular hole. Skeeter

The cedar that was discussed was white cedar. It is suppose to have an oil that is toxic. I really don't know if all cedar has this. But the main thing for you is that the wood has been kiln dried. That is what really needs to be done to the wood. That will remove the majority of the oil. The problem with the oil started when Poes was bought out and the new company ordered a bunch of cedar that was not kiln dried. Eventually the oil rose to the surface of the bait and cracked the finishes. If you work any wood and create allot of dust then I would wear a paper mask. If you start getting a sore throat after working with any wood then you are breathing in too much dust. Skeeter

Lord have mercy. Thanks for all of the help fellas!! I shot the bait Saturday. I shot the body pearl white then shot the belly a translucent chartruese with an Flo Orange chin. The scales and stripe where shot with a color called Grabber Blue. The picture that I found of the Bandit did not have chartruese shot on the shoulders before the blue. The blue was just shot on the pearl white. This is what I did. I will post a picture of it when I am finished. Thanks to all of you again. Skeeter

Come on Craig........ help us out. What color are the scales? Even when I see the bait I can't figure it out. ATT, The Tapp was made by Steve Blazer. It was bought out by Ed Chambers of ZOOM. I forget the name of the original Tennessee Tuffy maker. Blackjack may know. I am real confused about the path of this bait. I know that some guy made it in Tn. He got into income tax trouble and got slammed. All of the sudden Manns was making the lure. But there is still a TT website that is still up and running. Also Lee Sission in making a version of it also. It is made of Jelutong. All of the others were balsa. So...... go figure. But that is the stories I have been told. I believe that the TT is a little larger than the Tapp. The Tapps are having troubles with the lips pulling out. Also the lips aren't installed very straight. I have been getting allot of mail on that subject. People are wanting me to fix them or are buying my version of the bait. It has certainly helped my business. But my baits are made of hardwood and are larger than the originals. Skeeter

The customer described the color to me. I looked in BassPro catalog and saw the citrus for bandit. But I could not tell what color was under the scales. Is it pearl white or chartruese? Skeeter

I need some help with a citrus color. I have been told that it is blue stripe and scales over pearl white body with a chartruese stripe shot down the length of the body. It also looks like either a red or orange chin. If anyone could help, I would appreciate it. I am going to shoot this color today. Skeeter

I haven't quite figured out what color of green is used in the classic. It is more like some kind of olive. The Horton is similar to the picture here in the post except that the green is shot very light. The brown stripe is kind of light also. To shoot a Horton takes some gun control. I have shot Hortons for folks, but personally I have done better with the bait shot like the ones here in the post. You can see the classic at www.bubbajackstackle.com They might have a Horton on there also. Look under the WEC crankbaits. Mellow Yellow won the 93 Classic for David Fritts. Yellow Carp was one of the main colors that Fritts used for years. He won allot of money with that color. Dolphin and Carp have also won their share of tournaments. Skeeter

Paul, The lip comming straight down is to keep the bait shallow. Kinda like the Manns Minus 1. Put the lip at a 25 to 30 degree angle. Where is the line tie located on the lures? Are the lures wood? Skeeter

I have used the plumbing Goop before on some pipe connections. It does dry hard and is clear. Toluene is a solvent. It is no more dangerous than the other stuff that lacquer shooters use. It is the same stuff that they store phosphorus and potassium in. Skeeter

You can get it Marty. Take a SR5 Rapala and take the lip out. Cut off 1/8 of an inch from the bottom of the lip and reinstall it. Skeeter

Cold muddy water is no good for any type of fishing. Water below 50 deg. is tough. Slick water is not very good for cranking either. You can catch fish in these type of conditions with crankbaits, but there are much better options. Skeeter

I don't think that he is talking about hunting fellas. I have been able to achieve a S type swimming action from certain Rapala baits by shortening the lip. I personally don't like that type of action. But a baitmaker in my town does and he makes his bait modifications to swim like that. He sells allot of them too. If you do mean the Hunting action, then it is possible to do. There are three variables that make a bait hunt. Like the others said... You cannot get every bait made to hunt. But you can raise the percentage of the baits that you make to have that hunting action. Many thought that it was a brass thru wire bait that would hunt. As far as I know, I am the only baitmaker that makes a thru wire square bill. There are other baits out there that do not use thru wire construction that will hunt. The H&T baits are probably one of the most famous square bills out there and they are not thru wire. The wire being made of brass has nothing to do with it either. Skeeter

I sent a lure to LaPala in a padded envelope. The postage to Malaysia was $1.55 by regular mail. Skeeter

I'm in. Skeeter

Coley, The only difference that I have found with river run lakes is that as a general rule the fish will be shallower. I really don't know why. My theory is the current causes this. I would start in the mouth of the feeder creeks and use a lure like the one I sent you. Run it through every piece of wood that you see (and don't see) down to about 8ft. This is where they should be. 8 ft. is the deeper end of things. But if you have current they more than likely will not be any deeper than that. Even though we are talking about cranking, a jig or plastic something works well flipped into wood this time of year. Fishing the mouth of a creek on back is a real indicator of what stage the spawn is in. If you get into the mouth of a creek and start to catch only 1 lb. males, and then you get back in the creek about 50 yds and you quit catching them then the males are starting to think about migrating back into the creek to start making beds. If you get back into the creek and start catching only the small males again, then that means that the males are starting to make the beds and the females are not there yet. Move out to the points at the end of the creek and fish down to about 8 ft. there. In a normal resivoir the fish could be down to 14 ft. The females move from the deeper spots on the lake and move up on the points to stage outside of the creek. They may also follow the creek channel back into the creek. When everything is ready the males go to those points and escorts a female back to the bed. When she is done the male stays and guards the nest. The female will retrace her path back out to the end of the creek and eventually to the deeper summer spots. But she will stick on or around that point for some time before she moves to the summer home. On a river run lake she may go back out to the main river and get on steeper banks with vegetation. Also, channel swing banks would be a great place to try also. LaPala, Snake heads definitely are not my specialty. My suggestion would be that you keep a journal on water temperatures along with time of year, weather and water conditions for one full year. Fish regardless of species do certain things all of the time under certain conditions. You can always refer to your notes and they should help you figure out where the fish should be and what lure you used to catch them. Skeeter

savacs, Lips can be a tricky thing. But you are on the right path. You can roughly get about 10 ft (3 meters) of depth for every inch a lip goes past the nose of the lure. Your theory about the width of the lip is a good and safe one. As far as the line tie...... do not make the tie on the lip past the half way mark from the nose of the lure to the tip of the lip. You can really loose action in a lure quickly if you do this. There are three ways to increase wobble in a lure. Bring the line tie closer to the lure, widen the lip, or increase the angle of the lip. Hope this helps. Skeeter

Thanks LaPala, I am glad you enjoy the lure. I hope that it catches you many fish. Skeeter

I am getting alot of email from folks asking me when they should start cranking at the first of the year. I have put an article on the subject in the General forum. Check it out and put your opinions in there. Skeeter