blackjack

As Skeeter stated these guys are in it for the $$$. The other links posted are also machined baits. There is no way that any one person can handcarve 2 baits exactly alike. I have taken apart at least one bait of every company that says they are hand carved or hand crafted and they all have chatter marks on the wood. Tennessee Tuffy and Munch baits, Ron-E-Bee, Zoom are all making machined baits. All of my baits are machined also that is the only way to manufacture any quantity, As for quality it all depends upon who is machining the bait and how much attention is put to detail during the assembly process. For me it is a matter of pride in workmanship. Each batch of baits that I make I throw about 15% of the batch away because it does not meet my standards. It is important if your selling your baits for top $ to assure that each and every bait is the best you can do if anyone is interested my baits are for sale at: http://www.bubbajackstackle.com/black_jack_custom_crank_baits.htm

Wow this year flew by!!! It seems that each year you get older time just speeds up!! I remember when my little girl was born and how great it was to have her around. Now she is starting to express some interest in making and painting baits(Shes' in Kindergarten now). Pretty soon she will be helping me out in the shop and demanding a raise!! Just wanted to say Happy Holidays to everyone and let's not forget all of our brave soldiers overseas!! God Bless All

I've looked at this company's website a couple of times over the past couple of years. I think if you are going to go into major production this would be the way to go. I can make between 75 to 125 baits a month depending upon the style of bait. Thank god I haven't had to do that many on a consistent basis. If I ever get to that point I would definetly give it a shot. But for now I'm just as happy with my finished product http://www.epoxycoatingsco.com/uv_curable_coatings.html

Tally, If you are making baits with a lexan bill what not use an engraver and mark the bill. I've seen gus that use lettered punches to mark the bills it looks pretty cool!!

I know alot of the guys down south are using the duracryl. I have it and use when I dont want a high build on a bait(suspender) It is not as tough as Devcon or any of the other epoxies but it cures quite fast. I imagine if you placed the baits under a heat lamp like they do when using on autos it would cure alot faster and might be harder. You can literally dip the baits hang them and redip in a couple of hours. It has a nice gloss finish. I used it a bunch of old Cordell One knocks that I painted up for myself and a few other guys for the Hudson River. I will say that it is not as tough because after throwing the one knocks over underwater jetties and structure all day the baits looked kinda rough. The baits all exhibited chips on the nose where the bait was in direct contact with the rocks. They still were fishable but when I got home I stripped them and redid them with 2 coats of Flexcoat. I have stopped using the flexcoat as well and now I am using a 2:1 Industrial epoxy that is tougher than them all. This stuff kicks butt. But it is a pain to mix. The proportions have to be exact(1 0r 2grams to much either way and it will not cure)

If you are using an epoxy then most any paints will and do work. I personally use createx. But I also have a large amount of regular acrylic waterbase paints available at any craft store. The only problem with these paints is that they ahve a high content of "filler" solids so they must be thinned. I thin these with distilled water and rubbing alcohol,dish detergent(95% H20, 5% alcohol.5 drops of dish washing detergent) The thing I like about the craft paint is there is about 5 million different colors. This cuts down on mixing and matching, and the big factor is that they are cheap. I've purchased bottles for as little as $.33

Hoosierdaddy, All of the products you have mentioned are two part epoxies that are mixed together and have a limited working time. If you are using the Devcon and like the results that you are achieving with it I would stick with it. Chilling the Devcon before it is mixed is kinda a waste. Epoxies are a thermal setting material and thus create heat as they set. If you want to use a chilling process place your Devcon after it is mixed on a clean paint can lid(1 gallon) I place Ice packs underneath and this give you about 8 to 10 minutes extra working time. I am able to coat about a dozen to a dozen and a half lures per batch of Devcon. ( I use Devcon to seal my balsa baits) I also thin the Devcon with MEK. I use a half of a syringe of Devcon to 1 standard eye dropper of MEK per batch. If you are wanting to get away from using Epoxies and just want to dip your baits. I would suggest using an automotive clearcoat such as duracryl available through Pittsburg Paints(PPG)

u63405, If I may ask how come you are using 4 pieces of foil???. To me it seems that there are too many seams created by this. I use only 2 pieces one for each side. I use a smaller version of the pattern that i used to cut the bait blank out with to get the foil the same shape as the bait. Additionally I have found that if the foil is placed on a bend in the bait, there is a greater chance that the seam might bust and leak water in I also foil the bait before the sealing of the wood. next time out try foiling first, clearcoat w/ devcon, paint the back and belly and clearcoat w/ devcon again. That would mean that there are 2 coats of Devcon that are protecting your bait

Skeeter is on top of this. If the lure were mine and I intended to fish it, I would strip it down to bare balsa reseal the balsa, prime, paint, clear-coat. Its alot of work, but those old Bagleys have great fish catching qualities

Its not my paint job its Ito's paint job that guy is a master painter

the koi are raised as pets in Japan and sometimes escape into the regions lakes. I'm sure the saame thing happens on occasion here in the States. The master painter from Japan(MegaBass Fame) Paints many different varieties of Carp(Koi) for the Japanese market. I have found that many of his patterns are applicable here in the States, Ex. While fishing in the massive weedbeds of the Potomac I have observed large Koi, generic Goldish, and large fantails hanging in the weeds along with the carp. It is a great pattern because I'm sure that those fish are reproducing in the wild. The pic supplied is a megabass Pop-x painted like a koi

I use an O'Haus triple beam scale. Very accurate and does the job

Conman I would think clothes hanger wire is much to thick for freshwater , saltwater plugs like the hahn's swimmer would be ok and you might be able to use it in a musky plug. I imagine that the hanger wire is around a 8 or 10 gauge but don't quote me on that

Keep up the good work!!

I have poured my own belly weights and Now thank God I'm buying them now. It was a pain for me to do. If you are interested I'll pass along the info on the guy that is pouring them for me!!

xllund, I see no reason why the finish is not holding up. When I first using F/C I thought it was the cats meow. I still have not had a bait do what happened to yours, but F/C does flex and from what I have seen is not as tough as Devcon or crystal sheen. I have switched from F/C to Crystal sheen this past month. It is definetly alot harder and It also has a nice high build look to it

xllund, Need info on what you are working with, What you are using for sealer? Type of primer? Brand of acrylics? Is the clearcoat bubbling then peeling? Is the clearcoat cracking then peeling? Has the clearcoat been compromised? Punctured etc?

Hughesy, I'll have about 20 or so done by the second week in November. If you would could you please tell Jeff T., Thank you for putting me in touch with Doyle Mollar (H&H plastic Rattles and belly weights) Doyle is a class act and has fantastic products. His belly weights have saved me a tremendous amount of time and effort. If anyone is looking for rattles or premium lead belly weights. drop me a line

My buddy works in a clean room manufacturing circuits for marine electronics. He gets me the scraps Thickness is around .040

Coley, I strain my paint before it goes in the airbrush with a fine steel mesh colander(spaghetti or pasta strainer). My wife foundone for me at walmart. It actually helps your airbrush from gunkink up, especially when you are using regular acrylic paints(like the ones found at the rag shop or A.C. Moore

I make baits that are 1/4" thick up to 1/2" thick. The length of the baits vary form 1 7/8" to 4" long. I guess if you are gonna make a smaller bait than those a lighter wire might be in order. I use this gauge because I want the strength in my baits to satnd up to the largest fish possible

Skeeter, you are right on with the flatshad guy. I have a few of his "P. T." baits. They are identical to the original Petey except his are made from cedar. I think he offers the bait in balsa as well. The weight of the original Petey is 6.3 grams(stripped to bare wood) Mine is 6.28 grams( I guess I used a little less glue ) I plan on painting them a Plemmons color (black back, pearl sides, charteuse on the belly and orange on the throat) It is a killer for stained water and for some reason the smallies love it as well. The plemmons color is also one of the original Little Petey colors.

I use 18 gauge brass or stainless on all of my baits. I have even experimented with copper in the same gauge. Never had a problem with any of the 3 breaking

It all started at a fishing show about three years ago in Pennslyvania. I had one of the Conn. Pros looking at my baits and he asked If I ever heard of the discontinued little petey.(He had a few a couple of years before but had since lost all of them) I told him I had but never had gotten my hands on one. Well 2 weeks ago I finally found one in the package mint condition. I paid $26.50 for that little beauty. Last week it arrived and I stripped it down to the bare wood as to copy it. I copied it and here is the first copy. The original was just rough sanded under all of the primer and paint. Mine is alot smoother. I paid strict attention to the weight of the original the placement of the line ties and the belly weight. The finished product is about 4 or 5 days away. I can't wait to get them both wet!!

This pattern must catch fish somewhere!!