beentheredonethat

For patterns I can't freehand, purchased Mold Builder (liquid latex) from Hobby Lobby. Brush several (5-6) light coats on a bait body allowing each coating to cure properly. You can coat the entire length of the bait or just a portion, depending on the pattern. Once cured, use a fine tip pen to draw the pattern and use a single-edged razor or exacto-knife to cut the pattern (while the latex 'sleeve' is still on the bait body). Now you need to cut the 'sleeve' off the bait. Use a razor or knife and slice the sleeve the entire length along the bottom or top depending on the pattern.Now you have a reusable, snug, form fitting sleeve pattern that is specific to that type of bait body. Made from latex, it is soft and won't scratch or otherwise mess up any underlying paint. Slip a bait into the sleeve and use tiny rubber bands (from orthodontist offices) to hold in place or slip nooses made from mono or braid. Press down around the pattern to insure crisp clean lines. For fuzzy lines, a little more modification is needed on the sleeve. Flip the pattern sleeve inside out and use the head of a nail (in a dabbing motion) to apply more Mold Builder along the pattern edges creating an uneven texture that allows for small air gaps during the painting process. Some experimenting may be necessary.Spray the bait. Allow to dry, naturally or with hot air. Undo the rubber bands and remove the sleeve. Done.Downside? You need a separate sleeve for each different body style and might be a pain for doing mass production. But it does make a reuseable dependable pattern template. And it can be cleaned easily with water if needed.

I use one of two products: - EZ Mask by Ambroid, used alot in model painting to 'mask' off areas. Very rubbery and peels off easily - Mold Builder Liquid Latex Rubber by ETI. easily peels off as well. Both can be found at local stores like Hobby Lobby and such. Quick and easy to apply with a small brush. I put it on an hour or so before painting and peel it off after paint has dried and before the topcoat. btdt

Fireball Lures - Contact Ralph O'Quinn...he's the foremost rod-repair guru. He would be able to tell you if that rod can be repaired. Here's link to a repair article he wrote for RodMaker magazine. Maze is correct, shipping costs are high ($15 and up) for 7' rods. http://www.rodbuilding.org/library/repair-oquinn.html His email is : uforty@pstbbs.com btdt

Celticav - looks like it. but it's about 3-4 times the cost I was paying. Senkosam - hey! might take you up on that brown! I'll let you know within a couple of days. Thanks, btdt

Chirmy - Off the rack rods - StCroix LE series, Kistler Helium, Loomis IMX, Rogue, AllStar Titanium, Lamiglas Ti2000 Custom built blanks - the above list plus Shikari SHx, Rainshadow Excel All are great fishing tools, excellent quality, and the variance in performance is minute...it would take a very, very skilled hand to correctly label them in a 'blindfolded fishing test'. The prices vary widely due somewhat to name recognition and more (IMHO) due to advertising costs. Suggest you pick one rod to replace w/above choice and make your own comparison on performance vs. what you already have. Wouldn't it be great if stores/builders had rods laying around that you could 'borrow' for a weekend and test them out? ha! With custom rods you can get top-line components but most if not all of the list above has top or near-top line components. Most people can 'feel' the difference between a custom-built and off-the-rack rod....but it is still subjective and the awareness will vary from person to person. Let us know what you decide and how satisfied you are. And if you have other qsts, post them. I'll send you a PM with my personal favorites. btdt

Chirmy - You don't by chance know Tim Klinger? Got to meet him and congratulate him on his FLW win here at Beaver Lake. Seemed to be a genuinely nice guy and very energetic! But hey! Put $200,000 in my hands and I'd be happy too! btdt

Haven't used the square-leg fine cut. I did try the round-leg (medium) on some jigs and didn't like the action in the water....too much flaring for my taste. Does work on spinnerbaits, the constant forward movement kept the flaring in check. How to you like the fine cut? What size jigs/skirts are you using? Is it the the square-leg or round? btdt

Chirmy - The majority of the rod/blank industry has improved drastically over the past 10 years...the gaps (quality) continue to close between the low, medium, high cost rods. That being said, there are many more options today (specific use rods) than ever before. Tell us more about your fishing style....baitcaster, spinning, etc. More about length, power. Type, size of baits, technique, etc. What reels will you use. Pitching, cranking, dropshotting, etc etc. There is no 'one' rod that does all things equally well. Buy custom? Build your own? Buy off the rack? The better your description, the better we may be able to help. btdt

Called Living Ruber today, evidently they can't get the regular grade of flat rubber any more. What? Am I the last to find this out??? Anyone have other outlets? Or have a large roll of brown ( LBR13 ) that I could purchase? Not really interested/feasible to purchase individual skirts. Does any of the other materials (silicone, lumaflex, etc) come in similar rolls? What other options are out there? p.s. don't really care for the round rubber. btdt

Happy - here's some current eBay items that are similar. You just have to find out exactly what you have. The Heddon Dowagiac Minnow 100 looks real close. No box? No visible markings (faint)? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3641950481&category=36171 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3643050341&category=794 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3641634027&category=36171 btdt

Nathan, I've used Western Union money orders before with no problems. Seems like they are recognized almost anywhere in the world. As I remember, the last time I used it I had two options --- a) direct transfer, which cost an additional $25-ish or use postal service, which cost just a couple of $$. The Indonesia are covers a vast area and lots of business takes place, I'd say there is a real good chance Western Union is available. btdt

Suddeth Crankbaits are a 2-part resin foam that is bouyant. They were picked up by Blademaster Lures recently. You can see/contact them at www.blademasterlures.com I believe they use an injection process though. Also, read somewhere recently about a 2-part resin Hilts used to sell/use for the same purpose. Don't know if Hilts is still around. Someone else here might know. btdt

grrrr!!! There's a rather large toothy musky swimming around Pomme de Terre somewhere with one of my newly and nicely finished LuckyCraft! curses!! My worries about finishing the bait was a non-issue. Paint went on nicely with little to no overspray into the slots and wire harness. Just clearcoated the outer edges of the ring sections and left the inner slots alone. Needless to say, I put the others away while I was ahead! I've unintentionally caught more musky over there in the last 2 weeks than I have in the last 2 years combined.

Tim - get Mark over at TRT to 'loan' you one! If he won't, let me know and I'll drop one off over there. Dave - actually I don't use a drying wheel....blasphemy! Only finish a handful at a time anyway. I hold the bait vertical by the bill. Start brushing the clearcoat from the head down towards the tail. Once the bait is covered, wipe the brush off on the foil and 'dry' brush the bait from head to tail a few times. Then simply hang the bait vertically via the front eyelet or linetie to dry (2-3 days before it is really really cured). Most of the time there is little to no sagging or dripping and if there is some around the back eyelet, just use a dremel and small bit to knock it off or even use a pocketknife to trim it off. Don't want a real thick coating. And for suspending stickbaits, additionally use a hot air gun for 20-30 seconds to get much of the excess to liquify and run off. Sure, I get nicks and scratches in the finish from fishing them, but so does a thick finish.....just toss 'em in the recycle box and grab a fresh one. Surprising how long a thin coat will last! btdt

Here's my take on Devcon vs. Flexcoat. Regardless of which one I'm using, after mixing I always pour it out onto a square of aluminum foil...to aid in getting rid of bubbles. There is always some unused leftover. Once fully dried, the Devcon is actually quite brittle when attempting to bend it while the Flexcoat stays very pliable. So.....I figure if wooded baits get banged around on rocks, docks, stumps, etc hard enough the wood will actually deform or dent. Plastic baits generally don't dent...they just crack if hit hard enough. Wooden baits - go with Flexcoat Plastic baits - go with Devcon Probably not gospel, just my rule-of-thumb. When changing brands or types of paint, undercoat, whatever....better to make a few tests on scrap (wood or plastic). Much better than seeing your hard worked paint job dissolve right before your eyes! btdt