earthworm77

Me too, this is really good stuff.

These are what you are looking for........ http://moanerhooks.com/product/stickr-pins/

I sent a mssg to Dinger about 2 weeks ago and they told me the DD.5's are on order.

I managed to buy a few RC type .5 squarebills from Dinger, but they were out of the deep diving .5's. Anyone have a few or a place to get some? I'd pick up a dozen or two of each if I could.

I used the size 1 for Ned Heads. I used 1000 and had 10 culls. One issue I did notice was that if I needed to use an eye buster to get the paint out of any of the eyes, I did break a few doing that. Overall, this is a super sharp hook that is ultra cheap. I haven't made up my mind if I like the EC 500BP or 570BP better yet,

UL Spybait Challenge I got an email from a buddy who asked if I could make a UL version of a spinbait for trout fishing in the mountain streams of North Carolina. It seems that Duo Realis discontinued the spinbait 60 and now only makes an 80 and 90mm version. I couldn't even find a 60 but I remembered that I had one. I am a jig and spinnerbait guy, I've never made a hard bodied bait before. I took on the challenge because I felt if I was successful, I'd have a hell of a bluegill/bass bait for my own pond on my property in NC and the rivers I fish here in Florida. How I went about it: I'm not ashamed to admit I made a 1pc mold of the 60 and cut it down to the length I wanted and sanded it to the necessary profile I was looking for. I made both a 1 5/8" and a 2" body. But with that came the issue of properly weighting it so that it would fall flat horizontally with that sexy little shimmy. I needed to add weight to a solid body, not a bait I could assemble from two halves with spots for the weights molded in place. I molded about a dozen bodies and then had to experiment with weighting the baits. I needed the bait to do two things........swim straight without wobble and fall perfectly horizontal with that sexy shimy like a Senko. I drilled a series of small holes ahead of and behind the belly hook and filled them with tungsten powder. I got really lucky and pretty much nailed it with the first two baits I made. Next I mocked up a bait with the screws and hardware I would use to complete the bait to test it. I swam some of the baits in the pool and found that they blew out and rolled if fished too fast. I simply bent the paddles of the lead prop the opposite of the tail prop and this was instantly corrected. The bait fell exactly as I wanted it to and it swam great. I would decide to use Decoy single hook's on the 1 5/8" bait and Gammy trebles on the 2". At about the time I was knee deep in the project, I read on Tackle Tour that Duo made the Tetra Works mini prop which is a ul version of the Spinbait. Despite the bait being rather difficult to acquire, I managed to get one and here is a comparison photo with the 1 5/8" bait I made. Here a few smaller ones @ 1/8oz ready for clear coat. I used my copic air brush to paint them. 2" baits are about 3/16oz. I was going for small in the sense of length and profile. A slightly heavier bait in moving water or deeper water like the quarry pits I fish could be a good thing. These are essentially the finished baits in both 2" and 1 5/8". A couple were also specifically made for deep water. Here is a family tree of the 90mm, 80mm, 60mm and 48mm baits from Duo and a couple of mine.

I have made some small crankbaits that utilize screw in hook eyes. The smallish nature (2 sizes-1 5/8" and 2") of these baits prevented me from using a through wire form construction. I have drilled into the baits about half the length of the threads so that the screw will have something to grip into. I would like to secure the screws from any movement, will devcon epoxy or Zap a Gap CA + work? Any ideas appreciated.

cast industries

I am using a copic airbrush because I lack the skill and patience you guys have. I've noticed that with the Etex it does bleed a little when you brush it on. The issue hasn't been bad, it actually enhances some of the patterns I paint. It usually makes the bait look a little more natural in my opinion.

What is the body of the Hinkle baits made of, are they wood or resin? Dome of them are selling for over 600.00. And they are normally 300 to 500 each. Is that excessive?

Thanks Mark, again, I think I have very little artistic talent compared to many of you guys. the pictures aren't even a true representation of how well the Copics work for me. They look incredible holding one in your hand.

Some of what is out there and the prices of it makes me scratch my head as well. I think if an ugly bait catches a big fish in swimbait circles of California, it gains a reputation and that add to its price tag. Again some of the most expensive baits are not the best looking or highest quality crafted ones.....it seems. The Roman stuff might be great, but I can't imagine there aren't lesser costing baits that are equally if not more effective.

I've painted close to 30 large swim baits, I have not run out of pen but they do make refills that refill the markers 4 or 5X that cost about 6.00. They are alcohol based......just use devcon 2, they won't run. I have zero artistic talent, with these markers, a few people might think I at least slightly know what I am doing.

The best thing is that it is no longer necessary to clean up after each color. The copic system does not really allow for any adjustment in the paint stream but it is pretty good if you realize the systems limitations. I'm painting swimbaits and I've done some bluegills that are out of this world. I really have no artistic talent but this system has me producing some really nice paint jobs.

I just devcon the swim baits I am painting, they are coming out great and the paint does not run at all. The epoxy makes the colors pop as well. I'd put some photos up to show you but I don't want to get in trouble.

I also have the 80ct set from China. It is brand Touch Five. They are ok but nowhere near as good as "Copic" brand, that don't usually need any adjustment to the nib to spray correctly.

excellent!!

I would look into circuit board first, it is generally thinner than lexan. I am getting .083 lexan and .093 lexan in places like home depot or lowes. I don't know if much thinner than that would be strong enough.....or better than CD cases.......circuit board is the way to go here.

Is there a difference between the two? I am looking for Alumilite in half gallon qty and found RP-40. It has a similar demold time as Alumilite but the resin is beige rather than white........is it a good hardness for casting crank baits?

I have a small trove of Bagley's baits that have cracked or broken diving lips from the past 30 or so years. I'd like to get them back in action. I've had some luck modifying lips from Netcraft, LPI and Lurecraft but some simply won't work. I contacted Bagley's but they outsource their lures for assembly out of country and don't keep stock in the US. Circuit board is too thin for many of these baits as well. Most of these baits are Bitty B's, B1 and B2's in both shallow and deep models....anyone have a few lips laying around that I could buy or swap for? Any help is appreciated.-C

Isn't chili with no beans technically just meat sauce?

I currently have 4 relatively detailed projects going at once: 1- 6" herring multi jointed slow sink swimbait...ready for paint 2- 5.5" bluegill glide bait......ready for weighting 3- 6" shad glide bait......quick final pool test and then ready for paint 4- 9" bass wake bait #2 has to be weighted today and then 1,2 and 3 will get paint. #4 is in the final stages of shaping. Why can't I do one at a time? Is it an addiction?