dvowell

Hi Minky. I would guess it has something to do with center of gravity. You want to make sure you have your weight (and enough of it) dead center in the lowest part of the bait. It is possible that your line tie could be a problem as well. Hope this helps, I'm sure others will weigh in as well and they are far more knowledgeable than I.

Jaime, I've used that type of rig you're talking about and I agree, it's garbage. The one I'm using now using the weight of the knocker rather than hooks. I'm sure it'll fail me at some point, but so far, so good. It's saved me 5 cranks this year! -D

Toddo, My condolences, I know how you feel. The same thing happend to me. As far as the rings go, I've never tried them, but from what I know of muskie, I'd say I'd take the chance with them. From all I've heard, they are a very elusive fish and the chances of hooking up with one while bass fishing are slim. It can, and does, happen, but I'd still take the chance. I have a plug knocker I got from somewhere in Canada that I really like. It's HEAVY and you thread your line in and around and through it (probably hard to get a mental image there). You let it slide down a taut line and so far, it hasn't failed me. You just have to let it go FAST. I wish I had it when I lost my first carved crank! Again, my condolences!

Hey LaPala, I wouldn't worry about it too much, I think your baits would be great for many of the species listed! Heck, the bass might go nuts because it's something completely different! -D

Greetings, If you can, I'd like to see a pic of this! My flat sided beavers work just fine, but I'd really like to see this fusion of yours. It sounds really cool. Thanks! -Danny

Minky, Really great job for your first lure! You're way ahead of where I was at 14...I was too busy chasing girls! :-D

I'm still pretty new to making hardbaits myself, but I'm with Tally. Bass Pro Shops is a wonderful resource to get ideas on colors/patterns. Think about what is working in your area and what type of forage the fish (whatever species you are targeting) feed on and go from there. A very simple pattern that will catch fish in clear water is just to paint your bait pearl white and put a green stripe down it's back. You'd be amazed at how great some of the simple patterns work! Have fun and it's great to see a teenager on the forum and making their own baits! Best of luck! -Danny

LaPala, Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention! I'm going to play with this a bit myself and see what it's all about. Most likely won't replace Illustrator (well, I know it won't on my Mac), but it should be a good alternative to those high priced programs.

As far as the bills go, I like to put my bills in right after I have sealed and primed the bait. If the body is wider than the end of the bill, I put a very small amount of wood putty in the gap left on the bait and then sand it down smooth with the rest of the bait. After that, if need be, I apply another coat of sealer/primer and it's off to paint! -Danny

Unless you are making tubes, you definately want to get the soft pour. Depending on how soft you like your baits and if you're adding salt or not, you probably want to get some softener as well. -D

I'm in! I'm pretty new, but I'd still like to participate!

Great job, Camel! It's always really awesome to catch fish on something you crafted yourself. Hope to see more of your work in the near future! -D

I've tried several brand and can heartily say: Go to Del's site and purchase some Calhoun's. For microwaving, it's the best I've used. I'm not paid to say that, either! :-D

KB: I've just really got started building cranks, but you can definately just trace a pattern of a bait you like. I definately recommend increasing it a bit because you're going to decrease the size in the shaping of the bait (e.g., cutting, sanding). I am trying to create my own shapes right now. I've got about three, but one that I've really settled on is kind of a cross between a Rapala Fat Rap and an old Mann's 15+. It's a shade over 2" in length without a lip when in it's final form before sealing. I create all of my templates in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, but you can get by with much cheaper programs. The main thing is to make sure you are dealing with something that can do vector based graphics to do the initial drawing. That's why I really like Illustrator. You don't have to have the lastest versions, either. Any old version should work very, very well. You can pick up used copies on Ebay for little or nothing if you're willing to get a copy about three versions old. -Danny

Saint, I don't believe there is a two piece for the brush hog type baits. I have Del's mold and it does take practice to learn to pour, but once you get the hang of it, it's no harder than any other mold. Here are my tips: 1.) Make sure you use heat stabilizer in your plastic and get it really hot, it needs to be very runny. This will help you control your pours much, much better. 2.) Start with the tails and then move through the rest of the mold. If your plastic is hot enough, per #1, you'll have no problems with the 'wings' on the body at all. 3.) Practice, practice, practice. It's a very fun, and productive, mold to pour! Just keep at it! -Danny

When I first started pouring, I bought the pyrex...but found cups exactly like you are describing. I decided to do a little test and put some old plastic in the cup and added a dash of new...and started micro'ing it. It looked like things were going to be o.k., but I put on a heat resistant glove (the type welder's use) just to be safe and started pouring. The spout was great...but the bottom of the cup fell out spewing hot plastic out the bottom. Just like I expected. In short: Don't do it. Your skin will thank you. -Danny

I have a few of their colors and they are fine. You just have to take care of them like any other colors. Keep them stored properly and mixed well before using and you'll be fine.

Hope you enjoy your camera! If you're not already proficient at deep water fishing, it'll definately help you learn! Have fun!

Take care and watch yourself out there!

Looks good to me! I especially like the top one. How much salt do you have in those?

I have an AquaVu Scout that I use primarily for entertainment purposes (girlfriend loves it!). It does a fair job, but I would think some of the other AquaVu lineup might be better for you. I bought primarily as a learning aid to deciphering sonar blips as well. Turns out I was right about them more often than I would thought. When using them, you have watch the current and boat speed; however. Kids love them! Drop them into a school of bluegill and watch their face light up!

Greetings and welcome to the community! I may not be the best person to post this, but I think I have the answer to your questions. As far as making molds goes, right on the main page of the site is a link called how-to. There are tons of tutorials on how to go about this and other topics relating to lure making. Also, try the search feature. The answer to each of your questions has been covered numerous times. I hope I'm not sounding harsh, because that is not my intent. There is a ton of information here and it greatly helps the site out if the same questions/answers aren't posted time and time again. Now, that being said, if you encounter any difficulties along the way, please ask away! The people here are more than willing to help and you'll find this one of the friendliest communities on the net! Best of luck! -D

Congrats and don't worry about the size...any bass is a good bass! You're definately hooked now!

Hi Harley, I believe they are done with an injection mold system. Over on the forums at Del_Mart a method of making is posted as well. I think you can actually buy the skirts from Yammamoto and then fuse them to a pour from a twin-tail grub mold. -D

Sorry about the high compression on that image! I was a little agressive with it trying to keep file-size down.