Hoodaddy

I think along with pikeman that keeping this logged at the top of the forum is a good idea. Why ???? because even with it being very easy to introduce yourself on the new member forum I don't think or just don't know if a lot of people actually look at it.......myself being guilty of that. That said......My name is Elvis Miller (alright guys go ahead I've heard 'em all ) from Porkopolis...Cincinnati, Ohio. I'm 54 going on 30 as much as I stay active. Concrete man for 25 yrs. Dabbled in woodworking for 15 but never tried cranks until about 5 yrs. ago. Like John my fishing partner and I started making Sp/B's and jigs yrs. ago and once stumbling upon TU decided to give cranks a try. We don't sell a ton of crankbaits but enough along with a large qty. of jigs to help defer some of our expenses and it gives us something to do in the winter. I have befriended several here on TU and am looking forward to meeting some face to face eventually........especially a cousin I've never met....only kidding about the cousin. (inside joke) Thanks to TU and all the help I've recieved we produce 5 different models of cranks and still have some new ideas in the fire. We've still got a long way to go but with the help of so many willing to share we may make it someday. I'm always willing to help in any way I can....just ask. Thanks Blackjack for starting this thread.

There was a post on here about making your own eyes at one time ....I'm not sure if it was lost when the board went down a while back but it only involved some 2 part epoxy and some paint. Maybe someone else can provide the info for you. You can also purchase them rather inexpensively from Stamina. Not sure but I think its staminainc.com

Doug, Have'nt used E/T for a while but not sure about an expiration on it. I have used it after being a year or so old with no ill effects. One thing to mention besides exact measurments its not a good idea to mix it with wood sticks for this will sometimes create excess bubbles in your clear from air being pulled out of the wood......JMHO

As you guys may know Reapers or Sweepers started in the west as with quite a few baits then migrated east. When they first came out myself and a couple of freinds were the first to get them in our area and we absolutely slayed 'em on them. You don't see many guys fishing them in our area much any more but........ on of the top guys in Cal. came to visit us back in the late 70's and went to the river for a day to show us the "correct" way to fish them. Well.....mind you we had already found the "best" way to fish them which was T-rigged w/ a screw in weight making sure to run the hook thru the contoured side of the bait exiting and skin hooking the flat side. After a short while on the water and a couple of nice keepers in the boat from my partner and myself and on the verge of gloating on showing this Sissy pro something we were asked to pull up on an interesting flat ( we had never fished it but ) John pulled out a spinning rod with a split shotted sweeper on a # 1/0 hook and proceeded to give us a lesson. He put 4 good fish in the boat incl. a 3.5 lbr. I guess the lesson we learned was try anything.... you can't say theres only one way to do things..........even though I still split shot those dang things till today...along with Jgi heads, and C/Rigging and T/rigging. The one thing I will say about splitshotting....them suckers dont want to let them go after they grab 'em

Heracles, Yes I agree Envirotex Lite is a very user friendly product. As far as your questions about Devcon. Does it harden faster than E/L : Yes it dries much faster than E/L and much harder making it better for toothy critters. As much as I've seen it does'nt yellow .....at least in the times I've used it. Yes...you can thin it some with acetone but I would'nt advise thinning too much ( a few drops should suffice) and brushing it on is fairly easy to do but be careful.... it will set quite a bit faster than E/L. After brushing it on it is best to turn the lure either by hand or turning or drying wheel to assure an even coating on the bait. Just hanging could allow brush strokes to still show. After brushing it on you could also heat it by passing a propane torch over it a few times to help it flow and dissapate whatever bubbles may be in it. Just make sure you get the 2 Ton and not the 5 minute epoxy There is another product advertised on the home page for Dicknites Lurecoat. This is a 1 part very thin but very strong clear coat. How well it will work on musky teeth I dont know but I'm sure someone here could shed some light on that. It does work well on Bass baits and it will stay clear for ( as far asI know) ....forever Good luck with the Devcon HD

Wookie...Welcome to the fascinating, mindboggling, aggravating world of baitmaking for starters. Wood should'nt be too hard to find around your area without having to drive too far........unless you're just wanting to take a drive.??? Balsa, Basswood ,cedar should all be available in your part of the world. Just hunt yourself down a hobby store and pull out the plastic and have at it. Feel free to use the search system to look up any ??? you may have. If you cant find it there or if something is unclear just ask... there is lots of exceptional talent here more than willing to share a little info with you. Have fun and welcome again HD

Looks like the irredescent blue that was mentioned by Castmaster. I use the same type paint made by Pactra with the same name. By the looks of the pic it could be white base coat with possibly pearl white, blue glimmer misted over that then back and shoulders sprayed thru netting with preffered color......or if you wanted the irredescent effect over the entire bait just wait to spray the blue last. Also they do make different colors in the irredescent paints.

Thanks Husky, You have a PM

OK Guys, I'm finally going to take the leap and try making some foamies. I have done a search and still want to clarify a couple of things.(which I probably just over read anyway ) Is it best to use a pliable mold for getting the baits out easier ? How long is the cure time before releasing the bait from the mold ? What is the best option for foam....micro balloons or not ? With the foam with M/B does this effect the texture much ? As it seems I did'nt do much research ( which I actually did...) any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks....HD

I've tried Pelucid and Por-15 and both items in my opinion are very tempermental. Storage seems to be the main gripe. I know that certain methods have to be taken to get the extended shelf life but my fiance does'nt like that kind of stuff in the fridge....and I'm not going to dig a root cellar . My understanding is that is the best way to store it. I switched to Dicknites a while back with encouragement from another member and after a prolonged test I'll stick with it. All the experimenting over the yrs. has brought me to where I'm finally somewhat happy with my offerings . Just my opinion............Thanks Cuz

If I'm not mistaken I noticed a product I believe to be a liquid plastic advertised in Taxidermy magazines that you can make water effects with that is supposed to be very resilient. It is to be able to hold up very well. With as much abuse as our baits are put through I'm not sure if it would. I thought of trying it but just have'nt ever put the effort into it. I guess its worth a little bit of research.

Try a trick worm wacky style. Insert a #2 owner mosquito hook in front of the egg sack from the top, turn it and bring it back up on the back side of the egg sack....weightless. Try black for this is an easy color to get but if you can find Tomato give it a try.....its killer, Toss the worm in and let it fall for a couple seconds...twitch it 2 or 3 semi hard times on slack line ...let it fall repeat. When one grabs it he'll never let go. If you have any weeds it really shines when throwing into the pockets. IT WILL SNAG fairly easy if in timber and it will lightly catch in the weeds but you can pop it free....sometimes thats what it takes or at other times deadsticking works. If you can't catch 'em like that I'll agree with Skeeter.....

I don't do a lot of trolling but I have seen line counters in BPS catalog that attaches to your rod and you insert your line in it and UHHH it counts your line out for you.....Can't get much simpler than that

Dam I heard the lake was tough but I did'nt think it was going to be this bad !!!! OHHHH I get it nobody wants to give up any info till at least after the BFL...O.K. I can wait Thanks

Everyone is dead on with the forstner bit but I don't feel you need a pilot hole. To ensure stright hole placement it would probably be best to drill them with a drill press in order not to throw the balance off. If you have steady hands I suppose youu could chuck the bait in a small vise and give 'er hail.

Hey Guys, I have a club classic on O/H in a couple of weeks and was wandering if anyone could shed a little light on fishing there since I have never seen the lake and don't even know what stage they're in. I have some info from one guy but would love to have some first hand info if I can get some. We will be going out of Bull CR. Thanks

Smirk, Personally I believe that paint schemes have been emphasized entirely too much in most cases.....but I'm sure in clearer water they certainly make a difference. Around here we don't have that problem too often. Most of our baits that wind up as blemished usually goes into my box and occasionally a freinds. Paint plus action usually determines the selling factor but I would believe action would lead to productivity and thats what would be the main point of producing a bait. .........but it sure helps if their PURTY:drool:

Ron, We have done a few round bodies out of balsa and basically start the same way Jason mentioned then your options come in with either a belt sander or drum sander on a drill press although we opted for the small course sanding drums on a dremel. Kinda messy but with balsa it removes a lot of product quickly. Just watch those fingers:)

Hey Ron........jsut have your lady freind do them that way when you get home from work all you have to do is paint and clear.....LMAO

I have purchased some DN's on Deans encouragement and am still experimenting with it at this time and have found no problems with it so far.....as long as you heed all the warnings:eek: like sealing and storing it properly and what it reacts to and does'nt. Like mentioned in an earlier post I did notice that it does'nt delaminate (lobw) or pull away from sharp corners and I have a couple baits out for a test drive this week on some deep rockpiles that should put it thru the toughness test. Make sure if you are using water based paints that you DRY IT THOROUGHLY before coating ....I used a hair dryer and it seemed to work fine. I sure like the part about not having to mix before coating and I can clear (brush) a lot more baits before it sets up on me. Good Luck with it

Great Job Rofish, This should make all the guys in countries with access to everything we need more appreciative. I could'nt imagine having to make my own components....too lazy I guess Kudos on the beautiful work !!!