fatfingers

Beautiful bait, rj.

Craft shops carry foil that is very similar to gold leaf. It comes in extremely thin sheets and is really easy to use. You spray the glue on, dab the foil to the bait and sort of brush the excess away with a cloth or stiff brush. If you miss a spot or two you just dab some more on the areas you missed. It comes in a variety of patterns/colors but I haven't seen yellow. Gold, copper, and silver patterns are common. Here's a type of gold I tried: You glue it, clear over it, and then paint or apply Husky's tissue photorealism techniques. Easy stuff really.

Tried it last night. Works good, almost too good. The stuff (from Home Depot) is almost too soft and cuts like butter with a rotary tool. Had to usual a gentle touch with the bit. I'll post a picture later. I was also disappointed in the PVC stuff with how easily it sort of crumbles when you lay it on anything. The underside is easily scratched and gouged when you lay it down to work on it. It makes me wonder how easily it will be chewed up by musky and pike... Gotta get my hands on that signboard stuff.

I'm no master by any stretch but... Mine take about 2 to 5 hours from start to finish depending on what I'm building. As far as the line tie, on shorter lips you can attach the line tie to the body instead of the lip. On longer lips, I try to position the line tie no farther than the halfway point between the body and the outside end of the lip. Make sure its centered perfectly from side to side also. Lip shape is also important. Rounded lips seem to wobble better, but squared lips seem easier to tune. The length is critical and requires some experimentation...which is half the fun and most of the frustration in building.

Here's largemouth that savacs nailed using that same type of bait when we went fishing together last summer. It was his first largemouth bass...ever.

Nice, Jaime. I've had good luck with that body style. It catches a variety of species.

I like to use film containers for mixing small batches of paint. The 35mm plastic film cannisters are available free from the photo department at Walmart and elsewhere. (They throw them away, so you're recycling too). You'll be pleasantly surprised at how long paint will keep in those things. I also put a dab of color on the cap so I can easily tell which is which when I'm switching from one color to another.

I second that motion. Like Bob said though, I've seen some amazing spray can stuff on this site. I also had the pleasure to meet Savacs last summer and do a little fishing with him. Its hard to believe what he can do with a spray can, especially on the bass/walleye sized baits he makes with all the detail. Really beautiful stuff.

Riverman: Next time call me. I can show you how to remove those with a rotary tool, a gouge bit, and a bottle of Jack Daniels.

Thanks guys. As usual the guys at TU have the answers and are more than willing to help each other. Got to love that!

I hope you have a full and speedy recovery, woodie. My wife sometimes wanders into my cave and sees me drilling with the bait on my lap as I sit on my homemade 2 by 4 work chair. She has a few interesting comments about the possible consequences. Get well soon.

Does anyone know of an easy way to polish the edge of a bait lip to eliminate the fine marks left from cutting and sanding polycarbonate (when making a lip for a bait)? If I recall, Lapala once describe rubbing the edges on a piece of carpeting until the sides were as clear as the flat portions of the lip. I know commercial outfits do it, but I don't know how its done. Cloth buffing wheel?

They're beautiful. The thing I enjoy more than building is catching fish with my own baits, and the only thing that I enjoy more than that is giving baits to my friends. Congratulations on a great start to an addictive hobby.

I'll call him today and let you know on this thread, Jed.

Best paint, best primer, and best sealer are a matter of opinion, but many here use Createx paints. For sealer, probably the two most common are Devcon2 which is an expoxy glue available at Walmart, and Envirotex, which is also widely available. I paint with enamels so others will be better able to advise you on where to find the best deals on Createx paints. If you look on this board you'll notice some fine work done with Createx. There are different primers available for wood and plastic. I believe Krylon makes a primer designed specifically for plastics. I can't think of the name of it right now, but I use it for both wood and plastic and have had good luck with it.

I also use Iwata and I love it. It has a lot of latitude and allows for the application of thin coats so you can layer the paint on slowly. Actually the brush has more capacity and latitude than I do. My brother is an airbrush artist. He paints and pinstripes for a living, mostly motorcycles and cars, but he's done planes, boats, a little of everything over the years. He uses Iwata airbrushes almost exlcusively and has even designed one particulary model in concert with the owners of the company. He has a number of them and luckily for me he keeps an inventory of replacement tips and needles on hand at all times.

I saw that cisco in the gallery, rjbass. That thing is really beautiful. I've never tried that pattern, but the comments you made about it being productive for muskies has perked my interest. Great work.

Those are great.

Well, this board has so many talented builders, I'm certain it will bounce back better than ever. I appreciate all that was done to get us back up as quickly as possible. Hats off the to admin, once again.

I've made grandma/jake style baits from poplar, oak, cherry, and PVC board. Each has it's own unique characteristics. The oak seems to be almost neutrally bouyant after you crank it down to its max depth. The poplar makes a great all around bait. The cedar might work, but it might be a bit on the lightweight side for musky, but I've only tried it on a few cranks. I wasn't please with the softness and I question its ability to hold the eyescrews in under stress.

Thanks for the reply and the link, Hoosierdaddy. I agree that you pay a bit much for what they are, but like you, I don't really want to bother with fabricating them. I'll probably just put them in a few baits anyway, so the cost won't be too bad. They look like they'll work pretty well though.

Came across glass rattle tubes that seem to be just the right size for a variety of bait bodies. Made by Zoom, 1581 Jennings Mill Road, Bogart, Georgia 30622 I'll post pics later. Can't wait to try them. They're small enough that you could put more than one in larger baits.

Holle, those are great looking baits. Great detail work.

As you can see, the piece inserted in the lip slot is cut very close to the width of the lure itself. I leave just a little piece protruding from the front of the lure so that I can pull it out with a pair of pliers just prior to gluing in the lip and sealing the lure with epoxy. If you're buying your lips instead of making them, just buy a few extras that you can cut up with a bandsaw or a coping saw. This eliminates the masking tape altogether. Hope that helps.