fatfingers

The last few weeks I've begun experimenting with carving gill plates on the wooden lures that I cut and shape from poplar. I was hoping to get some dialog going about the different ways that you guys do it so that we could share some ideas. I am also very interested in find a type of wood that cuts, shapes, sands and carves a bit easier than poplar, if that's possible, but I still want something strong and musky-proof. I know, I know, that's a big request. At any rate, there's probably a hardwood that's better than poplar to carve but still a strong tooth-proof hardwood. I've worked only with poplar for the crankers and jerkbaits and have done some baits in oak and with the solid plastic, which I wrote about last summer. I have a method duplicating the drawing of a gill plate on both sides of the lure blank that I will share later in this thread. I hope to get feedback in order to improve my current methods and carvings. Thanks, fatfingers

Northern pike are a great sportfish. They respond to a variety of lures and can be easy to catch at times. Try bass type spinner baits and spoons. Vary the size, color, and retrieve. I've done well with spoons but only in rivers here in Ohio. In lakes I usually do much better with Rapalas and spinnerbaits, not spoons. Firetiger daredevil spoons work well in the rivers for me.

Thanks, Steve. I may try that. My brother told me that he's had his for so long he doesn't remember where he got it. I've watched him scribe circles with the paint with that thing and man is it slick...perfect circles and arcs. Its interesting how smoothly and evenly the paint flow from those two fork things.

That's it, Maypo1979. Do you know where they can be purchased? I tried the art supply stores and two offices supply stores and couldn't find one so I had to MacGyver my own with the other type and an ink pen stylus.

Brett, between the lures you make and the muskies you catch, you're my new hero! That's amazing.

Jed, actually I got the idea from my brother who is an airbrush artist by profession. He started teaching me to use the airbrush last summer and has since showed me a variety of materials and techniques which may lend themselves to lure building. I am unable to paint at the present time because its cold out and I did not get around to building a paint booth for painting indoors during the cold weather here in Ohio. (So I'm taking out my frustrations by cranking out blanks and trying the foiling stuff). He's got a particular type of compass that he uses when he's doing pinstriping that allows him to draw perfect circles with paint. Now I haven't been able to locate that particular type of compass yet, but when I do, I'll purchase it and post a picture of it. Its the slickest thing I ever saw, but of course he makes it look easy because he's been an artist for decades. The particular type of compass that he uses is different in that it has a "fork" type thing that holds the lead. He removes the lead, of course, and the fork seems to leach the paint onto the surface much more smoothly than the ink stylus, but the ink stylus does an okay job too.

Ditto what River Man said. Beautiful, Brett.

Pretty much like Skeeter just said. Sorry didn't read the whole thread first.

Stir it thoroughly, apply it carefully but as quickly as you reasonably can. Don't spend a lot of time trying to smooth out the brush strokes because they'll flow out naturally. Hit it lightly with a heat gun and spin it till it sets up which as you can see, doesn't take long.

Try this: Go buy a quality compass...the thingy that draws circles. Buy the kind that holds a piece of lead, not an actual pencil. Remove the lead from the compass and place the stylus from an ink pen in its place. Now what I'm talking about is the pointy metal thing on the end of the type of ink pen that you dip into an ink well. Take the compass with the stylus attached and dip it into the slightly-thinned paint in the color that you desire to use for the gills. Place the compass on the lure and put the anchor point into a piece of masking tape so as not to deface the paint or cleared finish. Sweep the compass in an arc. Repeat the same thing on the other side of the lure being careful to get the same precise anchor point. If you get it wrong simply wipe it off and try again...but wiping it off only works if the area where the gill is being placed is under clear. Later, when I get time, I'll post pictures of the tool (compass with stylus) and the finished gills that you can make. Of course you can also make a stencil too. Both ways provide uniformity.

Just a side note here... Be careful what you wish for. Building a business out of a hobby can be a wonderful way to come to hate your hobby. Business has tension, deadlines, liability, high expectations, and usually a requirement to work in volume...and that's just for starters. I've ruined a few hobbies for myself, including photography, by turning the hobby into a money making proposition. Running the business successfully means a lot of hard work. You must ask yourself if that is what you really want. Of course, running a business unsuccessfully means losing money. Be very clear on your goals and don't underestimate the time and money commitments it will require to engage in a serious business. If you go forward, I sincerely wish you the best of luck because nothing is better than doing something you love to do.

Ditto on the dremmel with the wire brush. Works great, easy to control, nice clean lines when finished.

Make sure you arrange to have the compressor set up so you can control the pressure output. Using an airbrush requires much less pressure than inflating tires for example. If you knew that forgive me, but I didn't know that when I bought my first brush. Controlling the air pressure plus the consistency of the paint by thinning allow you much more control over the painting process itself. Experiment with it on some scrap materials. Well worth the time.

Nice work. Doesn't if feel great when you throw them in the water and they run nice?

Now its running fine for me.

I've got a Maserati for a computer and this site is the slowest on my long list of bookmarks. For what it worth I came up with an idea: I'd be willing to participate in a program of membership donations, say $20 per year, to update the server. Anyone else? I think for all we learn and enjoy from this site, it would be money very well spent.

I repainted a few believers and put Devcon2 over them. They ran fine, caught muskies.

A lure that walks the dog beneath the surface can be deadly for muskies. Great looking work.

If I understand the question, you mean you have grooves which you'd prefer to have exposed and unfoiled. If so, the only thing I can think of is that you'd have to carefully cut out the foil with an exacto knife. I know of no way to avoid foiling a given area. Now there is a material in silver and gold that is similar to the sheets of gold leaf but comparatively cheap to buy. You apply glue to the area you wish to foil and press the thin sheets of silver foil against the glued area. I tried it a few times but the stuff is a bit awkward to work with although you can reapply to silver to any area that you missed which is nice. It doesn't show seems. Also it cannot be etched in case you hope to etch a scale pattern in after foiling.

I do some ice fishing and learning to the jig various baits properly is arguably the single most important thing required to catch fish with regularity. The Vexilar units with a color display and the cameras are almost invaluable toward that end. Since I started vertical jigging through the ice, I've applied vertical jigging to a variety of gamefish and it can be deadly. Vertical jigging heavy green/silver spoons on Lake Erie for smallmouth bass is something every bass fisherman should get to experience in his lifetime. What a blast!

Get a sander also, a table top model with a belt and a wheel. Trace the bait you'd like to duplicate on a piece of paper. Cut out the shape with scissors then paper shape to the rubber cement to the wood you'll be using. Cut, shape with the sander, primer, paint, add the hood hangers and lip, not necessarily in that order. Clear with devcon 2 ton epoxy. Catch copious amounts of fish.

Blues over foil is an effective combination for the muskies where I fish, particularly in the clearer lakes and reservoirs. Great looking bait.

Great looking bait. Would love to see it in the water.

The subtle coloring in the top bait is just terrific. Excellent work. I like them all, but I really like the bottom two.

Now here's a guy that knows how to trigger strikes. I love that technique. Its hard on tackle but it gets the results.