Vodkaman

I agree with the prof - sometimes it is random, sometimes regular, but always two movements. This would be my definition. DAve

I have only made 3 hinge swimmers and never had one that I couldn't get to swim. So, I think they must be easier. Getting an action that you really like is the hard part Dave

Bluetickhound - it is my experience that everything DOES have to be just so. The slightest variation of any of the relevant variables will throw off the hunt. BrentR - for the above reasons, large production is not possible. Plus, only the most experienced of anglers can appreciate a hunting action. Just imagine all the returns and complaints about 'my lure won't swim straight'. The very few people who sell hunters, probably tailor each individual piece, but I obviously don't know this for certain. Dave

Bluetickhound - I am sure by now, after reading all the comments on this marvelous thread, you have realized that there is more than one solution to the hunting problem: I like Mark's shifting ballast solution. I think I understand how it works. There are others that use transitions between stability and instability, by moving ballast around to flirt with blow out. The Lure Professor, Bob said it well, that the problem is if you go too far, the lure is useless, which means that you make a lot of firewood. If you wish to explore these methods of hunting then yes, you will definitely need to play with the ballast. Like BobP, I had success with this method but was frustrated by the lack of consistency from a production stand point. I spent a couple of years working on a special lip design. I got it to work for a while and then lost it after a few months away. The lip was not pretty and not really an aesthetically acceptable solution so I had to be realistic and give it up. More time away and more theorizing and I came up with my current idea. Ballast has no effect on this solution, also the lure never blows out if you get it wrong. This makes four quite different methods to achieve the same result and I have no doubt that there are more. Dave

It is kind of an unwritten rule that you don't give the hunting theory away. Believe me, I would love to and anyone who has followed my posts will know that I love to share. Everyone who builds lures has come across the 'hunting' phenomenom. It is there for everyone to grab and not far away from your normal builds. The secret of building consistent hunters, is understanding what causes the hunt. Once you understand the cause, it is easy to design a lure to hunt. Any crankbait body design can be made to hunt. The reason I built this flat sided crank was that someone said that flats do not hunt. This particular lure is Bawal 7, a predecessor to Bawal 12, for which I posted a construction video. Don't waste your time copying it, like I said, any crank body design will hunt, it has nothing to do with body shape. Dave

As promised, here is a short video. No big production, straight out of the can. Dave

If you use the same rings for the tuning, it won't matter if they spread. In fact, the more they spread - the easier they are to fit and remove. When I am testing my baits, I have hook and eye substitutes, made from soft stainless steel. Cut to weigh the same as a hook and eye, rolled up to occupy roughly the same space. Works a treat Dave

Will do. Give me a few days, need to get water permission as my tank is decommissioned with rot. Dave

Love this topic. I made a batch of small flat sided baits a while back, to find out my success rate. I managed 9 out of 10 hunting and I know what I did wrong on the failure too. Stick with it, you will kick yourself when you discover the secret Dave

Further to Bob's suggestion, here is a wesite that Hazmail put me onto. Instructions and discussion about building your own cyclone dust collector. Dave

I think there is enough left in the business to carve out a nische; color range, quality, service etc. At the same time you are working the standards, I would also be developing new lure ideas to complement your range. Prototyping is not difficult; glued parts, carving, plaster and RTV molds. When you have a new lure that works, you can get ally molds cut when funds become available. Originality is the key, JMHO. Dave

Yes, would need a lot of movement to keep it in the right place. Great link, it is amazing what you can achieve with a little thought Dave

Thinking about the 'in to wind' problem; Just before I joined TU, I was experimenting with brass lures, to swim higher in the water column. They worked too well and hit the surface. A brass popper would go a long way to solve the problem, of course, you would have to keep it moving - just something for you to think about Dave

Congratulationd Dieter - great design. Identify the problem and engineer a solution DAve

MEKP is nasty stuff. Take all precautions to protect your skin and eyes. Here is the MSDS sheet. The only good thing about it, is that it is not recognized as a carcenogen. Dave

Mad Moose - Thanks. It is all down to availability. I know I can get my hands on the LED's, I haven't searched for black light tubes yet. I already have a light set up, so it will be a simple test to see if the frequency is right. I suspect not though, as the light is white rather than purple, worth a try though until I find a black light source. Dave

What a fantastic thread, kudos to all you guys for all the questions, testing and reporting of results, equipment, procedures and all the rest of it. I really don’t have anything to add, I just wanted to congratulate you all on this exciting advance in lure technology. I am unlikely to ever get my hands on this product, but I know a local firm does sell a UV product, so I am now enthused enough to give it a try. It will have to wait a couple of months though, until cash flow problems are solved. I will probably use my electronics experience and go the UV LED route, with a specifically designed lure rotator. Dave

A great idea. I guess you are using the spray booth, to prevent glitter fall out. Maybe there is a simple way to collect the spare, possibly a wet screen or some kind of separator. Every time the even glitter question is raised, my mind goes into design mode. I will have to write some of the ideas down one day. Dave

A method that I have used, is to saw a slot from nose to tail along the back. Drill a hole from the belly up to the slot, just large enough to push a loop through. I use CA glue to hold the harness in place and then either fill the slot with epoxy or bondo, epoxy would be better. Another way is to drill a small diameter hole from the belly up to the slot. make an eye loop and thread the wire up from the belly, bend to the tail, form a loop and back to the tow eye position. Not easy to explain with words, but there are more ways to do this with the slot method once you start to think about it. Dave

Like Andy, I didn't seal mine - no problems. Dave

I agree with Andy, bondo would be my choice. But still the mold would have a limited life span. If you want to pour more than half a dozen at a time, then it would be best to make several molds, as the bondo tends to soften under the heat of lead pouring. Dave

I think mine is 0.031", unfortunately my vernier battery is dead so I cannot check for you. It largely depends on what you are fishing for. If you are expecting trophy bass or musky, you might want to go a bit heavier. I have caught bawal upto 3Kg with this wire and it held up just fine. See what others have to say. Also, this has been discussed before, so you might want to try a TU search, to gather as much information as possible before making a purchase. Dave

A well thought out solution - good engineering Dave

Eyes or wire are as good as each other. I prefer wire because I cannot source the eyes locally. If you use wire, make sure it is soft stainless steel, so that it forms easily and does not corrode. Do a search on 'barrel twist', this is the strongest in my opinion. Drill the hole just slightly larger than the twisted wire diameter and push the epoxy well into the hole, making sure that the hole sides are all wetted. Apply epoxy to the twisted eye too. Dave

Not much web information available on the web, but I did find this book that may be worth a read before you start. I did seriously look into making a split cane rod when I was a lad, but lack of a workshop and glass blanks became readily available, I changed my mind. I could tell you how I would go about the job, but I would only be guessing and would not want to lead you astray. Dave