Vodkaman

That would be very useful for me. I have always been fascinated by these types of spoon lures because the swimming action was difficult to explain. I more or less have the explanation locked in now, but would be very interested to see the comparison. I may then be in a position to post my explanation. Knowledge is power. With an understanding of the fluid mechanics, it may be possible to design even more effective 'S' spoon lures. I have had a lot of success with this type of spoon, trout love them. Dave

Great tutorial. Do you have any video of the modified lures swim action? Dave

I didn't think wood would stand up, but I can't get dowel here. Dave

Yes you nailed it, that was my post. You also improved on the idea. Mine were made of aluminium rod and took a fair bit of work to manufacture. Good job. Dave

This is a very good solution. I particularly like the clamps. I used a very similar solution on my drying wheel were the clamps jammed into radial holes. Dave

DG - I don't think you have missed the point, neither of us know where this theory of motion could lead. All I am doing is pointing out a new theory of motion that has never been explored before. In my best optimistic imagination of the possibilities, I see a spinner type lure that would normally only travel in a straight line, that would actually periodically deviate from this line. It could be zigzag or random deviations. It could be side to side, up and down, or totally random. I have proven to myself, to my satisfaction, that lures that deviate from a straight line retrieval are more successful. My entire time spent while associated with TU has been all about 'hunting lures', fishing lures that do not swim in a straight line. There is a very good evolutionary explanation for this. Fish have two types of muscle. One for regular swimming, capable for swimming all day for long periods, and a second type of muscle for attack purposes. This second muscle is only capable of a short period of use before it tires and becomes useless. Consider the prey – A predator is close by. It has only one chance to use its power muscles. If it fails to escape then it is food. Its best plan is to keep a distance and dart during the attack. Consider the predator – It knows that if it lunges then the prey will dart, changing direction to avoid the kill. Evolution teaches the predator to cause the prey to dart prematurely, expend its escape energy and then pounce. The proof – we have all seen predator fish follow our lures back to the boat without taking a bite. The predators are waiting for the prey to make its move. We all know that a straight retrieve is rarely successful. We must work the lure in order for the fish to bite. My aim is to design a lure that is capable of attracting the bite on a straight retrieve. But more than this, a lure that hunts will react more violently when worked. Many on this site will knock the idea of hunting lures. But, they are already employing the principles of the change of direction theory with a great deal of success. This is the skill of the lure fisherman. What I am trying to develop is a more efficient and more violent change of direction. Fish are not thinkers, they work on instinct. As anglers, we must embrace these instincts, or as most do, learn from experience. If you tweak a straight swimming lure, it may not get hit. But, a lure that shoots off to the side when tweaked has more of a chance of arousing those attack instincts in the predator. I have posted this idea many times, so am guilty of repeating myself. But I feel that this is important theory. Dave

Great comments Travis. I too am not happy with this first presentation. I do not like the hooks thing either. I am probably going to leave this project on the shelf until I get any more ideas. I am going back to my triple point lure project for now, with the aim of actually building something. Dave

Mark - I had a sleep on it, and yes, the whole body must rotate. Dave

Yes, I did think about your Whopper Plopper. I simply don't know whether it is necessary to rotate the whole body or not. It would be a better solution for sure, I really don't like the flailing hooks. Dave

I have given this intermediate axis lure a lot of thought over the last few days, to see if I can come up with a design that actually looks like a lure. This is the only one of several solutions that works aesthetically. But, before you get your tools out, I must warn you that this is probably my most outrageous, hypothetical post I have ever put out there. There are so many unknowns and ‘what ifs’ that the chances of actually getting this lure to do what I want it to are very slim at best. Referring to the video that I posted above, this lure is based on the failed satellite (12’35”). The lure spins around its long axis and the side hooks represent the flexible satellite antennae. The rear hook is optional. As with the satellite, the rotating side hooks make the lure want to rotate end over end. Obviously the lure being towed, this is not possible. But, if the lure tries to tip then this would change the direction of the lure, and this is the object; to impart a random ‘hunt’ motion to the retrieve. Problems, what ifs and maybes. 1 – The satellite was operating in a vacuum, the lure is operating in water. This alone might be enough to cancel the project. 2 – The lure is being towed as opposed to floating freely in space. This too adds forces to the lure that may well be too much to allow the change of direction. 3 – I am not even sure whether this lure obeys the intermediate axis theorem. This will need more thought and calculations. 4 – I have positioned the lateral hooks at the COG. This may not be the optimum. But the swim of the hooks may well move the COG further aft and spoil the effect. 5 – Will the lure spin fast enough, or too fast, will it spin at all. I see this lure as a slow sinker, so ideal for a resin pour in a silicone mold. I was asked what the lure would look like, so here is your answer. I do not have a workshop or a 3D printer, otherwise I would have a play for sure. I am putting this out there for interest. If any of you want to experiment with the idea then knock yourselves out, but I refer you back to the second paragraph, this may be a total waste of your time. What we really need on this project is input from a NASA scientist, so go through your contact lists and see if you can help Dave

Ravenlures - I have little idea what this is going to look like so far, sorry. DGagner - The lure would never be able to totally flip. But, if the lure tries to flip then this would induce a change of direction. I don't know whether this would be random in direction or whether it could be controlled. Mark - The fluid idea would make the lure want to move, with the whole body spinning. I was concentrating on the mechanical effect rather than the liquid idea, but why not. Dave

If you are prone to headaches, you may want to skip this post. The Dzhanibekov Effect, also known as the intermediate axis effect or the tennis racquet effect. Is a fairly new theorem of motion, but one that we have all experienced at some time. Me personally, as a table tennis player in my younger days, when I would flip the bat in the air and observe how it rotated 180° before being caught. I would repeat this action over and over, marveling at the motion and never giving it a single engineering thought, but at that time I was just a school kid and not an engineer. I am not going to try to explain this motion. I will leave it to the linked video for that. The reason that I am posting this rather obscure enigma is that I believe that there is a possibility of a new lure motion, one not yet discovered. I am thinking about prop lures that travel in a straight line. There might be something here or not, but as I do not have a workshop, other than casting out a few brain cells at the enigma, I am unlikely to work the idea in the near future. So, rather than keeping the idea a secret, I decided to put the idea out there to y’all and see what you think. Anyone who thinks that there is nothing new in lure design is sadly mistaken. I firmly believe there is a lot more out there to be discovered. Dave

I looked into the whole theory of rotation mechanics of lips, but I stopped when I reached a full A4 page of text and still hadn’t got to the point. So, I am going to dispense with the engineering explanation and just make the suggestion. It all comes down to how much you are prepared to experiment. I suggest making a prototype, a tail with a slot to soft-glue in a Perspex or polycarbonate lip. This way you can experiment with shapes. A rectangular (parallel) lip will have less rotation thus giving a higher threshold before spin. Better still; a lip narrower at the bottom will reduce the rotation further. To keep the same waggle speed you must keep the average lip width the same. Alternatively, use a double hinge so that both segments are forced to roll, this will give more resistance to roll and so more force available for waggle. Dave

I am glad you solved your problem. I have never built gliders or jerk baits, but I do know how temperamental building lures can be. Dave

I agree with LHL; moisture in the sun is a killer. If you are building then too dry is way better than too wet. If in doubt, or rescuing a cracked lure, a few days in a drying cupboard, back of the fridge or a radiator is the ticket. Dave

I am not a topcoat expert, my lures rarely get to that stage. I like LHLs suggestion; give at least 72 hours. For bulk, Etex lite is very popular. If you have already bought a large quantity of the Artresin, then you owe it to yourself to give it a chance. Dave

I have my doubts about this product. Yes, the data says that water solubility is negligible. I read another article that required 2 - 7 days curing. The cleaning instruction of use of water does not inspire confidence. Sure, try the 7 day cure, but my advice is to move on. You do not need guesswork with a topcoat, you need confidence. Dave

It shouldn't make a difference. Peel off the resin coat. Clean the surface and thoroughly dry. Apply Devcon 30 minute (D2T). There are plenty of posts about applying D2T. Find another use for the art resin. Do you have a link to the resin, I would like to read? Dave

So it is going soft in water? Dave

Check the specs of the art resin, probably not water resistant. Dave

There is nothing wrong with float testing or 'winging it'. Engineering or trial and error still give you total control. Dave

Ha! Bet you can guess my answer 1 - Weigh the body. 2 - Archimedes volume test for body volume. 3 - Weigh the hardware. 4 - Simple calculation. 5 - Find COG of body 6 - Build. Dave

In that case, go with Mark's suggestion Dave

Sorry about that Dave

It beats me why people would spend so much money on a tool to do such a simple job as a haywire twist. If you want speed, a simple jig can be made. but even hand wrapping a barrel twist is not that time consuming. Of course, for more complex wire forms and shapes for jigs yes, I get it. But, even jigs for these can be made with a little thought. Sorry if I ruffle any feathers Dave