Vodkaman

Where I come from, we use two of them on a hook for bait. That was before I got into to hard baits (avatar).

I think that I've figured it out (in my sleep last night). I'll start typing it out tonight. Sorry in advance, it's not going to be brief.

Are you sure, with my bad reputation for confusing people! Wind a length of string on your finger. Form a loop and place the loop on your finger and pull tight. For safety put at least two. It is the simplest knot of all, but don't forget the superglue!

I have always used a couple of half hitches and applied a spot of superglue to the finished knot. This enables the thread to be trimmed close without danger of it falling apart. A spot of 5 minute epoxy would do the trick also and give a nice finish.

Savacs is studying Hydro' (Sorry Savacs)!

So how does a successful swim bait swim? Does it naturally swim in an 'S' shaped pattern or does it require the jerk input to get the zigzag motion. I've never made one, only concentrating on lipped baits so far.

Most split the lure, instal the wire then glue the halves together. I can see how this method would give you problems as the lip would go in after the wire. The method that I use on my prototypes is to cut a slot down the belly (or the back) of the shaped body using a thick cutting disk in a drill (dremel). This allows you to fit the lip first. Form the eye, thread the wire through the lip. Check the length and form the tail eye (and belly). Tuck the wire into the slot and hold in place with superglue. Fill the slot with wood filler or epoxy. The wire can be pushed deeper to allow for fitting the ballast. But there are other ways of solving the ballast problem. Cut a slot in the ballast or fit the ballast as a flat lead plate, recessed to hide it. For a professional finish, effort must be invested to hide the slot but this is not a huge problem. I have used this method from the start and have had no problems. The tricky part is forming the rear eye as when the wire is twisted, the length shortens. But it is not necessary to twist the wire, just bend it over about an inch. It will never pull out.

I've twisted 7 strand and fixed it like solid wire, you must twist it in the same direction as the strand twist or it will unravel. Also, the loop must be kept small as the first heavy load will set the loop in an elongated shape. The small loops make for a very tidy joint. As for durability of a straight through 7 strand hinge, no one has given any feedback for or against.

WOW! Love it all, the lip, paint job AND the photo.

Drinking on the rocks can seriously damage your health! VODKAMAN

Good solution Riverman. I particularly like the fact that it can be dismantled.

I think Fatfingers is on the money, the eye may need to be move back 2 or 3 millimetres. The lure looks really great. I would frame this one for posterity and get on with sorting out the problems. It is very disheartening after all the work, not to have it swim, but this is a good lesson for the future. On the next one, I would take it to the water with just a sealing coat to keep the water out. In fact, I would not plan to take the next one to a finish. Take some cutting gear with you. Take a few diferent size lips and fix them in position with soft glue (UHU) so they can be quickly swapped over. Extend the eye so that it sticks out 3/8 inch, this will enable you to experiment with the eye location. Swim the lure horizontal and make a note of the line angle to the water. Try the ballast a little forward. My guess is the lure is suffering from death roll type 2, I wrote an article on this subject not too long ago called 'death roll'. If you still struggle to get a swimmer, post again with all the information, measurements, ballast positions, materials, etc. This site loves to sort out these type of problems as we have ALL been there. good luck.

I can't remember anyone here suggesting that idea before. So simple, I'm disappointed that I did not think of it myself. Nice one Ernel.

How about putting together some images and slogans for Tee shirts, should be a laugh. Also, if anyone sees a design published here, the pic can be pulled off and given to a T-shirt printer. Keep the pic files small so as not to irritate the management, if the original is required, we can deal with that by PM and e-mails.

Birdy. Excellent tutorial, well written and very easy to understand, something that I am not so good at. I agree with you that it is dificult to decide which forum to present this project as it is half and half. But, personally, I read all the forums and pick up knowledge from them all. Quite often techniques applied to one type of bait can be transferred to another. I would be very interested to read what everyone else thinks about this work. Good job. Send me your Email addy, my work PM does not work, cheers.

Are you using the correct tools for the job, or freehanding. A fly tying vice and a few hackle clamps (not sure of the correct name), make the job so much easier by keeping everything tight. Also the tools enable you to let go of everything without it falling apart. A simple starter book to fly tying will help enormously.

What is causing the thickness problem? Is it something to do with the sprue solidifying too soon, causing back pressure on the soft mould material, I cannot make sense of the problem. If this was the case, then opening the sprue hole would help. But I would get more experienced advice first, I am only theorising (bored at work)!

Basically it all comes down to density. The heavier the wood, the more the weight is spread out and the harder it is to get the action. Not everyone wants masses of action, each to their own preferrences. I prefer balsa, easy to work and good action but there are many disadvantages. Balsa requires through wire, as screw eyes will pull out. Because of its soft texture, it is prone to tooth attack and subsequent paint problems. I have no real experience with the other woods, but if you do word searches on the wood names, you will find the information that you are looking for. Good luck.

Riverman. To be honest, once I arrived at a solution for the hinge, I lost interest in the jointed lure. It was around that time that I made huge leaps forward in the lip theory and concentrated on that. I will eventually get back to the hinge, but at the moment work is severely hindering my progress. I hope someone tries it.

Sound advice BobP.

Welcome Bowman. This is an excellent question and has been asked many times before. In fact it was pretty much the first question that I asked, with very little positive response. Over the last six months their have been many discussions on the subject, so I am giving you a series of words to search this site for. The search function at the top of the page only allows single word searches, so you have quite a bit of reading to do. Unfortunately I am under the thumb at work and do not have the time to present you with direct links. Good luck with it and ask questions. Search words: vortex vortices axis axes buoyancy yaw roll wobble waggle ballast hunt hunter death (as in death roll). Hope this helps. Also read all posts by Skeeter and Lapala.

Finlander. At exactly the same time that I posted, Husky posted the same method on hardbait forum, except his description is far superior to mine. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9628 Hope this link works.

Hoodaddy. I checked it out a while back, price is not too scarey. Do you own one, if so I have a bag of questions for you, if you do not mind. Sorry for the mini hijack, but my PM does not work on this office system, the security is as tight as a ducks a---.

What about the foam? Not sure I would trust it with screw eyes, anyone have any experience? But my hangars are going to be multi purpose by holding and positioning the ballast.

Mr Hoo'. That's pretty much it. When you drop the wire in, do you coat it with flux or any cleaning agent or any other process? You've got the pics nailed now.