Vodkaman

I don't like this copying mentality. The only time the copy is justified is when you are copying nature. If I make a realistic looking shad bait and someone else has already made a realistic looking shad, then you cannot accuse me of copying, as I am copying nature, not the other bait. I scan the web for a photo of a real fish that suits my purpose. Even then the shape gets changed to something that is stronger around the tail and simplified around the head. Darkman - the two examples you quoted are probably not the best, as the Triton Mike bait is a reverse engineered copy of a successful but discontinued bait, by Mike's own admission. The basic shape of the bait looks fairly standard jerk bait to me. The Zoom - Roboworm example, again not a good example. the Roboworm is more than 25 years old and as such is beyond protection. Even copying the names of the colors is a non-issue and no different to calling a color firetiger or sexy shad. Those color names are now industry standards. In both these cases the bait has become a lure standard, if there was a hall of fame, these baits would be in it. Yes, it is blatant copying, but copying an unprotected bait, all you can do is shrug your shoulders and make sure that you apply higher standards to your own work. It is a crying shame that a company the size of Zoom cannot come up with its own original work and feels that it has to copy, quite laughable really. Copying at any level is ethically wrong and unnecessary. But, all you can do is roll your eyes in mild discust. It is not that difficult to come up with an original design, research natures catalogue of patterns and add a little imagination and inginuity. If you copy a new and protected bait, then you deserve to get your neck stepped on in the courts. What Venution_lures is experiencing is way beyond copying a design or paint pattern, it is identity theft. People go to prison for such crimes and rightly so. I have experienced identity theft in a cheque book fraud, that person was caught and imprisoned. Dave

Yes, the mini drill press will solve all that. I suggest you go ahead with the drill press and the belt sander for now. The saw can wait a little longer. Dave

The sander looks like it will do the job. Pity about the guard over the curved part at the top, the curved part of the sander gets used a lot on mine. The mini drill press looks good, but you will be limited to D6mm max drill size. There should be stepped drills available should the requirement arise. I have my doubts about the Dremel stuff. Clemmy is right, you need some kind of modular setup, otherwise you will end up with no work space on your bench and it will be occupied by tools that only get used occasionally in the build process. A more complex solution, but more user friendly, would be a rotating/locking table for your power tools. This would only use up 2' of your bench, leaving the rest for a vise and work area. You would rotate the table to bring the desired tool to the front, then lock the table. Another idea that was discussed recently, was a flip bench, for housing two separate tools. Again, a complex build. Dave

Mark - you got otters, you lucky guy. It took me two years to capture an otter photo. Extremely shy critters and the poop really stinks bad. The poop is a territory and mating thing, so they are going to be around for a while. Probably make a good lure attractant, are you brave enough to try otter poop Dave

Memories of Catwoman, and while we're in that era, Emma Peel - time for a cold shower! Dave

The black is the object to wrap. red is the main wrap, showing the finishing loop. Green shows the finishing process. This is a continuation of the red. Blue shows the loop passed over the end before pulling through. Dave

I don't have bosses looking over my shoulder, so TU is an open tab on my computer 24/7. Dave

Yes, fish do taste and follow the scent. Some fish have stronger 'taste buds' than others. Bottom feeders like catfish, carp, tench, eels have a particularly good taste sense, having in most cases visible taste appendages (cats whiskers). The reason bottom feeders have more developed taste is because they reside in the deepest waters, where visibility is very poor. There is a local man made catfish pond. The water is so murky that you cannot see the bottom of a cup of the soup. The anglers use strong, blood flavored bait very successfully. Dave

It would be useful if you could post a sketch of the knot that you are tying off with. Because the item you are whipping is open ended, then this makes for a simple tie off. You obviously are using something more complex, as you mention two loops. I will try describing the knot that I would be using: 1 - wrap towards the end (vise end in your image). 2 - when wrapped enough, make a large loop, laying along the wrap. 3 - continue wrapping six more times, trapping the loop line. 4 - remove from vise and slip loop over end of item. 5 - pull the trapped tag (place end back in vise to make easier). This may need a sketch. Dave

Inspired by Mo's post above - order 500, payment on delivery of half batch, then cancel the payment. Dave

This crazy law suit society has even had an affect on TU. There are many jig and tool discussions, a major one being home made duplicator machines for carving complex curvature hard bait bodies. Because dup machines involve high speed cutting tools, and complex structure to make them work, they are considered dangerous if construction was attempted by an inexperience builder. For this reason, no one has dared to publish designs or instructions on how to safely build one of those machines, despite a lot of interest. The irony is, that there are enough pics and videos out there on the web to enable anyone with the determination to have a stab at a duplicator build themselves. Inexperienced in design and without a basic understanding of what is required from a safety point of view, or even inexperience with the tools required to build such a project without guidance, places such people in great danger, even grave risk. The use of high speed machinery can go south in a split second, but with the right design, advice, instruction and guidance, such machines can be perfectly safe. But, who in this world of law suit mentality, is going to publish such design guidance and instructions at the risk of being legally liable - not I for sure. I may want to visit the USA one day. Dave

The intrigue is killing me - hope you keep us all informed of your progress. Good luck for a successful outcome. Dave

JR I thought about that, but didn't check - DUH! Dave

This is true, but the smell or flavor without the THC has no attracting power. For this reason, if I am using a scent such as garlic, I make it from the raw ingredients, just in case I am missing something. Scent extracts are purely that, a concentrated extract with everything else removed. On the face of it, this thread is mildly amusing, but a deeper discussion on scents hasn't been aired in a long time. It could get interesting and informative. Dave

So, you have a plastic pouring setup in your garage. Your neighbors get a bit miffed by the smells and suspect some nefarious operations going on, and report a possible drugs operation to the police. The police raid your lab, and upon smelling the ganja extract, tear your 'lab' apart. Place you in a cell for a few days while the forensics people go through your garage testing every surface for residues. Your computer gets confiscated to be searched for more evidence. This is a reality, it could happen. Sure you are innocent, but what a mad inconvenience to put yourself through for a smell that is most unlikely to attract fish. I say stick to garlic Dave

Bob is right, the main issue here is the use of your name, not the artwork copying. I was going to suggest that you go round and beat the .... out of the impudent little brat, but that would not be very lady like. It would make a great video though Dave

I would contact the individual and give them a chance to stop using your name. If he tries to defend his position and refuses to stop using your name, then a very public naming and shaming would be perfectly in order. Regardless of patents, copyrights and all the rest, there would be merit for a court case. But no one wants to go to that kind of expense and all the stress. The kid obviously has a lot of skill just to be able to copy your artwork and others, he just has a few lessons to learn in ethics and credibility. Once he gets his head straight I am sure he will do well and earn the respect that he craves on his own merits. Dave

Ha! - loved the article; very well written, entertaining, had me grinning all the way through. A huge complement, many thanks. Dave

Thanks Curt. Hope it fixes the problem, as it is a real pain having the entire paragraph on one line and having to scroll to read it before posting. Dave

Jeff - thread wrapping would be the way I go for sure, even without the wrapping tools, but I would only have to wrap a dozen or so. Dave

Musky0503 - You obviously mean 0.041" and 0.051" diameter wire. Best use units to keep things clear. Dave

Very good mini-tutorial. The mylar sandwich sounds interesting. Report back on that one. Dave

I agree - great vids. Dave

The epoxy solution looks the best solution. Too much fiddling and limitations with the heat shrink. If you only have a few hooks to do, then the 5 min epoxy is a good solution. If you want to do fifty or more, then a slower epoxy will allow you to do larger batches. This is the kind of job that you only want to do once a year. Another solution is to thread wrap, but again, labor intensive, shouldn't have even mentioned it. Mainly I just wanted to say good job - that you thought the problem through and came up with good solutions. Dave

A simple spreadsheet is what I would be using. You can easily get the sheet to do any adding or subtracting automatically. I can build you something simple, just write down what you want the sheet to do. DAve