StoneCoal Tackle

I've always preferred raised eyes and have tried several different things but your method is a good one for sure. Great looking eyes! Thanks for sharing them.

Well, there is another way in but if you throw up the overhead garage door this is what greets you! .....a 16' X 26' one car garage with a "chopped" '53 Willys pickup project that I started 27 years ago, a '64 Chevy II that I bought 6 years ago and promptly lost in the debris and enough other junk to fill a two car garage!!!!..............now if you go in and turn left into the attatched 14' X 24' wood shop you will find this little corner dedicated to lure building......... .........this picture was taken in the fall of 2003 about a month after I started building lures, and I haven't cleaned up since so you can imagine how it looks today:lol: Do I win?? Where's my trophy?? Let's see some more, daymon

By all means go for it! I'm with Carpholeo on the joint location and Rofish is right on with the color enhancement. Good luck with it and keep us posted. Carve on, daymon

Clamboni, great thread! Here's mine................. ......The lure, a small replica of a 1920's Heddon "Crab Wiggler". As you can see from the pic it has taken on some water and the finish is cracked but it hangs proudly in my handmade lure collection ........and the lure and fish. The fish is bigger than the lure but not much, LOL but the first one is such a rush that size doesn't matter! Won't ever forget that July '04 evening on Stonecoal lake!

Good to hear from you Rob. The frogs are awesome as usual and those mice are really nice! Carve on, daymon

Still pluggin away on the house. Trimming out, setting doors, laying tile etc. Hope to post some more pics soon. In the meantime we got our generator the other day........ Now I'm no electrician and I don't claim to know all my "Jiggy Jolts" and "Hyper Amps" but I'm betting this thing will run the mirowave and the coffee pot at the same time with no problem! ......Smallblock Chevy V8 running on propane, now that's my kind of generator!

Great looking baits Smitty, I bought some of that same leafing at Michaels a few months back but have yet to try it. You've got me wanting to give it a whirl!

KC and Bruce, yes we see momma too. She brings Spot there and then goes feeding around, coming back to check on him and let him have his lunch too. Got to watch him suck milk one day but didn't have the camera handy . I really think the mother knows he's safe near us. I think she knows that where ever there's people just going about their business that there are no predators around. Yes that's all field stone on the fireplaces, no fake rocks here! The owner has picked them up from all over, including hauling some of them from Oakland, MD where he currently lives. Have you ever seen a Honda Passport with 1,000 pounds of field stone in the back of it? It's quite a sight! LOL. The stone mason is a crazy old hippie (hope he doesn't read this, LOL) who is cranky, bull headed, unpredictable and only shows up when he wants too, BUT he's the BEST and you can't help but like him. I've known him for over twenty five years and continue to be amazed with his work. Especially on this job where he has taken such a variety of stones and made them flow together so well. Glen says the stones "talk" to him and I believe they do! Later, daymon

Here's a few more pics. The stone work is now finished on the downstairs fireplace....... most of the walls are painted and trim work is in progress.......... most of the walls are painted in a stone grey neutral color but there will be a splash of color here and there....... here the wires for the radiant heat are going in under the floor tile........ On a sad note we lost a man this week, "Tiny" was a big man, hard worker and dedicated. We buried him out back, that's what he would have wanted. It took Jeff all day to dig the grave....................................... Just kidding, the hole is for the underground propane tank which will fuel the huge Kohler generator capable of powering the entire house. Here's "Spot" lounging by the house again............ And just for fun here are a couple "then and now" shots....................... Happy 4th of July!! daymon

Hello all, Once again alot has happened on the house since my last post. We are now working on interior trim, tile etc. so here's a few pics to catch you up a little. Drywall being delivered, windows weren't quite big enough so we cut a hole in the wall..... Drywall going up....... Drywall being taped and filled......... Ceilings being textured............. Drywaller taking a break.......... Master plumbers installing one of the bathrooms.................... it's amazing how many times you end up moving these things over the course of a project! Drilling the wells ( eight of them, 180' deep) for the geo-thermal heating/cooling system........... Grouting the pipes into the wells......... This is "Spot", he was born about three weeks ago and spends most of his days near by. He was barely dry and very wobbly when I snapped this pic but he is growing fast. Usually lays within 30 or 40 feet of us! Knows he's safe I guess. Hope to post a few more pics later today. daymon

Finished another of the crank baits and took it for a swim today in Stonecoal Lake. This one swam great straight out of the box with no tuning! A couple follows but no takers this time. No matter, I was happy with it. ...........not sure what you'd call this pattern? "Fire Crappie".....maybe, LOL

Deimai, great looking start on your swimbait! Nice explaination on your process too! Can't wait to see it finished. daymon

Uuhhhhhhhhhh.............................................................Heck yeah!

Thanks guys, I took it for a swim on the way home from work monday evening and was pleased. Had to tune it a little but it straightened up and swam great. Fairly tight wobble and about a foot and a half deep on a slow retrieve. The water was kinda murky so I couldn't tell for sure but I think I could get it down to 5 or 6 feet on a fast crank. Although I can hook the hooks together by hand, they never tangled in the 25 or 30 throws I made with it. No strikes but I had an 8-10 inch bass follow it so I'm happy with it. Have a couple more in the works so stay tuned for one in a brighter pattern, like ..............."Fire Crappie"...LOL:lol: Carve on, daymon PS The house is coming along nicely, I'll see if I can get some more pics up this weekend.

Well guys, I finished one of my crank baits but it isn't the first one I cut out. This is one of the basswood ones, it's a little heavier than the cedar but I think it's easier to work with. I went with the square lip and the belly weight on this one is kinda between where I originally planned and where LaPala suggested. The paint is Krylon rattle can base with some black water colors brushed on and a couple red gill slashes. The eye is painted on. I'm going to take it to work with me tomorrow and stop at a pond on the way home and give it a swim. Wish me luck. Carve on, daymon

This would be a blast to try.

Looking good Dave! Looks like it's a lot more lively than before. Can't wait to see more.

Hey Pete, the house is located in the little community of Ireland, West Virginia. If you visited Vince you were probably within a few hours of me. Ireland is not much more than a wide spot in the road but they do have a post office (about the size of a one car garage) and they have a cool "Irish Spring Festival" complete with "Road Bowling". Glad you made it home safely, sure wish I could have made it to Clinton for the TU gathering. Maybe next year.

Hey Wickyman, welcome to TU! Looks like you, Dave and Pete are partial to the square lip so I believe I'll go with it. Anthony, thanks for the hook and weight mods. If they are good enough for you and pikeman then I'll sure give'em a try. I'm hoping to put the line tie in the wood just above lip............... .....hope it will work there. I've cut out another one of these in cedar and a couple out of basswood to whittle on during lunch this week. Maybe I'll try a few different things with lips, weight etc. on the others. ..............Like maybe a prop version for Rookie You guys have a good week and I'll try to make some progress on this thing. Carve on, daymon