mark poulson

Not really genius. I just had some undrunk actone left over one night, and the rest, as they say, is history. Hahaha I actually found that acetone melts plastic many years ago, when I broke the bakelite wheel on a homeowner's old Sears vacuum cleaner, and used acetone to weld it, back in the 70s, long before I made cranks.

To me, this gives the chartreuse with the most pop, which is what I'm usually after when I'm using chartreuse.

I love it when you talk dirty!

I would shoot Createx transparent med. grey, in light coats, until I got the shade I'm looking for. Maybe even shoot the grey on first, and then scale over it with a pearl white. Then go back and fog as needed with some kind of gold.

Since I found VMC offset worm hooks with epoxy closures at the eye, I snell them, too, and I have better hookups. I've stuck more senko fish in the bottom of the mouth with snelled hooks than ever before.

Thanks for sharing Dink Master. If you snell your hooks, you'll find it increases your hookups, too.

If it's a clear, unpainted blank, I dip it quickly in clean acetone, to remove a small layer of plastic from the outer surface, and then I can paint directly onto the plastic, with no primer. Most of the time it also clears up any sanding marks, because it actually melts the surface plastic. Just a quick dip, or the bait can actually dissolve or leak.

Here's what I found:

You can look here and see if there's something you can use: http://www.rockler.com/sharpening/sharpening-jigs-and-guides If you overheat a tool while you're sharpening it, and the tip gets too hot, it can either get brittle, or lose it's temper and get soft. Just take your time. A tool doesn't have to have a perfect edge to work, just a sharp one.

Dude, you gotta change your screen name. Every time you post I get hungry! Hahaha Seriously, go to the Larry Dahlberg site, http://www.makelure.com/, and look at his how-to videos. He covers just about everything there. Plus they have enough supplies to get you started. Gotta go now. My stomach's growling!

MG, He's young and just starting out, so I'm sure he can pick up how to use a double action air brush pretty easily. I think it's like learning to use a baitcaster. Of course, I've discovered that being able to use a dual action brush doesn't mean I can actually paint. I guess it is the same as a baitcaster. I can use one really well, but I can't catch fish!

You try any harder, and those things will swim by themselves!

I've been able to alter the weighting of plastic baits by drilling a 1/4" hole in the back, removing or adding whatever weight I needed to, and then sealing the hole with bondo. I spread the bondo about 1/8" thick onto the sticky side of a piece of blue painters masking tape, place the tape over the hole, and push it down so that the bondo that enters the hole is only that 1/8" thick+-. Once it's set, I remove the tape, sand down to the bait's surface, and then use runny super glue to reinforce the bondo, and seal over the hole. I've used this method to add weight to jerkbaits, and I've never had a problem, even though the balls in those baits move back and forth all the time.

Since the gloss in a top coat also gives it it's strength, I'd suggest either putting on a gloss coat, and then a second coat of matte finish, or two coats of gloss, and then take the shine off the second coat with a Scotchbite pad or fine steel wool. Once the lure is wet, it will look glossy anyway.

Really nice!

I got over losing homemade lures years ago, when my first two sons practically emptied my tackle box of homemade trout spoons. They were fishing off the rocks at a lake in the Sierras when DFG stocked right next to them, and they had two hours of non-stop hookups. They only paused when they had to retie, because they were losing spoons to the rocks. They each caught at least 50 trout, which they released. I really didn't mind losing the spoons, but I did have one regret. After that, they expected to catch like that all the time!

Could you mold a head from plumber's epoxy putty?

I did, too. To me, they are the same except for the tail. If you buy the Robo Zipper Grub, and don't split the tail, they're very close.

I think, in a big school of shad, all the extra "eyes" makes it harder for a predator to focus on just one bait fish, or it wouldn't have survived and been pass on through the genes. Since it is a group adaptation, a single bait fish won't have the same advantage, and might even be easier to spot.

I. HATE. YOU!!!! Hahaha

That's actually my method, too.

I think you should contact the paint manuf. and ask them what their particle size is. Or just do a test shoot, and be ready to break down and clean your air brush if it doesn't work.

I think you can find yellow chartreuse and green chartreuse. At least those are two colors I remember choosing from somewhere. There are so many varieties and shades, I just mix my yellow and green to make the shade I want. Kinda like "season to taste".

This is for Dave, and all the other folks here who can actually use a computer and get the most out of one. Here's a lure making software that seems like it would be useful: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA2CqTBrMS8

I just watched the Larry Dahlberg videos. Again. That guy is sure clever! Thanks for the link, and the reminder.