mark poulson

You can retrieve a bent blade faster without it rising. Some blades come with two holes in the outer edges, and these seem to allow a slightly faster retrieve without the bait rising, but I bend them anyway.

The silver seems to have the largest veining. Is this true in real life, or just the photos they chose for their samples?

Will this system trip the breaker on a 20 amp 110 v circuit?

I find that the coarser Kosher salt affect my plastic colors the least.

Well, I finally did a couple of batches of Essential beavers with bacon grease added. My first batch was 1/2 tsp/1/2 cup plastic. My second batch was 1 tsp/1/2 cup plastic. With both batches, I reheated some plastic I'd already colored, salted, and used. I added the bacon grease when I had the plastic up to pouring temps, stirred it in well, and injected it. Both batches injected well, and filled the cavities. The plastic, which was originally BJ med, did seem softer, but still felt strong. I let them sit for a day, and then did a smell check. I could't smell the bacon grease. I did not do a taste test. The grease has sat in a jar for a couple of months, so I was chicken. I seem to be a natural when it comes to giving myself food poisoning. I have one of each batch rigged on a jig, and will test them next time out. I'll report back.

A quick dip in Solarez will smooth your baits once they're sanded with 120, too.

Wow, I never thought about the lights losing their UV output! I guess I've been lucky, since I've used the same nail light for several years now, and my Solarez still cures in three minutes.

Plus water temps affect lure flotation, too. Lures that suspend in colder water will sink in warmer water, because it is less dense. I use an unheated bucket of water in my garage to test float my lures, and check it's temp. to allow for differences between the garage and the on-the-water temps.

Ken Mah, a prominent West Coast angler, posted a how-to video in which he heated tungsten weights with no inserts over a propane torch, and the tungsten changed color permanently. I use a sharpie, and repeat as needed.

I sand down to 120 grit, and then use super glue to "glaze" the bait before I begin painting. My base coat, usually Wicked White or Black, smooths out whatever's left.

I clicked on this thread thinking, "Aha, something I actually know something about". Then I realized it was about tools to hold stuff....

You can just use a sharpie to put a letter on the bill once you've made them, like P for poplar, and C for cedar.

Cause you're a Magic Man! Hahaha

I bought some several years ago at the Anglers Marine Bass-A-Thon, when Bryan Thrift was there doing a seminar. He said the hooks were the key to keeping the bait upright, because they had such a deep throat it put the weight far enough down to give it the leverage to flip the bait over when it landed upside down. I fished one, with the beast hook I bought at the same time, and it does right itself every time. No, I didn't get bit, but I plan to try it up here on the Delta this spring.

Maybe the dual cure polyester resin cures harder/faster because it is designed for surfboard repairs. My UV nail light cures it hard in 3 minutes.

I got my 36 watt UV nail light here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=uv+nail+lights The one I bought is black, 36 watt, and was $25-$30. The have 45 watt lights there, too, that aren't too expensive, and with Prime, shipping is two day.

Done.

Clear nail polish.

I added a gram of lead wire to the belly treble's shank, and that did it for me. It gave my bait a much more stable front section.

Ben, I use a smaller O ring instead of a rubber skirt collar, and I reuse after I get the skirt on the jig/spinnerbait and wired in place.

Great write up! Thanks for sharing. Maybe this could be a sticky, so everyone thinking about trying that system can have access to all your great information.

Thanks for the ideas. The prop delta blade from LPO does look like it would work, and it is lighter.

It's been slow for me, with cold, muddy water, but Cooch stuck a 13lb 2oz jig fish the other day, so they are here. Just need to find them. http://www.westernbass.com/forum/the-delta-t99978.html

I learned the hard way to check my Spam folder before I delete, since some stuff shows as spam when it's not. I even get some stuff I want to read kicked to the trash folder automatically, so I check that, too.