mark poulson

Man, if I can pour something anywhere close to those, I'll be thrilled!

Man, it's amazing how fast bad stuff can happen!

For me, jerkbaits are so finicky I never use Solarez to top coat them. It is too heavy, and affects the action, and the buoyancy, too much. For any bait where weight is an issue, I use a concrete sealer, AC1315. Thin, strong, clear, UV protected (won't yellow over time), and fast. I dip it outside with good ventilation(fumes), let it drip back into the container until it stops dripping, wipe off any excess drip at the bottom, wait 15 minutes, for it's solvent to flash off,and then hit with my hair dryer on low, to speed up the curing. I can handle it in an hour, and fish it the next day, although waiting another day lets it cure out completely. There are other thin top coats, like urethanes and lacquers, but this is the one I've found works best for me.

Definitely not for the faint of heart! I ALWAYS wear safety glasses when I'm working, or fishing.

I think that is the same stuff I used when I had the crack issues. Azek doesn't have any.

Generally speaking, I've found that longer, thinner bills dive deeper, with less wobble. Kind of makes sense, since wobbling comes from water spilling off the bill, first to one side and then the other, so a wider bill catches and spills more water each time, increasing the wobble. I find that the bill needs to be at least as wide as the bait. My truly flat sided baits need the bill a little wider than the body, or they don't wiggle (X) at all. I always try and find a successful commercial lure that similar to what I wand to make and use that as a starting point.

I had a piece of steel stick in my eye years ago. By the time I had it removed, six hours later, I also had rust. The Dr. used a magnet to try and remove most of it, but there's still some there, 50+ years later. Fortunately, it wasn't in my pupil.

JR, Sometimes in the past, but not recently.

When I'm using my UV nail light box to cure Solarez resin, I remove the base plate, and lay the box with that side facing down, so I can cure my 3D Solarez eyes. The light shines down toward the floor, and the mouth faces away from me. When I'm using it upright, so I can hand my lures inside to cure, I don't look inside for any length of time, and I put a piece of paper over the opening while it's curing, to block the light.

You can also use a wood filler like Famowood. It's solvent based, stick, is waterproof, and is easy to sand. http://eclecticproducts.com/products/famowood/famowood-original-wood-filler.html

I tied my first trout flies when I was about 10. I made my first trout spoon out of some scrap brass not long after that.

I'm 'ascared to ask why....

Have you been naughty? I always blame my most recent life choices whenever something goes wrong. Hahaha Seriously, I have no clue, but someone here should know.

Just be careful where you mount the intake, if it clips onto your belt. An aft location can result in unfortunate reminders of what you had for dinner!

My AC1315 is hard enough to fish after a one day cure. I bought it late last year, so it's still "new".

I have a vice with a piece of 1/8" lexan, wrapped a couple of times with blue painters tape, clamped in it, 1/4" down. So, once I heat the bill with my heat gun, I just slip it down into the vice until it hits the piece that's clamped, and bend it forward a little. It's not an exact science, but it's just for me, so it's fine.

I like the 1/8" lexan for deep diver, where the line tie is way out on the bill. I just think it gives some added strength. Like Dave said, I back chamfer the bills, and I also heat the leading edge and bend it up a little. Just the first 1/4". I think it helps the bait dive to max depth faster, and stay down longer.

I've colored the tails on the BBZ 6" swimbait with solvent sharpies. It lasts for a while, but it needs to be redone every so often. You might get better answers if you post your question on the soft plastics forum.

Where did you find that color? I can't find it on any of the sites I buy from.

Woodie, Is that just to keep the hardware from pulling out, or does the wire make the bait stronger?

Those baits look really good. Are they transfer "painted"?

Do you have to through wire your foam baits?