mark poulson

If you are thinking of making a business out of it, you could probably sell a bunch of Lexan lips here.

I really like the Wicked paints, because they "convert" on their own, without heat, according to the Createx website. I'm not exactly sure what is involved, but I do find that both the white and the black that I use seem to dry faster with a hair dryer, and I am able to put on a thicker base coat with them with no problems.

I hadn't seen that. It's very interesting. I throw my G-fix 80 with a baitcaster, and 8lb fluoro. I did donate one to some deep wood Sunday, so now I'm leery of using anything less than 8lb, and I have a rig spooled up with 10lb to try this weekend. Castaic Lake is down 130', for the first time since it was filled, and there are still oak stumps with volunteer shoots down there that haven't rotted away in more than 50 years! I never throw reaction baits on anything less than 8lb, but I know guys who do, and get bit, too. They have stouter hearts than I!

Fun tour! Thanks! That duplicator looks awesome!!!

Thanks Nate. It was a five hour build, including drying time. Now that I know how to do it, I'm sure it will go faster, if it gets bit and I decide to make more.

I was worried that 3/8" would not be strong enough, once I'd drilled my 1/4" ballast holes, and that's why I went to 1/2". I've made flat sided cranks that are 1/2" thick, and they hold up to fish. I rounded the bait, but left the bottom flat, with rounded edges, so it looks almost like a jerkbait. I think the flat, angled ramp of the chin keeps the bait horizontal on a slow retrieve, providing lift, like with the chin on a Sammie. I think the flat bottom of the mid portion is supposed to cause the bait to shimmy on the fall. And I think the counter rotating blades will cause the bait to rock from side to side on the retrieve, making the glitter flash as it rocks. All in all, they put a lot of thought into the commercial baits. I have caught suspending fish on the Duo Realis G-fix 80 baits. I hope my bait works on them, too, but I am going to try and keep this bait away from the stripers. They are just too hard on everything. I'm pretty sure it will hold up to largemouth bass. I hope to find out soon!

8" per second. The ones from Duo Realis fall a foot a second. They are meant to be fished at depth, not on the surface, and the 10.5 grams of their G-fix model makes them cast really well with a light baitcasting outfit.

When the chatterbait first came out, I also used flattened chrome plated spinnerbait blades to make them, but I found the brass was too soft, and it sometimes broke. So I switched to using steel blades.

Those are both great ideas. Thanks!

I use black, watermelon green, green pumpkin, brown, and chartreuse mostly. I add drops of one or the other to get the color and shading I want. Remember, if you add flake, it will affect what you plastic looks like, so do some small batch experiments first, so you don't waste a lot of plastic.

I'm a hobby builder, and make baits for myself and my friends. I try not to make my process so expensive that it takes the fun out of building. I draw the bill shape and pattern on blue tape on the Lexan, include a centerline, drill for the line tie, and install the lips before I do the final shape. That way I can use the centerline on the bait and the one on the bill to make sure it's installed straight. Then, once the epoxy I use to install it is set, I sand to the final shape line with my belt sander, and fine tune it with a file, if need be. If I were making a lot of baits with the same bill, I would probably try and find a way do to more before they were installed, but I only make one at a time.

I just posted a picture. http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/gallery/image/13886-20141217-070125-resized/ I started out with a 1/2" thick X 5/8" tall blank, because I was afraid that I would have to use a through wire if I made it thinner. The commercial bait I used as a guideline is only 5/16" thick at it's widest. I've made PVC baits from 1/2" before, and it's the thinnest I felt safe I could go to and still be able to use my 1/4" lead ballast and .072 sst screw eyes.

I just made one, too. It isn't hard to ballast. If you look at the ghost patterns on the Duo Realis baits on TW, they have the ballast split around the front hook hanger, so that's what I did. Mine weighs 16 grams, falls at 3/4' per second. I hope to take it out Sat. for a swim. It looks fine in the float bucket. I'll post a picture in the gallery this morning.

If you use a colored nail polish, once it's dried you have to go over it with clear nail polish, or it will react with plastics. I use Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails clear if I have it, but almost any clear will work. I add soft plastic flake to clear nail polish, to add flake to my powder painted jig heads.

I checked out your stuff. You do very nice work! I've always wondered why that kind of snap bend almost never comes apart on chatterbaits and crankbaits, but no one uses it for anything else.

My experience with dyes is that they are only good for one color baits, because they all bleed. I haven't found a cheap source. I stick with the colors I get from the plastics sellers, because they work.

Has anyone here tried to make a spybait yet?

I asked because I've never made a bait with a CB lip, but I've fished a couple, and thought the action was the same as the thinner Lexan. The Lexan does hold up to grinding on rocks very well.

Smalljaw, Have you ever tried using the same kind of bend that is on openable snaps to close a loop?

Thanks. I bookmarked the link. I'm thinking white won't be a problem. I don't think a popper needs to be transparent. Leonard Smith suggested sanding some cork into coarse dust, and adding that into the plastic. That might work for more transparent baits, too.