mark poulson

You hit the "More Reply Options" tab right next to the Post tab at the bottom right when you post a reply. One of the options lets you attach files and pictures.

Needle nose vice grips are great for wire bending.

Great! Thanks for sharing how you've solved your problem, and your build in general. Does you bait sink head down, or level?

I use Sculpy Clay for some, and soft plastic that I weld together into different shapes for others. The clay lets me make anything I can think of, almost, as long as I can get the clay to keep the shape until it's fired hard. Using soft plastic masters lets me us Solarez UV resin to make the mold itself, and I can capture any fine detail with it. I found a neat way to make hook slots in clay masters. Use a plano divider. I made some flat sided shad soft baits that I fish with a belly weighted hook. Make the clay master in two halves, join them together, with the divider in the middle where you want the hook slot. When you bake the clay, the divider looks like it's melting, but the part inside the clay holds it's shape, and it's easy to remove once it's cooled down. I use 1/8" spacers on each side of my molding table, and a dowel rolled across them to flatten the clay to 1/8" evenly. Then I cut out the shape of the bait in one piece, lay it over the rest of the 1/8" clay and trace out the shape again. That way, when I cut the second half out, it's really close to the first. Take the two halves, make a plano divider sandwich, finger the clay to make the joint smoother, prop it up vertical with two rocks on your cookie sheet, divider up, and put it in the oven to bake. Makes a neat bait that no one else has.

I haven't seen your crankbait, but I have found that the rounder a bait is in cross section, the more wobble, or roll, it has. I'm guessing it has to do with how easily the water passes over a round surface, as opposed to a flat surface. Maybe tapering the lower half a little, so it has small flat sides part way up from the belly. For me, flat sides wiggle like crazy, but don't seem to wobble like round baits do.

Hahaha I know the feeling!

"Don't ask, don't tell" Bill Clinton. I guess he forgot to tell Monica about that. Hahaha

I'm clueless when it comes to computers, but maybe it has to do with your own security settings. I had my daughter ease up my ad protection, and that solved the problem. She said it had to with the automatic ads on the site.

Any screw eye depends on the strength of the bait itself. If it's wood, a penetrating glue, like super glue, will strengthen the wood more than a topical clue, like an epoxy. But I know some drill oversized holes, fill them with epoxy, and then slip the screw eye or twist wire in, and that works, too. I've actually had very good luck by drilling a slip fit hole in my PVC baits, and using Spro swivels set in gap filling super glue that just lines the sides of the hole. I don't want so much glue that it is forced into the swivel and locks the swivel. I push the swivel in and out first, to be sure it's easy to install, and to make a "track" for the upper loop, since it's larger than the barrel. That way, I can orient the loop to be parallel to the front to back axis, and I can cross drill and install a small piece of spinnerbait wire as a positive anchor for the swivel.

I was thinking the bait should sink level. Am I wrong (again)?

Man, you must have been rude to an old lady, or something. Seems like this site has it in for you. Hahaha

Looks good enough to eat!

Nice fish, nice jig!

This thread should really be pinned to the top, like the cookbook. It's a great reference.

You're definitely on the right track. When I want to figure out ratios for new jointed baits, I look at some successful commercial baits to use as a starting point. I also look at their "face" profiles, and line tie attachments, to give me a starting point.

I just posted two photos in the hardbaits gallery. I fished them both hard yesterday, and they both looked the same as when I first finished them, when I cut them off this morning and took the pictures. P.S. the "More Options" tab at the bottom of this page really makes adding pictures easy.

Man, I was amazed at the costumes the kids coming to my door had. Especially the rubber masks! I remember when those were expensive, and rare. Now it seems like everyone had them on, even the little kids. But there were a lot less kids again this year. I think most go to organized events now, because they are "safer". Too bad.

I eliminated the roll on my jointed swimbaits by tapering them from 7/8" at the shoulders to 5/8"+- at the belly. Less buoyant material down lower, plus ballast as low as possible, works for me. But I haven't made a glider that I like....yet.

I don't know exactly, since I've used the same bit for years. Basically, you want the shank of the bit to just cover the shank of the screw eye, but leave the threads exposed. Hold the screw eye up, with the bit shank in front of it, and see if it does that. Running your screw eye in and then back out again, to cut the threads into the bait, and then coating the threads with gap filling super glue and running it back in will make the threads stronger, and the excess glue will seat the eye and keep it from turning.

I let the size of the hook eye determine which split ring I use. I actually like it when the double wire won't pass through the eye, so the split ring "opening" stays in the eye, and I don't have to worry about my line getting caught in it when I tie on. I use a smaller split ring to attach the weight anyway, since there's no strain on it.