mark poulson

I just checked them out. They look good, and you said they got bit. Congrats! That is the true test of any bait.

Please do. I'd love to see what you made.

Better you than me. ;O)

I do think that powder coat, done right, is practically indestructible. For jigs, I think it is the only way to go, since they will get bounced and dragged through rocks. But, having said that, I love how I can prime my spinnerbait heads with self-etching primer, and then paint them with the same Createx baits that I use for my crankbaits. The clear nail polish top coats them just fine. I've never had the paint fail on one yet, and I've been doing it for more than five years.

It seems like the older I get, the more often it happens. :O(

You are so right Dave. That's why I do shallow divers almost all of the time now. Deep divers are a real pain to get right.

Clearly there are a lot of wire choices available. I just posted one that works for me, is readily available, and not expensive. Give this wire a try, and yo might not have to go to college to figure out which wire will work and why; https://www.lurepartsonline.com/Looped-End-Wire-Shafts

Oops! I am so embarrassed! Hahaha

Clearly there are a lot of wire choices available. I just posted one that works for me, is readily available, and not expensive. Give this wire a try, and yo might not have to go to college to figure out which wire will work and why; https://www.lurepartsonline.com/Looped-End-Wire-Shafts

I have found that, for me, rounded lips are more forgiving and easier to tune and fish on deeper diving lures than square bills. I think maybe it's because deeper divers are more difficult to get right in general than shallow running square bill cranks, so I find rounding the lip makes that one less thing to worry about. And I've found that a square bill will flip up a bait to vertical more consistently when it's burned into a piece of wood, so it's hooks are thrown up and over the wood, where a rounded bill can roll the bait more to its side, allowing the hooks to snag.

Since you haven't tried to bend any wire yet, I'd suggest you get the smallest quantity possible, to see if it will work for you, before proceeding to a larger quantity purchase. I have wire that I bought, thinking it would work, only to find out it was totally unsuitable for my needs.

I was asking because I wondered if the material would affect the strength of the fastening.

I am just a hobby builder, for myself and a couple of buddies. I get my 051 wire here: https://www.lurepartsonline.com/Looped-End-Wire-Shafts

What kind of bait are you talking about?

I'm still working on the same pack I bought 15 years ago.

What material will it be made with?

Which wood is the painted bait made from?

The embedment happens right behind the gill plate, so it isn't as bad as it sounds. From the pictures I've seen, a musky's jaw is so long that the tail hook on one of my 6" baits would never pass the jaw, anyway, and, now that I think about it, would probably never embed in that hard jaw material. It was just an idea to try and reduce the torque on the belly hook hanger. It is pretty common on quality swimbaits made for bass and stripers here in CA.

I have never even seen a musky, except in pictures, so this is just a question based on my building and fishing lures for largemouth bass and stripers. I use an 80# rated swivel for my belly hook hanger, set in super glue with a piece of spinnerbait wire passed through the buried eye that runs side to side, just for insurance. because, if I get careless, and allow the super glue to enter the barrel of the swivel, the wire will fail before the swivel body can be pulled out with a pair of pliers. I like the swivel belly hanger because it seems to keep the fish from using the weight of the lure to lever out the hook. It provides enough freedom to allow the lure to swing around and embed the tail hook into the side of the fish, which really cuts down on their thrashing and fighting. For you guys who build musky lures, do you think that method might work for you?

I use a half full 5 gallon bucket of water in my garage as a float tank. It works for cranks, and for soft plastics and jigs.

I was going to ask if Covid 19 affected buoyancy, but then I decided that might be off topic. :O)

Swivels are usually rated for strength where they're sold. Use the smallest one that still give you the strength you need. I never go under 80lbs, because the strains from casting, and from getting slammed by big fish thrashing are high.

Would adding some runny super glue to the areas to be carved beforehand help them to carve more evenly?

I know the saying is, "That which doesn't kill me makes me stronger", but it sure feels like it's killing while it's happening. Sorry you lost all that treasure.