mark poulson

That is an interesting idea. I would worry that bending the hook hanger wire like that might weaken it, but maybe I'm worried about nothing. I turn the belly hook hanger on the cranks I build so they are oriented cross-ways to the lure's front-to-back axis, which let's me hang the trebles with two hooks straddling the belly. That cuts down on hook rash, so I don't need to T my trebles. If I put my tail hook hangers in oriented horizontally, I can turn my trebles so the single hook is up during the retrieve, which seems to cut down on snags, too.

Dieter, Thanks for the video. What a simple, clever idea! I use lightly tempered sst wire, and I'm sitting here now trying to figure out how to adapt his tool/method. I was reminded of how different European culture and food is when you posted the list of prizes for that card game. When I was in Spain, on a Trafalgar bus tour with my two daughters, there was cured pork hanging, along with other local food, readily available in every stop we made. Thanks for bringing back those memories. Fun times.

I just tried it and it opened fine. I googled fishingskirts.com, and went to their site that way.

Ben, I'll have to try that. It sounds better than dropping it glue side down (on purpose, of course) onto dirty carpet. Thanks.

Goolies, I don't know the specific densities, but I do know their trimboard is almost as buoyant as some balsas. The decking is more dense, since people walk on it, but it's still as buoyant as poplar. Bill, I use a profile or shape of a lure that I know works, and copy the front hook hanger location. Generally speaking, the farther back from the bill the hook hanger, the gentler the X'ing, at least for me. i should have said narrower, not thinner. A long, narrow bill won't dive as deep as the same length bill that's wider, because it doesn't catch as much water to force the lure down as deep. Joliepa, Both the AZEK decking and trim board are plenty strong to hold screw eyes, or twist wires set in glue, so I don't do thru wire. I drill tight holes and super glue swivels into the PVC for the belly hangers sometimes, and I have broken the wire before the swivel came out when I tried to remove one. Plus, the PVC is hard, so it holds up to rock encounters, should you decide to do a rock "test" on the water. The top coat and paint may chip, but no water penetrates, and it's easy to do an on-the-water patch with clear nail polish, if you're worried, to keep the paint from chipping more. But I've continued to fish lures that have been chipped, purely in the name of science, on rocks, and the finish/paint job held up fine all day. I have never seen a musky in person, but I have caught barricuda, a salt water fish that looks a lot like them, both in shape and in teeth. I would use the decking, not the trim board, for any musky lures, because they are so strong and seem to bite so hard. The decking is both harder and stronger, so it will dent, but it won't get bitten in half, and you can fish a lure until all the paint is gone with no loss of buoyancy from water absorption. But the trim board is plenty strong for bass. My biggest bass on a trim board crank was 8.39, in a club tournament. I still fish that lure.

I'm not defending anyone, just making a suggestion to try and save what you have. Try hitting the skirts with a hairdryer to get them "unstuck". Then use baby powder (talc) to keep them from sticking again.

Dude, when those antlers started growing, that should have been a tip off that there might be a problem. Hahaha

For my crank building, there are a couple of "truths" I rely on. First, the more centered my ballast is at the front belly hook hanger (on two hook lures) the wider the X'ing will be (I call this wiggle). The rounder the shoulders and back, the more wobble (side to side roll). The combination of a thinner lip and a centered ballast in a flat sided lure makes for a very wide X, shallow dive, and no wobble. A wider lip and longer will get the bait deeper, because it catches more water on the dive. Since you are just starting out, let me give you some advice I wish someone had given me when I first started. I am a carpenter, so I love to work with wood, but it is a very challenging material to use for things that spend the majority of their work time under water. I'd suggest, since you're just starting, try and find some buoyant PVC decking or trim board to do you building with, since it's totally waterproof, easy to shape and machine, and strong. Since I began using AZEK PVC (thank you JR Hopkins) I don't have to worry about sealing my baits before I test float them, and I can paint directly over the PVC, plus I don't have to worry about water intrusion. So it has speeded up my lure building process immensely. And, thanks to Solarez UV cured resin, I can make and fish a lure in one day. Like was said above, use the search feature to try and learn as much as you can from our mistakes. But don't be afraid to make your own. That's how we all learn. Good luck.

I found that it yellows over time.

I tried it when I first started painting. You have to be sure that your base coat is dry and hard, or the glue from the mesh tape will stick too well once it's heated, and pull some of the base coat paint. But I got some interesting scale patterns by overlaying one piece of mesh with a second that was offset from the first. The scales came out with a 3D effect. And the self-adhesive feature is very handy.

Now you tell me! Hahaha

Hahaha It's a good thing his wife also likes to fish, or he'd be out in the shed, too.

Gon2long, That does look like there is a muddy pink pass on the side of that lure. I'll take your word for it being Sepia. I just looked at several different Strike King cranks with the Green Gizzard Shad finish, and they are all different from one another. Maybe that's a sign that an exact match isn't necessary, or even possible.

Wow, they must go off like a megaphone!

I have one, the STX Gen 3 8.1, and use it for hollow frogs. I want to be able to turn them quickly and get them skiing back to the boat over the grass. I fish it on a Quantum Smoke 7'4" heavy frog rod, and I can cast it sidearm very accurately, so I can hit the little clear pockets on the inside of the grass line. It is a good reel.

Man, you are BAD!!! Hahaha

When I was just learning to paint, I bought a Badger siphon brush kit. It has a .05 needle and tip, and it shoots thick paint really well. I use it for shooting undercoater, when I have a large bait to cover, and for pearls when I have a lot of lures to paint. It is not a detail gun, by any stretch of the imagination, but I like that I can keep a bottle of white undercoat paint sealed and ready to use, shake up the bottle well, and then switch tops to the siphon top to paint. That part is very convenient. It is a pain in the finger to clean, because the needle point is exposed unless the trigger is depressed. I wind up holding the plastic cap that comes with the brush to protect the needle to cover the end when I back flush. Just keep the pressure on it, or it will be shot across the room.

Clever tool. Do you shape your lures with machines or by hand?

I think of the blade as a water deflector on the convex (crowned) side, and a water trap on the concave (hollow) side. Like when you put your cupped hand out the window as you're driving. The air goes around the back of your hand but catches the cupped side if you turn it into the wind. I always put the convex side facing forward, so the water goes around it and starts it spinning.

Interesting idea. Thanks for sharing. You might try some larger plastic drinking straws for the barrel. They're cheaper than ball point pens, and come in lots of sizes, free with your drink.

The picture I saw of one looks like they shot a coat of pearl over the whole bait, and then added a blue-green scale pattern over the back and upper shoulders. If you go slow and remember that green is really just blue and yellow, I think you should be able to come close by shooting the scales first with a sky blue transparent color, if they have one, and then mist over that with transparent yellow until you get the shade of green you want. Play around on a piece of white PVC pipe until you get the color mix you like, and then take it to your lure.

Maybe they could try using a good Spro swivel, with an anchor wire extended into the bait, for their tail hook hangers. I use swivels for hook hangers on some of my swimbaits and poppers, and they hold fine in PVC. An sst wire hooked through one end of the swivel and extended into the lure body should keep the swivel well anchored, and the swivel will lessen the leverage a fish has on it in the net.

Jason, The weedless aspect is what made me try that method in the first place. I might be willing to make a square bill with that hook setup, but not a minnow bait. I fish a square bill fast, hitting anything that's in it's way, like a spinnerbait, so the snagless hook might work well. I throw minnow baits in open water, where snags aren't as much of a problem, and I want all those hooks that two or three trebles provide.

Remember, a happy wife is a happy life. Nothing ruins a family outing quicker than wet, cold kids and wives. If you're taking your family/kids out in this boat, make the stretch and buy one with foam infill, so it's "unsinkable", and with a deep V and higher sides. If you're really smooth, you can use the extra safety as a bargaining chip with the wife to get a little bigger/better boat, and you won't be lying. And don't skimp on the motor. An under powered boat in windy/choppy seas is a recipe for discomfort, at the least, and can lead to disaster. Keeping the family dry and safe is too important to fool around. Build a project jon boat for duck hunting, not family fun.

Thanks.