mark poulson

I've seen other buzz baits, like the buzz swimbait by Optimum, but I liked the idea of having a use for my "retired" frogs. And it actually comes through light weeds pretty well.

Just remember. It was Bobby Barrack's idea, not mine.

I've had fish stop eating a DT16 in shad, and then eat again when I switched to the same lure but in bleeding shad. I don't know if it was the red, or just that it was a little different looking. I think Keith Jones, from Berkley, did some testing with a red lazer light, and bass followed it round and tried to eat it, but I don't know whether the red light was a trigger, or whether the bass was just attacking something new and different in their environment. I tend to think that the trick is to get the fish to see the lure in the first place. If it's at all lifelike or triggering, they'll hit it.

I watched a video of Bobby Barrack throwing a hollow plastic frog with a buzz bait blade in front of it, and I thought it was a cool idea, especially since it floated at rest, so it could be worked as slowly as I wanted. So I took a frog that I no longer throw, one with paddle legs instead of silicone skirt lets, and took an old buzz bait blade, bent up some spinner bait wire, added rivets in front and behind, and put it together with #5 split rings. Voila, a buzzfrog! I took it up to the local pond for a test swim, and got a blowup right away. So I went back and looked at all the older frogs I no longer throw, and made up a bunch more of the buzz frogs in white, black, and green. Finally, I don't have to feel guilty about "abandoning" some of the older frogs for the new, super detailed frogs I throw now. Funny how the old ones got bit just fine, but I had to have the newest ones. Of course, the newer ones do seem to walk the dog much better in open water, but that was never an issue when I threw the old ones over slop. The buzz frogs do raise a ruckus, and I can stop them in front of a piece of cover, and then start them again without worrying about them sinking, like a regular buzz bait. And they cast like a bullet with the extra weight of the buzz blade and shaft. I'm just sayin'.......

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

Is 320 the magic temp for the clear plastic?

Or just buy some garlic-flavored and coffee-flavored scent that's made for soft plastics.

Try a test on something to see what works with what. Lacquer has a strong solvent. That's what makes it melt into the previous coat of lacquer when you're painting with it. But it also melts whatever other paint you have under it. At least, it did with enamels, years ago. I haven't sprayed lacquer in 20 years. Back then, we had a rule. You could spray anything over lacquer, but you couldn't spray lacquer over anything except lacquer. But todays paints are different, so that's why I said to some testing to find out what works with what.

Pete is right. There is something about the red pigment that make it run. If you've ever shot Createx red you will see it gets into the needle barrel and everywhere else right away. I found Solarez makes red sharpies bleed, so maybe it's doing the same with the red ink in your photos. Maybe there's a solvent in it that reacts with the red. Try sealing the photo with a clear, like Ben said, before you put the Solarez on. I don't do photo finishes, but I use clear Createx over my red sharpie, and it works. I also like it when my red gill arcs bleed, so I don't always clear over them. I hit the sharpie with a hair dryer to make sure all the solvent is gone, and then I dip or brush on the Solarz. I hang the lures by the nose after I dip or brush them, so the excess collects on the bottom hook hanger and can be pinched off with a paper towel. Since that process only takes a couple of minutes, the red only runs a little before I put it in the UV nail light box to cure.

Thanks. Next paycheck I'll order some and give it a try. Can you reheat the clear plastic, or do I need to add heat stabilizer?

Thanks Frank. Can I use a regular air brush for that paint, too? How is the clear coat plastisol applied?

Here's another site for unpainted plastic baits: http://www.predatorbassbaits.com/id69.html All of the baits I've gotten from him works well, and the transparent holographic baits are amazing for ghost patterns in clear water.

I use Zap and Crazy Glue brands because that's what my local stores carry. I initially removed the excess glue after I installed my screw eyes, but now I leave it to act as a seat, to prevent "unscrewing" I also run the eyes in until the bottom of the eye make a small divot in the bait, that's filled by the excess glue. I haven't had an eye unscrew since I stated doing that. For bigger baits, like swimbaits, that have enough weight to provide leverage as a fish thrashes, I use Spro swivels for my hook hangers. The wire will break before the swivel comes out of the tight hole I drill. I seat those swivels in Crazy Glue, too.

You've got the basic idea, but there's lots more involved, depending on the material of the crank (wood, plastic, resin, PVC), the type of primer and paint, and, last but not least, the clear coat. There are countless forum threads on all of these subjects, so try using the search feature to check out the more recent ones. I encourage you to do some reading first. We have made most of the mistakes that can be made, so, hopefully, you can learn from us without going too far astray. Once you've read up a little, post more questions, and someone here will point you in the right direction.

I haven't seen that. I use either Zap gap filler, or brush-on Crazy Glue.

Dumb question...can you mix your own chartreuse using yellow and blue or yellow and green powders?

If you switch to the "green" plastic you can always say you're saving the environment.

This forum has a cookbook at the top.

Do you mean there's no free lunch?

Water based paints definately won't get you buzzed. Hahaha Seriously, I'm sure you'll be "challenged" trying to duplicate lacquer paint schemes with water-based paints. Lacquers have many more fantastic colors and products.

I coat the screw eye shank and threads with brush-on CA glue, and the excess glue collects at the top of the hole as the eye is screwed in. The excess forms a kind of a seat, keeping the eye from backing out, at least for me. I also top coat after I've installed the lips and the hardware, so that also locks the eyes and keeps them from turning.

Sounds good. Thanks for the update. Is it on their website yet?

Did you ever stop to think maybe the wives know the "saving money" line is total B.S., and go along just to get us out of the house?

Dave, When I used to use 2 part epoxy for a top coat, I switched to using Flexcoat 3mm syringes, and never had a bad batch after that. Travis, You hit the nail on the head. They build a lot of "forgiveness" in their homeowner products, to avoid high failure rates that would kill sales.