mark poulson

X2 He really cares about what he sells.

That's sad news...I'm glad he has his family around him. Be strong!

Thanks guys, but they don't have what I'm looking for. The transparent holographic film that Predator uses on his 1.5 squarebills is almost invisible, but it really stands out and flashes in clear water. I asked Jim if he could get other baits made with it, or if he could sell it by itself, but he said he can't right now. Too bad. He did say he'd see if he could do something on his next order. Fingers crossed.

I'll look for that Nathan. Thanks.

Thanks.

Has anyone found a source for the transparent holographic film that Jim at Predator Baits has on his 1.5 squarebills? It is a great clear water option on clear plastic baits. Flash but hard to see actual body shapes, so a bigger, easier to cast bait looks smaller. It looks like it's heat shrink, too, which would really be a great feature, too. But I've struck out, so far. I will happily buy his baits, but, so far, he only offers the 1.5 with that feature, and I want some for other baits, especially his X80 jerkbaits.

One way to cut slots after the lure is already shaped is to put a temporary piece of stiff wire into the back and belly, drilled exactly into the centerline, and sticking out an inch. Cut two spacer blocks exactly half the thickness of your bait, and use them as guide blocks. Lay the wires of the bait on the two blocks, and your bait will be exactly square to the bandsaw table, and to the blade, too. It's harder to explain than it is to do, but it's much easier and better just not to forget to cut the slot while the bait is rectangular. Doh!!! Hahaha

I learned to cut lip slots with a bandsaw after I'd already shaped my lure when I forgot to do it while the blank was still rectangular. Doh!! Take your time, trust your eye, cut from both sides, and know that you can adjust the lip once it's in the slot, but the epoxy hasn't yet set. I used tooth picks to shim and adjust the lip until it looked right to me. A centerline on the lip on blue painter's tape, up past the part that fits into the slot, helped a lot. Also knowing that, worse case scenario, I could always use the bandsaw to cut the lip out again if it was wrong gave me the confidence to take my time and not worry about it being not being reversible. I actually dry fit it first, and got my toothpick adjustments where I wanted them, so setting the lip into the epoxy went much easier. I used wooden toothpicks, but plastic would probably have worked, too.

I have an Iwata gravity feed with a .35 tip that I do 95% of my painting with, and it will shoot almost everything. If you're painting big baits, and a lot of them, I'd suggest you also by a some kind of a suction brush. Having the glass jars gives you a lot more paint to work with, and you can store mixed paint in the jars, too. Mine has a .5 tip, so it shoots just about everything.

Can you post a phone number for them?

Nail polish works, and attracts the larger females!

Truly amazing that you've been able to do all that innovative stuff in a fishing lure! I hope you have great success.

I gave up on trying to make details that fine with an air brush. I use a solvent based Sharpie with a fine tip for lines and gill accents. It works great for dots and squiggles on the back and sides of my crappie lures, too. The black isn't affected by my urethane top coat, but the red and chartreuse tend to run a little. I heat set the sharpies, and I kind of like the bleeding effect of the running red. It's not much.

But, but, but....they can't say it on the Internet if it isn't true! Hahaha

That's good to know. Thanks. Maybe I can take advantage of the grey color for my smoke stuff. I'm really intrigued with the idea of a worm with a heavy head that doesn't require a slip sinker for Texas rigging.

Thanks. I am totally new to dipping, so that is very helpful. I usually pour at 340+-, so I'll try that, and see how it goes.

Maybe that's one of the spam things that Jerry has been fighting.

How many times should I dip, typically? I know every plastic is different, and different tube sizes will require more or less, but, assuming I'm using med. plastic from Bear's or Caney Creek, am I looking at three dips or ten? The good news is my buddy is going to cut the tails, so I don't have to worry about that part.

They look great!

Nova, That makes sense. Thanks. I was worried that the square end of the allen wrench might be a problem, like sharp corners are when I epoxy hard baits.

Just remember POP turns back into powder if it gets too hot for too long. I've been pouring with some POP molds sealed with epoxy for years now, and not had any breakdown, but I know it's possible.

Are some of those soft plastic hollow bodies?

My fishing partner is tube fanatic. He's the guy who introduced Tora Tubes to bass fishing way back when. He's after me to dip some tubes for him, using a large allen wrench. I've never dipped tubes before, so I'm wondering: Do I need to coat the metal before I dip it to make it release? Do I need to round the head end first? I watched Frank's hollow belly dipping video, so I think I can manage the process, but I don't want to spend an hour cleaning plastic because I skipped a step. Thanks in advance.

Sounds great! Thanks!!!!

If you're doing a lot of the .092 screw eyes, make a bit for your reversible drill. I have a bunch of messed up screw driver bits from work, where the allan or straight tip got worn with use. I took one, ground the tip flat/square to the shank, and then used a dremel with a cutting wheel to make a slot that fits the screw eyes. When I'm making a batch of 6 swimbaits, I have 42 screw eyes to install and adjust. Before I made this tool, it took forever to install them, and my hands were sore when I was done!