mark poulson

I use Lexan for my crankbait bills. If I use 1/16", I just wet sand the edges with 400 grit to take off the sharp corners. If I use 1/8", I sand down the leading edge to get a thinner, sharper edge for better diving, and then wet sand that. Wet sanding doesn't make it clear again, but it takes the curse off the sanding marks, and makes it more clear.

Thanks.

If you use acrylic paints, to you have to hit it with a hairdryer to set it?

Look in soft baits forum. I have a brown one there, and another in a baby bass.

Where is a good place to buy these online?

If the baby's room doesn't share a wall with the garage, a big compressor should be fine. I would buy that one, and, if it turns out to be a problem, you can always turn it off unti the baby is awake. My kid's rooms share a garage wall, and the 30 gallon compressor I use is right in front of that wall, but it has never been a problem, and I raised the last three kids in this house, with the compressor on the whole time. Big tanks mean less cycling, so it's not going to be such a huge problem. And as long as you get a decent compressor, it won't be that loud, anyway. Tankless airbrush comppressors are a compromise at best, and really limit your painting ability due to rapid loss of air pressure, so only use one if you really have to. I personally think they are really for nail salons, not painters.

I took my new sculpins out for a swim yesterday. I fished them with both weighted Falcon hooks, and football jigs. The good news...they swim like I hoped, with the side fins folding back against the body on the pull, and then springing back out to the sides on the pause. They move very easily, and the thin tail wiggles, too. The bad news...I got bit on a baby bass laminate on the football jig, but no hookups. It was a tough bite, probably not the best test day, but I wanted to see if they swam right, and they do. I'm going to try and add a drop of plastic behind the side fins, to flare them even more on the pause. I'm also going to make a 3" version.

Can the paint be applied with a brush, like the dry brush technique? Or a toothpick, to make patterns?

Capt. Mike, Zap make the gap filler glue. They also sell an accelerant spray, so you can get it to set up fast once it's in place. I use it for my swivels, once they're in place. I keep my baits turned with the swivels facing up, and let them sit for half an hour, to be sure the glue down deep is set and won't leak back into the swivel itself. I can't imagine epoxy failing. If you're using D2T, that stuff is super strong.

I had that happen when I didn't heat the plastic enough. Also when I added too much softner.

Capt. Mike, Where did you find the swivel hook hangers? I use Spro swivels. I drill a hole that's the size of the swivel body, pinch one of the end loops so it will slide into the hole, put a couple of drops of gap filler crazy glue into the hole, making sure it hits the sides on the way in, and force the swivel in. I make sure I don't put so much glue in that it gets into the swivel body. I use a drill bit with a depth mark on it, so the hole is just as deep as the swivel with the pinched end, and that way I can use the same number of drops of glue and not worry about ruining the swivel. I've tried to remove one that did get frozen after the glue set, and wound up breaking the wire hook hanger portion because the swivel wouldn't come out, so I don't bother to pin them. I build with Azek PVC decking, so I can't say if that would apply to wood baits.

The white walker is another one of Predator's unpainted cranks.

Nice site, and very nice baits.

Is the mold still for sale?

Dieter, That is an impressive collection of books. I'm too cheap to buy books on luremaking. My library for lure making is TU.

Jeff, I do the same thing with pieces of drinking straws now, almost lke a fat O ring, except I do pass the hook through the straw section from one side to the other. The problem is the worms break at the point where the hook goes through them, just like when you wacky rig a senko without an O ring. The O ring stick worm I saw had the O ring positioned so the hook only had to barely penetrate the worm to reach the nearest edge of the O ring, so it didn't weaken the worm too much.

Color is very subjective. Blue green to one person is green or blue to someone else. Just saying medium green doesn't give us much to work with. You can play around with adding blue or yellow to get a different green, from lime green to aquamarine. If you want a lighter shade of green, add a drop or two of white. If you want a green that leans toward green pumpkin, add a drop or two of pumpkin, or some brown and red. Play around with what you have to get what you want. If you don't have the plastic colors you need, find a crayon that's the color, and shave some of it into your plastic.

Bob, That's the way I read it, too. If I add enough salt to make my stick baits sink like a senko, they are very fragile, just like the senko, so don't think they'd take a spring screwed into them very well. But the cast like a bullet, and sink faster, too!

Rob, Buoyancy is something we all struggle with in hard lure making. That's why most builders use balsa for smaller baits, to get the maximum buoyancy and action. Epoxy is relatively heavy. So is epoxy putty. Try to find a way to minimize the filler you need, and the size of the hardware you use. I use screw eyes, and run them in and then back out, coat the threads with crazy glue, and run them back in one final time. I find the crazy glue reinforces the threads that were cut into the lure the first time, and lock the eye so it doesn't unscrew when a fish hits it. If you're using basswood, it should be strong enough to hold a .072 guage 1" screw eye, set in crazy glue. Anything bigger or thicker just makes the lure heavier, without giving you any substantial gain in strength. With metal props at both ends, the weight of the hardware adds up quickly. Try and keep in mind the fish you're targeting, and the line strength you're using. 8lb test will fail long before a 1" screw eye pulls out. And a pike or muskie will probably bite through your line, or your bait, before the screw eye ever has a chance to pull out. I wouldn't try to make a small, thin topwater like the Devil's Horse strong enough to stand up to those fish. By the time you get it finished, it'll lose all the buoyancy and action that make that lure work in the first place. Good luck. P.S. Really nice looking baits! Good job.

Hahaha!!!!