mark poulson

Ben, Using a thin wire to push the epoxy down will work. Remember, when you drill a close fitting hole for your twist wire, most of the space in that hole will be filled with the twist wire, and any epoxy that's below it in the hole isn't doing anything anyway, except filling space. One of the things I learned from doing epoxy hold downs on the job is to "unscrew" the twist wire as you insert it in the opposite direction of your twist. That way, once you coat the twisted wire, the threads are forcing the epoxy that's on them back down into the hole, instead of pulling it up and out. I've never had a twist wire fail that I put in that way.

Zack, Can you dip it, and how long does it take to dry?

Dave, You know a lot more about it than I do, so I'll take your word for it. I don't know if Ken was the original wag tail maker or not.

Bob, Could you use the Pledge straight as a clear?

Dave, You know I know nothing about vortices. But I do know that, at the time of it's initial release, the Huddleson Soft Swimbait was unique, and preformed like no other swimbait on the market at the time. I think Ken Huddleston hit a grand slam with it, and it's only fair that he should be able to protect his hard work. If Gene Lareau can patent salt in soft plastics, why not the unique tail design and other features for Ken Huddleston?

That's a great idea. I think it would allow better pouring control. I'll definately give it a try, and report back.

You can also use the green Scotchbrand scouring pads. They are like a stiff plastic steel wool, only softer.

I think you make a good point. A lure needs to look like a prey item, and color is important, especially when the fish are keyed in on a certain bait. But you also answered your own question, too, when you mentioned one bait out of a batch working better than the rest. The difference in the action of that one bait sets it apart from the others. This is what I consider when I'm trying to figure out what paint scheme to put on a lure. There are three retrieve features that I think are key to getting bit. The first is being able to achieve a reaction strike, by "surprising" a bass, so it reacts without thinking. The second is wounded prey, where an erratic action or retrieve mimics a wounded bait fish. The third is the passive feeding, casual retrieve, when a lure gives off no negative cues that will turn a bass away, and simulates a baitfish well enough to convince a bass that it's an easy meal. Reaction strikes happen no matter what color you're throwing. A bass will react with a strike if it's surprised, and you lure seems to be escaping. They can't help themselves, it's hard wired into their brains. Bright colors that catch their eye are important here, like chartruese and silver flash. The second is why baits get bit in off color water, at night, and even in muddy water. The vibration given off by a lure makes a bass aware that there's something struggling nearby. Again, in off colored water, it helps to have clearly visible lures, so the chartruese and blue, which provide both visibility and contrast, are my go to choices. The cleared the water, the more important natural lure colors become. My lakes in SoCal are seldom really dirty, so I lean toward match the hatch color schemes a lot, and hope my lures look erratic enough to attract a feeding response in a bass. The third is really a clear water deal, and calls for the most realistic paint scheme you can muster. A bass has the enire retrieve to scope out your lure, and decide if it wants to eat it. I just read a guy's post on how he got bit on a trout colored swimbait at Clear Lake, even though there are no trout there, only hitch. A bass will follow anything that swims right, to see if it's a meal worth eating. That's the reason a 180 degree turn is so important on jointed swimbaits. They get followed a lot, and that 180 turn can trigger a reaction bite from a fish that was just curious. But it only works sometimes, and only if the lure is realistic enough, in both action and appearance, to get the bass interested in the first place. This is what I think about when I decide how to finish a lure. But first I try to make a lure that has an action that will attract a bass in the first place. It's like in golf. You've got to get it to the hole. 100% of putts that are short don't go in.