mark poulson

A muskrat sized bait? You'd need a tuna pole for that size lure!

Dollar Store clear nail polish works, too, and it's only a buck.

Thanks. I'll give that a try.

I've never seen either a pike or a muskie in person, but, from what I've seen on the internet, those are some really well armed big fish with a serious anger management problem. I am amazed that a lure could survive an attack by one of them.

Ted, I have to ask you, do you drink coffee? I tried to do your tap the spoon powder coating method, and I shook like an aspen leaf in a hurricane. How do you keep your hands steady?

I tell myself that every time I screw something up. Hahaha

Here's a picture of two of them with skirts, and the triangular blades that Smalljaw turned me on to.

I'll take a pic and post it here.

Sorry if I'm repeating myself, but this is so simple and easy I wanted to share it....again? I prime my spinnerbait heads with Rustoleum Etching Primer (thank you Cadman Ted). Then I paint them with Createx airbrush paints, using a small artist's brush instead of an air brush. Once I've dried the paint with my hairdryer, I add some eyes, glued in with super glue, and then top coat with clear nail polish. If I hit the nail polish with the hair dryer after it's initially dried/cured, so it isn't moved by the hot air blowing on it, the polish get hard much faster, and I can fish the spinnerbait the next day if I want. It makes trying new paint scheme fast and easy. Here are 10 I did yesterday. The ones on the bottom are powder coated with glo white and glo chartreuse.

I find that a benchtop oscillating belt sander is really good for rough and fine sanding and shaping. https://www.fefall.com/oscillating-edge-eb4424-belt-sander--ridgid

I use the regular split rings I take off of crankbaits to put on heavier/stronger split rings. The key, for me, is to find a ring whose wire is just small enough to pass through the swivel hole. Once it threads on and reaches the gap between the wire ends, it won't rotate any further, but that's okay. The swivel lets the blade spin anyway, and I don't lose big spinnerbait blades anymore. The swivels I get from Barlow's have a hole for .035 wire, but even a little smaller will still work.

You should either work in front of a box fan that blows past the hot plastic to an open door, or wear a respirator that is designed to protect you from solvent fumes. Once you screw up your sinuses and/or lungs, it's too late. Been there, done that.

B-Rad, Everything I know about bait making I learned here on TU, from other members who generously shared what they knew. Think of this as encouragement to continue to paint and grow. Of course, it can also be seen as a cautionary tale. Bait making has grown to almost match fishing as my passion, so you are forewarned!

Since there is such a small temperature window between melting it and setting it on fire, is there some kind of well controlled heater to use to melt it?

That is a beautiful lure!

I paint because it's fun, and because I make my own lures.

I've found that any acrylic top coat, whether it is a concrete sealer or Rustoleum's X2 Gloss Acrylic finish, is affected by the softeners in soft plastics. Maybe they are too closely related, chemically. Whatever you find to try, do a test first to make sure it's not affected by soft plastics before you buy a large quantity.

I guess we're all lucky we still work+-.

Bob, you're exactly right when it comes to darker paint schemes, but I don't really notice it on lighter stuff. I'm still using the original Dual Cure Polyester Resin that was designed for surfboard repairs. I only build for myself and a couple of buddies, so I'm not so worried about the cloudy issue. The baits hold up and catch fish.

In the past I used AC1315 concrete sealer for top coating cranks. It works, but you can't let it lie in direct contact with a soft plastic bait for more than 30 minutes. Longer than that, and the softener in the plastic bait will soften and melt the concrete sealer. I would suggest doing a test first with a small test blank, to see if that is true for your concrete sealer. I still fish some of those cranks with concrete sealer top coat. I am just careful not to let them lay against any soft plastic baits.

I use runny CA glue to seal my balsa baits, two coats. Then I sand, paint, and top coat with Solarez. I like the balsa because it is so light and buoyant, but it is still not as durable, even after two coats of the CA glue, so I top coat with Solarez, for additional hardness.

When I first tried the Minwax wood hardener, I tried soaking my wood bait overnight, to really let it penetrate. It worked too well. The hardener bubbled out of the end grain every time I hit it with the hair dryer for a week! I settled on just a quick dip and hang, and that worked much better.

Maybe he could make the mold with the larger tails, and also make an insert to let you cut down to the smaller tails.

That is so nice!

I ordered #5 and #6. I'll use them for 1/2 tandem spinnerbaits, where I'm using a big Indiana (#5 or #6) on a swivel now. I love the thump and flash I get with the big Indiana, especially in the tulles. I think it represents a bluegill, because of the bigger, slower vibration. I know they find it, even in the thick stuff, or in low light.