mark poulson

They're beautiful! What kind of resin do you use?

Very nice. How is Paulownia to work with?

That lure looks great. You can add some more weight by taking out the tail hook, drilling it out to accept a mojo-type cylindrical sinker, and then put a longer screw eye in back through the sinker. You can figure out how much weight to add by hanging lead split shot on the tines of the rear treble until it hangs almost vertical, but still floats. That way it will cast well, and pop well, too. If you want to see how it should hang, check out a commercial popper of the same size, and see how it hangs in the water. Then match that. That will give you a good starting point. Don't be afraid to redo things. I have a garage full of failures, and a boat load full of successful rescues. And don't be discouraged. You'll learn from every mistake, and get better results because of them. I think we all learn more from our mistakes than our successes. That's probably why we make more of them.

Dean, Thanks for the kind words. The lakes I fish are mostly clear, but get a decent algae green color in late spring/early summer, and keep it until late fall. Warm water and sunlight work wonders. The paint schemes I do need some light to really shine, since they rely on the on again/off again flash of the iridescent paint to act as a trigging mechanism. I have some of these lures in the hands of some pretty accomplished big bait guys now, so I hope to have some positive feedback soon. Of course, it's really past prime swimbait season here (late winter/early spring), but the big girls are still around. They're just more active when trout are being planted, and that's just about done for the season. 78 degrees is the water temperature cutoff for trout plants, and we're up to 72 now, with hot, sunny days ahead.

That looks terrific. Do you have a link to Bear Baits?

Once again, a great job! Great paint job. You sure you don't own an airbrush? I'm amazed at how "fertile" you mind is. So many different ideas. My children say I have a fertile mind, too, but, when they say it, they mean my head is full of fertilizer! :lol:

We all seem to learn most from our "mistakes". Very interesting concept. Thanks for sharing.

Good job!

Congratulations!!! It looks great! I'm glad your hinges worked out. As for an erratic retrieve, in crankbaits that's know as hunting, where the water going over the bill is right at the edge of instability, and the crank changes direction and starts swimming again erratically. Those baits are pure gold! You're right. Predators love wounded prey. Much easier to catch. That action should draw them like a magnet. In the future, you can "reintroduce" buoyancy by drilling holes in the sinking sections and capping them with aluminum can discs made with a hole punch, and super glue. That traps air, making them more buoyant.

Wow! It didn't take you long to get that one right. Looks great.

Those look great. Are you sure you don't own an airbrush? Ha,ha. They should catch fish for sure.

Those are some awesome paint jobs! How in the world did you get that "frog" to look like that?

Dave, There is a whole range of iridescents. I have their green, gold, and orange. Try this link: http://www.bearair.com/products.asp?dept=1362 Tim, Thanks for the compliment. I have to stop tinkering with the paint jobs, and just crank them out. But doing new stuff is the fun part.

Thanks Pete.

Thank you both for the nice words. I'm sorry the iridescent stripe on the side didn't photograph better. When I hold it in my hand, and turn it, it really stands out at different angles. While I don't think the color itself is important, the flash should be an attractant, and maybe get a strike. I've caught a 1 1/2lb largemouth on one, and a 7 lb largemouth is the biggest I've caught. I don't know about what others have caught on them, but a friend caught a 2lb largemouth on my boat last month throwing one of my 7" trout baits. According to Bill Siemental, catching swimbait fish is more a matter of right place, right time, right type of presentation than the specific lure. He says lures are tools, and using them at the right time is the key. I saw Paul Bailey, one of the Big Bait Posse, catch a 10lber with an old floating, one piece swimbait that had lost it's lip. He just threw it out, let it sit, twitched it once, and bam, the fish explosed on it. I do the elaborate paint jobs because guys like them. I'm not sure the fish care, except on the really clear lakes like Castaic and Casitas, and, even then, only on the dead stick floaters that sit for minutes at a time between twitches. Action catches the fish, paint jobs catch the fishermen.

That looks great. Nice paint job, too. Certainly doesn't look like a first time lure! It should really swim well with that bill. I hear you about the pain involved in hinging. That's why I settled on screw eyes and hinge pins. Simple, easy to adjust, and they swim really well. I am lazy. I didn't start out to reinvent the wheel, just adapt whatever worked to make lures that work, as quickly and easily, and reliably, as possible.