mark poulson

I don't think any epoxies like freezing weather. In fact, I don't know many people who like it, either. Try putting a desk lamp, the ones with a flexible goose neck, over the lure turner, just to keep the temps above freezing. Or bring the turner into the house. The fumes from Etex are alcohol, so how bad would that be?

Thanks Snax for the kind words. As for people who only sit back and snipe, just remember. An empty can makes the most noise.

Glad Jerry weighed in. I was just going to recommend contacting the manuf. and speaking to their tech. department. That always works for me with product questions. You said heat the garage, and I had to laugh. I live just north of you, near LAX, and I had to leave a small space heater running all night in my Garage so my paint would dry, and my epoxy would set. In SoCal. Who'da thunkit? Happens every winter, and I'm still surprised.

I resemble that remark. Actually, I am always a little self conscious when I post, because I've only been making lure for two years, and most of the people here have forgotten more than I know. But in the two years I've been coming here I feel like I've made a lot of friends. So I sometimes post wise-@ss comments, mostly as a way to say hey, and to keep my finger in the pot. I do try to keep any thread I start issue oriented, and the title specific enough to get people to read and respond. If I open a thread, I have a question, need help, or just stumbled on something I want to share. I am guilty of not having read the forum rules, or fully integrated what I've learned of them into my conscious brain. I just try to remember when I'm posting that these are my friends , and deserve the same respect I would like shown to me.

In answer to your second question, I know I'm more careful with a home made lure, or one I just repainted. But years ago, I learned, as a carpenter who took pride in what I built, to "let it go", once I'd finished a project. The project now belonged to whoever I was working for, and I had to move on. The process was mine, but the finished product was theirs. Maybe that's why I don't get as upset when I, or a friend, loses one of my home made or repainted lures. I make them to fish, not to sit.

Blackjack, I am lousy at record keeping, but I make paper templates of my lures, marked with the hook hanger, joint, and ballast placement. But I'm always surprised at how I "used to do things" when I redo an old lure. Funny how, for me, any improvement in method or material or design quickly becomes so ingrained that I just delete the older methods from my mind. Or maybe it's early Alzheimer's.

What about dyes?

Thanks. I'll check them out online. Do you make your own paints, or did you just have the Jacquard products you mentioned around?

Hmmm....roast spider and beer.... Must be an aquired taste. I'd have to go heavy on the beer for that one.

All I ever use on them is Sharpies. I don't think any glitter or flake would stick to the soft plastic, unless you found some rubber glue that stays flexible and is clear. I don't know of a paint that's flexible but will stick to rubber. I have a friend who pours plastics, and I've asked him before. He's stumped, too. I guess you could mix some highlite powder or tint in some clear plastic, and try pouring that onto the frog, but I don't know how well it would stick, or whether it would ruin the frog's rubber. Another solution might be to use soft pro glue to stick some colored or glittery clear plastic worm pieces onto the frog. If you do figure it out, please post it here.

Like which ones, and what effects? Inquiring minds want to know. I've actually tried some of the Wildlife Flip Flop paints, and it was hit and miss. Mostly miss. Either I'm not doing it right, or the effect is too subtle for me to see. Or I'm blind!

I've actually lost very few of my own lures, probably because I'm careful with where and how I throw them. But, if the water's not too deep or cold, I "fall" out of the boat, with no clothes, and go down and get it. Otherwise, I curse up a blue streak, and then go home and make another one. Hopefully, a better one that won't get lost! I lose more when I'm fishing alone, because boat control while saving a lure is more difficult when you're alone. I'm always a little braver with my home made lures when they're floaters. I fish mostly rocky lakes, with very few snags, so the chances of not being able to retrieve a snagged lure is reduced. Mostly, the line slips between two rocks, and the lure comes up to them and gets wedged. Usually I can just drive directly over the lure, and past, and it will come free. But I don't drag the bottom with my home made lure unless I know it's smooth, especially in deeper water. I have several different lure retievers, including my "golden retriever", a telescoping retriever from Bass Pro that earned it's nickname from the number of cranks it's save over the years. For my bigger swimbaits, including the Huddlestons, I use a heavy weighted retriever that has a long cord attached, and which slides down the line to the lure. It has several lengths of chain attached, so it snags the hooks on the swimbait and I can wrench it free. I also got that at Bass Pro. I did change out the cord to a heavier cord, so I could straighten a hook if I had to without breaking the retiever's line. One tip I learned from my partner is to pull on the line with my hand instead of the rod when I'm directly over, or just past the lure. For some reason, this seems to pull stuff free when jerking on it with the rod won't. He learned that on a trip to Lake Bacarrac, in Mexico. So now, whenever I use that tip and it works, I say, " Thanks Juan Montoya", the guide who taught it to him.

This is a very good beginning. Is it going to be a sinker, or a floater, or a bottom bouncer? There are different rigging and weighting options for those different designs. I'd suggest you install your hook hangers, if you're going to use them. That way, you can hang the actual hooks and split rings you plan to use, and see how that affects the floatation. Of course, as Lili Man's Beater Trout in the gallery shows, you don't have to hang the hooks from the bottom. If you're making a bottom bouncer, you can mount a treble on top, or set a single big jig hook in it's back. You should be able to tape some lead in different locations, and see how it floats before you actually install the ballast weight. Don't rush this process. Fool around until you get it to sit in the water the way you want it to, and then, once you have installed the ballast, do some swim tests before you actually paint and finish it. That way, you can tweek it if you need to without ruining the finish.

jbt, You've stumbled upon my strength, stating the obvious. Hope you find the right solution for you. Mark

Bruce, give him an infraction! Seriously, they've discovered portable power tools cause memory loss. That's why the neighbors never return them.

I guess I'm lucky I never did figure out how to post a picture to the forum. It pays to be slow sometimes. Matt, the injection molded plastic punker is much lighter than the wooden version, so it's got to be easier to work. Especially for the bigger ones. I've made some big 9" wood punker knockoffs, and, while they glide like champs, they wear you out if you throw them for any length of time. My best big glide baits are out of pine, so they ride higher in the water and are easier to work. And they're still a workout. I hope this new plastic Punker is a rebirth of the big Pupfish. If it is, Jeremy's got a huge hit on his hands. Old Pupfish can go for $150 and up, if you can find someone willing to sell.

Jamie, The ultimate big surface glider was the big Pupfish, an injection molded plastic knock off of the Mega Bass Dog X. They ran into problems with Mega Bass and had to stop making them. Black Dog Baits has just come out with an injection molded 9" Lunker Punker. I haven't tried one yet, but it has the potential of giving the old Pupfish a run for it's money. I made a 9" surface glider out of pine, to keep it light so I could keep the lure higher in the water, which would make it easier to walk/glide. I have just finished shaping it, along with three reverse joint 7" swimbaits. I hope to test them all this week. I'll post the results. Fingers crossed.

matt, Go to their website, and email them your questions. Last time I did that, I got some really helpful information from the gal who was their tech. rep. at that time.

Jed, I haven't had that experience with D2T, Etex, and Nu Lustre. When I've stripped D2T off lures where it had chipped and flaked, the pieces were very stiff, and brittle. They chipped off in big flakes. When I've had to strip Etex, which I just did on one of my wood lures, it peels off in flexible strips, almost like vinyl coating. I haven't had to redo any lures I've done with Nu Lustre yet (fingers crossed), so I don't know how it strips off, but the residue in the mixing cups I've had left over after coating lures has remained flexible, where the D2T I've had left over is rigid and brittle. I do think there's a difference in the basic formulas of the two different kinds of epoxies. D2T, which is meant to be a glue, first and foremost, needs to be more rigid and stronger, to hold things together as a fastener. Typically, a glue line is thin, just enough to fill the void between two surfaces. The decopage epoxies need to be more flexible, since they are meant to cover large surfaces subject to expansion and contraction. That's been my experience. The epoxies we use in construction to embedd bolts in concrete are even more brittle than the D2T, but they have very little flexibility. I think, in structual language, that's called creep, or deformation under load. But my experience isn't scientific. Maybe Downriver could weigh-in with an educated/informed opinion.

I've never made a wood lure that went that deep intentionally. I've lost a few sinking lures over deep water, due to line snap during the cast, but that's it. I'd think you have two things to deal with. First, trying to stiffen the cedar so it doesn't move under pressure. For that, Minwax Wood Hardener should work as a sealer/stiffener. Second, you need a top coat that will flex under pressure without cracking. For that, a decopage epoxy, like Etex or Nu Luster 55 should work fine. I would put in the hook hangers, line ties, and all the hardware before I epoxy, so I can make sure the epoxy seals completely around the through the eyelets. I would coat them so they are completely sealed, by passing my epoxy brush through them from both directions, and swirling it around them. Drill out the eyelets after the epoxy has set and cured completely. Center punch the eyelet with an awl, drill a small through hole with a drill bit, and then use a piece of sst wire, instead of a drill bit, to ream and clean out the epoxy from the eye, and you won't scar the line ties and other hardware, or leave sharp edges that can cut fishing line.