mark poulson

I've tried to use the tap brush method, and even dropped a pinch of powder paint over the heated spinnerbait head. I learned pretty quickly I'm not Smalljaw or Cadman. Grrr!!! I use Rustoleum Etching primer (thank you Ted) on my spinnerbait heads, and then paint them with Createx and an artist's brush, heat setting each color before I add the next. I found I have much better control doing it that way, and get decent results. I top coat with clear nail polish, and it holds up really well.

One more time, you make it look easy. A word of warning. Don't try and use Glo Nation powder instead of power paint. You'll melt the lead before you get the Glo paint to stick. Don't ask me how I know. Hahaha

You know you've been living on the edge for a long time! Hahaha

Would rebending the top wire, so it is parallel to the bottom wire, solve the problem?

Is that a musky lure?

Try looking here: https://fishingskirts.com/fishing-skirts/

Amen. Thank goodness the fish aren't art critics!

Wayne, we had scorpions in Venice, CA, when I was a kid in the '50s. Our alleys were dirt, we were barefoot, and no one went looking for them after dark. I would have loved to have had a UV flashlight back then. They help to find black widows, too. That red belly glows in UV light.

That's why I suggest trying the weed wacker line, which is basically just a really heavy mono. It is slick, so weeds slip right off of it, but it's still flexible, so it doesn't interfere with the hookset. I use the .065" line.

Or you can put a weed guard in them, and throw them up into the heavy stuff.

I just took a look at the Hardbaits Gallery and man, there are some really talented painters out there!

I'd suggest you buy a plopper copy from Predator Baits, or some other online supplier, so you have a sample in hand when you begin you tinkering. It also helps to know what the plop should sound like. The shape and depth of the tail's lip is critical, but it's easy to duplicate, once you've figured it out. Please feel free to ask me anything you'd like. Everything I know about making baits I've learned here on TU, from others who shared with me, so it's only fair to return the favor.

I suggest you try to open the eye on that hook before you commit to it. I found that the Gamakatsu hooks are too hard to open, at least with an awl, and that the eye breaks. Maybe you can twist it sideways without breaking it. I found that the Mustad 32786 BLN hook is openable, in the 3/0 and 4/0 sizes, as long as I don't open it too far. Of course, I do not make Chatterbait knockoffs. "That would be wrong, children, very wrong indeed."

Thanks. The whooper plopper actually began life as a musky bait, designed by Larry Dahlberg, so it should get pike, too. It resembles something struggling on the surface, like a baby duck trying to get airborne, or a baitfish that's trying to escape, I've read that pike are vicious predators that will eat anything they can fit into their mouths. I've never actually seen a musky or pike in person, but I've caught their saltwater cousin, the barricuda, and those are some mean rascals. When I threw iron for them, big metal jigs, they would actually scratch the metal with their teeth! From the pictures I've seen, pike look like they have the same dentist. Yes, I carve the tail out of the same Azek PVC trimboard that I use for the whole bait. Man, I don't know if I could even cast an 8" crankbait. I know retrieving it would kick my butt!

Wayne, I haven't seen a black light since I went to the Cheeta Club, next door to Pacific Ocean Park, back in the late '60s. Hahaha I believe what the manuf. says, and it does seem to "glow" in the water.

You can use weed wacker line, as long as you glue it in after you powder coat.

Barry, Being that I am lazy, when I don't thin my paint enough to shoot easily, I back my needle off, so I get enough of a nozzle opening to pass the thicker paint. Not ideal, but it let's me keep painting.

Thanks Barry. I used fluorescent yellow with some iridescent green to get that chartreuse, and it really shows well in the water. I just hope the fish agree with me. ;O)

Dave, I'm afraid video is beyond my capabilities. I barely do photos! Hahaha My pain is gone, and my strength, such as it is, is returning.

I was "down" with sciatica for a while, so I made three new 4" baits, a 3 piece swimbait and two ploppers, all in bluegill because that is what the bigger fish here eat.

Maybe one of those sand blasting air brushes might work, but I've never even seen one, so I have no idea.

I think you'll have trouble trying to shoot glitter through most air brushes. The particles are just too big. They won't shoot through my HP-C. I add mine to Createx transparent base, and brush it on, like Mohawkman.

If you've ever seen a video of a big manufacturer's operation, they control everything with computers, so their baits come out the same every time. Injecting helps, but it is their whole system that makes them successful. I don't think we, as small time makers, will every be able to match their stuff, in terms of volume and consistency, but there are hand pour guys here who have carved out a niche for themselves producing quality over quantity.

They have the money to hire really good lawyers, who know the laws of whatever country they're dealing with.