mark poulson

rofish, I think you may be right. Action catches fish, paint jobs catch fishermen. Of course, that's an exaggeration, but I have caught fish on an all white swimbait, and on a black worm, so maybe color isn't all that critical in some circumstances.

I agree. Beautiful.

jimmie, I make my jointed swim baits out of poplar and douglas fir. I'm afraid bass would tear up a balsa bait with hinges. I've use pine, too, since it's lighter, and epoxied in the hinges, but I didn't like it as well. If you're making a one piece lure, then you could split it and use the through wire and epoxy system. At least that's what I'd recommend. I don't know if you'll be able to make exact copies unless you cast your lures out of some kind of foam resin. I carve them one at a time, and make paper templates of the finished lure before I paint it with the hook hanger and weighting locations and sizes marked on it, so I can make another. Larger swimbaits must be easier to make and work, since I have been able to do it relatively well. ) By the way, you do awesome paint jobs. I'm going to try and repaint one of those Strike King swimbaits like you did.

That does look fantastic. What did you use for fins? And what in the world did you make it out of? That detailing is so crisp. And a great paint job.

Now There's A Visual, For Sure!!!!

keram, Try telling that to the Mars Lander team whose lander overshot or crashed (they're not sure which) when one team used Imperial and the other used Metric. Talk about poor communications!

Sounds right to me. I'm new at this, too. Two things to remember. Less is more. When you clear coat your lures, the colors will become vibrant. Put on an intermediate clear coat before you try any patterns or details. That way, if you mess up, you only have to wipe off the fresh mess up, and don't have to start all over (this is the voice of experience talking). On the subject of intermediate clear coating. I just picked up some Createx gloss clear coat to try as an intermediate clear coat. All the while I was looking for it, I was thinking, "If the paint is already heat set, won't it be just as durable as a heat set clear coat?" I don't know the answer, but it seems logical. I'm going to put a clear coat on anyway, heat set it, and let it "dry" for a while before I start to mess with my lure after I've put on the scale pattern. If anyone knows of another water based clear that can be heat set, please share.

Now there's a visual. I'll have to hit the girlfriend up for some. All mine have runs!

Guys, Thanks for the heads up. I guess I'll just have to get better at stencils. Can't wait to test spray some of that shifty paint. I think that's what is on the back of the triple trout, and it looks awesome in the water.

But our nails are still measured in penny weights, and lots of other construction materials are still measured in "English".

Emmett, What do you use for a strainer?

I have been using strictly Createx waterbased paints. Does you post mean to only shoot transparents through that small a tip, or to thin the opaques and pearls before shooting them? I just ordered some Wildlife paints, to get the colors that shift. Are they harder to spray, too?

Vman, I actually do a fair amount of conversion to metric in my work. European cabinetry and fittings. And Japanese and Chinese stuff, too. I just enjoy the differences. I do not, however, grasp the "stones" concept yet. No, not those stones ).

That's what I found out the hard way. I was just trying to get a sealer that would penetrate, and dry quickly. I hand coat the insides of my joints with 5 minute epoxy anyway, to be sure the recesses are protected, and to avoid build up in the wrong places. I was hoping you had some magic secret.

dampeoples, I'd like to thin 5 miute epoxy to use for a quick sealer, and to coat the inner surfaces of my jointed baits before I topcoat with Envirotex. Do you have any experience with this, or any advice?

I'll be checking them out, thanks to your endorsement. I am looking for a brush for finer details. That .21 tip gravity feed looks like a good option at a good price. I know, you can do it with stencils, but I still would like to be able to free hand it, even if I have to use one hand to steady the other. )

You know, when they converted construction lumber from 1 5/8"X 3 5/8" to 1 1/2"X 3 1/2" for s4s (surface four sides) 2X4s, I had to relearn how to do layout. It wasn't that hard, except when we got mixed loads of lumber with both dimensions during the transition. But it made things simpler. Not better, simpler. Of course, metric is simpler. So what? Think of using our "antiquated" English system as a mental challenge. Enjoy the challenge. Thinking is a dying art, with computers, calculators, and tivo. Your mind is like any other muscle. Use it or lose it. We revel in our ability to come up with original designs, baits, and solutions to lure design problems, yet we whine about how complicated our system is. Rejoice in it. There's plenty of time to have it "simpler" when you're dead. In the mean time, look for the challenge. When I die, I don't want to be in pristine condition, because everything was easier. I want to slide into that last base like I was "rode hard, and put away wet"! Unfortunately, I've already lost my mind, but there's hope for the rest of you. )

I use some spray glitter in rattle cans from Michael's. Doesn't affect either the Createx, or the Envirotex.

BobP, I think it is important to know how much one wood weighs compared to another for lure building, at least for me. I know from my experience with larger lures that having a lighter wood lets me have a lure that's lighter overall, with the same action as a heavier lure, but that is easier for me to cast and work. For my gliders, the choice of pine over douglas fir can mean the difference of an ounce. Poplar is somewhere in the middle, leaning to the heavier side. Lighter woods, again in my experience, allow for a taller lure without too much more weight. On the other hand, for my triple trout imitations and other jointed baits, fir and poplar are great, because I don't have to add too much extra weight to get them to just barely float, while I get the added strength of those woods over pine. I haven't had the courage to tackle smaller balsa cranks yet. I'm having enough fun trying to make the bigger baits correctly, and learning to paint so it doesn't look like I used a roller.

Vman, Just shows how deeply fishermen are embedded in every facet of our history. Looks like an Oliver Stone movie in the making.

You might make a paper template, with the eye position marked by a through hole, so you can reverse it for both sides.

I just went on the new, improved gallery. It looks great. Funny how much you miss something that you take for granted once it's gone.

Looks great! I'm painting some tilapia lures for my friend who's going to Mexico's Lake Baccarac later this month. I'm going out and strip what I've done, and try to do what you did. I've never seen a photo of a tilapia, just tilapia lures, and your pictures really show the subtle purple overcast and tail tip. Thanks.

I use crazy glue, but just a drop.

PB, Since a board foot is 12"X12"X1", all you have to do is figure out what a 1"X1"X1" piece weighs, and multiply that by 144, the number of cubic inches in a board foot. If you have scrap, or enough wood, that's the simplest way. In real life, a board foot of lumber sold is based on 12"X12"X3/4", but it's easier to deal with whole numbers. Volume is length times width times height. If you have a calculator, you can get the volume of your sample, divide it by 144 to determine the percent of a board foot your sample is, and then divide the weight of the sample by the percent to find out what the weight of a board foot would be. Just make a table of the woods you use for reference. Actual specific gravity isn't as important as comparative density from one type of wood to another.