mark poulson

BobP, Will adding a little water and shaking the heck out of it revive lumpy Createx?

Bob P., Can you recoat DTT without sanding? I use Envirotex Lite, and just wipe down with alcohol between coats. I'm too lazy to turn my lures by hand for half an hour, and I haven't made a drying wheel yer, so I hang my lures by the head after I coat them, and they drip dry/set/cure over a cardboard box. The finish is thinner at the head with this method. You post gave me the idea to hang them by the tail for the second coat, so the finish evens out. It will involve a little more eye tie cleaning, but the finish being thicker and more durable on the head should make up for any extra work. Thanks.

Oops. The 1/2" legs should be at 90 degrees to one another.

I just got an email with the perfect test tank. Big, cheap, and portable. A guy lined the bed of his pickup with a sheet of plastic, filled it with water and, voila! It's not too deep, but it's plenty big enough to test shallow stuff, and swimbaits. Plus it's portable. In this time of drought all over the country, you just drive it to the spot that needs water, and drop the tail gate. Of course, the picture I saw showed him floating in the tank in an inner tube with a cold Bud in his hand. I think the Bud may be the key to the effectiveness of the tank. I couldn't make out the brand of pickup, so I can't be sure that didn't have a bearing on tank performance, too.

If you want the control of doing it by hand, but some speed, just take an 8d finish nail, and put a 90 degree bend in each end, with the bent part being about 1/2", and facing opposite, like a flat Z. It makes running 1 1/2" screw eyes in or out a breeze.

Widowmaker, I tried those hook hangers, and they all broke shortly after I put them on. Maybe I got a bad batch. Have you had good luck with them?

Deepsessions, I'm surprised to hear that because of the conversation I had with Jeremy at the show. But that just shows everyone has a dog and pony show. It's the actual performance, in this case customer service or lack thereof, that tells the tale. Good to hear from someone who had actually dealt with them. Mark

Doug, Thanks for you words. He was a good kid, and it was a real waste of a talented person with lots of years left. Once upon a time, in a land called California, they used to sell solvent based contact cement only. Another carpenter and I were using contact cement to hang 4'x8' sheets of paneling in a large conference room in an office building. We'd fit a half a dozen sheets, take them down and roll the glue on both the back of the paneling and on the drywall wall, let it "dry" to the touch, and then set them in position. This was on a weekend, when the office building was totally empty, and way up on the 10th floor. We had been working for about an hour, when we both realized we were pie eyed. We had to go down the elevator and through security to get outside for some fresh air. We didn't realized that the office's AC had been shut off for the weekend, so all the fumes had no where to go. We managed to turn the AC on so we could keep working, and finished the job, but we both wound up with the worst head ache imaginable. Lesson learned. Proper ventilation and breathing protection is vital to your health.

Bigone, I met the guy who paints them at the Anglers Marine Bass-A-Thon last month. He's really interested in making a quality product. Give him a call about the problems you're having. I'm pretty sure he'll take care of you.

Dan, That is beautiful. I'm going to try to make one out of wood, since I'm a carpenter, and I suck at metal work. Mark

KB, If it works well now, don't fool with it. I've had 2lb smallies hit a BBZ1 floater, which is about 10" long. P.S. Send me those dang "oversized" baits if you don't want them. )

Dean's dead on right. I lost a friend, in his early 30's. He was the finisher for a sheet metal shop, and sprayed all the exotic finishes for them, including Imron. He developed leukemia and there was no donar match for a bone marrow transplant, so they couldn't irradiate his marrow to kill off the leukemia. All that stuff is nasty. No finish, no matter how durable or pretty, is worth your life or health.

Allen, Those baits look like the Orbit 80, by Duel. Best shallow jerkbait ever made. The most erratic when you jerk it I've ever thrown. The Orbit has a great weight transfer system, so it casts really well, even though it weighs a little over 1/4 oz. Unfortunately, Duel, a Japanese maker, is really focused on salt water, so their fresh wate line is limited. If they had a deeper, Staysee-type jerkbait, the world would be perfect. Have you tried the Predator lure? How does it cast? How's it's action?

Woodieb8, What thickness Lexan do you usually use?

I don't understand a word that guy said, but I love his cars! Seriously, is that mono he used? It almost looks like he made continuous loops instead of folded loops that slip over the hook and catch the barb, which is how I've done it in the past.

I got a welders sheild that fell out of someone's mask off a jobsite. I believe it's Lexan. It's clear/transparent, very flexible, and tough. I cut it with tin snips and used a piece for a lip. Works. Has anyone else tried Lexan?

Kid's wading pool. Just watch the hooks. Indoors, bath tub.

Hoodaddy, If they bring home free samples, they're fine!

Good luck BLT. Attitude+Effort=Success

My name is Mark. I'm 60 years old, and have worked in construction my whole life. I started out as a laborer, became a carpenter, and now I'm a residential contractor with my own business. I have been making wooden swimbaits for six months, ever since I broke my friend's 10" Pupfish. I cast it too far, it landed on a mud bank, and hit the only hard thing on it, a beer bottle. Poetic justice. Anyway, I decided I could carve a replacement, and it's taken off from there. This site has been a huge help in figuring out how to get started, and how to do things.

Sharpie makes a water based pen in black, red, and green. At least those are the colors the hobby store I found sells. Doesn't run, easy to use, small tip.

BruceKY, What gauge sst wire do you use? I'd like to make some springs that are about 1/4" or 3/8" in diameter.

Anyone have a formula for the Yamamoto #301...Green pumpkin with large green and purple flake?

BruceKY, Where'd you get your springs, and what material are they made from? I'm have a devil of a time finding stainless steel springs, and I'm starting to think I'll just have to use regular springs and put them in and coat them with clear coat.

Man, that is sweet. Where'd he get it? Put red lights behind the eyes that light up when there's mail. That way, she'll look like she's all fired up for the spawn when she's carrying.