Howard Capone

Put the three inch twister tail through the middle of the stinger hook. Place the rubber piece on the main hook after the stinger is slid on, let’s the stinger hook go left and right, moving freely. A gentle twist in the middle of the blades makes the blades move with less resistance. I hope this helps. The ball bearing swivel allows the blade to rotate as the bait falls. The bent blades start the blades turning sooner and the strike zone of the bait can be improved by the bait action working instead of the bait falling and the first few feet without blade movement. I hope this helps.

Thank you. I was wondering if I missed anything? The group has gotten bigger since I first joined and a lot of ideas have been shared.

The ball bearing swivel is held in a small square. I was tired of the pike pulling the willow leaf off. Note never put a black dot ⚫️ on a white blade, a blade doesn’t have a hook. I have had pike and musky hold on to a blade all the way to the boat and let go at the last minute. 86 strands in the skirt, chartreuse gives it a lateral line. Speed up and slow down disrupts the line and causes a strike. The skirt length is long enough to hide the stinger hook. Slide the stinger on and place the plastic tube on after to keep the hook loose in the skirt. A three inch twister tail sticks out the bottom and provides movement when you slow down. The ball bearing swivel allows the willow to spin on the way down. Bend the blades so they propeller easily, another trick. Fish this fast or slow. The modifications work best on a slow retrieve. You can fish this like a jig, the bait will start to have movement as soon as it hits the water. The skirt strands flex on slow jerks and resemble a fish in distress. Worked on this lure and the modifications for ten years, it was always my secret but I am sharing it with you. The original started with an old man in the Kalamazoo Michigan area were it was used against Kevin VanDam when he was a young man. On some evenings this lure beat Kevin in his own backyard. When the man passed, the lure was no longer available so I was forced to purchase the parts from Jann’s Netcraft and started to build my version and make modifications. The skirt with 86 strands was changed when the white rubber changed, originally it was 96 strands of flat rubber. The outside diameter is the same now but the round rubber is stiffer. Food grade silicone will soften the skirt especially after it’s been fished with. so that’s it, everything I did for ten years to take something that was good and made it a little better. This lure will catch fish! I have been known to cut the skirt back to the short length of the original lure and remove the stinger. I have also tied the skirt with chartreuse on top and white on the bottom the two tone works well in murky water. Hammered copper blades work well in the river water. Copper resembles crayfish. so my question is, did I miss anything when it comes to spinner baits?

Thank you for the tip on double willows. Thank you for the replies to this subject of skirt length. after 100 hits and no replies I thought it was a dead subject.

I have been makeing spinner baits for over ten years now,( I think I am getting old) This fishing season I started fishing with a younger crowd, that also tournament fishes for bass in the local lakes. It seems that the tournament fishermen go so far as to cut the skirts shorter than the factory length. It was pointed out to me that Kevin VanDam had talked about this in one of his presentations. I have been makeing my skirts longer through the years and have been catching bigger fish with this modification. What is your feeling about skirt length?

I would recommend Iron Wood. I have also used red oak. Carpinus caroliniana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Its cheaper to purchase one. The parts cost more than the unit.

Kelly, Glad I could help. I just wanted to provide my two cents worth .There has been a lot said about giving back to TU. Just trying to do my part. LaPala, I am glad Spare Tire jumped in. He asked me to build a wood burning pen for him. This was my second attempt. I did not have any spec sheets. I know what I built would work with our 120 volt system.

How to make a wood burning pen. Standard View How to make a wood burning Pen - a set on Flickr Slideshow view How to make a wood burning Pen For some reason the description section is not coming up automatically in the slide show like I set it to. To see the descriptions to all the pictures in the slide show, just move the mouse pointer to the top of the picture and it will make a menu pop up. Then click "show info".

For some reason the description section is not coming up automatically in the slide show like I set it to. To see the descriptions to all the pictures in the slide show, just move the mouse pointer to the top of the picture and it will make a menu pop up. Then click "show info". An alternative is to just view the pictures in standard view by clicking this link. Sucker Mold - a set on Flickr

I had a left over sucker from ice fishing, thought it would make a good reference for a lure and figured out a way to preserve it. View photos documenting the process at my Flickr page. Sucker Mold Let me know what you think.

george12182, I have worked with frog hooks and I don't see why you wouldn't build the lead head with a closed loop and modify the mold with a dremel as stated by reeves. you can install the frog hook after. I also wanted to suggest you try a split ring and a 2/0 stinger style hook used on spinner baits. With the split ring you can add a small willow for sound and added flash like a sweedish pimple. With the split ring design a twister tail on the single hook, will give the tail a back and forth motion as it travels through the water and still be semi weedless like the frog hook. Good luck. Howard Capone

Thank you for your insight. Howard Capone

I have had a problem with fish eating the tails off my spinner baits. The pro's claim you need to slow down. I have changed my barrel to ball bearing swivels so the willow blade spins a little better at slow speeds. I found an article on slow willows. Blades Make the Spinnerbait . Does anyone use slow willows? Can it make a difference?