Matt Moreau

AGREED! Flat sidded baits have more action because they catch the vorticies in the water much better. I Use these flat sides for many of my baits that are always moving and usually very slowly. But for realism and deadsticking you have to go with the V shapped joints. You can still get good action and it is much more realistic just much harder to make. I have a 7 inch 5 flat cut jointed bait that i am testing right now and it is by far the most lively bait i have ever made. So all i can say is experiment and find what works for you! And show some more pics!!!

WOW!!! u guys like em thick! I target blackies here in california so mine are a bit thinner. For my bigger baits 10 inches and above 3/4 is the bggest i have gone. I generally stay between 1/2 and 3/4 though. I have found size isnt really an issue its all about the weighting and sectioning of the bait. So use the size for the profile you are trying to acheive!

Both of you are right in a degree, but weighting is the key. float test each segment before assembly so that they all match the sink rate you are trying to acheive but keep the tail sections as light as you kan if that makes sense. The heavier the tail the more force it takes to push and so on and so on. Now flairing the tail does work but if it is too heavy to begin with it wont matter.

Turn the pot to high and let your led get so hot its glowing.... Then hold the mold as close to opening in the pot so that you can just see the lead hit the top and pour it. I had a hard time pouring small dartheads untill i did this and get a 90% success rate now. If you mess up just take your needle nose pliers and resumerge the lead in the pot and u can use the hook again too.

A template is the way to go. it has been said here to get a notepad and write down everything you do that way when u have a design you like you can reproduce it. I havent done this but wish i had. I would suggest you do it and just experiment with your first couple and see what happens!

SS twisted wire is definatley the strongest method i have used but it was a pain to get perfect loops and pairs that matched up with the guage wire i was using. If you assemble it afterwards that is the key too. Just predill the holes and coutner sink them to whatever Tightness/gap is desired then paint topcaot and glue em in. When you twist the wire cut the pieces atlest 4 inches long so u have a nice long shank to work with. Good luck and like mark p said i hate you too!!!

This is what i have been using for a year and love it... This machine is awesome!!!

twisting your own wire works well but to get perfect shape you are going to desire will be hard because you will have to use a bigger guage wire for the monsters you are fishing for! I used to use that method and it does work well but i have gone away from it because its too hard to clean the joint out. If you do use that method i would paint and top coat then hinge together other wise you will never get the D2T or whatever topcoat u use out as the join is too tight. Recently i have started using SS cotter pins and drilling a round yes round hole for the hinge pin. you cant even tell its there when assembled. And when put in with Devcon 5 min epoxy i cannot ge it to fail under reasonable conditions. I will post a pic in a bit.

My gosh man ur work just amazes me!

Im terrible at resizing so can a mod resize this for me??? Its just a modified triple trout Vodkaman.

Wow thats awesome... thanks!!

YouTube - Homemade 7inch wakebait This is one of my prototypes. I didnt like the S-Wave action that you get from a normal double jointed lure so i experimented and got this little jewel!

Or a tripple bahlz bass!!! Me like Bruddah. U r makin some awesome baits now! I should be up your way next week(depending on hack) and we can compare notes. You gotta see what these mods do!!!

Just make sure the scent you add is OIL and not water based. If its water based watch out!!!

HAHAHA!!! OOPS!!!! Have you posted some of your other style bait yet Bahlz? Those are pretty darn good too and im sure these guys would like to see em!

HAHA!!! ya thats what i call it!!! Ill take a pic of whats left. I give the ones that work but not how i intended to my neigbhor kid and i threw some away. Still will be interesting to see everyones mishaps. LOL!!!

Bahlz those look terrible!!! Can i have one??? HEHE, Glad you finally came on the site... youll learn a lot in here!

In my opinion there is no easy way to make a swimbait. Trial and error!!! LOL we should all take pics of our "WALL OF SHAME"... I have gotten rid of a bunch of mine but still have a dozen or so hanging to remind me its not that easy!!!

Opps pics were too big... here they are.... http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn266/vvakiravv/lures/CIMG1390.jpg http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn266/vvakiravv/lures/CIMG1389.jpg

old fly tying vises.

The up and down play has to do with how big the joint slots are. Just bend the eye screws up or down so it is closer to the wood and it it will correct the problem. Very easy fix... you could also shim it but much more effort for little to no gain.... Also just a question and i could be asleep when i read this but did you think about the balsa being really soft and on balsa crankbaits you have to do THROUGH WIRE CONSTRUCTION so that the bass will not destroy the lure. And that is for a crank. You are targeting larger fish ad i would give some thought to connecting all the pieces unless it is just a show piece.

That swims and looks a lot like some that i make. FANTASTIC job on your first bait!!!