Matt Moreau

Ok, I found out you cannot post JPEGS!?!?!? Thats pretty weird. Anyway i converted it to a .GIF and it wass uploaded but the quality was cut way down. Take a look and let me know what you think!!! http://www.tackleunderground.com/photos/index.php?n=1488

Hey guys... I have a pic of a Bluegill swimbait i just finished and i want to post it to the gallery. Problem is that i keep getting an error message and i cannot find any information on size restrictions or file type. Any help is appreciated. Thanks! I really did try a search too!

I am having trouble posting a picture in the gellery. I have searched for rules and formattin but cant find anything. Can someone shed some light?

Sorry, just found this from Bob P; "Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Summerfield, NC Posts: 592 Re: need Recipe for the Ghost shad/sexy shad Sexy = pearl belly, gray scale shoulders, medium blue back, then chartreuse stripe just below the gray shoulders. Black shad spot. Very faint chartreuse shading on front of belly, very faint red (pink) shading on back of belly. Sparse small silver flake on the belly and sides. If you shoot chartreuse over blue scale, you get green, so that's why the gray scale shoulders. "

Wow your baits look wonderful...I am the one having trouble weighting. Thanks for the information. I really want to ask questions but i dont want to hijack the thread. Point is... You da man!!! They look awesome!!!

First off THANK YOU for the help everyone. I trully appreciate it and would not be attemping this without YOU and TU... Vodkaman, your post opened my eyes and really drove home the point you made in another post about an unweighted stick is much easier to "WIGGLE" in the water than a stick weighted at the ends. You are absolutley right that i need to start taking one step, ok one baby step, at a time. My problem is that Im a "do'er"... That is, when i get a new camera i take it out of the box and push everything else to the side because i like to touch and feel my way through it. On the other side you have the person that wants to read the directions cover to cover and in every language. But anyway, i took the bait and just started comparing differences to other jointed swimbaits. What i found is exactly what I think you are saying with the pencil analogy. The head of my bait is too small in comparison to the length. I took out my micrometer and and tested a tripple trout and found the percentages of their segments. Then i tested mine and it is wayoff. That coupled with the fact that i weighted the bait from nose to stern really hurt my action. This is all just a theory though vodka(hehe). I really screwed up the nose last night and it is completly sanded down now and has a huge L shaped notch cut out. I think it is beyond repair but i would likt to keep tinkering with it. What would you guys suggest? Start fresh or try to repair with some kind of filler?

I am trying to make a wake bait now and when i figured it out i was going to move to a sinking NON lipped model. The problem is that my tail section doesnt have a hook to keep it down. Maybe i should think about adding one as the ballast.

Yes i have aout 5 tripple trouts and i love them. I didnt want to copy anything but it looks as though i might have to go that route to figure this out. You are right though... I meant Horizontally so that the dorsal fin points to the sky..... but how do you acheive this without weighting the back portions of your baits? I guess i am just missing something! maybe if i do not weight it in the mid and tail the final coat of devcon and paint will pull it down so that is sits horizontally. Man all these failures sure make me respect the h3ll outta you guys. Thanks for the patience and help!

How about a Sexy Shad color or basically a Citruse...

Yes, i have seen your videos was very impressed. GREAT JOB! But, will your lures sit perfectly verticle in the water while not moving? That is the problem i am having if i do not weight each section. In addition i found if i only weight the head then the mid and tail section want to float and the action is thrown off and it tends to swim on its side... like when you have a mis aligned lure. Maybe it is the wood i am using. I have tried Poplar and cherry so far. Just got some Basswood to try. After reading some more of Vodkamans posts and thinking about Subs i have concluded that my nose is too pointed and will not carry the vorticie on to my lure as i would like. I think i will flatten out the nose... then change the eye position if that doesnt work and if oth of those fail then i will start at the back and drill out my weights 1 by 1. Please any suggestions would be appreciated!

Ya i have about 4-5 baits right now that are thrown in the "bin".... I am going to use these for testing as the action SUCKS!!! They are just the first baits of a bunch to come and like you all said the first ones are never too good. I have produced 2 decent baits that made it to paint. One i am applying the clear(2 TON) on tonight. I will try to take pics but i am embarrassed when compared to you guys. BUT, the lure i am talking about in my previous post is suppossed to be a wake bait and i want it to sit in the water perfectly because most of the time it is going to be just sitting there "Deadsticking". Thus i am a little hesitent to drill out any weight. I would like to try some other options first. The Head has a good "Wobble(Think tis is the right term)" but the mid section and tail do not follow and just go straight. I think it does have a twitch in it though as every 5 cycles it goes off course or twitches not quit hunts. I have tried many different bills and many different bill locations to no avail. I will try some more eyelet position next. If anyone has anymore suggestions i would appreciate them. I wonder if i flatten out the nose to give it more deflection if that would help. I doubt it as the problem lies in the mid and tail sections. I assume you are right about the weight Vodkaman so would you have any ideas how they do this on production baits? I just dont know how you get a true balanced vertical fall if you cannot weight the sections. BTW Vodkaman... Thanks for all the great reading. Even though i have to read each article 10 times and still may not fully understand i still appreciate them. And thanks to everyone on TU... You guys are great!!!

I know we got off te subject here and i am just a newbie, but all i do is melt down old plastics in the microwave and pour them into a flat metal measuring cup. Then i just cut into the shape i want for the tail. Cheap and easy!

Hello everyone, I have been reading a bunch of great debates by Vodkaman and many others on line tie positions, weighting issues and balance points. But I am still confused as I am a Lehman and these debates are a little over my head.... Now for my first baits I thought I would put as little weight as possible and as close to the balance point that I could. This has proved difficult and I could not achieve the desired effect. For my jointed baits this meant that no weight was inserted in the tail or tail and mid section. This in turn caused the bait to float awkwardly and swim erratically. Then I began to drill out the weights and weighted each section individually so it floated properly. I now use tiny splitshot stung the entire length of the bottom thus resulting in a realistic floating/deadsticking action. But like mentioned in the debates I think it is cutting down on the action. Being a Lehman and very new to this I was just wondering if anyone is willing to share how they go about weighting a jointed lure. I want to make a sinking jointed bait that is non lipped and I need the sections to be weighted I think, but I want as much action as I can get because I will have no lip. Any and all advice is appreciated. In addition, any advice on making this bait is appreciated.

Wow!!! i have been admiring your work since i first came on here. Keep it up!!!

Wow i never thought of doll eyes. I went to a large craft store and all i could find were those "googly eyes" Ill have to check into that. Thanks for the sites too! HAZMAIL- Your method is a lot like what i am thinking with the dowel. Thank you for the post it gave me some more ideas. Thank you all i really appreciate your replies. It is almost 9am here so i can almost go crank up the wood working tools and give a jointed lure another try.

Hello, This is my first post here although i have been lurking and reading for a long time. I have to say that you guys are awesome and i hope i can accomplish a small fraction of what you can do! Thank you for all the help and knowledge you leave on this board. Although i greatly appreciate what you guys are doing I hate you at the same time! You should put a warning up how addicting this is. What have you guys gotten me into!!! Anyways Thank you again. Ok now my question, and i just want to say that I am an accomplished searcher on this site but i cannot seem to find anyinfo on the two things. 1. I want to order some 3D eyes for Swimbaits but i dont know what size would accomodate a 5'' - 7'' bait. Any recomendations? 2. How do you joint a swimbait and keep the sections even? I have ideas but i know you guys have easier ways. My idea was to angle my table saw and cut the sections while the wood is in block form. Then drill my hinge holes and insert a dowel like rod and put the bait back together via these rods inserted in the hinge holes. This woud allow me to shape the bait as one. I know u guys must have easier ways with the quality baits i see in here! I am stumped though. I tried cutting one on my band saw(after it was shapped) and it came out uneven. With practice i am sure i could do a lot better but there has to be a better way. Thanks for the help and i am glad to be a part of this. You guys are great! Kudos to you!