A-Mac

appreciate the info man! sorry can't help u w/ the DN. I use e-tex and d2t.

right on rofish! I personally "don't know jack" about photoshop, but I'll let my bud check it out (I'll have to open the pics on his comp too). One thing I am definately amazed w/ is the fact that lookslikesinbad got the image to completely wrap the bait! No PAINT! As much as I enjoy painting, I'd prefer not having to combine the two (I found it really tested my airbrushing abilities trying to blend a photo w/ paint). It seemed more challenging than just painting a whole lure. quick question too: has anyone tried photofinish on sebil magic swimmers?--- see where I'm going w/ the image adjusting... anywho, thanks for the info! can't wait to try it out. I find its impossible to ever be satisfied (for too long) w/ baits, they always leave me wanting more! crazy addiction.

I have a buddy that specializes in taking fish pictures (he got real good at it doing his PhD @ purdue while photographing age 0 whitefish, which are a smidge over an inch long). Anywho, as a trade-off I'm helping him make some giant plugs for arctic char and he's providing extremely detailed images for me (ex: 1" whitefish can be blown-up to a poster and be crystal). I've done one photofinish so far and it came out pretty good. However, the fish (fathead minnow) had a totally different body shape than my crank. This required a lot of tweaking as far as sizes went b4 we got a bait with similar size specs. Also, I had to do some hardcore airbrushing to get it to blend. My question is: Is there a way to punch in a specific area (outline of my crankbait) and have it stretch/compress the image vertically on photoshop? BTW, that rattle-trap style lipless bait is insane! Very nice, very nice indeed!

i've had one educated attempt at photofinish so far, with some good guess work too. I used 2 coats of D2T. These are the steps I tried. 1. glue photo down on bare balsa 2. ensure that the photo is as smooth against the bait as possible 3. first coat of d2t 4. sand rough edges at top and bottom of photo 5. apply paint to cover up photo edge 6. final d2t this worked well (once I get a good pic of my bait ill put it in gallery) and you can barely tell there is a photo edge there. From what I've experienced so far, its harder to blend paint on a photofinish (match colors/scale patterns) than it is to actually paint an entire bait. But its as real as it gets. BTW, really like the last bluegill bait you posted.

probably the easiest stuff to find is 19gauge stainless (most hardware stores)... btw, always go w/ stainless. I got some hardened stainless about 5 years back from some canadian lure making website (can't remember what it was called) and managed to get away w/ a slightly thinner diameter, which is better for smaller baits, but it was also much stouter & stronger than normal hardware store wire. The stouter wire is more difficult to form, but keeps your bait "in tune" much better than the softer stainless.

Interesting thread, on several aspects. On my smaller cranks (my first fathead photofinish will be up soon) I get about a 10:1 ratio of baits that operate straight:hunt. I typically save the hunters for myself because they definately outperform the straight runners in certain situations. By certain situations I mean low/no current flow, low/no wind, and a slow-medium steady (not burning) retrieve. I call this particular breed of lures my finesse crankbaits. Its like throwing a 8thoz. jig in 30mph wind, it won't perform as well as the straight retrievers. However, if its a hot stagnant summer day, my hunters come out. Most guys don't think a bait is working right unless they can burn it in, which is why I try not to sell these as well. Oh well, they have a place in my box. As far as why these baits hunt, I've often pondered. I've seen bait work differently from the same balsa plank before. I make a batch (20baits) at a time (from same plank) and you can definately tell a difference in densities when sanding. So I assume densities have altering affects. My cranks are through-wire (2 wood halfs) and I wonder if a mis-match in the densities causes this. Who really knows though? Oh well, as long as my lines are tight, I'll just keep it simple.

yup, i agree. get your primary colors for sure. Definately get a pearl white too. You can make some wicked stuff with just these. I also really appreciate translucent colors.

I just got my router bits in the mail. However, I'm quite busy trying to get caught up on some orders with my smaller cranks and haven't got around to messing with the copy carver much. It is together and it looks like it will work. As far as 360 there is a method in the plans but Ed Waliki (designer) says its much faster to do one side at a time and focus on fine detail with a dremel. I'm not quite sure how the 360 thing would work according to the plans. However, the entire machine didn't really make sense until I was actually building it. Design is quite genius.

I'm currently working on building one myself. The copy carver is basically the plans to build the redneck version of the wood carver (wood-carver.com). I'm about 90% done with mine. The plans are 20$ to download. All reviews that I have seen were positive. I will say this, this machine costs more than the website says. When its all said and done, I'll be in about $300. Compare this to the wood-carver that does the same thing and your saving $2700! Nope, I didn't add an extra 0 to that on accident. I will say this. If you plan on building a copy carver make sure you have accurate power tools. A GOOD table saw is highly prefered. I didn't have access to a GOOD table saw so I did it all with a GOOD circular saw. Tools also needed include a drill gun (duh), band saw, titanium drill bit set, and the most valuable tool... a large carpenters square. Accuracy is the key to perfection. The machine is as accurate as you make it to be. Unless I don't complete this before I loose my subscription I will post a pic.

I fear that I will no longer be able to remain on this website. Were the tips I've acquired from this site worth it... Absolutely! However, being a fisheries technician and still going to school at Purdue keeps my budget pretty tight. If aluminum prices keep going up, I might be able to collect enough cans from the dumpsters behind some frat houses to keep my membership Thanks a bunch from everyone! I've been making cranks since I was in 7th grade, and I will say that I have learned more in the past year than I did in my previous 8! Live2Fish~Fish2Live Aaron McAlexander

The pupils are fixed. I bought every pack I could when I found them because the craft store was going out of business. The eyes actually had a black backing to them (which extended out from the back of the eye to be sewn in) but I dremeled them off to fit. As a result, the eye became translucent revealing the blue/ yellow mix. In other words, lucky mistake! Since this pic had been posted, the hard anal and dorsal fin were replaced with micro fibers (so it could actually swim). Also, the paint has worn... for good reason

Actually the bluegill in my avatar has plastic doll eyes. Its hard to see but the finish is perfectly clear. The eyes are actually a translucent yellow and the blue from the bait reflects up from underneath. So doll eyes + epoxy will work perfectly... with D2T anyways. I'm not sure about ET or spray clear coat though.

i really like the small adhesive 3D eyes. I put them on before I clear coat too. I don't know much about the spray clear you are using, but I use Devcon 2 ton (which you can get at walmart for less than 3 bucks) with good success. If you do go this route (epoxy), mix the batch very well. Mount your crankbait in a cordless drill (w/ infinite variable speed) and begin to brush on the epoxy making sure all areas are covered. Finally, use a small quick grip clamp... or duct tape ... set your drill up to rotate the bait as slow as possible! (~1 revolution per 3-4 seconds) Walk away and let it rotate for a solid 30-45 minutes. By this time the clear is still tacky, so don't touch it. However, after this amount of time has passed the clear has set and won't run. By doing this, you get a glass like clear coat that is extremely durable. Also, I've never had any hazy coats using this method. Good Luck!

I have been using a Bosch drill gun for some time with excellent success. I use a small quick grip clamp and squeez it until the drill is just starting to engage (needs to be infinite variable speed of course). I simply clamp down the tail end of my bait into the gun (make sure its quite tight) and start brushing on my epoxy. Once I have completely covered the bait and have put the squeeze clamp on, I observe it for about the first 3-4 min. to make sure the epoxy is rolling out smooth and that no "dry spots" are still present. I will say this, I tried a DeWalt drill that worked. However, the drill was a lot more stressed at the low rpm than the Bosch. Good luck!

I agree. I enjoy skipping a lure a lot. However, I think the smaller splashes are more similar to bait fish jumping than one big kirplunk.

i typically try to keep the splash as subtle as possible. I know that is practically impossible w/ swimbaits (unless your flipping them). I've seen a big splash scare fish but I'm confident that a fish that hits a lure on initial impact of a big splash would probably hit the lure no matter which presentation is used.

Finally got to throw the gill in some thawed waters. Its crazy. I burned it through and super slow retrieved and performed marvelously. I also got it to do the 180 turn but I think that will take some practice to get it down to an art. I will try to get a video up soon. Rock on! everyone for the help! You guys helped create a wicked bait!