diemai

@ porkmeatballs I have only made a handful of swimbaits so far , always tried to let them sink at a horizontal level , but for no other reason but a natural appearance . But I figure out , that a slightly head-down sinking level might enhance a deeper running of the bait , .....though I'm not sure about that . All I know is , that down the single segments from front to rear the ballast per each segment should decrease , meaning that most ballast should sit in the first section , the second heaviest load in the second section and just a little or possibly no ballast in the third and especially the following sections down the rear . To let a swimbait do it's snaking motions , vortices down the flanks are generated by the first and biggest section , these vortices flowing down the flanks of the bait cause the second , third and following section to move sidewards to achieve the typical snaking action ,.......so if these rear sections would become too heavy due to added ballast , the vortices would come to lack sufficient power to move those heavier sections and the bait won't work well anymore . This is why the first section in front is usually the biggest and most voluminous section of the bait , ....it is the "engine" of the entire bait , so to speak , ......if any rear sections would be made as big and voluminous , the bait won't perform, ........well , apart from a two-section bait ! But I won't call such a typical swimbait , but some sort of a two-section glidebait , as it won't "snake" within, but come back in a wave pattern at constant pull or break out sideward on initial jerks . Greetings , Dieter

To me , it's the nature of the business , that such lures rise to the surface on retrieve more or less , .....they are just not suited to fish depths beyond 10 feet . To keep them that deep at all, one must place more weight , possibly into the front and second section only(overweighting rear sections kills their snaking action) to let them sink at a rate of about one foot/second , ...second option is , in conjunction with more ballast , to place a more or less downward pointing diving bill underneath the chin . Also one should pause the retrieve now and then to allow the bait to drop back to maintain it's working depth. Good luck , Dieter

I don't mean to be bragging , ...but you may browse through my gallery , through the years I have made quite a few versions of different lathe turned lures , ....not the most prettiest lures though , but many variations . http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/gallery/member/17895-diemai/ You might also check out this list-up of different collector's sites , .....a lot of vintage lure model were lathe-turned , ....you'd surely find some inspiration in there : http://www.thehardbaitdatabase.com/Collector_s_Links.html Good Luck , Dieter

@ pescabaits The two lures on top do not work , because the diving planes are too small compared to the body diameter and volume . Compared to the common added crankbait lips of metal and plastic mounted below the chin of a lurebody , these integrated diving vanes already do provide somewhat less and softer action to a lure , ...simply because they cannot generate so much leverage around the tow eye . And on these two lures the diving planes are so small and do not even pass over the belly diameter of the the rest of the lure body , so even less leverage can be generated , .......a diving plane should always protrude over the belly diameter , ..the more it does , the more leverage and the more action can be generated , ...to an extend , that the lure can even overturn and blow out , if either the diving lip is too long or the tow eye placed too high . The lower lure would certainlky come up with some kinda action , as the lip is longer and does protrude over the body diameter , .......but you have made the thickest body portion right behind the lip , .....this means , that the lure has it's greatest buoyancy in front , now the lip might get to sit too high and not shoulder into the water perfectly . You might try to add some ballast to the front body to overcome this issue , but I have learned , that any kind of belly ballast to such lures with integrated diving planes dampens their wiggling action more or less , ......simply because these lips do not provide as much leverage and do have difficulties with moving around added ballast . You must try to place the ballast deep into the belly right on the lengthwise center axis , right in the center of gravity , ......it should act neutral there and not affect the wiggle , but allow the front portion to hang deeper . Such lures and also banana lures with integrated diving vanes must have their greatest buoyancy in the center of body or slighly behind , ...causing them to float up horizontal or slighly head down , ...this way the diving vane shoulders nicely into the water and they should perform flawless . A shorter , egg shaped body of this type of lure would swim more irregular with a kinda "drunken" hunting action , but still wiggle within ,......a more elongated body would swim more stable , wiggle more regular and won't hunt as much ,....simply because a longer body has more guidance in the water , ......but remember , it is essential to let the diving plane protrude over the belly ! Good luck , Dieter

@ Jwbright I love making lureblanks on my lathe , ...maybe , it's because I do not have a bandsaw ??? Most likely I'm making versions of vintage lure models , for example the "Rush Tango Minnow" , but also "Pikie" style lures , many other proven catchers of yesteryear can be made on a lathe , too ! Also I 've been into experiments with a few versions of typical striper bass lures , as already mentioned in another post above , ......many of these are perfectly suited for northern pike over here in Europe . Is there anything in particular , that you'd like to know about turning down timber lures ? Greetings , Dieter

@ pescabaits Are you that Dutch fellow angler , that had just commented on that particular YouTube clip above ? Just wrote a reply there advising you to join in here and put up some pics and describtions of your faulty lures , .......kinda funny , that you are already here , .......welcome to TU ! So well, ......please do , as Dave had told you , ....we need pictures to determine about your problems , ....most likely it would be possible to help someone out ! One thing I can already tell you , ......if your lure should be of this style sporting an integrated diving vane , any ballast would most likely do harm actionwise , ...such lures can't easily handle ballast like lures with their diving lips mounted somewhere below their chins . Also if you use material , that is too buoyant for a lure , that is too large and voluminous , it may not dive easily , as it's likely to pop back to the surface , .....but otherwise , as a rule of thumb , .......more buoyant materials do provide an easier to achieve wiggle compared to denser materials , ......but also materials must be matched to lure size and volume somehow . BUT these are just a few aspects about lure dynamics to take into consideration , ....there are a some more , but impossible to figure out without any pictures an descriptions . Greetz , Dieter

So well , ......looks like surfing TU requires a change of the browser to use the site's full potential , ...it had troubled me enough , before I've figured out ! Good luck , Dieter

@ aulrich To utilize that "GrandMa" shape as a glider/stickbait I would tend to turn it upside down , .......dunno exactly why , but in that given configuration I have concerns about good function . If the back turns to belly , your main belly ballast in front would come to sit a bit deeper to stabilize the lure's upright level resulting into a better gliding performance , also you'd render the more buoyant body portion upward also providing a tendency to the lure not to cant that much on each jerk , thus better transforming the momentum into a gliding motion . Greetings , Dieter

Had issues as well using Internet Explorer browser , providing links in my posts on TU would not work either , .....switched over to Telekom browser(my providing company) , no such issues anymore now , all fine ! So you might try a different browser as well ? Good luck , Dieter