diemai

@ jimbo Very smart idea about the adjustable wheels and the two "chambers" to load the lure dryer ! This way you would be able to topcoat very short and also very long lures at one time without too much hazzle about overlength wire hooks ! Greetz , diemai

@ bigbass101 Alright , I almost don't have any experience concerning swimbaits , and I agree with BobP , that things are hard to tell from a distance ! So I would just suggest you to do what I do with almost ANY wooden lure(only on lures with slotted bellies for internal harnesses I estimate about the weight and glue it in with the harness prior to testing) , that I make , no matter , if new prototype or proven model : TEST IT ! I first cut a strip of roofing lead sheet approx. 2/3" X 6"(depending on general lure size) , bend it to a "U"shape and hang it onto the belly hook of the pre-assembled and temporary sealed lure . In a waterbucket I can determine about the sinkrate of the lure this way , cut off lead to decrease sinkrate or cut a new , longer lead strip , if lure still floats up too much . If you have chosen the right amount of weight , use that leadstrip as a template and cut out a second strip(in case , you'd mess up the first by wrong separating) . You might as well use it as a weight reference for leadshot or sinkers , if you'd prefer these as lureweights ! Now comes the harder part , you must determine about the location of the weights on the lureblank . I first estimate and cut off a sufficient part of my leadstrip and roll it up tightly to a "drum"-shape , after I'd stick it onto estimated location on the belly with some plastic tape(cable insulation tape) . This way I temporary bond the entire lead to the lure and test it's action in a bathtube , I'd fool around with the weight locations , until I'm satisfied . In case , that I separated the lead strip into wrong portions , I still have that second one to start all over again , or even cut out a third one ! After I'd mark the determined locations with a felt pen , swage those lead rolls real tight and round with a hammer on a steel plate , drill approbiate holes and epoxy them into the body . If uncertain , you might as well use that mentioned plastic tape(comes off a laquered , wet surface quite easily) to stick a temporary wire toweye(shaped similar to a rod guide) to different locations to see what works best for you . I know , this testing is always a PITA , but it would surely be worse to mess up the entire work on a lure , when it comes out a reject at the very end due to wrong balance:( ! Good Luck , diemai

@ Shane8stud I use a thin-writing permanent marker felt pen(waterproof on most surfaces) in black color presently . Before I had utilized pens containing gold ink , these you had to kinda "pump" on their tip for the ink to start out flowing , but it always got quite messy , as the pens became older , thus longer in use(also they are twice the price of the felt pens !) ! Advantage of these was , that the gold ink was visible on ALL basic lure colorations , the black felt pen's writing has to be applied onto lighter portions of the baits . Since some topcoats might possibly dissolve and smear those signatures , I put on a coat of acrylic clear laquer onto them prior to topcoating for protection . Good Luck:yay: , diemai

@Sonny.Barile (if it was not that sad;)) !!!! Greetz , diemai

@ Vodkaman Thanks , just have to join in Pete's previous post , lol ! @ BopP Thanks for further explanations , your describtion undermines , what I had thought , a "hunting" action would be . Ocassionally one or another of my homemades in the past had turned out to swim that way , I considered them as rejects , since they lacked that rythmic wobble , that I was after . Guess , that I should think over my attitude , lol ! greetz , diemai

@ jrhopkins Not much of a choice , no Muskies in Europe:( ! Also nothing to brag about (at least in my area in Northern Germany) , it's just the darn slowest season ever:( ! Guess , even your beautiful , well-done and lifelike lure couldn't stir something up over here presently , but would surely produce well just within a few weeks after the spawning period in springtime , since the "Big Pike Mamas" tend to eat their smaller male "lovers" after the spawning act ! Greetz , diemai

@ hazmail Thanks for kind explanation , Pete ! Guess , that I gotta furnish one myself for testing some day , but not much time now , working on another kinda "weird" prototype lure presently ! Greetz , Dieter

@ hazmail A very unique and unusual design(I'm always hooked on such , lol:lol:) , but I can't really imagine about its action:? ! Does the water pressure onto the two lips cause the lure to vibrate like those "Ratt' L 'Traps" , "Rattlin' Rapalas" , etc....... ? And what kinda swimming motion you're refering to with "hunting" action ? I imagine it to be ocassional sideward darting during a steady retrieve, but I don't know for sure:? ! greetz , diemai

@ Shane8stud If you're talking 'bout those two(pairs) of interconnected screweyes to make up for a simple hinge , well these consist of a "closed eye" screw and an "open eye" screw . After having them screwed into proper , aligned position into the two opposing sections to be hinged , you'd just poke the open eyes through the closed ones and bend them close with slender pliers(takes some practice , try on a scrap piece first to learn about it !) . Only obtain stainless steel screweyes , brass ones are prone to break easier:yes: . I buy all my screweyes(open and closed) from Welcome to Moore's Lures . This way of hinging only works on sections with straight planes , not angled , hollowed or scooped out ones , since on these you would not have sufficient sideward access with the pliers to bend close the open eye ! Greetz , diemai

Don't know exactly , how a baby musky looks like , but I am sure , that it would look like this:yes: ! Great job done , very lifelike appearance ! Greetz , diemai

Interesting read , interesting artwork:yes:(Just two hooks and a diving lip don't make up for a LURE , in my opinion:?) . But why the heck people are willing to pay up to 200 bucks for something having hooks attached , that obviously can never have any appealing swimming action to attract fish to bite into it ? Must really be art:?! greetz , diemai

@ Wanttomakelures Between the lines of your post I can read , that you intend making your own lures mainly because of money-saving reasons . Well , in my opinion , our passion for carving and painting lures is not that much cheaper than buying lures in a shop , since you need to invest into a lot of material , when you get more and more perfect through the time and would wish your lures to get more perfect as well . Of course you might start out from scrab idling around in the garage , but trust me , it won't satisfy you for a long time . To get more info about how to make wooden lures , you must take up the task and browse through the forums here , it might take some time , but you can already get a lot of info that way , to later specify about some questions left to ask . A wooden vibrating lure would never perform like a commercial plastic one , simply because you could never place as many rattlin' BB's into it , so it would be a lot more "quieter" . But if you still wanna try it , just copy the shape of a commercial in wood , utilize screweyes as hookhangers and you need to place a lot of weight under the chin and belly of that lure to achieve proper function , that is , what I think is the easiest way ! But if you only want to save money , and you're not into the craze of lurecarving(not yet ?) , you might as well obtain plastic lure kits from big mail order stores , these you just have to glue together and paint them , and they get close to commercial lures . Check http://www.luremaking.com for this , but there might be others , that I don't know . Good Luck , diemai