diemai

@ Snax Check http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hardbaits/13713-swimbait-very-first-attempt-12.html , I have made a sketch with some wire coil hinges there , don't know , wether you have checked it before . If you make the hinge section to be epoxied into a bore with a bent backward tag end ("U"-shaped) , you could secure it with a crosswise pin through the body and that "U"-bend . If a pin should even still be neccessary:? ? You could try to make a wire eye this way or even try to bend a long SSt screw eye this way , a short bend backward end would be enough . Would be hard to do , but heating up the shank , where its going to be bend , might make it easier . Heat to red dark red glow wit a soldering torch or welding burner prior to bending , but this renders the steel softer , question is , wether it would still hold up or break at the "U"-bend . Just a brief idea , haven't done this before:? ! Greetz , diemai

@ MINESAPINT I am not familiar with sea bass , but I know , that they catch 'em with lures at the shoreline ! Which kind of plugs are you refering to , lipped plugs(diving) , lipless plugs(diving) or strictly topwater plugs:? ? If you'd specify a bit more , I could give you some more info about their dynamics and how to built them . One for first : since you are planning on saltwater use , you should go for stainless steel hardware only , not just brass or even simple galvanized steel . A nice read about any freshwater lurefishing and lures(also a luremaking chapter containing) is : "The Art of Lurefishing" , by Charlie Bettell , a British Book , first issue came out in 1994 , but still up-to-date . ISBN 1 85223 797 X , Crowood Press Ltd . You might not get it in shops anymore , but you could check your local public library , if you don't want to buy it straight . Greetz , diemai

@ jamie Thanks for your tips , I am well aware of that , I usually use smaller lures in the warm season , well , but maybe I should still go down to trout size:? . The fish there always used to be harder to catch on lures through the summer , so we always used to fish deadbaits through the night and caught on it , has ever been like that:yes: . But this year we have spent four nights in June and July without the slightest nibble , so we got fed up ! I guess , that we also don't get to the water on time , because I think , very early in the morning one has the best chances , also as the sun goes down again . But I can't make it as early and my wife can't make it as late , lol:huh: ! But I check local websites daily , and I know , that many guys around Hamburg are complaining , only the big river "Elbe"(harbor) still provides fish , also has ever been like that:yes: . Zander(European walleye) strike easier in there , a lot less shy , since the river is always murky and has a lot of currents , so they just ought to bite or let the prey go ! But I don't like fishing in there , its real tough with the current and tide lift of 9 to 12 feet normally , also the best striking time is around high tide , and I am not as flexible always to show up at this times , since the two high tides per day always change for about one hour the next day . And it can turn to a real lure-eating affair , there are snags all over , for one session you must consider minimum 3 to 5 lures gone(lead head plastics) , with open top limit:( ! Also have to re-spool the expensive braid frequently , since it would get shorter and shorter on the reel every session . And I always find it nasty to spend time re-tying rather than having a lure in the water , lol ! And I have read times before , that sometimes years like that occur , when fish seem to have vanished for some reason , also professional fishermen at our bigger lakes would have their nets rather empty those times:( . But the next season after would be alright again . So , I am hoping , Dieter

@ jamie In fact they don't strike on ANY lure offer , this year's season is worst ever , catches on lures are presently rather more accidentally . Everyone's complaining , not only on that particular swim , but the entire area around here:( ! Only place constantly catching is the harbor of Hamburg at around high tide , but on one well-sized Zander(European walleye) go 10 to 20 smallies on average ! Don't like fishing there anyway , too tough with currents and tide , you also always loose a lot of lures in there:nono: . I am just waiting for better days to come again ! Thanks once more about that hint on that certain way of retrieve , haven't tried such before ! Greetz , Dieter

@ bmadd Alright , I started my luremaking carreer out with spoons and spinners about 15 years ago , and I ocassionally still make them today . If you cast them of lead , these are not so well suited for casting and working them back somewhere through the water , they don't flutter and wobble sufficiently due to their relatively heigh weight . You could only jig them back along the bottom , but after my experience they work best when jigging them vertically under a boat or platform , pontoon or similar:yes: ! The spoons of sheet metal do provide much more action and also target more species , at least over here in Germany . You could also cast and jig them back along the bottom(heavier models) , but they are not suited well for vertical fishing . You could make them heavier for deeper running , but also lighter for a shallow approach , an array of different shapes and sizes is possible:wink:. For jigging-spoons of lead a few molds are available(I know about at least two from "Do-It") , making the sheet metal ones you'd most likely have to start from zero , if you don't want to start out with some readily available spoon blanks . You may check the gallery , look for "all categories" by "diemai" , I have uploaded some different spoons there , also gave some brief explanations there:yes:. It is really a matter about of what you want and also how you are geared up in your workshop , since a few tools are essential for making sheet metal spoons at home . If you'd have made up your mind , feel free to call back in , I am sure , that I could give you some assistance:yay: ! Greetz , Dieter

@ jamie Tested those weighted leaders today , but sadly no fish caught , also not on more proven lures ! Its just too darn slow around here presently ! But at least I could learn more about the possibilities of such leaders:yes: . At first I must say , that I'm gonna cut apart the rigid wire leaders again to borrow their weights for some more 2 feet flex leaders:yes: . Tested my swimbait with the approx . 14" rigid leader and with the 2 feet flex one , both of same weight(almost one ounce) . Both leaders kept the lure a lot more down , though not as much , as I expected , but if letting it sink back to bottom frequently , I could fish it deep enough , or maybe try an even heavier leader:? ! But the shorter , rigid leader did not provide as much action by far as the longer flex one , with the latter the swimbait just moved a lot more pronounced:yes: ! Only had problems to cast that long leader with the 6 1/2 feet light jerkbait casting rod , that I carried along , a longer rod would surely do better . Still tried that flex leader to toss floating minnow cranks along the bottom , either by wind-drifting or simply retrieving , both worked well , also no problems with casting on my second rod I took along , a 9 feet spinning rod , almost 1 1/2 ounce lure weight , sensible medium action . Since the weight of the leader flies forward , one has to feather down the cast , before leader and lure hit the surface , just to straighten the rig out to possibly prevent tangling ! So all tangling of lure and leader only occured with the belly hook of the minnow lures and the attachement loop and/or the attachement snap , but never with the lead portion of leader or even the main line:yes: . On my next leaders I will try to sort out this disadvantage by making the loops smaller , also I won't need the larger sized snaps for these smaller cranks . I am still convinced , that I'd been given a great aid for successful close-bottom fishing , and one day the fish won't be as reluctant anymore:yes: ! I have attached different lures , minnow cranks and "Banana" lures alike , all are very buoyant , thus shallow diving(essential not to constantly dig into the bottom , but just run above it)and also feature a kind of wobble , that is strong enough to be felt in the rodtip , so that I could always feel , wether the lure has leader-tangled or is fouled up . But as said before , the rigid wire leaders did not work as good , probably they would , if I'd make them also longer , but this would mean storage problems since you can't coil them like flex ones ! Also those small crankbaits surely won't move as freely on them . No , I guess , I'd go for those weighted flex leaders exclusively , their performance has 100% convinced me:yay: ! thanks again , Dieter

@ bmadd Thinking 'bout cast ones of lead or sheet metal cut out's of copper , brass or even sst ? Greetz , diemai

@ mark poulson Hi , Mark , Luretrekker is right , this jointed "Banana" I found on a fleamarket a couple of weeks ago . At first I was hesitating to buy it for 2

@ Vodkaman You're darn right , have already knocked my toes a couple of times down there ! Greetz , Dieter

@ jamie Alright , done with those 2 feet flex leaders , I really have the feeling , that these could ring the chances to my advantage , very useful input , thanks a lot:worship: ! Guess , that I could even use them for drift-fishing by tossing very buoyant minnow-style cranks slowly along the bottom . The wind drift would be most likely too slow to put the lures into a wobbling action , but when constantly twitching and dropping them back , it could surely attract those bottom located Zander(European walleye) . greetz , Dieter

@ Luretrekker No , Manu , a centered joint wouldn't work , since the bait would only "fold" in the middle , thus all the "guidance" by the curved body through the water is gone . That "Flatfish" I couldn't find , also ha a very short tail-section . greetz , Dieter

@ Luretrekker Good morning , Manu , Sorry , but I could not find the jointed "Flatfish" (one day I surely will !) , but I guess your focus of interest is upon that other lure with the "shark's tail" , anyway . Well , here it is , you can determine about its size by the background squared paper , each square is 1/5 " (5mm) . The diving plane ahead of the tow eye is slightly cupped , may not be too visible on the pics ! Greetz , Dieter

@ jamie Guess , that I am starting my own research now , lol ! Really never bothered much about leaders , always use these homemade 1x7 coated steel ones , most likely with fused loops at their ends , only for deadbait I crimp them , since the fused twisted portions on either end are quite stiffish . For jerkbaits and topwaters I have also homemade ones of welding wire , also thinner brown camou "American Fishing Wire" , for topwaters and smallest lures only , since these are very light , only 5" long leaders . Don't need to rig blades to my leaders , I have made a couple of "attachement spinners" , either in-line or on an angled wire frame(similar to a spinnerbait) . Originally designed to switch them ahead of lures(mainly plastic shads and spoons) , I might as well rig these between mainline and leader . Our local perch are well known to be very envious on forage , so these are the easiest species to attract with such resemblances of easy prey ahead of a lure , so they just might bite off the follower ! When these are in a real feeding frenzy , one often has a perch on each treble of the lure , they'll still bite it , when already in the mouth of another perch ! Greetz , Dieter

@ jamie There are contrary discussions in the German angling press about fluocarbon versus steel leaders ! Some say , fluo is better since being invisible for the fish , others say , that enthusiastic pike might also still snap it . And it is also more expensive:yes:! I guess , that I stay with steel , I am just used to it ! May be visible to the fish , but dead sure a pike can't bite it off ! greetz , Dieter

@ jamie These leaders are rather short , 8" to 14" (approx.) , maybe way too short ? Don't have experience with such , but I would always only "tip" the bottom briefly , and lift off lure again , not too many snags occur that way in that water(apart from these previously mentioned "lure-eating" spots), and I always have a good lure retriever (with 60 feet of cord attached) aboard . But thanks once more about the hint of those flexible leaders , if I am lucky , I would find the leader material , that I still have somewhere in my shop (1X7 , nylon coated) , and make two or three in the morning . I guess , a length of 2 feet would be OK , otherwise might be to tricky to cast:? ? Well , need to try everything to find out , what works best for me:yes: ! Thanks again , Dieter

@ Luretrekker Hi , Manu , I'm gonna post the pics here in about 10 to 12 hours from now(if I could find the lures:huh:) , won't go down the basement anymore at night , just relaxing after lateshift ! until then , Dieter

Hi , guys , thank you all for your comments and statements , you have really raised my hopes and expectations on those weighted leaders , can't wait until the weekend to try them:yes:! Only hope , that the forecast rain won't get too heavy around here , otherwise my small boat would turn into a bath tub , and I guess , I got way too old for such inconvinience:huh: ! Greetz , Dieter

@ hazmail Poor "Tassie Devil" , getting chopped into bits:eek: ! Great lure from "Down Under" , have a few of 'em , very successful in local trout ponds:yay: . Please let us now about the results of your planned "surgery" ! Greetz , Dieter

@ smitty919 A great and innovative design , and its action comes very close to the real thing , especially when it lifts off the bottom . I am sure , that you're gonna fool the fish with this one:yay: ! Such jointed lure models , that their sections move up and down instead of , most common , left/right are few , and I always admire the people , that think of such . I have a jointed , diving jerkbait called "The Jacknife" , by an unknown maker , that is hinged the same way (2 sections) , but works entirely different to your lure . Great job done , diemai

@ hazmail Just watched his wildlife program two days ago on TV , guess , they're repeating those series again . He was quite popular over here in Germany due to his films . Greetz , Dieter

Thanks once more for your comments , guys:worship: ! David , I know exactly , what you mean , its an "L"-shaped bottom bouncer:yes: ! There are also straight ones around , some have a floating plug(looks like a float) slid over the top portions of their wire arms to assure the frame riding upright . They came up over here from America far more than ten years ago , but they have never stuck ! I have build a few straight ones back then , in great expectation never to loose lures anymore . I was so convinced , that I tied on one of my those days few floating cranks for first testing , and cast it from the bank into that racetrack water(check previous link) . Well , after a few casts the bottom bouncer including leader and my precious crank were gone , nowadays I know , that there are certain spots in that swim , that eat lures ! Never used those bottom bouncers since anymore , they are buried in my basement , somewhere . Jamie and Mark , I would have loved to use shrink tube in black color as well for those leaders , but I don't have some around , so I had to use this red vinyl tubing , originally utilized to dress trebles , wanted to use green one at first , but it was finished , cut it all for masking screweyes . But who knows , maybe those red dashes ahead of a lure would drive'em nuts , lol ! The other materials are grey rigid plastic tubing and simple electric cable insulation tubing , just pulled out the copper core . I had often thought about clipping a sinker into the connecting swivel between leader and line as well , but for some reason I never did it . And honestly speaking , I have never bothered too much about getting a floating lure deep on the bottom ! If I want to fish there , I'd tie on an approbiate lure straightaway:yes: . Now it is only the case , that I have great expectation and confidence in swimbaits to score in that heavily fished water , since it is something , that the fish won't know:nuhuh: ! But I need to get it down to the bottom , because that's where they are ! I can't switch to another sinking lure-type , since I just WANT to fish those swimbaits deep down ! Everybody is using leadheads with plastics there , I always like to go different , I use heavy spoons (just mailordered a few to test from Eppinger/Michigan) and bigger sinking cranks(SuperShadRap and homemades) . Don't catch more that way , but I enjoy fishing those lures , since plastics are not just my type of lures:nuhuh: . Greetz , Dieter

@ Luretrekker Often cracked my brain about a jointed one as well , but never started out so far , I know , that its gonna be headache , possibly:? ! But I own two commercial jointed "Bananas" , one "Flatfish" and one minor quality no-name lure , that I bought on a fleamarket the other day for little money , rather more to study it than to fish with it . That one's front section looks like a modern plastic "Lazy Ike" , the rather short rear section has a small , unsymetrical fin , looking quite similar to a shark's tail . If I should still make a jointed one in future , I'd put it into this shape , I like this fin design ! Maybe , if the lure would be made large and buoyant enough , on a slow retrieve this fin would cause a nice wake on the surface ???? just dreamin' (or not?) , Dieter