diemai

Pike on occasion bite into anything that passes within reach , that's a fact , though we would not use these things purposely to catch them:wink: ! Last year my wife was fishing for carp and tench with chumming baskets rigged onto feeder rods(check gallery "Homemade European Fishing Essentials") , whereas I cast my lures for pike in that same pond ! Whilst reeling in to check bait and chum , she had two chumming baskets bitten off that day by pike , but my lures they wouldn't take:( ! On other occasion we also had them attack our floats on the surface when reeling in to check bait , also caught one or two smaller ones on sweetcorn as bait , meant for carp , bites occured also just when reeling in bait , and being lucky , that the mono leader did not snap . The same thing once also happened with a nightcrawler , rigged for eel ! Even had them pike pick up a piece of a kind of meatpie (Bavarian "Leberk

You may make your own "suspendots" and "suspenstripes" in heavier quality by sticking carpet tape(glues on either side , very sticky thing) onto clean(not tarnished) roofing lead sheet . Leave the outer protection foil of the tape untouched , so you can cut out required pieces with scissors and stick them onto bill ! Greetz , diemai

@ rofish Don't find your questions dump at all , this is , what such forum sites are made for:wink: ! Indeed those lures are tricky to make , at least when you start out from almost zero as I did many years ago . In theory it is true , that the fatter , more buoyant tail end of a "Banana"-lure should let the narrow lip portion hang head-down in the water , but on most of the lures , that I made , it did not significantly:huh: . Surely the harware on the rear portion plays its part in this matter , don't underestimate the leverage of the tail hook at the very end of lure , it also has to do with the size of the lure and its buoancy in general . But I guess , that I can't give you a very good and logical explanation about it , maybe it also has to do with the different shapes of both ends of such lures ? I haven't tried splitting the weight fore and aft , why should I do that ? Any weight in the rear would be counterproductive , I believe . Most of the crankbaits I made , have their balance weights somewhere between belly hook and lip(or just close behind belly hook) , this most likely enhances a stable running and increases diving performance , whereas a rear weight slows both of these features down , only probably provides better casting performance , but why should I cast a lure far out , that doesn't run well ? Only found very few exceptions to that rule so far . To put leadweights into the narrow lip of these lures is also not that easy , there is not much room for it , due to the groove of the toweye wire form(though I did it before left/right of that groove) , that's why I most likely put the weights in front of the belly eye . The weights required on a 3" to 4" bait are not that heavy at all , f. e. the models mentioned below do already have a considerable action unweighted , but just that one leadshot renders it more stable in wobbling performance . To get more information about how to rig the toweye , please check my uploads here in the gallery , there are three pics there called "line tie construction" , these should answer your questions . Finally I'd like to mention , that "Banana's" around 3" to 4" are the easiest ones to get to run properly , smaller and larger are more tricky . The model shown in my previous post(three in water , one laying on a sketch drawing , one causing wake) , in above mentioned sizes shouldn't cause too much problems . I make these of abachewood , light , but yet strong enough for screweyes . Greetz , Dieter

Thanks a lot about the reflections about my "Banana"-lures , that's great:) ! Forgot to mention one important thing : When cutting out such a lure from a woodboard , make sure , that the woodgrain would be leading in about parallel to the slim lip's outer shape , this way you'd achieve the best possible stability of the bait ! @ Vodkaman You took the words right out of my mouth , there is something erotic about the curvy body of such lures......... ! @ LaPala I only know the "Poltergeist" by pictures , so I can't tell about their action , and it's also new to me , that the Aussie's are crazy about such lures ! @ RiverMan Certainly those baits are also attractive to all salmon-like fish , I have caught trout in local put-and-take ponds on smaller "Bananas" . It's a pity , that I never managed to make a smaller one less than about 2 1/2" , it cant be made much smaller in terms of proper body shape relations , I suppose , since the lip requires a certain thickness to accommodate the linetie wire form . @ JBlaze Haven't yet caught a "Zander"(very , very similar to American walleye)on such bait , these rarely come up shallow , most of the time they are bottom located , and are most likely caught on bait minnows and plastics , rigged onto leadheads . Few are caught on crankbaits over here , if I hazard a guess , maybe 10% to 15% ! @ CreekMonster Thanks for your kind words ! Sorry , Vodkaman , I can't provide a video , but one of the containing pics shows the wake , that a large , buoyant "Banana" generates on a calm surface , retrieved very slow , with the rod pointing upward . Another pic shows three of my largest "Banana's", that I made for an "How To "-essay for a German angling magazine , taken in perfect float-up position . These are about 4 2/3" in length , as a linetie I used a roughly "T"-shaped piece of brass-sheet , that later did not prove to be too practical , since its very hard to bend it to tune the lures . So I'd better stay with wire in future , just thought , that this sheet metal would provide more weight on the lip , so I won't have to place extra belly weight , but for these large , buoyant ones I still had to . Third pic shows some different models , that I've made through the years , but not all , by far ! greetz , Dieter

I also work same way like BobP , I only draw these pencil lines on the lures freehand after eyesight , got along well with it so far ! If you mark your sawed out blank this way , also make marker lines on one side of blank to indicate the direction of your eyescrews , you might accurately place the pilot holes with a drillpress at this stage already by fixing your blank in a machine vise to drill . The outer shaping of lure is done afterwards , according to the pencil lines , just like BobP mentioned .

@ SmokeyJ First time I come across that term "minnow crank"(English is not my mother language) , so I can't really answer your question , which I don't consider to be stupid at all:wink: ! Here in Germany there might probably be a similar confusion about different lure types as well , so that magazines already wrote about the differences . For many lure-types the English term for it has struck over here as well , local lure-fishermen are familiar with the terms "jerkbait" , "twitchbait" , "glider" , "diver" , "sinker" , "floater" , "swimbait" ! For spoons , plastic shads and crankbaits we use other terms than those English ones . Well , your question reminds me to something , that I have once read in a local angling magazine : Someone asked the difference between a twitchbait and a crankbait(German : "Wobbler") , the guy stated , that both have diving bills , so why they are called by different terms ? The answer was something like that the twichbait should be fished in a twitching manner , the crankbait should be just reeled in at various speeds and ocassional stops ...........but there are certain twitchbaits , that can also be cranked very well , some crankbait models even catch better , when tey are twitched on ocassion.....! ! ! ! About one year ago in a Hamburg tackle shop I've found a shallow running , new lure model from "Rapala" , this one on its box was called a "slashbait"........! Though I don't know the term "minnow crank" , I don't think , that you'll get an answer to your satisfaction on your question , which is not stupid:wink: , not as stupid as all these confusing terms . greetz , diemai

During the past days in my work breaktimes I sketched down some new designs of "Banana"-style lures , today I put the first one of these into practice , the others hopefully would follow up during the next days and weeks . This one is approx. 3 1/4" in length . The difference to my previous "Banana's"(pls. check gallery) is , that I made the lip a little different , not plane and long like I used to , but short and a little cupped this time . I wonder , wether there would be differences in any aspect of the lure action between the two variations . To save time , I used light teakwood for this lure , not abachewood as usual , the latter requires time-consuming treatment to render it waterproof . But I am aware , that this lure shown might probably turn on it's back , maybe even a balance weight won't help , since the body is pretty much curved . The other models , that I sketched down so far , don't have such a pronounced shape . There are some essentials about such "Banana"-lures to be considered , that I have found out through the years , since I like such baits quite a bit and made a lot of them for myself and friends : 1. The lip portion has to be slim , thus less buoyant . 2. The rear has to be more voluminous , thus more buoyant . 3. The cross-section in general must be either round or slightly oval(width more than heigth , not vice-versa) . 4.The lure should float up with its two ends level or little head-down , not tail-down ! 5. A pronounced body curve generates more wobbling action , but less diving depth , on the other hand a very curved lure tends to overturn and swim on its back , less curved "Bananas" vice-versa ! 6. The position of the tow eye is very important . Such lures are shallow runners , it does not work out to attempt to place the eye higher towards back of bait to make it dive deeper , the one and only result is overturning:( ! On straight-lipped "Banana's" the towpoint should be located quite near the front end of lip . 7. A small balance weight placed into the belly in front of belly hook hanger most likely improves the balance and action of the bait in terms of a stable running , on oval cross-sectioned lures these are even essential to prevent the lure to probably float up lopsided . OK , maybe , this little excursion into "Banana"-bait dynamics would be useful to someone around here . I went through many headaches to find out about the statements above for myself , though they may neccessarely not be complete or even a bedrock . Greetz , diemai

@ Spike-A-Pike Sorry about your motor problems , had such last year too , so I had to row(only have a small collabsible boat)for weeks at season start , since many people like myself didn't bother for motor maintenance through the winter , and all the maintenance services anywhere in Hamburg were stuffed with work , so that it took so long to get my outboard running again ! Taught me a lesson : Maintain your stuff in winter and not a day before your first trip:whistle:! But otherwise you should consider yourself lucky for such a great season opening , over here I started out rather slow for once more , I didn't even catch a single nice pike so far , my season opener was a medium sized asp , that struck my "Rapala Down Deep Fat Rap" in my favourite swim , a feeder of the river "Elbe" in Hamburg . Last weekend my wife wanted to go to some fleamarkets instead of fishing , but luckily for me , one of those events in Hamburg took place next to one of the many canals and ponds in the city , so I could make some casts , whilst she was spending money:wink: ! Tried a small "Fat Rap" , and after a "Shakespeare Big S" , but finally only one of my homemade "Banana-Lures" (check gallery) convinced a small pike to have lunch . I was heading out for more , but when fishing , time passes so fast and soon my wife got back and I had to leave . Only hope , things would get better:wink: ! Greetz , diemai

Well , the final touch-up and breaking the edges is done with a fine-grade small file , the rattles should sit snugly in their bores , it's more accurate to furnish these bores on the sawed out lure blank rather than into a ready shaped blank . For final assembly prior to painting push rattle in center of lure , probably secure with a drop of superglue and close holes either with epoxy glue or polyester car putty , after curing grind/file/sand flush to body outline . These rattles generate a gentle , metallic "clic-clic-clic" sound , they are more suited for lures that are rigged with screweyes rather than thru-wired ones . Greetz,diemai

OK , found this rather old thread , thought , I'd add my own style to it . My own rattles are also made of brass tubing 8 X 0,5mm , the difference to the ones previously described(couldn't open that Brazilian site) is , that they don't require extra closure lids on the flanks of the lure , because these lids are part of the tubing , that I achieve by not sawing quite through them , but leaving a ridge about 1/4 to 1/5 of the circumference , that holds the lid in place . Opposite of that ridge I make a cut with pointed shears to separate that portion of tubing and open it up with pliers . After cleaning up the sawchips and filling in two steelballs I'd swage the lids tightly against end of tubing , then cut and grind lid to round shape .

Hands off from brass screw eyes , I had them twisted off in hardwood several times:( , only use stainless steel since ! greetz , diemai

@ Palmetto Balsa Thanks a lot about your explanations , very interesting , 100 mph , that's a great force ! Many years ago one of my early homemades , a meaty 10" trolling lure , still unpainted , accidentally fell from my hand on the floor , tail first , and it's plexiglas lip snapped off just around the belly outline , as if it was filed level to the body ! I could not believe this , thought , that it must have been damaged before(got the material from scrap) , so I dropped two more alikes of that lure , that I've also made , in the same way , tail first , on the floor . Their lips came off on first drop as well ! Took some effort to cut away the plexiglas remainder from the lip slot of those lures , but I made it finally and replaced the lips with aluminium ones(never knew Lexan back then) . Hands off from plexiglas ! ! ! @ Predator Bass Bait It is quite sad(or should I say annoying) , that such happens to lures of a world famous brand name . Is there nothing left to trust on nowadays ? Greetz , diemai

@ Mark Not too funny , at least not for the people concerned;) . I have a workmate , he always suffers in springtime , when all plants and flowers start out blooming , also he can't eat anything containing nuts . Also heard about bakers , that got allergic to flour , so they had to break up with their profession and start out with something new entirely . So why not a carpenter get allergic to sawdust ? Allergic reactions are a problem of our modern times , I suppose . We all live in an environment , that is "too clean" and sterile , so as kids our bodies don't have a chance to get used to all this stuff , that might bother us later . It is like a sort of vaccination , when kids play in the dirt , saw it in a TV documentary film , and I see sense in that . My mother should have known , would have probably saved me from some slabs , when coming home with shoes full of water or stained clothing:lol: ! But as long we don't get allergic to fish........... ! Shalom , Dieter

Thank you all a lot for your kind comments and advice , I really appreciate that ! @ Dean Abachewood is quite popular for crankbaits over here in Europe , you can get it in different grades of density , the lightest is quite soft , but still holds epoxied screweyes , it is about as heavy as balsa of the hardest quality . The more dense abachewood is a little heavier , but probably not quite as heavy as pinewood , but its really hard to describe , if not holding it in your hands ! Famous Finnish lure brands like "Turus Ukko" and "Nils Master" make great parts(if not all ?)of their line of abache as well , otherwise it is mainly used to construct the seat-benches in those Finnish steam baths called "Sauna" . In Germany one can obtain abache at lumberyards under the name "Sauna-Latten"(Sauna-Boards) . @ Mark Thanks about your concern , but I have worked with teakwood before . I know , that its giving me a kind of trickle in my nose and gets it runnin' , also gets me little "burning" eyes , but I don't consider this a strong allergic reaction . I grew up in the countryside , as a kid I played in mud and water , drove cattle and fell into the dung stack , I can't say , that I am allergic to any natural things , maybe only to my stinking and oily job:) ! Greetings , Dieter

@ StoneCoalTackle Hope , that you'd still find enough time to paint , rig and fish that lure . If you'd stay away from lurecarving for too long , you might probably fall into deep depressions or other undefined illnesses:lol:(happens to me) ! @ pizza I like your paint design , it is kept simple(spray cans , I guess), but yet looks very impressive , attractive and also realistic to me(I bet , to the fish either) . The applied metal flakes are really giving it the edge , great looks ! Greetz , diemai

Hi , folks , I'd just like to say "Thank You" to all the guys here on TU , that have greatly inspired me to try something new in my luremaking:worship:. So here are my very first lure blanks thru-wired with the attachement eye on their lips , I have never made this style of lure before , I've always thought , that it was too tricky to bend the wire harness to proper shape . I saw a lot of such lures posted here on TU , so I made up my mind to give it a try as well , and I noticed , that it is not that hard at all . Thanks for that initial push:)! My bunch of lures is carved out of abachewood , the harness with the connected lexan lip lip is going to be epoxied into a slot on the belly , that I pre-cut with a saw and extended to required depth with a "Dremel" cutting disc . I am only not sure yet , wether I should glue in lead sheet weights in the slot as well right from the start , or I should wait for first testing of the completed , but unpainted blanks , and then trim them with lead shot ! I guess , the latter would be safer in terms of the best action to be achieved ! But at first now I am going to put them into a linseedoil/turpentine mixture for a few days to protect the wood against water sepage . After that , they would have to dry at least for two to three weeks , to be ready for the first paint coat . Meantime I'd be working on some teakwood lures , cut the blanks out already . Again , thank you all , it's great to be here . Greetings , diemai

Looks sooooo.... natural , just great !