diemai

@ BobP I'm always with my wife night-fishing , and she always refuses to put on some bug protection lotion , she says , the smell would scare of the eel from the bait , after she's put that worm on the hook with her fingers . Well , science has proved , that it really does , eel can smell a drop of blood in a lake , but I'm always lucky , she's with me these nights . I put on protection on my bare skin , and I fish for Zander(like walleye , but gets bigger) , they can't smell that well , so I don't get bitten as much as her and I still catch fish:) .

@ Jamie I posted some in the gallery , if you haven't seen them before , check gallery posts under letter "D" ! Also go to search forums bar , put in "Robo-Mouse" to view the great design of Tacklejunky and my own humble adaptions of it . Greetz , diemai

Watch out for your lures , if you have a cat in the house:lol: ! These ones are great , well done !

There must be some smells or vapors , that attracts these little beasts a lot , maybe , that topcoat is one of these ? At my work(metal industry facility) we keep all doors and gates open in the warm season for fresh air , you can see these mosquitos by the hundreds sticking dead on the outer casings of the grinding machines , but only at places , where coolant oil leaks out and sets to a thin layer on the machines outside . For some reason they must like this stuff , I even considered to fill a bowl of that coolant and take it to night fishing(no lures , but sinker and float set-up) , just to place it next to my chair , maybe then they would not bug me but all drown in that bowl:angry: ! But on the waters edge I won't like to be reminded of that stinking work , so I left it so far .

@ Mr.J. You can't get rich with the work of your own hands nowadays anymore:( ! I think , if you do it for 12 bucks , your foot in the door might not take you any further in future too , because they'd always expect to get your lures at lower prices then as well . Only if demands should increase quite a bit , you may ask for a higher price , but then your hobby may turn into duty ! On the other hand , if you don't have nothing better to do with your precious leisure time , you might still carve your lures for a little money for your expenses , also just for the satisfaction of having provided a secret weapon to some , though unknown , fellow fishermen (of course only , if you are that kind of person with a social attitude:)) ! If you still want 15 bucks or more for them , you must try to sell them on your own , maybe on Ebay , but it seems to me , that you are , just like myself , too humble to ask for their real worth in money ! I guess , no one can really help you to decide in this matter , still it's up to you ! Good success with anything you're up to , diemai

I would not change from braid to mono , only braid lets you feel , what is going on with your lure , bumping bottom , shy nibbles , etc.......! Also you can't work certain type of lures well without the almost zero stretch of braid . But I see your argument about the fish getting spooked of a line , that is too visible in the water . In German angling magazines I read about combining the advantages of the two kinds of line by connecting 5 to 15 yards mono to the end of the braided main line with a special knot, not so much for visibility reasons , but to get a sort of "shock-absorber" for some kinds of non-predatory fish , that are likely to tear the hook out of their lips , when played too hard . Maybe , this could be an issue for you as well . Greetings , diemai

@ Mr.J. WHAT A PIKE ! On these lures , wow ! You are too humble about your lures ! You won't mind me making an own version or two for myself , and try them on German pike , do you ? Still got some of these "Mogambo" grubs somewhere in my workshop , I know.......! And good success with that musky 6incher as well . It's amazing:) , diemai

@ Swede Yeah , I assumed , that this special birchwood would be a little heavy , but if the lure still works.... that's just fine:) !

@ Swede This one looks great , almost like amber . Does it work in the water (wood density) or its only a showpiece ? I like it , one don't have to bother for a paint pattern design ! Greetings , diemai

Are these the ones , that you are a bit ashame about , as you wrote in another thread ? ? ? You must be kidding , if they are . These lures are unique , great design ! And they do work , so I assume , that the plugs are weighted to sink , aren't they ? I really like such lures "out of the box" , very good idea:wink: ! Greetz , diemai

If epoxy topcoat should get into a screweye or even cover the biggest part of it , I carefully press it against a rotating drill bit , fixed in my drillpress . I guess , that on your lure epoxy broke away in a bigger portion , because you used wire for this operation , this doesn't have a cutting edge , so it rather more put pressure on the material instead off cutting through it , thus it broke , I assume . The bit should be 1/2 to 2/3 the inner diameter of the eyelet , once drilled through , move lure a bit , so that shank of drill bit would scrape off all epoxy inside of the eye . After I take a sharp carpet knife(the type with interchangeable blades) and carefully cut around the "root " of eye , though not by "pulling" the blade through , but by just carefully pushing it against the eye , this way I eliminate the danger of sliding off the blade , thus damaging the finish . This way , bit by bit , small epoxy particles break off from the metal , finally I use the blade along the the outer diameter of eye to scrape off the epoxy there . Work carefully and concentrated , always lead the knife's blade AWAY from the lure , so nothing should happen:wink: ! Greetz , diemai