diemai

@ mark poulson Thanks , but you make me blush , my friend ! A shorter bill has less plane to be hit by the oncoming water pressure on retrieve , thus the diving performance decreases , also the power of the leverage force around the tow eye is minored(meaning the tendency of the bait to get to lay on it's side) . This minor leverage causes the lure to wobble less or loose it's wobbling action totally(on well performing lures) , but baits that have a kinda improper lip/tow eye configuration like in this case here easily flipping over , can be salvaged that way still to achieve an improved and appealing swimming action . Gonna send you an Email on the subject , Mark ! Greetz , Dieter

@ spidergrub6 If these notches in the filler spool are disturbing too much , you might try and cover them real snug with some thin tape , probably the line would just jump over without catching anything anymore ? The way you're describing it , to me it seems to be a line quality problem ,...... or , as you've stated , a question on how the line was put onto the filler ! good luck , diemai

@ atrophius OK , ..............at least they served a purpose in terms of learning more about crankbait dynamics ! One more thing you could do , is to bend a tiny shanked wire eye(similar to a small rod guide) and tape it on the lip to come to sit at the location , that I have mentioned in my previous post , ........surely this temporary line tie won't salvage a messed up lure but you can test it in a bath tub or shallow water to see , what the different line tie location does to the lure action , so you'd have better clues for the next bunch . Through the years I have done such(or similar) to a few of reject lures as well to get a better idea for future models . Do you know the site My link , .........someone in here has mentioned it some weeks ago , ...........the "Crankbait ABC" in there is quite useful to learn about crankbait dynamics , I guess ? good luck , Dieter

Thanks a lot for your kind words , folks , ...........much appreciated ! Actually I've started out my luremaking carreer about 20 years ago with building metal lures , spoons and inline spinners alike , .......got to wooden hardbaits years later . I work in the metal industry , thus having occasional access to industrial grade power tools , that make the shaping of the lure blanks much easier , though with a bigger effort and some elbow grease I could do it at home as well . Only stainless steel is a very tough material to work with just with hand tools , .......and hobby power tools are most likely not powerful enough for the stuff , ........but it still does work , though requiring a lot of passion for the finished product to ignore sweat and blisters on the hands . Anyway , I have made another bath tub video this morning displaying the swimming action of my "DinnerBell" spoons . The clicking sound emitted by them is difficult to be heard on video , ........guess , that it is a microfone issue , since standing at the bath tub it is much clearer to be heard ! Anyway , if you listen closely , at 1:06 to 1:16 of the video you can clearly identify that sound generated by the metal beads of the rear harness of these spoons . Please check Thanks again , .........greetz , Dieter

@ atrophius .........I can see clearly now....... ! Three issues making your lure to swim on its side or even flip over , but only one to be altered to get it going ! First : The line tie is located too high above the lip , place it lower to sit right inside of the kink between lip and chin(where both meet) . This higher tow eye causes more leverage around itself on retrieve , as the lip portion below it is a bit longer this way . Second : The lip is pointing forward too much , decrease its angle to point a bit more downward , in this case tow eye can remain a bit higher , action would change from a wiggle to more of a roll . The lip also is too wide for my taste at its entry into the body , I'd prefer it narrower there , this would mean a stronger taper of the lip towards its base(the portion inside of the lip slot) . This is probably the reason , why your lure hardly wobbles now with the shortened lip . Third : These spindle-shaped round blanks are not the best choice for versatile crankbait actions , they surely do work for some , but not all ! They always have a tendency to roll or even flip over like in your case , lure blanks with an oval cross-section have the great advantage , that the ballast weight is placed further below the lengthwise center axis , thus having a better leverage as a keel weight to counterwork flipping over caused by a big lip . Just my , ..........good luck , Dieter

@ spidergrub6 Must not neccessarely be your mistake , sometimes it happens ! In Europe we've most likely been using spinning reels exclusively , casting gear came to fashion just recently , so I had that this happen to me a few times before as well . It depends on how the bulk spool was filled or it can just be a matter of the line quality , ..........many years ago I've read on one spool pack not to wind from a turning filler spool , but just put it flat on the floor and wind down over it's rim without having it spin too much , .......that's what I am still doing today with monofilament . But you have to find out on the first few yards , which side of the filler spool should be pointing upward . It might be the line you use having too much memory , a too stiffish quality , ........maybe try using softer stuff for once . Could also be the reels fault , ..........do your issues happen instantly after filling the spool of your spinning reel and first fishing or after a certain time of use during a few sessions ? In the first case the mistake would be in the monofilament or the way of winding it on ,....... in the second case it could be the reel's fault putting twist into your line or not corresponding well with that particular kind of mono . Or do you frequently fish inline spinners or devons without anti-twist vanes ? This might lead to the same results ! good luck , diemai

@ flatsrat76 Undoubtely the white one is a "Bayou Boogie" , like RayburnGuy said , .... an early vibrating lure.............but like danderson I am not sure about the crankbait , could also be a "Big S" by Shakespeare , .......both of these lures , in particular the "Big S" , have been copied a lot ! But usuallly the originals are marked "Big S " on one lower flank , I think . To view heaps of pictures of collectible lures from around the world sign in on My link ! greetz , diemai

Hi , folks , Had some time to spare this afternoon so I've tried to make a little video out of a couple of pictures , that I had taken some time ago whilst making a bunch of my "DinnerBell" spoons . First time I ever did such , and apart from two sequences it turned out quite well with my old computer ! Only pity , that "YouTube" did not accept my original audio track , that I had transfered from a CD into my computer files , so I had to choose a licensed audio track from "YouTube" , .........quite annoying ! Anyway , hope , that you'd still enjoy watching , ....any criticism and comments welcome ! greetz , diemai

@ CatchemCaro Check out My link , on the entry page there(it's a Canadian component supplier) look for the "Free Downloads" section , download the PDF file "The Canadian Guide to Luremaking" , on page 40 there is a chapter about spinnerbaits . There also is a site My link, maybe , that there is some info there as well , ....but I can't really tell . You may also try to obtain the book "LUREMAKING (the Art and Science of Spinnerbaits , Buzzbaits , Jigs and Other Leadheads)" by A. D. Livingston , issued by Ragged Mountain Press , Camden , Maine , 1994 , ISBN 0-070-038152-6 . Have you tried the search function on "YouTube" as well , .........type in term "spinnerbait" , maybe you'd be lucky to find something ? good luck , diemai

@ atrophius It can be either the lip size or angle , .......to much length or too much plane of the lip does provide more leverage around the tow eye , so obviously the buoyancy of the lure body cannot provide enough sideward counterforce against this tendency to capsize and/or flip over . A lure blank's tail portion curved downward(especially when a bit wider)also enhances this tendency . To overcome the problem , either minoring lip length and/or size or more belly ballast(if still possible due to buoancy reasons) would most likely help , .......for future "alikes" a wider and/or higher body providing more buoancy might do as well . But if you could post pictures , one could probably tell more ! good luck , diemai

Thanks a lot , mates ! @ Vodkaman Dave , actually I had built that pike swimbait WITHOUT a lip at first , weighted and blank-tested it that way in my bath tub as well ! Still I was aware right from the start , that possibly it might not work without a lip ! And it came out like this ,....... without a lip the first four to five sections did not move a single bit , rather more did cut straight through the water , .....only the rear two to three sections got into the "snaking" . So I cut out a lip , cut two lip slots left and right of the center wire harness and fitted in the lip to just bind without glue and tried the lure again , ..........and it did snake very well now ! So I finally glued in the lip and proceeded the lure with paint ,-and topcoat . Maybe the weight of paint and topcoats slow the action down a bit now , .......I am very certain , that in blank condition in my bath tub it moved a tad livelier ! But a good mate from a German site wrote to me , that a real pike does not swim along in that pronounced motions , so that lure action should just be OK close to the real thing , ........this does give me a bit of comfort ! I guess , that the problem with pike-shaped swimbaits is that the spindle shaped body cannot generate nor be moved sufficiently by those vortices ,.......... the considerable body width provides more resistance in the water to be easily pushed sideward by vortices and the minor body height also does not provide a plane large enough for an efficient engagement of the vortices ! It is a rather streamlined body shape , perfectly created by nature to enable the pike to do these short , but enormously fast dashes to grab its prey out of an ambush . So not much resistance and friction in the water , thus not so many vortices to move a pike-shaped lure , ...........that's my own explanation ,.............though there are some luremakers , that have achieved beautifully snaking lipless pike swimbaits , .......my hat off to them ! Concerning displaying reject work , .......I do not have any problem with it , ........showing how things should NOT be done is equally worth compared to explanations , how something should be done correctly or successfully ,....... the learning effect is rather the same , I guess ! The joints of this particuar bait( I have shown them a while ago in my thread "swimbait blank pictures") did not provide a 90° swing of all four sections together(maybe only 80°) , but the problem of this bait is rather it's high weight , I guess , .......... meaning that the basic (teakwood) material is not buoyant enough to carry the weight of the sheet metal hinges and still accommodate sufficient belly ballast . If I hazard a guess ,........ if being made of a lighter material , it would have performed better as it would have been possible to trim it more perfectly with belly weight . Anyway , gonna try it in a twitching manner , packed it in my boat lure box , ........perfect to fish my prefered water at up to 45 feet deep in autumn , as it sinks like a brick . @ PhilB Sorry , Phil , .....I am slowly getting fed up with making those elaborate swimbaits , ........at least for a while , ........guess , that my next vid will be about homemade spoons again , ........but definetely there will be more to come ! thanks again , .........greetz , Dieter

Hi , folks , I have just uploaded another little video displaying my latest swimbaits and an experimental pullbait . You may watch it here : Please also read the describtion to that vid ! Any comments and/or criticism welcome ! Thanks for watching , ..........greetz , diemai

@ SNAGMAN What a thorough indroduction .......... , but do you design and build lures as well ? Anyway , .....welcome aboard here at TU ! greetz , diemai

@ rustyman I 100% agree to mainbutter's stat , ........only difference is , that some topcoats withstand longer than others . What you are describing , I had gone through as well with some teakwood lures covered with Etex , .............just one puncture and the topcoat could be peeled off in larger chips after a while , obviously no proper adhesion to the paint underneath occured ! Off course this adhesion must be achieved , but punctures down into the wood can't be quite avoided , .....in this case I'd carry a flask of ladies clear fingernail laquer in my tacklebox , it fixes punctures in lures and bobbers/floats in no time and after a few minutes curing time I can continue using the lure or bobber . good luck , diemai