Birdman

My paint of preference is a lacquer based paint. I like the way it layers and the fact it dries in seconds thus speeding up the entire process. Translucents, iridescents, opaques and pearl essences. White or Pearl Body-Polystraspar Pearl Essences FP400 Yellow Stripe-Life Tone Neon Yellow LT 331 Black-Polystranspar Black FP 30 Blue-Polystranspar Shimmering Blue Iridescent FP 440 Black could be substituted with Polystraspar Diver Gray Hope that helps.

I don't know if it's a gray as much as a soft coat of black. An irredescent blue needs the black to stand out. Either way works. There is a bait called the American Shad. Look it up, it has a yellow stripe, scale sides and a blue hue on the back. 10 years ago I copied that pattern and called in Shad Americana. It never made it on the website rather I used it for custom baits for certain customers. Anyway, several years later Lucky Craft unveils their American Shad then Stike King debuts Sexy Shad. I am sour grapes. Nope, just an old prune.

Yankee Digger, that's putting a nice spin on it. I've got buddies who can't get enough of boring holes in a perfectly good, frozen lake and sticking lines down there. Sorry, but I rather suffer cabin fever-no one ever said it had to be an endurance contest. I grew up in Minnesota and did plenty of ice fishing. I'm a warm weather pansy, all the way.

What a great idea-old telephone poles! Now there's a bait that will outlive a plastic bag in a landfill. Telephone poles are coated in creosote (trust me, I know because I grew up next to a creosote plant-we use to play in there!). You should make a bait, send it to the Federal Government and ask it be put in time capsule. How cool is that? Seriously, I will try that. I have some contacts that can get a slice of pole. Please be careful sanding that wood. I think there were studies done on creosote to determine if it is a carcinogen.

I wrote something yesterday that has been bothering me and I wish to make my own correction. I wrote "aero or hydro, makes no difference". With regards to the X, Y, and Z axis, it's true and other than their inherent difference in density, it's true. But when you remove velocity (movement/speed) from the equation, they are polar opposites. If a airplane looses velocity, it falls down from the sky but when a crankbait (basic balsa body) looses it's forward movement, it falls up! Airplanes need speed to climb and crankbaits need speed to dive. Another good illistration are the dive planes on a submarine-they're useless without speed. Here's another example: if you stand on a ladder and pour out a bucket of water, gravity takes over and it falls to earth but if you release a bucket of air 10 feet below the surface, it falls up. Now I'm sure if I cleared things up or muddied the waters more.

That is very possible. It's been a while since I used red cedar so by now it's been removed from the stock. But as you say, if precautions are taken, the problem is less likely to happen. My very first 2-300 baits (topwaters) were all made with Red Cedar and I still hear from old customers that they were the best baits I ever made. I've seen a few-finish all gone, tooth marks up and down the sides. Who needs viagra with photos like those!

Boomah21, great link and exactly what I'm trying to get across. Dive lips are not the only method of making a bait swim. The forehead can also be utilized to get that seductive action. Look at the current wave of lipless crankbaits with the concave head. The resistance is at the head and the line tie point ensures the head will pitch down. Try putting the line tie on the nose of a lipless crank and tell me what happens. The Wiggle Wart utilizes a wide dive lip, wide head and wide back to get that depth and action. That bait says it all just looking at it! Again this is my opinion and a better explanation would be appreciated. I call it unloading or dumping. As a bait is pulled through the water, water pressure builds on the lip or head. At the threshold, that pressure has to go somewhere so it dumps off to one side, then builds again and dumps off the other side. Now your bait looks like it's swimming. Talk about swimming-soft plastic swim baits have the resistance in the tail and that look is so realistic to you, me and the bass. Overhead videos of fish swimming displays their head does not turn violently side to side like in a crankbait. The head is steady and body and tail are doing all the swimming. That foot built into the rear tail allows the head to tract straight and tail kick (unloading) looks like the real deal. Now if someone could find a way to make them appear to be hunting, that would be one hot bait. Wait a minute, what was I suppose to be doing today?????

Frank, Dave is dead on. Let me try to explain....Again this is just my take on the whole deal. Anyone, correct me if I'm wrong. Let's start with these three principles of flight fundamentals. (aero or hydro-makes no difference) Pitch - Rotation of nose up or down. Called the Y Axis Roll - Rotation of the body. Called the X Axis Yaw - Side to side pivoting. Called the Z Axis Good illistration of these fundamentals are at Flight dynamics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A walk the dog bait has its pivot point at the tail due to drag (weight). The head is free to swing left to right (yaw) because the resistance is in the rear. Pitch is tail down in varying degrees. Little if any roll. A wake bait (with a lip) has the pivot point near the head (yaw and roll) and uses the tail to generate the wake. Pitch is at a minimum. Generally lips are used to force baits to dive but in a wake bait, the lip's function is angled down for action, not depth. A swim bait also pivots at the head followed by its body segments. Lips help eggagerate the action. Again the lip has an extreme downward angle to create action, not depth. Here's my take on lips. Lips are forms of resistance that come in an assortment of sizes and styles. That resistance can be used for depth, action or both. There's a trade off here. The deeper the bait, the less the action. The shallower the bait, the greater the action. There's only so much resistance (energy) per bait based on lip size and angle. There's a relation to mass and lip size that has to be maintained (small baits on giant lips do not work well). Here's my take for guys who are just starting out. Copy the angle and size of lips of other manufacturers. Their designers spent lots of time figuring it all out and you can capitolize on that by duplicating their efforts. Transfer that information onto your bait then begin experimenting. It at least gives you a starting reference point. Man, am I full of hot air or what?

Frank, Dave is dead on. Let me try to explain....Again this is just my take on the whole deal. Anyone, correct me if I'm wrong. Let's start with these three principles of flight fundamentals. (aero or hydro-makes no difference) Pitch - Rotation of nose up or down. Called the Y Axis Roll - Rotation of the body. Called the X Axis Yaw - Side to side pivoting. Called the Z Axis Good illistration of these fundamentals are at Flight dynamics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A walk the dog bait has its pivot point at the tail due to drag (weight). The head is free to swing left to right (yaw) because the resistance is in the rear. Pitch is tail down in varying degrees. Little if any roll. A wake bait (with a lip) has the pivot point near the head (yaw and roll) and uses the tail to generate the wake. Pitch is at a minimum. Generally lips are used to force baits to dive but in a wake bait, the lip's function is angled down for action, not depth. A swim bait also pivots at the head followed by its body segments. Lips help eggagerate the action. Again the lip has an extreme downward angle to create action, not depth. Here's my take on lips. Lips are forms of resistance that come in an assortment of sizes and styles. That resistance can be used for depth, action or both. There's a trade off here. The deeper the bait, the less the action. The shallower the bait, the greater the action. There's only so much resistance (energy) per bait based on lip size and angle. There's a relation to mass and lip size that has to be maintained (small baits on giant lips do not work well). Here's my take for guys who are just starting out. Copy the angle and size of lips of other manufacturers. Their designers spent lots of time figuring it all out and you can capitolize on that by duplicating their efforts. Transfer that information onto your bait then begin experimenting. It at least gives you a starting reference point. Man, am I full of hot air or what?

About 15 years ago, while fishing in front of an advancing storm, I cast out and caught nothing. Just air. My line and lure just hovered in an arch, never touching the water. Later found out I was seconds from being hit by lightning. The ozone charge rising up causes the line to suspend in air. And as soon as the phenomena passed, I kept fishing.

Sorry for the delay. I tried to email from the restuarant but I was told to sit up straight, put down the phone and eat my salad. Like I said, it's just my opinion based on personal experience. I too made all of my first baits with red cedar but continually experienced bubbling and crawling of the final coat. Came to find out it was the oils in the wood. The solution was to bleach the bait before sealing and painting. You'll find it varies from one piece to the another. In my case, rather than add one more step to the whole process, I opted for white cedar. As far as the dust cedar produces, I have to say it never bothered me but then I lived with a giant brain tumor for 4 years and never noticed it (not really). If it bothers you as many have said, use a good mask/respirator.

Personally cedar, specifically white cedar, is my favorite-both for it's action/durability and ease of working with. White cedar, if that's what you purchased, is historically the wood used by producers up to the 1940's so it's action is well documented as well as it's water resistance. Red cedar is another story. Flakey, oily, unpredictable and untrustworthy. Just my opinion. PM me if you want to discuss cedar in more detail.

I'll take a half dozen, in egg batter, and a side of fries-hold the hooks!

If you look close in the beginning of the video, he is cutting in the lips on a completed bait with a band saw. Interesting jig idea. I was also suprised how little attention was paid to the Sisson bait duplicator. Obviously the owner didn't want the camera to reveal the workings of the duplicator but if you've never seen one in action, you're missing out on observing an interesting piece of machinery. Flat sided, rounded, small and large baits-well worth the $15-$20,000 in my opinion. It pops baits out two at a time and can generate up to 500-600 baits per 8 hour day. I didn't see him using any stencil for side bars but I did see two different methods of creating scale patterns.

The duplicator used in the video is one designed by Lee Sisson and build by his brother Vaughn. I talked to Lee several weeks ago and I know they are still making them by special order. The reason I say this is a Sisson duplicator is a clue to the type of clear coat used in the video. It's the same buld coat I use as do many other wooden crankbait producers. I'm wrestling with whether this is confidential trade information of if I should share it with the forum. Contact me directly at *******, scroll to the bottom of largemouth navigation button on left side to 'Contact Ron' and I'll answer you one at a time.

It is possible to overweigh a bait with clear coat if its balance is in certain parameters of neutral. I recently designed a wood bait for a customer and only sealed then clear coated it (test mode). I sent it to him, he loved it, returned it with an order for 8. I made all eight only this time I used the usual 2 build coats, primer, paint scheme, 2 clear coats. All 8 sank. Back to the drawing board, tweek it here and there but the point is coating adds more weight than you might think.

When your mistress, never the wife, realizes she is not your only love. When you are not sure if it is safe to fart with all these opened chemical spread out on the bench. When you give a friend a hand made bait even though he doesn't fish because it easier than going shopping. When you are on a first name basis with old bitties at the fabric store.

I don't know what colors Createx offers, but usually a cream is a good start. In the past, I've taken a flesh tone, mixed in white and brown and BINGO bone.

I don't know what colors createx offers, but usually a cream is a good start. If it is not the shade you are looking for (find a bait that has the hue you are after) start mixing small amounts. In the past I've started with a flesh tone, mixed in amounts of white and brown and BINGO

Well, there you go. Leopards can not change their spots and Bass Pro has more spots on their evil soul than cameras have pixels. Basically you have two types of patents at your disposal-design and utility. Design Patents are customarily the patents used by lure designers. These break down into two more catagories-national and international. The later is extremely expensive and time consuming to put into effect but even then, it will not stop the Chinese from running rough shod over your design. When you go to China, you are playing Russian Roulette with 5 slugs in the chamber. Trust me, the stove is hot and you do not have to touch it to find out unless you are so inclined. Quick story-I had a bait produced overseas (China) with the usual Confidentially Agreement (worth less than a handshake) and an assurance my proprietary rights would never be compromised. Within 1.5 years, I heard my bait was displayed at the major Chinese trade show held annually and within 2 years began seeing it here in the U.S. by way of Japan. However, with all that said, if I had a bait and could not find a way to make it or have it made here, I would go to China but would be very selective of which company I used. What's my choice if I want to remain competitive and maintain a reasonable price point?

Matt, It is easy to tell from the tenor of the review that you blew those guys away! A better reproduction, other than the real thing, is hard to imagine. Some of the best work I've ever seen!

A word of caution about the chain retailers (Cabelas and Bass Pro, Dick's, Gander Mountain). I've sat in meetings with one of them (I won't say which one) and have heard the buyer tell a manufacturer (who was one of their venders) they were keeping the manufacturer on for another year but they were going to China and knocking off their product. You hear lots of promises from these guys but no guarantees. It is their way of repaying your loyalty. Nice, huh? Here's another thought to ponder before entering the fray. The lure business is based on "what have you done for me lately" marketing. In other words, you had better have a second and third wow bait in design and production at the time of your first launch or you'll just become another footnote with all the other one hit wonders. Staying power in that market mandates constant new entries-it's what drives that market. Lucky Craft is a great example of a company whose brand developed by expanding their customer base with solid baits, one after another. There a methods and techniques you can utilize to ensure your creative juices keep flowing-but I digress.

Man, have I been there and really feel for you. Just about any way you look at this, there are serious pitfalls and risks that should not be ignored. In my opinion, maybe 3% of the commerical lure designers are innovative and sincere in their search for a design overlooked by the industry-the other 97% lie in ambush waiting for those designers to unveil their next project. These bushwackers (because they are mostly a bunch of jerkoffs) also prey on the small, new designer who may or may not have the next hot bait. The larger companies laugh at our meager attempt to protect our creative output with design patents. They know for the most part we do not have the money to back those patents up and they will challenge you if they feel your idea is market worthy. I am not trying to discourage you-that is not my intent. By all means, if your bait is the next Microsoft, you owe it to the market to make it happen. My thinking is you should circulate your bait among people you trust and get their feedback. Run the test for a year or more and after that time if their results are as good or better than your results then maybe you have something. Then, without investing your life savings, have as many baits made as you can afford. Then with a well designed marketing plan, launch your bait with the intent of holding a corner on the market for as long as possible. (usually 6-8 months). By then the big boys will be on board and will try to swamp you. There a plenty examples of this out there. Most recently the chatterbait is one that comes to mind. Hope that helps, if any.

The original design did not produce the volume of current I had expected so it's not worth repeating that mistake. The solution is (based on a test that worked great) three jets mounted in a row on the side facing up into the curvature. The row should be as low as possible allowing the three jets have a chance to mix and produce an even flow over and across the top. (the whole objective was to create an even and smooth flow in the test area) A skimmer would be installed on the opposite side to pull the water down, through a recirculating pump and then back out the three jets. I never completed the tank as money was needed for other projects. It was easier (and cheaper) to just throw a batch of baits in the truck and take them down to the lake for testing. And if a fish hit a bait while testing, then bait was magical and it went into my tacklebox.

Touchee Dave. Threads like these should have their own catagory under 'knot interested'.