Fishhead15

what if i am not importing blanks? they are all purchased from US vendors. is the excise tax already paid? and the hooks I buy from jaggedtoothtackle.com or tacklewarehouse, haven't they already paid excise tax? sorry, just raises more questions as more are answered... Eric

so, does that mean i pay excise tax on the amount it cost me in materials to put a bait together instead of the actual sale price? that is different than (and much lower than) gross quarterly sales... I often sell baits at auction so the final sale price can vary. thanks Eric

thanks smallmouthaholic! I am going to crunch numbers and see where I end up. just looking at it roughly, had $1203 in gross sales last year, of which about $890 was materials(blanks, hooks, rings), not including "stuff" for the shop (have not itemized paint, epoxy, brushes, other materials)...so take $120 off for excise tax and that leaves $193 that goes in my pocket? Im thinking most of that $193 went to shop materials....and im "working" for free! good thing I enjoy it! guess Im going to have to charge more.... it does make it clear as to why so many do business under the table though. Eric

ok, so this is an interesting conversation, and I am way late to jump in...but, this has brought up several questions for me.. start off by saying I am not looking to make a living. I would like to think I can make enough to supplement my day job income. I have been selling custom painted lures and doing some repaints. I had about $1200 in sales through 8 months of last year...it mostly all went right back into buying materials....I saw something about excise tax and have a few questions: 1 - do I need to register my "business" with the federal gov't? I did register with the state of CA for a resellers permit, and while I did not buy any of my materials at wholesale, I did pay state tax on sales in CA. (most of my sales were out of state) I do not have a website, but have been selling through facebook, instagram, and have most all of my transactions through paypal 2 - does the excise tax apply to me as somebody who buys components and puts them together, including custom paint, for sale? Isnt the excise tax already paid by the hook manufacturer, the blank manufacturer, etc? I want to keep it on the up and up and seeing as I registered for my reseller permit, I am kinda on the radar... thanks Eric

wow, you guys have all kinds of cool tricks! I like the bristle idea, that is probably the one I can try the quickest....brylcreem! lol I found your pocket comb on amazon...won't let me post the link... I have already epoxied the wood and put down a basecoat, so the wood burner won't work for this round, but I'll definitely keep that one in mind. thank you all for your input! Eric

cool,, thank you both for your responses! I will look at youtube and see what I can find. I guess I am probably overthinking it as usual, the hair detail is more for me than the fish... Eric

Hi, I bought a couple wooden wake baits that I want to paint to look like rats. I have seen some really cool paint jobs that look like hair...just not sure how to do it? any suggestions on how to get this effect? thanks Eric

bustinbassbaits.com has a good knockoff of the jackal bowstick 130. it is a big walk the dog topwater, probably similar in size to a super spook. I have painted a few and the action on them is good. it is topwater #44 on the website, unfortunately they are currently out of stock... for some reason I can't post the link... Eric

I have been using frisket film from Michael's. I paper clip 2 sheets together with the film side facing each other (backing sides out). Then draw an outline of the bait on one side. I then draw the form I want for the bait and cut it out with an exacto knife. I then have 2 exact copies of the pattern, one for each side. the frisket film will stick to the lure, but is not too sticky that it pulls off paint you have already laid down, and it can be reused Eric

thanks for the link! def good info there. I will look at a couple options from there, and ebay too. Not sure what I would do with 100' roll off ebay...but if it works I ll use it for sure any ideas on how thick that stuff is?? can it be applied to sides of crankbaits and then painted? I bought some holographic tape from michaels but it is too thick to bother with.

I have been buying blanks with the holographic film on them from the various websites. i have noticed some variability in the quality on some of the blanks. and unfortunately I don't keep track of what I get where to only order the better ones. lately i have had a hard time even finding the holographic blanks I want available...anyway I thought maybe I could buy the holographic film and apply it myself, but can't figure out where to get it. anybody have any ideas about where to order holographic film/foil? is it even doable? i have seen tutorials on how to foil baits, and I imagine this would be a similar process. thanks Eric

if you have a harbor freight in your area, or want to order online, they have "helping hands" also for 2.99 http://www.harborfreight.com/helping-hands-60501.html they also sell the locking forceps for a good price http://www.harborfreight.com/5-1-2-half-inch-locking-clamp-99930.html

I have a couple questions about dick nite's s81 mcu. I have been playing around with different clear coats. I am trying to find something that will work on soft plastic, the tail section of a BBZ-1 jr specifically. Nothing I have tried adheres well to the plastic, nor does it retain the flexibility. I saw on another forum that s81 works for this, but the price has kept me from getting any. So, I am wondering how far the 2 oz bottle will go? Do you spray it on through your airbrush, or can it be brushed on or dipped? thanks Eric

thank you both for your suggestions! I was hoping I wouldn't have to repaint it but that is not a big deal. how do i go about removing the devcon that is on there now? will probably try the pvc glue route since that is way easier for me to get. we have gallons of it at work... i have devcon, and i have been playing around with solarez and spraymax 2K, haven't tried Etex yet... Eric

Ben, the lure itself was cracked. now the devcon has cracked along the original crack on one side

I bought a used 5" plastci lunker punker awhile back that I wanted to repaint. when I got it in the mail it was cracked on both sides...i figured no big deal, I am going to seal it with epoxy anyway. it was holding and had caught a few fish but yesterday I banged it off a rock and it cracked again. anybody every have this happen with devcon 2 ton? can I just put another coat of devcon on it? (of course I would seal the entire bait) anything I should do to it before attempting to reseal? thanks Eric