Draft

On my lures yes, I make my hook loops on my thru wire about 1/8". If its smaller than it may bind. Maybe not really a bad thing if it helps with hook rash.

Not so much stiffer. Its just your standard 300 lb stainless wire leader. What makes it a lot stronger is the extra turn. three vs two turns

I was fooling around with making stronger split rings. They turned out pretty good. I tested them against a owner #6 and mine won. I made them three turns instead of two. Much stronger. I know split rings are cheap but so am I. lol. You can make pretty much any size you want. Heres how I made them. you'll need a cordless drill and a 1/8" drill bit, or any size to make them a larger or smaller diameter. I use #300 stainless leader. Same as my thru wire. simply bend a 90 about 3/4" from the end of the wire, stick it in one of the slots in the keyless chuck adjacent to your drill bit. Turning counterclockwise, hold firmly in place the wire and create a coil. Remove coil from drill bit and use side cutter pliers to cut them. just count the rings. two, three or even four turns. Wala done.

I just used a brush, when doing the mouth just don't use as much. it does fill it a little.

Hey thanks Mark, They are 4" and 5" long, thru wired and weighted. They are made out of 1" dowels. stickers, rattle canned and coated with 2 ton. As far as weight I'm waiting for a jewelry scale to come in the mail.

I'm pretty new at this. This site has helped tremendously. Here are my version of a popper. It took a while to get to this point. But it all worth while when you catch a fish.

I modified the shape of the lure, It was round, I made it skinnier by taking out material from the sides. It works better but still not what I am looking for. Next I'll try and modify the lip, If that doesn't work then I'll add more weight. Thanks for the input. Oh by the way I tested it with the treble hook attached.

I tested this lure but it has the tendency to roll when retrieved. Anyone have any input. Change the shape, add more weight or lip design. Any advice would be much appreciated.