capt mike

I've been doing great on a 6.5 inch swimbait made out of PVC lumber from Lowe's (NOT AZEK). I caught about 10 bass on it and it finally broke inside of a 4 lber's mouth after a violet head shaking fight right next to the boat. It tore the tail off at the hinge pin. The material actually broke clean through and the pin fell out. I did not paint or clear coat this bait. I was using it raw with hooks and a set of eye balls. I'll post pics of it in the gallery. Question: Is AZEK material fairly hard or dense. This material i'm using is pretty soft. It almost carves like stiff soap. Wonder if the coats of clearcoat would have giving it enough strength, or, maybe the bass just tears a lure up once in a while.

Your 2 cents makes sense. Goods points to try in the future. Although, I guess there is a line that we shouldn't cross. Another words: if we make a bait swim so naturally and consistently, it may look too healthy to get a strike. I guess the idea is to make a bait draw attention to itself. Saturday I gill-hooked a bass and tried to release him. A few minutes later, he was on the surface lying on his side giving the occasional spash and kick. A true wounded fish. If a lure performed like that, we would probably throw it away. Kind of put a light on things..

I simply use a carving knife to start the slot by chipping a small "V" where the slot will go. Then use a cylinder shaped dremel bit and go as deep as necessary. I attached a picture of the joint.

Dave, since wer'e on the subject..what is the basic theory or technique of causing a lipless swimbait (like this one) to run "head-steady" and the remaining sections swimming (like a real fish)? Should the front section have the most weight for this to happen? I would love to to hear your input on that.

I finally got to try my home made wake bait this month. I made this one a while back. A 7" baby bass, jointed floater made of poplar lumber. I fished it like a topwater twitch bait. I caught 3 bass in 30 minutes and the bite stopped. The biggest was 5.11. Very encouraging. I guess that's what it 's all about. Worth all the effort.

I've been using it (future floor) in my auto air with no problems. Actually it solved some problems. After watching the utube video a few months back, I realized I was not thinning the paint enough. As a true green horn, it helped me for sure. I'm interested in hearing what you guys find out about using future floor as a clear coat. Are you talking about the final coat or an in-between coat? P.S. -Mark, I cut out my first PVC blanks last night..on your recommendation. I dont know what brand it is but it cuts, looks and feels like wood. Smells like plastic when you cut it.

The calstar blank came in this week and it is a huge rod indeed. It's one inch in diameter at the butt. Can't wait to get this thing finished.

That's what i'm talkin about..that's a tactic i'm used to. Like twitchin a rapala around cover. The Lake I fish is full of submerged wild celery (eel grass), and is gin clear. I wonder if a little slow rolling above those grassbeds would work also. I'd like to see your baby bass. I'll do a search in the gallery. Thanks for the input.

I tested my 8" bass today before work. It floats upright with it's back even with the waters' surface and the plastic tail fin sticks out about a quarter of an inch. It swims at the same level..right at the surface and pushes water out in front of it. Stays up right even on a quick retrieve. Short twitches cause it to turn head-first about 90 degrees. Is this considered a wake bait? How do you guys fish this bait? I have never fished a topwater swimbait. No one down here in Louisiana uses this stuff. I'm sure I can figure it out. Just wondering what the preferred tactic is. Thanks. http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz46/moonlighter69/IMGP1160.jpg

Hey Mark, glad you brought that up. I tried using a red onion mesh bag but had trouble getting it to lay tight against the lure body. The mesh is very thin on the onion bag and nothing much was left for scales. How do you keep the msh tight? . i'll keep an eye out for the avocado wraps since i'm the grocery boy of the family. i'm also gonna look for that lead wire. Sounds like good advice. thanks.

I know what you mean. I made an 8" gizzard shad last summer and had to hollow out half of the head and fill with lead shot. It is a fast sink and has gotten me three hook ups with 5 lb. plus bass. Its hard to leave room for hardware and make a fast sink at the same time. The trick was to make a large head section to provide ample space for weight and hardware. I need to try Azek material for the sinker baits. The scale tipping was from a stencil I made with a sheet of clear document cover and exacto knife. I cut each little scale with the knife in the shape of a little football. Then punched it loose with my fingers. Time consuming, but i'm happy with the result and I have the stencil to use over and over.

Swam very nice as a wake bait. I swam it with the sealer coat and hooks and it floated right at the water's surface. It may weigh down a little after the clear coat and paintt. I wanted the red to flash behind the gills on the retrieve. Just an idea to try. I regret that I drew in the outline around the jaw and gills. I would definitely not do that again.

I built a couple of baits with Tupelo Gum and more recently, Poplar. I make duck decoys so tupelo is what I had on hand. My next bait will be out of "sinker cypress". Anyone ever use that? The wood could easily be over a thousand years old.

Last year I was fishing with small swimbaits and catching small bass on them. One morning I was reeling in a 13" bass that i had hooked. When I got the bass about 8- feet away from the side of the boat, a big bass came up and nailed him on the surface and missed. I left the hooked bass swimming around in the same spot and saw that big bass come back and swallow it head first and go back down. I tried to set the hook after about a ten count and only had it on for a few seconds. The big fish wouldn't stay hooked. I reeled the small bass in and measured it and let it go. I promised myself that i would make a big bass colored swimbait for this coming spring. Here it is. The big one is a little over 11-inches. I'll clear coat it tomorrow. Can't wait to use it. Tell me what you think.

how do you keep a smooth surface that way? I tried that and made an uneven surface.

10-4 on all of that. How long do you wait to prime the lure after sealing it with a couple coats of CA?

OK, got it. I do plan to use flourocarbon leaders on Samurai braid.

I used a papertowel to wipe the glue in and it worked. Then I picked up the papertowel again and touched the wet glue and glued the tip of my finger to the towel. It started getting hot on my finger and felt like it was on fire. I pulled it off along with a few layers of skin. I did'nt know super glue got hot like that. I won't make that mistake again. I knew this would happen. Why do you call the glue CA glue? What is that?

I will use a Daiwa Luna 300 reel. Not having the need for double footed guides on the spiral wrap sounds terrific since it will save more weight. What do you mean "if knots are used frquently"?

I plan to buy a Calstar GF 800L blank and build a swimbait rod out of it. It is an 8' xheavy rated for lures 8-12 oz. I plan to throw 12" swimbaits with it. I want to spiral wrap the guides and I will have a 14" handle and 6" foregrip. I would like to know what sizes of guides to use on this setup and how many. I plan to use Fuji alconite guides double footed. Any helpould be appreciated.

I already sealed one by squeezing the glue on the bait and rubbing it around with the nozzle of the bottle. Not perfectly smooth, but covered. I have another bait ready to seal. I'll get my acetone rag, shopping bags and gloves ready this time. I guess I could seal it one section at a time. Any preference on brand of glue? The stuff I used is from Michael's craft store. Seems OK. Thanks for all the input everyone.

That never entered my mind. I guess you would have to wipe your finger off immediately before it sticks to your other finger or the lure. Sounds tricky. What about latex gloves? Would the acetone eat through it? I can see myself going to work with an 11" swimbait stuck to my hand. Hopefully it'll fall off on its own. I guess i'll give it a try. You've always been a straight shooter in your posts. Thanks.

sealing with superglue: how do you apply the superglue to a wooden lure body? Paint brush does not work..that should have been obvious, but I still tried .LOL.

I don't follow you.

How do you all dry a topcoat on a big jointed bait and how do you hold it while painting it on. I know some of you use a motor to keep the bait turning, but it seems like the jointed baits' sections would constantly move and touch each other while rotating. What is the best method. tools etc. Maybe a photo of what you use would be great.