capt mike

Your'e right Dave, I'll whittle on it and weight it until it gives in. Thanks for that tip Mark. Makes easy sense to me. By the way I understand the pivot point perfectly now..had to sleep on it. Mark, what size eye screws do you use on your 10" baits (length etc). I want to make a 12" or bigger bait. I've been possessed by something that happened to me beginning of this summer. I was reeling in a bass that I had hooked on a big hammer bait. I watched a big bass swim up to the bass on the line and swallow the whole mess. I tried to let her run with my bait and the hooked bass. I hit her a few seconds later. Had her Hooked for a moment and that was it. I reeled in the keeper bass and it measured 13". That big bass was no bigger than 7 or 8 lbs. Big Baits work.

OK, I finally finished painting my baby bass. It turned out to be a little over 10". I haven't weighed it since I plan to do 2 more coats of clear. The eyes and tail show up red in the photo but they are more brownish red (raw sienna) in person. I made stencils for the lateral line and for the gold scale tips on the back. I used cotter pins again and brass rods for the hinges. What size screw eyes should I use for this size bait? I think i'd like to do a 12" next. Let me have your honest critique. This is my second bait . The pics are in hard baits gallery.

I just bought one from Lowes: Campbell Hausfield, 2 tank compressor with regulator and it came with a finishing gun= $69.00 It was on the website around Father's Day.

Hello from another louisiana Guy. If you are near New Orleans, there's a great airbrush supply shop called Dixie art. they have a web site and carry several types of air brushes as well as createx and auto air paints.

I'm going cross eyed trying to understand this VEE stuff, but I believe I got the idea. The pivot point is on the front of the joint when the vee isopen towards the rear. I guess I will stick with what works and not try to test geometry. I'm going to toss that lure before I get too far into it. Thanks for sharing your experience.

When swimbait segments are cut, typically there is a v-shape cut. Which way should the v face; to the rear > or to the front < ? On my first two baits, the v faces to the rear (>). My latest bait project is where I cut a 2 piece swimbait and faced the v - notch forward (>). It doesnt swim in the water at all. Wondering if this is to blame? Another possible issue is that I cut the notch very deep and maybe I don't have the right clearance.

Hey, that's a good idea. I may try that if the other attempts fail.

Do they come in 1/0 and 2/0?

In the video, the bait did not have its hooks installed. It is better now; enough to finish. I put the line tie up a little higher and at a different angle. I still have other ways I'd like to try the line tie. I tried putting some small weights on the hooks and it improved again. Thats when the fish struck it and knocked off the weights. I think the hooks, paint and clearcoat will provide the extra weight. We'll see. I'm going to do one with a closed lip next. I agree with you about the lip theory, I was worried about that. I 've seen many baits with open mouth design, but like anything else, it takes time, tweaking and experimentation to get it right, i'm sure. That's part of the fun, right?

Thanks, I finally hooked a big bass on it monday and she jumped and slung the bait right off. That's how it goes.

[Heres a video of the baby bass before I corrected the line tie.

I posted the video of the gizzard Shad. here's the link to you tube.

I sealed the bait with helmsman spar. I read that many striper lure builders use it with good lresults. This time I sanded it to give some tooth. Manny, I once i've tried my hand at a few baits, and satisfied with the hardware and actions, I guess I may try to experiment with molds and resin. Don't have one shred of experience with that. Seems like a long way off right now. So much to learn.

A little roll, yes. Not bad. I am going to seal the wood putty repairs and try some weight on the hooks and another line tie location. How much weight do you think the clear coat will add on a 9.5 inch bait? I may not want to add any more weight. This fine tuning will drive a man crazy. I have a video of the shad and the bass. The bass was not swimming because of a bad line tie. I changed the location and it's better now.