Musky Glenn

Most of the trouble I have with plastic lures swelling happens to Bill Norman and Believers. But I have had it happen to several other lures also. Being inside a tackle box like the double sided clear boxes caused most of my problem. Not had any problems just from being in the sun. Mine have always been inclosed in a clear or amber colored plastic box and laying in the direct sun. Killer!!! Musky Glenn

Fatfingers, That was an excellent post!

It was always odd to me that the hardness of wood had nothing to do with the type of wood being classified as hard or soft wood. Trees that loose their leaves each fall are hard wood trees and trees with cones are soft wood trees. That is the only thing I learned by teaching carpentry for 29 Years. Musky Glenn

Mark, thought about going to thicker lexan and grinding/sanding it to shape?

I would rather have a lexan lip than a 16 if they act the same.

Lincoya, It may be a while before I replace them as they are only 40 years old. It was my dad's which he bought when he retired about 1975. If I use it much they will need replacing and I'll keep that type in mind. Thanks, Musky Glenn

For a 9-12 inch lure, I can't see any size rattle being to big for those lures. I have an eleven inch lure with one ounce of lead that floats. I also have a ten inch glide bait with 5.5 ounces of lead that barely sinks. How about a big rattle front and back? Musky Glenn

There is a difference in types of epoxy. I can't find Devcon here locally so I use what is available. Tractor Supply stocks a good type of 30 min.epoxy and they also stock a "less" good 30 min. epoxy. The difference is in the strength indicated on the label. The good type is rated at 3500 lbs. and the "less" good is rated at 2000 lbs. Musky Glenn

I reinstalled my band saw tires this morning and they work great. Thanks for all the advise. Contact adhesive is the trick. It was good to cut out some more baits. Musky Glenn

Thanks to all of you. I knew this would be the place to find the answer. Musky Glenn

Thanks Crankpaint, It didn't hurt the rubber, it just came off and I need to know which type of glue to use to hold rubber to alum. Musky Glenn

Thanks Mark.

I reassembled my band saw this morning and while I was cutting out the first lure body the rubber band came off the drive wheel of the band saw. Is contact adhesive the best glue for refastening the rubber to the alum. wheel? Musky Glenn

Great thread!!! I would agree with Woodieb8 completely. I might add that the biggest problem with handling muskies is time out of water. Leave them in the net, over the side of the boat in the water. Lean over the edge of the boat and do your unhooking while the musky is still in the water with its gills under water. Watch a video where they use a cradle and look at what a dangerous position the guy holding the cradle is in. Thanks for the super thread. Musky Glenn

Thanks Crankpaint, That will be my next try. I moved the weight to the center of the lure and with that much weight, I got it to high and now it is unstable as to wanting to roll on its side. Back to the drawing board. We fished this past Sat. and raised one musky on the solid lure. I also raised 5 on a big shallow invader that I have been working on. The rest of the bandsaw parts should be here Monday. The first order of parts came a week ago but I still needed more parts. I should have checked it out better the first time. We caught one thirty inch musky on an inline spinner. (Bucktail) Musky Glenn

Bass Bum 85, Tenn. has some great musky fishing. The best that I know of is Melton Hill Lake at Oak Ridge Tenn. When it is right, it is as good as musky fishing gets. Musky Glenn

I coat my lures at night and fish them the next day. Maybe that accounts for some extra hook rash that I get. Works for me though. Musky Glenn

I have built a few and refinished many musky lures and I use d2t just because that is what I can find locally. I have used etec and didn't have any problems with it either, but I didn't see an advantage either. The biggest trouble I have is not with musky teeth but with hooks wearing the finish. The size of hooks that are used on musky lures have a lot more weight to them as they swing from side to side than my bass lures. The factory finish won't stand up to hooks or teeth either. For me personally, I would love to have a beat up ole wore out musky lure that is full of teeth marks and may even have a tooth or two stuck in it. That would be the ultimate trophy lure to frame in a glass case. What keeps that from happening to me up to now, is I have been working with wood and as soon as the wood is exposed, the water does its damage. The lure becomes water logged and just doesn't perform to my liking enough continue to get the wear I want. Now I have started using pvc and I can see that wall hanger lure just waiting to happen. I'm looking for a lure to last long enough to get wore out!!!! lol Musky Glenn

Rowingadubay, The top of the lure is open and the bottom is closed. When this lure is retrieved I can see the whole in the top and it just doesn't look realistic. But for a musky which hunts by looking up, most of the time, it gives a more natural look. I haven't moved the weight yet, but I believe that will cure my problem, at least that is my next effort. Musky Glenn

For my water based paints I use a high tech card board box turned up on its side and spray into the open end. The amount of paint I put out and the low pressure doesn't create any noticeable fumes. I have a plastic coffee can with a hole punched in the side, just large enough for the tip of my spray gun to go in. I use the coffee can to clean out my spray gun, I just spray into a closed coffee can until clean. Musky Glenn

I second everything said plus"Get yourself some pvc to carve. You will never go back to wood for carving. No grain to worry about and you can test it with out having to seal it off. Musky Glenn

I reshaped the nose area and now I have it back to doing the same thing it did in the beginning, turning right only. I stripped down a "Manta" lure to repaint and found that most of the weight was placed near the middle of the lure. I have taken most of the weight back out of my hh and will glue it back in near the middle instead of each end like it was originally. Another thing I will try next will be to install some type of baffle system to control water movement within the lure. You might call it the sloshing effect. The bearings for my band saw will be here Monday and it may be easier to just build another one with the new changes. Glad I'm retired and not trying to collect wages from someone for all the work I am doing on this $28.00 lure. If you have any suggestions I would enjoy hearing them. Thanks for all your help. Musky Glenn

Littleriver, That drag on the nose, I believe is my problem. Going to look back into that part of the bait. I used the cotter pin for the line tie and any more bluntness will result in the line tie being a 1/4 inch in front of the lure, because of the need to cut off some of the front of the lure. This cutting will make the front of the lure more blunt. New bearings for my bandsaw will be here Monday. Then I can just make another one from scratch if I ruin this one. Pvc sure does carve easy. Musky Glenn

Like so many comparisions in fishing, it is really hard to prove one way or the other. Every cast is an individual cast to an individual fish that may or may not be there for the lure fished the "other" way. I'm not sure they help, but I don't believe they hurt. I just find them a pain to deal with in a boat. I would rather make an extra cast than dip a lure. But what do I know. I have seen muskies follow a lure all the way to the boat only inches from the lure, nipping at it without touching it, like it was trying to taste it.

Well, that got rid of the problem of the lure just walking one way. Now it won't walk either way. Just straight forward. Where did I lay my whittling knife? Musky Glenn