barrybait

I've been using Createx Silver Pearl. When painting over white it doesn't get very silver, I have to use some gray first.

Jdeee. You can cut the taper after you cut the profile if you start with a piece of stock about two inches longer than you need for the finished lure. Cut your lip slot first if there is one and then cut the profile out without completing the profile on the very ends. That way the original rectangular ends will hold the blank true as you bandsaw the "top view". You will start out with two stencils, side and top. I don't do it that way because I have been able to get very acceptable results using reference lines. With wood or pvc, after I cut the profile and the blank is still flat on both sides, I take a pencil or sharpie felt tip marker to add reference lines. On a good table saw type surface, I use tapered door shims to lay the marker on and hold it firmly so that the tip is very close to the center of the blank. Hold the marker firmly while I slide the blank around on the table in contact with the marker to have a nice line all the way around. Maintain the firm hold on the marker and turn the blank over to make the same mark all the way around. Now if you were perfectly centered you still only have one line all the way around but I generally wind up with two lines close together which is just as good. Now remove a shim and lower the marker and make another line about 1/4 inch off center on both sides. Just takes a minute. I still trace the top view at this point and rough it out on the band saw. Then I'm off to my 1" belt sander. Nothing fancy.

I'm using lexan tails and I pin them with good size ss wire in a slot cut into the last section of the bait similar to the Wake Junior baits so the lexan tail flops back and forth freely. After shaping the tail and getting it fit up the way I want it I rough up the surface. Sometimes I score it with my knife or use the edge of a triangular file to file grooves into it for some texture. I paint it at the same time I paint the main body of the bait and install it afterwards. I hold it with small needle nose vise grips at the pin hole area during coatings. When it is pinned in a wood bait, most of my concern is about getting a good seal in the pin area to prevent water getting into the wood and wrecking the bait. I address this by drilling a hole about twice as large as the wire pin maybe even three times the size. Then if I use penetrating epoxy to seal the wood or d2t I use a pipe cleaner loaded up with epoxy and brush it back and forth in the hole. I have even gone so far as to fill the entire hole with d2t to protect the wood. Then when it dries with some shrinkage there is a dimple at the center of the hole and I drill thru the center of the d2t this time the same size as the wire. Ready to go.

I use a knife if I have to for a very hard top coat but if the top coat is thin I have had good success with steel wool. Steel wool works all the curves nicely and if you are just going to scuff up the other top coat it is really good. After I'm done, I crank up the pressure on the airbrush just to blow all the small pieces off the bench so it doesn't wind up in your coatings. I had a jerkbait ko on the bench, the one with the magnet inside to hold the weight transfer steelies and it collected a steel wool beard at the magnet.

I tried the screw, then I bought some ss springs and now I do it same as Ben above. It works great. I wrap the ss wire tightly around a mandrel held in a vise. Then after I slide it off the mandrel, I grab both ends with needle nose pliers and stretch it out until I have the gap I want. Cut off the lengths I need, match the diameter up in your drill stand and drill a hole in end of bait. Epoxy your baitkeeper in place. When you screw the plastic on, crazy glue it to the back of the bait. This method really holds the plastic up against the bait nicely. First time I did it I wound the wire the wrong direction. Now I wrap it so I wind up with a right hand thread. It still works of course but you can't see the thread direction when the tail is on and I am testing the bait before painting so I like to know what direction to screw the plastic off too.

I top off with epoxy but if I want to keep it light and there is a sizeable area to fill, I shave off some pvc with my x-acto knife and chop up the shavings then mix them into my epoxy then fill the hole. Sands off easier like that too. Looks like pvc aggragate!

Look up benchtop test tank in forums. Couple of designs there that members built.

I agree with Mark. Basic pattern here is a dark moss green back faded down the sides with a white belly. The moss green can go more towards a ruddy brown and the white belly should be a dirty or bone white. I picked up a live one that somehow ended up on the ramp last weekend and it had blotchy spotty back on it. Not all of them are that tectured. When I start a new bait, I think it is a good idea to do a google search of the fish and you will get pages of images and variations of it. Otherwise ask your friend for a picture of the bait they want to imitate.

Some of the members use nail lights to cure Solarez. Solarez is a polyester resin that requires UV Light to cure. (It will actually cure with MEKP catalyst also). UV cured resins are used on fingernails and a "nail light" is a UV light source that the salons place over fingernails to cure the fingernail coating. Look up Solarez and UV light sources and there will be plenty of info here. I use Solarez for aa top coat of some of my lures but I cure it using sunlight.

My name is Barry Sterud. I'm 58 and retired from deep sea shipping as an Engineer. I have always loved fishing but only got into Bass fishing about 10 years ago. I live in Oakley, California which is located adjacent to the California Delta. I fish local club tournaments and some local pro shop tournaments. I started out tying up hand poured jigs. A friend showed me how to get a MS Slammer bit but he also had one that didn't walk well out of the package. I tried to fix it but decided I could do better. Mine didn't last long. I started painting 1.5s and 2.5s for myself and gave some away to my friends. Next thing I'm repainting a Wake Jr. for a friend and it turned out good. Then I started making wake baits. I didn't copy exactly, I just used all of the features I could do from a Huddleston, a Slammer, and a Wake Jr. to turn out a rainbow trout wake bait like I put in the gallery here. At first I got tips from Dakota Lakes website and Youtube, then I got on to TU and really enjoy the site. Think I have been able to add some good ideas to several of the threads. I don't think anyone should freak out over the read vs. replies. I only reply if I have something to add that I feel might be of some value. Even then, another member has already covered it just as well or better than me so I leave it at that. Also, I will read threads in other sections like soft baits just to see what everyone is doing over there even thou I have no plans to start in soft plastics and couldn't advise anyone there. Keep it fun, Barry

Yeah and the prices are low too but you better do your homework. I tried a couple baits from them. Some 1.5s I got were ok but the flat side coffinbill I got from there was junk. I'm back to our go-to suppliers.

cougarftd. Ha. See you had it at the first reply. Anyway that's a good bait for his thread x3.

What stretcher said. That flat sided coffin bill at bustin bass baits is an excellent blank. I think there is the same lure on ebay called evergreen combat crankbait but bustin bass has a better price anyway. I paint and fish these one of my favorite lures. Weight transfer helps casting distance. Lively erratic action, and comes thru the weeds here in the Cal Delta.

My solarez has a surfacing agent that rises to the surface and helps with that bone dry feel. Since it rises to the top, I shake up the solarez real well before dipping some out for use. Otherwise, my understanding is that you use up the surfacing agent and may not get the same dry feel. Also, one drop of curing agent in the mix can be good insurance for complete curing. I don't have a uv light source and just use outside light.

When painting and epoxy coating (D2T) my wood or pvc baits. I have had good success suspending the bait in a sewing hoop purchased at the craft stores. They have many sizes of hoops plenty large enough for 8-10 inch baits similar to the triple trout. I make a strong "s" of heavy stainless wire and multiple rubber bands securing the line tie to the hoop, then connect the tail if there is a connection point there. If not, I use the back hook eye and then I have to use a wire hangar into the top hinge eye too. With the bait suspended by the rubber bands, I paint or epoxy the joint areas first because I can push on the opposite side of the bait to open up the joint as you work on it but when you release, the joints never touch. What little bit of epoxy I get on the hinge eyes I can usually scratch out with the tip of my exacto knife. Also, if I see that I got too much epoxy on the hinge eyes, I dip about a half inch of pipe cleaner in D2T and push it thru the eyes before I let the bait dry. The hoop is easy to hang on a rod for drying and turning.