barrybait

I almost always tie to a split ring, helps with lure action. I rarely use a snap, they can come open. And I only direct tie when there is little to no action like with a prop bait where it's all about the props. Direct tie on a crankbait can reduce action.

Thanks for a thorough rundown on those baits. It sounds like quality control is getting it done. I am a speed trap fan as well. Speed traps fish very well here on the California Delta for both Largemouth Bass and Stripers. I had not heard of the Speed N. Thanks for sharing. Barry

How do you source Paulownia? I have searched for it unsuccessfully except Mark Poulson gave me a couple pieces to try. Do to inability finding Paulownia, I have purchased higher density Balsa and I have been using pine and western red cedar. Barry

I have a 7" wake bait I made out of balsa that was very lively due to light weight and the fish couldn't stand it. It fished very well and soon the fish won and now it is hanging in my shop with a big chunk out of it. So now I am in the process of finding a happy medium of slightly stronger wood and tougher coatings so that they will last longer. I am making a 7" Golden Shiner of my own design and 7" and 9" knock offs of the AC Plug Minnow. I have given up on the lighter weight balsa (7-8 lbs/cubic foot) and am currently making these lures out of graded balsa, medium weight (10-14 lbs/cubic foot), white pine, and western red cedar. I shape everything and cut the bill slot and vee notch and drill all my hardware holes then I epoxy my hook hangars in so I have something to hold on to and or hang it from. Then I heat them up in a food dehydrator that has a thermostat which I set to 140F. Then I coat them while holding them by the hook hangars with needle nose vise grips. Brush ready, I dip the ends in my mixing cup of Tap Plastics slow cure epoxy (Basically Clear Penetrating Epoxy) and brush everywhere I can't dip. I know it draws it into the end grain because I have to keep wetting it as it draws in. That don't happen on the sides. I don't think anything you use is going to penetrate the sides. Unless there is end grain access you are not going to get sealer to penetrate. However, everywhere you are tapering the shape of the lure exposes end grain which draws in the sealer you are using. If you want more protective coating on the sides you are going to have to apply more coats of sealer/top coat whatever you are using to get the thickness you need and/or expose the wood's end grain. JD_mudbug's technique (a couple of post above) of sanding with 60 grit will help by exposing end grain on the sides especially by sanding across the grain will allow the wood to hold more sealer. I forgot to mention that I overdrill all my hardware holes and I don't have any blind holes. That is, if the line tie, hook, or hinge holes don't go all the way through, I drill a vent hole. Also, I tried Minwax wood hardener on one of my two cedar lures and didn't find any improvement. Certainly not enough to justify the extra step.

If you are drying wood in the oven, does it have to be an electric oven? I have a gas oven and a by-product of combustion is moisture.

I learned from the store "Tap Plastics" where I buy some epoxy and "lexan" scraps that it is OK to apply Epoxy over Polyester (UV resin) but it is not OK to apply Polyester over Epoxy.

The best silvery finish I have achieved is with Silver Leaf. It looks great for the silver sided Kokanee Salmon. It is available at Michael's and Hobby Lobby. It's the stuff they use to emboss picture frames in gold or silver. I didn't use the spray adhesive, I still used D2T. After mixing a small amount of D2T, I used a finger cot to rub a very thin layer of D2T on one side of the bait. Then you have to "float" this very very thin sheet of silver leaf and let it decend on the bait. Tap the silver leaf down on the bait very gently using only a cotton ball. Then I turn it over on a towel but I have the towel covered with saran wrap (food stretch wrap). Do the other side, fold the stretch wrap over it. Then I sandwich it between two pieces of foam padding on the floor and set my tool box on it. Come back the next day, stretch wrap comes off, coat with epoxy again to protect the silver leaf.

Sad news for sure. Ben always shared his knowledge generously. Prayers for the family.

Congratulations! I earned my 4th badge as a "Newbie" and have not yet climbed to Rookie status.

Best large rattle I made was by using the thin wall brass tubing I got at the hardware store. Use a hack saw to cut the tubing the length of your rattle plus 2 diameters. So if you had 1/2" tubing and wanted a 1" long rattle, cut off a length of tubing 2" long, plus a little extra. Now cut the 1" length tubing with a hack saw in the center of your 2" piece but don't cut it all the way through. Now you have to cut the two end pieces lengthwise on the opposite side of where they are still attached. Use some pliers, a small mandrel, hammer to flatten the end pieces and then fold them over to close your tube, with your selected ball bearings or BB's inside of course. I hope that makes sense. If you're handy, you can solder the ends carefully is the best way to finish, other wise epoxy one end before rattles is easy, have to be more careful epoxying the other end that some epoxy doesn't get inside and glue your rattles. Worked good for me. I can't remember who to credit with the method, I read about it or seen a video. It wasn't my idea.

Nice work Mark. They look great. For everyone else who is interested, Mark put more details of the build in the comments where he posted the picture in the Gallery.

Looks great Mark. I look forward to seeing you out on the Delta so I can see how it swims. Barry

The attached picture is an original 9" AC Plug Minnow with Allan Cole signature. They sold to Optimum Baits. The top 2 are 7" AC Minnows made by Optimum that I have stripped for repaint. I have been making baits similar to these but with more of a verticle profile like a golden shiner that we have here in the delta. Optimum Baits does not make them anymore. They are productive baits that I want in my tackle box. I may be the responsible person that caused Mark to consider making a bait out of anything except PVC but he has heard the wood knock of my baits. Wood is more trouble but it fishes well and there is nothing like that wood knock like knocking on your front door to help call fish up. I made the first ones out of Bass wood, then I made two out of Pine, and now one of Balsa. I am always trying to get a good seal on the baits which is crucial for longevity and helps with the knock. I have been using Penetrating Epoxy which is a two part 2:1 Epoxy which is used to penetrate and stabilize wood that has lost strength due to dry rot or other failures. I can't find it in their store anymore. Tap Plastics told me it is just a longer cure 2 part epoxy that is also thinner. The key to my application is to heat the wood with my heat gun and keep applying this epoxy. This expands the air out of the end grain so that it sucks the epoxy in and gives me durability for my knock at the hinge. Previously I applied the epoxy then heated the lure and it really foams up. I like the idea of boiled linseed oil overnight soak but it still seems like I need to heat the wood up first or the air is just trapped in the wood end grain. Wood is like a bunch of tiny straws. However we do it, we still only really increase the amount of sealer at the end grain, I don't think any more sealer gets into the side and does not increase the durability of the sides of the "straws" because it doesn't soak in. The only way you can get more durability on the sides is with more coats for more thickness. Most of us who have been here awhile remember the video of the wood lure in sealer in a vacuum chamber. Flip the vacuum pump on and it looks like is blows up with all the air coming out of the wood end grain. You can get enough sealer sucked into the wood to make it sink like this. That is not what I am trying to do. Just warm up the wood enough that you get it a little ways into the end grain. By the way, I use a fan on low to keep fumes moving off from my work station. I am always wondering how either Allan Cole or Mike Shaw sealed their baits because they got them fairly durable. The last bait I made, the Balsa one, is probably at least half again more active waking than the Basswood ones but it is more difficult to make durable. (All wood baits will fail) The penetrating epoxy works well, but with the really light weight soft woods I have to put multiple coats of UV Cure Polyester Resin to help keep the hooks from penetrating the top coat. I would be interested to hear others opinions on this. Barry