ArdentAngler

Rebel Racket Shad, seen a few pop up with bibs in them.

Do you thin it with mineral spirits?

If I'm not mistaken the Jackall Wood Bunny is made by the same guy whom designed the frog and waddle bat? How is the action? Heard many complaints saying the lures do not respond the same as the one's featured in the advertised video's.

So how are the fumes with this? some say none and others say it stinks up the tackle box. I would assume its safer than some of the other sealants out there. Easy and safe is what I'm looking for. Can't wait to finish up some baits, honestly been taking my time discerning the best method for me. As for curing, going to dip my baits a few times and let them cure for a couple days before priming. This should be adequate time eliminating a tacky blank. Thanks again

Digging around the site I found that people were having trouble with the solvent in the wood reacting with the paint. I was thinking about using Minwax Helmsman spar urethane for sealing then spraying a primer over this. Reading others results seems the verdict is still out.

Thanks, I have been trying to find an easy and safe method for sealing and finishing lures. Lots of information on this, although the sealers like GST do not sound too friendly to an average hobbyist. I'm guessing a light coat of Minwax is the trick to keeping it so it won't react with the paint?

Seems reasonable for sealing, watched a video of a guy using this for his plugs. So I can seal my lure with this and then paint over with a primer like Rustoleum and finish with a clear coat? This sounds like a simple enough process! With enough time before priming could the yellowing effect be null?

The youtube has a few videos of Toxic Tackle, nice looking lures in my opinion.

Honestly they look like Toxic Tackle lures to me.

Bobp I have always wondered that about Professional fisherman. That must be a pain to go through all those lures for one or two that catch fish. Although for those guys the difference matters and is worth the effort in the end. I read a bit and it seems the one way to tell would be through frequency, although its not practical in monetary terms. Russ Mohney touched a bit on this in his book "Lurecraft" and there is a bit on the net if you dig around a bit. Someone also made a post about this and I cannot remember what it was called or whom did it, for which I apologize to them. Anglinarcher Very interesting, never thought about that with flies! I remember a fly tier gave me some words of advice a while back he said "tie every fly as if it were crippled, because that's the one fish go for in nature". Now the reason he said this was because he could tie very well and needed something clever to fall back on, haha. Still good advice, it can be transferred easily to lure making. I know how it feels to lose great lures, had a nephew take one of my lures and lose it. I had it hung up for sentimental reasons, only lure that caught me two bass at the same time given to me by a late friend.

It would have to be a magic bait for musky....fish of a thousand casts! Just looking at some lures, not much can be changed essentially. Maybe the walls of the lure are thicker or uneven, extra weight from paint? I mean the line ties are stable figure eights for most baits so they do not protrude enough to vastly alter the action. I don't know how, but certain lures are a cut above the rest. Wish I still had those two craws to study, darn underwater trees took em.

All this talk of Wiggle Warts and Bagleys has got me thinking. I read an article by Gene Kira on jointed Rebel lures and in it was a neologism called "Super Lures", basically these were standard factory lures that had something extra special about them. Everyone has had one in his or her tacklebox at some time, a lure that outperforms the rest. Just curious on this and your experiences with "super lures". I owned a couple of these, mine were Rebel Craws and they would slay trout. I thought it was the colors, after throwing the exact same pattern and model and turning up nothing it seemed that it was those lures themselves. Know I have ruminated on this, could it be a frequency or action? Possibly a combination of both? The manufacturing process have tight tolerances, so the change is so minute that it makes you aware of the grand possibilities when building. I mean how much can a factory lure vary?

great grab! Now I troll ebay all the time, how did I miss this? Hope they have the hunting action

There is an article that gets to the core of the answer, sent this to the "wizard" Dieter a while back. When I find it I will post it. Basically the Old Warts were made inconsistently, using whatever materials were cheap at the time; hooks, lead, wire etc., etc. They also state that the lures benefited mainly because of the lead rattle, which sounded like a crayfish scurrying out of its hole. So the main reason was a loose tolerance in manufacturing causing the lures to be inconsistent, in a good way. Like the old Bagleys they had an erratic action and no two were alike. Another rumor was that the mold itself was a bit off. There are many speculations on why these were so special, seems inconsistency keeps popping up. I do not own one so I cannot speculate, although if I did chances are I would have cracked open to reveal its secrets. I believe the article was on basseast.com titled wiggle warts old vs new.

The trout around me are about the same size, heck the last big one I lost was over 8lb! That was on a Rebel craw, had I not used those smart link lure savers he would have been on the grill, but that's a story for another time. The larger Rebels swim too deep for my stretch of water, thus a shallower model is more pragmatic. I had another look at the square billed Rebel and I'm positive its authentic. At the time it popped up I asked the ebayer questions but he never got back with me. Ok so would a square lip of the exact length work for one of these? Say I base it one the typical Wee size craw, then I match the length of the bib to that on the round bill. Would this work? Always thought the square lips were a bit shorter, so I don't want to push the length too much.

The Koppers Craw are neat, very realistic in my opinion at least the new ones with the clear center are. Yeah they didn't do much for me at first either, I like the old mat finished ones if any. I wish that I had placed a bid on that square lip Rebel! Thought for sure that someone on here owned one or seen it? My guess is that it was a 1980's model, seeing as the square lips weren't popular and accepted before then. I was told on here to be cautious about the jannsnetcraft lips, something about breaking and poor tolerances??? Probably going to make mine from Lexan sheet, thank you for the input guys!

I have yet to try Koppers, been wanting to. The older models with the mat finish were more appealing to me than the new models. Unfortunately they run a little to large for trout, which is all I fish for by default. There doesn't seem to be much information online on the Rebel Craws. I was hoping someone would do a chronology of the lures with some history, alas nothing but advertisements to buy more. Someone has to know something about the square lip?

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has an idea why the Rebel Crawfish has a perforation between its pincers? There must be a pragmatic reason that's there other than aesthetics, right? To my amazement many who make there own crays also add this on there lures. My thought is that it just add to the look as the action does not seem like it would be affected. At first I played with the idea that water is forced through causing the lure to have a relative stability, unlikely but maybe? Also does any one know if Rebel made a square bill for the crawfish? I seen one on the bay a while back and wondered if it was a custom job. Although this was the older model with the screw eye in the body, not the bib. So it looked pretty authentic to me. If it does exist can you share with me some information such as dimentions and action? I'm keen on building my own square bill and a little bit of information goes a long way. Thanks

How is this for doing nude baits? Couldn't come across much for wooden cranks. What about taping the lips before dipping?

I just asked a lure maker where he gets his, evilbay or a local vet. Vaccination is what he uses, and some thinners to keep them from building up epoxy after use. Also a good idea may be to use those syringes for injecting flavor into turkey they are glass with a metal syringe and can be found cheap.

Happy Thanksgiving hope you are all full!!

Maybe I missed it but how are the results on wooden baits?

Wow, I missed quite a few posts in the past couple days. What accessories will I need after purchasing a airbrush? I read about an oil filter and a few other things. It would be nice to get everything in a bundle but a couple good nudges in the right direction would be better.

Sounds like you have it down pat, you should post your results so we can see how you did. Always thought about using a gouge to get that scalloped face, now I know someone was successful. Seems more personal to carve one rather than use the sander. Honestly whatever works for you is all that matters right? I see you like your vice, which reminds me that my Dean VMNT has been buried in the closet for the better part of a year...should dig it out and see if the fingers still work.

Thanks for tips. Unfortunately no tractor supply near us and even the local hardware stores like Lowes and Home Depot have little to offer due to the area. Supply and demand I guess? I was told to get galvanized guess I'll steer clear of it thanks!