imagine_studios

Sonoman - I was wondering the same thing, about the copper changing even under the topcoat, but then I thought I was maybe being crazy. Good to know I'm not crazy, but if I am, at least I've got a friend who is too. Jdee - I'm wondering what I'm doing now! I can only imagine what 10,000 years will add to the mystery. Nathan - I appreciate that, but if you could shorten the blade up a bit and put it in one of those real fish bluegills you make, that would be even better. When I get out, I'm going straight to the lake!

Thanks guys! As soon as they were painted they were brought in the warm house, but were in the basement, which is definitely a little cooler. I've moved them up to a warmer climate to see if that does the trick.

Then my lure would be worth $900 in 50 years since it has two rare Canadian pennies on it, that could work! The paper eyes are a real good idea, but I was trying to see if the flash of shiny metal would call in the big ones. Originally, I had thought I'd run them down the sides of the bait, maybe 4 or 5 on a side, but that might cause my bait to lose some of it's wiggle, so I thought I'd try the eyes first and see what happens.

I noticed this morning they are still a little tacky. Should I use a little more heat on them to help things along? Thanks Jason

These are just for my personal collection. I agree, it looks a little strange, but if the fish like it, I don't care how strange it looks. I have to admit, the orange doesn't go at all with the copper, so I'm hoping a different color will look a little better. The penny is actually countersunk into the lure, it doesn't look it in the picture, but it's actually flush with the lure surface. ...and it's not really all about the expense, that was partly a joke. But, it is ironic that using real money is actually cheaper.

With the sticker eyes being 3 cents a piece, I had what I thought was a good idea. I decided to use pennies for the eyes on one of my 11" Muskie lures. By using real money, I'm actually saving money. Plus, the shiny copper might create a nice flash in the water. I've decided to call it the Lucky Lincoln. The jury is still out on whether I can "legally" do this. Some places on the internet make it sound like I'll be in Federal Prison if I do this, others make it seem like no big deal. Those penny squisher machines at the amusement park come to mind, seems if you can do that to a penny, I should be fine to put it on a lure... Any issues with doing this that you can see, except a possible prison sentence? I know the paint job is a little rough, but that's an entirely different topic, still trying to work the kinks out of that process.

I just painted a couple lures in 32 degrees with a small heater, using a hair dryer and everything seems to have worked out fine.

Now we're talking! I've been reluctant to try painting in the cold, but it sounds like maybe it won't be as much of an issue as I thought. It really puts a kink in the plans if you live in a cold state and hope to get the majority of your lure building done over the winter. All of my paints and lures are stored in a heated area until time to paint, so that seems like it might help as well.

Great news bass100! Thanks.

I'm in the same boat, living in Northeast Ohio. The painting is what keeps holding me up since I can only do it pretty much outdoors. The Createx site had the following to say about painting conditions. I have a feeling most other paints are similar. CONDITIONS 70º F or higher in a dry, dust-free environment. When painting in humid or colder conditions, allow for extended drying time. Use of air flow decreases drying time and is recommended as the primary means to dry paint. Air source should be free of contaminates, especially oil and water. Heat is best used to cure paint after paint dries. Refer to curing section for more.

I LOVE all the detail on the lures I'm seeing out there, and I'm looking forward to trying to recreate some of the things I've seen, but do the fish notice all the detail? When you consider a Pike will hit a red and white spoon, or a Muskie favorite is the orange and black tiger stripe, I'm not sure all the detail matters as much as we might think, but what do I know? My personal thought is that the fish can't see most of the detail, but it definitely can't hurt to have it there, in case it does matter, plus, it really looks cool. Jason

If it's a bad Muskie lure, you can still use it as a keychain, it'll just have to be the keychain they put on the restroom key at the gas station. If you've not used the bathroom on an old school gas station 25 or more years ago, that comment might not make sense. Jason

It's probably like just about anything else, if you do it all day long it's probably not a good idea to breathe that stuff in. I wear a standard dust mask when painting, just in case, but haven't ever used a paint booth. Jason

kind of jealous right now Mark, been waiting to get out to the "barn" to paint up some of my lures, but when you're averaging temps in the 20s for several days, it puts a damper on painting projects. Dang Ohio winters!

I had this same issue with my first lure. I kept thinking something was crooked or the shape wasn't right, but it turns out it was just too buoyant, like skeeter said. I used a couple split shots and some tape to temporarily put a little weight in front of the front hook, and that's all it was. Once I found the sweet spot for the weight, I drilled and installed them. I learned the hard way, but it's best to get a line drawn in the exact center of the lure before you start rounding it so you can get your ballast hole in the right spot. Once you get a design down, it's probably best to drill the hole while the lure is still square, to make absolute certain it's in the right spot. So far this has worked for me, but I've only made 5 lures thus far, so I might not be the best person to give advice just yet... Jason

That's unreal. I never would have guessed you can do that kind of work without an airbrush. That is some crazy stuff. Jason

I was kind of going with the Grandma style, mainly because they seem to work well, and they're relatively easy to make. The two different sized hooks are a good idea. Thanks Jason

Thanks guys, sounds like I'm good with the hook sizes, now it's a matter of leaving three or going with 2. Currently, the front hook isn't able to get caught on the lip, but it's just barely out of range. It can however, get caught up in the #2 hook so that could be a concern. But, since it will only be trolled, maybe there won't be as much opportunity for them to get caught together since they should both be swept in their far back position. Of course, once you start hitting the bottom or weeds, all bets are off. I think I'll make two 9 inchers to try out, one with 3 hooks and one with 2, drag them both around all day and see what happens. Ultimately, that might be the only way to know for sure. The hooks are epoxied in, so that's a plus, but I'm still a little nervous about them. Again, the only way to find out for sure is to test it out. Thanks for the help Jason

I think I'm definitely going to go with two hooks, but it just seemed like a huge gap with only 2, it's a big catch 22 it seems. Just like Ryaburn said, it's either getting hooked on the lip, or tangling with the #2 hook. I was worried about the pine for Muskie, seems like it would get torn up a bit quicker and maybe run the risk of the hook eyes getting pulled out. This is still my first, so I figured I'd go with something a little easier to work with until I got the prototype all ironed out. I've got tons of scrap pine available, so if it holds up, I'll be using it as much as possible.

I debated about putting two or three hooks on this lure to begin with, two didn't seem like enough, but three seems a little tight. The first and second hook seem a bit close together and might be wanting to tangle, but I'll have to experiment to see how things work out. This lure will be for trolling only, so it seems like the hooks would behave a little better if it's not casted, but that remains to be seen.

Is it me? Or, are these hooks too large for this bait? I realize pine probably isn't the way to go and I'll have to figure out a way to keep them far enough apart so they don't tangle, but I'm just looking to keep the proportions in the right ratio. Thanks Jason

Is there a chart somewhere that gives hook to lure size ratios? I'm building my first Muskie lures and having trouble settling on the proper hook size for a 9" lure. I went with a 5/0 hook, but it seems to be way too big for the lure, at least, just by the looks of things. Obviously, if that's the size I need, that's cool, what it looks like to me isn't as important as what it looks like to the fish. It seems to run fine with the hooks. Any ideas on this one? Thanks Jason

Thanks BobP, that's great news using the snips for the lips. Jason

Didn't know you could cut Lexan with metal snips, do you mean the Aviation Snips variety?

Thanks Seeking, I was using the T method, but only bending the main shaft and not tweaking the point angle like that. I appreciate the picture, I didn't realize I could bend it around that much. Thanks Jason