MarkNY

Slayer, that looks awesome! What kind of fish? How did the casting go? A resin project is on my list. Mark

Good points guys. I wanted these to be shallow runners and did a 45 degree lip on them. Might be too much. I've done some of the same with a flatter lip and they swam well but were deeper divers. I'll just keep experimenting. The nude bait is actually 2 pcs with through wire. I found that a little more difficult to keep symmetrical, especially on a thin bait like this. I've been doing solid wood and screw eyes since. The wood is poplar which I love. Mark

I tested 4 lures today. Overall I'm happy but 2 of them were a little unstable. They swam good up to half speed retrieve but then started to roll and come up. First off, should I expect all crankbaits to be stable at full speed? Secondly, what are the general rules for adding stability or creating a stable lure? The top two lures in picture were the ones that were unstable. They had great action until they blew out. The perch bait swam the best with a great wobble and stable swim. My goby lure swam good too but I wish it had a little more wobble to so I'll keep working on that. I'd appreciate any thoughts you have on this. Thanks, Mark

Thanks Mark!

Thanks Mark. I guess I was picturing a one piece bait, not a jointed lure. Sounds like both would work with this style. Have to try it sometime. Mark

I'm curious how glide baits or subsurface lipless baits get their action? I'd describe it as a subsurface walk the dog action. I've never fished one or handled one. How are they constructed in order to get that action? Ballast in front and rear of bait? Thin but tall profile? Would like to hear how these baits work. Thanks, Mark

Great tips. Thanks!

How do you decide what size hooks to use for a crankbait? Do you just eyeball it? I've seen where the front hook is larger than the rear hook. How come? Would like to hear your thoughts, method or suggestions on this. Thanks, Mark

I sometimes use etex clear gloss spray to seal the lure after foiling or between paint coats. I've sprayed circuit board lips with it too. Gives a nice gloss finish to lip with little buildup. Not sure how much durability it would add to the edges of the lip but might be worth trying. Mark

Gone, great tips. I actually made up a batch of reducer using an online tutorial and that stuff helped big time. I'll take a look at other reducers next time I'm at the hobby store. Mark

I see all the great work on here and I have to say you guys make it look easy. I have lots to learn with the airbrush. Do you have any tips on setting up my airbrush properly for painting lures? I just got an iwata eclipse hp-cs. I'd like to be able to get the air pressure down but seem to run into issues when I do that. Would also like any general tips on painting. Painted my first perch pattern tonight and it didn't come easy. Took 2 or 3 tries. I think mainly because I don't have a paint plan and I'm a little limited on colors. I think I just need to practice but I'm open to any tips or suggestions to try. Thanks, Mark

Bob, I just tried my first screw eyes yesterday and I agree with you, these are solid. I used manufactured screw eyes with threads. Saves so much work. When I get the proper wire I'll try twisting my own. Thanks, Mark

Hi stretcher, great idea. I omitted the belly hook on that lure because i designed it as a trolling lure and wanted to test it with just the back hook. Worked great. I think for Lake trout, browns and walleye one hook is fine. Get into silver species like salmon or rainbows and I'd rather have 2 hooks. I want to make a casting version of this lure so I'm gonna put a belly hook on the next one. Mark

Good points. I'll experiment with this one. Benton, the rear hole is maybe a little smaller than 1/8". Don't know how to use wire for line tie with that setup but I'm all ears! Mark

Hi Eastman, on this lure I used a wood cutting sawsall blade by hand. The blade has a hook tooth. I clamped bait in my vise. Used a hacksaw to start the cut on my centerline then used other blade to cut slot to proper depth. I used the hook tooth to widen slot where needed. Worked pretty good but I'm still looking for better methods. Mark

I'm working on a small 3" perch crank. I planned on using an aluminum lip with a duo snap for the line tie. But I cut out a circuit board lip too and was wondering if it would be strong enough to hold that duo snap for the line tie. Think the snap could cut into the lip? Anyone ever try this? Thanks, Mark

Excellent. I'll try that white paint and some others. Thanks, Mark

Thanks for all the great info. Very helpful. The slot on this lure is quite deep, maybe 1/2". It's a good size lure. I epoxied the through wire in. I remember having difficulty getting bondo to fill the entire gap. I know I had a gap between the through wire and bondo. I'll definitely use thickened epoxy to fill most of that gap next time and then finish off with bondo as it is easy to sand. One other thought I have is I think I may have cracked the finish while tuning the lure. I used .092 wire on this I think, stiff stuff. The lures swelled and you could actually see the etex stretch before it cracked. Then when it dried, it cracked. Either way progress has been made with these conversations. Mark

I made a goby trolling lure a while back. I actually caught some browns on it the very first time I used it. But I had a problem with the slot that holds the through wire opening up. It let moisture in and caused the etex to crack. Trying to figure out what I did wrong. Bait is made from poplar and I used it in very cold water. I think I did 2 coats of etex. I'd like to do more but always tend to create too much build up around the wire eyes and lip. I used body filler to fill the slot. So my questions are; is it ok to use bondo for filling a through wire slot? should I be doing more than 2 coats of etex? Any ideas as to what caused this failure? thanks a lot, mark

Thanks guys. I'll try it out.

Thanks guys. Haven't used my iwata yet but just looked at it and covering the cap up with my finger should work fine. Could not do that with badger as the tip was pointy and sharp. Mark

Thanks Travis. I'll order some lighter gauge wire. Mark