topwatersniper

Thanks guys! I'm now on facebook and spreading the word...we'll see what happens!

Thanks Dave...but please allow me to be more specific. The issue is...I am conducting a contest with prizes and $ for a small number of fisherman who will compete against one another with my lure. They will receive 2 lures free. Honestly, if it weren't me holding this contest...I would do it, there's nothing to lose. My worry is that I won't get competitors because they don't know it's out there. Any ideas would be appreciated! Thank you

Those of you that have websites or blogs, what have you found that drives traffic there?

2 words: try pine.

Good things to consider guys...more than 1 way to skin a cat. Had a few ideas while I was doing my real job today. Going to start a blog that will eventually morph into a selling website. Gonna put website stamp on all my lures, so no matter if , I sell one or give it away, they'll know where to go. One other idea that I'm gonna keep close to the vest for now.

Thanks so much for the input...sounds like a losing proposition!

Have any of you given away lures for promotional or testing purposes...and have you found it worthwhile?

I made this last wednesday for the pike in the lake i fish. Made from pine, 3 segments joined with screw eyes, 2 barrel sinkers in the head, and a feather on the tail treble. Have to say, I wasn't sure how it would turn out...but I am actually quite pleased with the action. Took it out yesterday to the pond(it was 69 degrees here in fort wayne, IN !), It falls about 9" /sec and looks and swims just like a struggling perch. took some video to analyze the performance. Anyway, been following this thread since it started and read about shape of the perch and other factors...I thought it may add to the discussion by adding a pic. Again, not the prettiest sleekest lure on this forum, but hopefully the pike like it next year!

All I use is pine...in short, easy to work with, durable, and fish love it!

The main reason I think any of us do this is to catch fish with something we made. It would be fun to see what has been caught with your creations...and maybe a little info with it. This is one of the city pond bass I caught last month with with the "wet log" ha ha Love to see yours!

Thanks a bunch dave! I'll look over your hinge posts. In the meantime, I tested 3 swimbaits I made at the pond an hour ago. All we done with screw+screw hinge. The first was a 4 segment that sucked, the second, a 3 segment bluegill swam good at the surface, and the third, a 3 segment pike shaped lure swam very well about 2" below the surface with a steady retrieve. They are all wood of course, can't wait to see if the good ones catch fish next year! Chuck

I saw your v2 and v3 swimbait video. Awesome! 2 questions...what kind of himges are you using, and secondly, have any fish been caught with them. If I was a fish, I'd blow those bad boys up!!! :-)

I work as a breadman 60 hours a week And support a wife a 4 kids, so free time is a premium. That being said, over the past 2 years I've made from scratch...a chess set, a 4 foot rc pt boat, a naval strategy board game, and now homemade lures. I also paint ww2 aviation and naval subjects. In july 2007, fishing facts magazine used a bass painting of mine for their cover...a proud moment indeed , considering I would pour over that magazine as a kid who longed to go fishing...cheers to all you creators!

Amen fishon son! Granted, I need an entire fishing season to gather more data on my simplistic lures effectiveness, but it seems to me sometimes we are trying to kill a mouse With polycarbonate sniper rifle when a simple mouse trap works fine...a ridiculous analogy for sure, but the point being, are you in this field to make an aesthetic, durable lure...or catch fish? The reason I started this thread was because I made a simple wooden lure last September and in less than 35 hours total fishing time caught 50+ bass and 3 pike. Furthermore, I'm looking at that lure in my garage right now and it shows no sign of deterioration. Even if it should crack eventually, I can make one in 15 minutes for about 50 cents. Those fish were caught in everything from a big natural lake to heavily pressured city pond. If anyone else has anecdotal evidence I would love to hear about it.I'll get of my cheap soapbox now :-)

I agree with Dave, it's a special moment when you get a fish with a lure you made...I made my first one last September and I have already retired it. More satisfying than I ever imagined...even better than catching a huge fish! :-)

Actually, the idea of swimbaits intrigues me. I'm currently experimenting with different materials to make these. They look so good in the water! If done right, they could swim slowly enough to work in winter. I would love to know if you can get something to work, gonna be a long winter:(

Flattering for you to think I put that much thought in to it, however, the truth is that I made it and took it with me on a family row boat outing to chain o lakes in northeast indiana on September 29th to test the action. After casting a plastic topwater lure by Rebel a dozen times and getting no hits, I decided to see how the homemade lure looked in the water. I caught a keeper largemouth on the second cast, then another a few casts later. So I figured if it works, why change it?

No changes in performance or durability, because of it's simplicity. I've had some hits and misses, misses mostly because of the fishes angle of attack. If they jump out out of the water to crash down on it, misses are likely...however if they just slurp it in from below, hookups are 95%. I did have a 26" pike come completely out of the water from 3 feet away from the lure, come crashing down on it and landed it. Glad my dad was there to see it too...it was unreal!!! :-)

sorry, new to forum...the previous post is a pic of my dad with a 28" northern caught on the "wet log". We have fished this lake for 3 years and never caught a pike. this is one of 3 pike caught with the wooden wonder!

I have a solution for you riverman...as I stated in my previous posts, I don't paint it, don't seal it, haven't lost one, costs less than fifty cents to make and is effective. As long as you can deal with throwing a bait that looks like a stick, all these wood problems are solved. Btw, I use pine from lowes that costs 77 cents for a 8 foot piece.