Chuck Young

I know i could throw .024 in one of two ways: 1) using fly casting techniques with mono, or 2) by throwing the rod, reel and jig over the side of the boat.

With D2t use the 30 minute, not the 5 minute (it yellows). I have never put in a glitter that reacts poorly with it. But I have had bad reactions with water based paint. On larger jigs, as on cranks, you can put different colors on different parts of the bait. For a thinner coat add a drop or two of denatured alcohol.

Mckenzies has water based paints also. I'm assuming they are acrylic. You must be looking at the laquer line. Also I would consider building a spray booth. A plastic bin tipped toward you, with a bathroom exhaust fan attached to a hole in the back. You can vent it outside with a dryer vent hose. Do this and you can use super glue, laquer, etc with impunity. Even water based paints that are non toxic are best kept out of your lungs.

Lure turner: build a pegboard L frame on 1-1/2 by 1-1/2 frame. Make it about 30" high on the end and 20" high on the front(pic3). Mount microwave or similar geared motor (plenty in the dump) to work desk about 28" high. Cut a section of swim noodle cut to fit in between motor and end of box. Glue an old bicycle wheel hub with inside end ground down to fit inside noodle to far end of noodle(pic 1). Attach shorter plastic pipe to motor with tape and E6000. Slide pipe into noodle. This gives you a friction fit to the foam. Build up with tape for more grip. I use this method so I can just grab the foam to insert another lure - no need to unplug. Mount the bearing to the far end of pegboard frame. Now you can insert lure holders through the foam. Make the slots miss the pipe on the front side - so they will pass all the way through the noodle. Balance the holes by placing them every 90 degrees. You can see that I mounted over 20 lures on my 2 ft long turner. It turns great, no belts to slip while your back is turned. It is capable of mass production. I think the motor has enough torque to turn one 6 feet long. Lure holders #1(pic2): medium and small size binder clips lined with 1/16" adhesive foam on one or both sides. If you put the foam on the part of the clip next to the stick, it holds the lure at an angle. Attached pic shows how this can maximize room at your bench or on your turner. Tape and glue with e 6000 to ¼” popsicle sticks. These hold most lure lips well enough to turn them. Lure holders #2: cut off end of cheap, or even used, paint brushes and insert into alligator clips. These have some spring in them for stretching out swimbaits. Note: Binder clips (in mini, medium, and large) with 1/16" adhesive foam (but without the sticks) make great scale netting clips which will not scratch lures.

Is your line connection going on the flat forehead? I am also curious about the rattle chamber placement. Not being critical, just trying to learn.

This is from stripers online VMC 9626PS #4 - .66" from point to point -- .88" tall -- about 1gm #2 - .75" from point to point -- 1.01" tall -- 1.4gm #1 - .80" from point to point -- 1.09" tall -- 1.8gm 1/0 - .92" from point to point -- 1.15" tall -- 2.2gm 2/0 - .99" from point to point --1.23" tall -- 2.9gm 3/0 - 1.10" from point to point -- 1.38" tall -- 3.3gm 4/0 - 1.19" from point to point -- 1.55" tall -- 4.7gm 5/0 - 1.39" from point to point -- 1.88" tall -- 6.3gm I really like VMC trebles!

Mckenzies has swatches on their site. Colors like lite, med, and dark bass, trout and musky green. Check out their site.

I think the vibrating concept will work even better under water. Fishermen detect the vibrations on the surface visually. Fish detect them through their lateral lines. The ripples on the surface represent wasted energy to fish outside of 10 yards. You have indicated that a fish 50 yds away come to investigate. It has to be underwater vibration that is attracting them.

Definitely the CMA. "I'm gonna miss her" comes to mind. This is a fascinating post. Yeah, some of us in NH listen to country music.

I practice on plastic pipe. But I have found that blanks with scale textures add even more depth. Try practicing on some cheap blanks too.

Dharma Acid Dyes has several fluorescent dyes including flo yellow and flo chartreuse. I think they have 82 colors in all.

Hold it in place with your fingers. the tape was for photo reasons only.

I make my gill stencils like this: Find a small piece of transparent plastic and punch a hole in the corner. This marks the eye position. Position plasitc over the eye and gills of your favorite lure or a fish picture on your computer. Mark a second reference point (lateral line, top of bait, etc) Trace the gill line with a fine sharpie, cut and spray thin paint at low pressure with most of the paint hitting the plastic. To do the other side, flip and repeat. Do the same with the cheek line.

This will save much trial and error when i make a bigger swimbait.

My observation of fishies indicate that the orient themselves nose down when swimming toward the bottom. So I wouldn't be opposed to a slightly nose heavy bait.

I love that reverse V idea. Thanks for sharing!

I don't know a lot about swimbaits, but on the crappie I'm developing I flattened the top of the head and put two attachment points. One is 3/16" from the front. Second is 1/2" from the front. It is 4" long, sinks level and slowly, and swims with 2 different actions. I think the flat head(5/8 x 1) keeps it down and helps the action.

The profile pic still looks better than mohawkman's

I watch for recent posts. Looks like someone else brought it up from the dead and I gave it a face lift. Lazzarus, buddy, come on out!

Welcome to TU. Good to see a good looking profile pic. Check out mohawkman's! I'm not very photogenic myself - so I used one of my lures. I bought my airbrush (badger 150) along with a compressor and some paint for $90. It is by no means top of the line, But it is sooo much better than spray cans. And the paint (createx and com art) can be heat set in seconds rather than 24 hours for laquer. Watch for deals on craigslist. Lots of suggestion on this site on DIY projects like spray booths, lure turners, etc. Check out the homebrew tools forum.

Harbor freight sells 1lb spools of .041 stainless for around $9. Watch the you tube video Harbor freight sells .041 stainless wire 1lb spool for around $9 At least one guy on this site uses it. Watch his video... very educational. Hope the link works BTW welcome to TU!

Any reason we can't use a cheap throwaway brush to spread it? 1/30th of 99 cents seems like a small price to pay. Also for Newbies - watch those superglue fumes. use a booth or fan to direct them away from you. They form sharp crystals in your lungs - very bad.