Hillbilly voodoo

Dave’s a smart one and has a completely different way of accomplishing things then I do. I am more the winged it and screwed up lots to the point I just know how to make things work now lol I build mostly crankbaits, lipless plugs of all kinds, and dabble with jerks and top water when it comes to hard baits. Gliders I have only made a handful One thing that helped me a lot was making a test bait that I could swap different lips and weights in different locations to try things out quickly without having to complete the whole process of making a lure. I build mast of my prototypes this way. That way I can test multiple ideas before I invest the effort of completing a lure.

It’s really tough to offer much input without it in my hand because of how I do things In the end though because the basic principle is to get the lip to ride at the correct angle when you retrieve you don’t have a ton of options on a crankbait you can move the weight up an down though effecting the stability. Or distribute the weight through the body front to back differently. More weight in the tail deadening how wide it wiggles or keep it light so it can really swing these can all be tested by taping weight in different locations before making it permanent

Half asleep do to working nights but if you PM me about resin lures in 2 days I will be more awake

Fisherman have their favorite lures and some hoard them I have a friend who bought 500 of his favorite salmon spoon because it was the only way the company would do a run of the discontinued finish. Best part is the brought back that finish the next year I know others who will use like 3 lures/colors and nothing else. To these people if those lures are not working the fish must not be biting or that lake is no good It is what it is

If the float test looks good I say finish it but a basic fish catching paint pattern nothing elaborate just incase. Personally the way I balance my resin baits is not conventional. They are carved, molded, and poured in a manner that I can use a pure resin ballast no lead. I rely completely on my float tests not conventional weight locations My opinion if the float test plays true odds are in your favor I don’t know your location but I am in Northern Alberta. In the winter I test my lures in front of a dam. It’s been in the -20c here and there is still open water it’s just a little harder to find.

If you want fine sawdust check out your local cabinetry shops and other wood working shops. Most would gladly give you as much sawdust as you need for free Nothing wrong with building of another design many do but don’t hesitate to just build your own. If I can throw together my own designs anyone can. It’s a matter of coming up with a design, testing it, and adjusting till you have it right. There is a ton of knowledgeable people on this form that have no issues helping with advice regarding adjustments to reach a desired action. A rack doesn’t need to be handy. Along time ago I would use a block of wood with a slot cut in it. I have even used two cans of beer to hold lures lol

I get what you are saying and personally over build my lures as do most small builders but in most cases if you put the well known lure next to an unknown of better quality and similar design the known will out sell There is a lot of builders on this forum alone who can easily build an upgraded copy of an existing lure As for filling your the slot for through wire epoxy mixed with fine sawdust works well. First use just epoxy to fill the bottom of the slot and let it dry. Masking tape the edges of the slot so you can be messing and not care. Push the sawdust/epoxy mix in with a small wedge. Finally put on a good layer till fill the final gap. Smooth it off with your finger and remove the tape. Set the bait in a rack to keep it level MDF sawdust or similar fine dust is key Wood shims like Eastman shows work well I just hate cutting shims

There is a lot more to a lure than through wire and a fancy paint job. The reason the baits you are talking about are selling is because they have developed a reputation as proven fish catchers. Often they brought forward some form of innovation that caused them to stand out and it’s often in the action department Just something to consider

I have computers so I had a fisherman who wanted a couple lures do the work for me That is the best KISS method for people like me

When it comes to weighting crankbaits just float test them it’s so simple even I can do it cut lip slot and just pressure fit the lip. Hang hooks because they effect balance. Lastly tape or elastic band weight in assumed locations. When the lure floats level or slippery nose down you are onto something. when it comes to balance it’s all about achieving the lip angle you want for the action. Once you have the balance you can play with the weight to tighten or open the action. This is the dumb redneck way but if you prefer Dave likely knows a formal to get you within a C hair of exactly what weight and location

I will also be axing some of my models and replacing them with new ones or tweaking them. The funny thing is the most productive and popular design was one that came to be by reworking a broken master My top water (surface paddler)needs some tweaking before I am willing to sell them. Seems to be a little much for pike unless they are 30+inch. It did catch a few musky though but this is not my primary market. I have a request to develop a shallower running bait by every tester as well Wife is also demanding I build a hybrid hard body soft paddle swimbait I swear designing or redesigning never ends

I have testers in 3 provinces and multiple regions for a reason

Anyone building numbers has tricks to make it more productive. But there are designs that builders have made that are outside of the norm that involve too much time Very aware of the larger lure market and there is a reason I focus on the larger species. I also sell direct to the public but have sold to retail in the past.I do not sell cheap either. I am not a bass guy. If I lived in the east I would only be making small tweaks to my designs for the musky crowd. from what you are describing you are looking at the higher end market limited production at a higher dollar. Following this path you should be focusing on paint jobs that target this group. You need to provide a lure that stands out from the rest paint included if this is your goal The basic principle is pick your target customers and build with their wants and needs in mind. This has nothing to do with lure building but smart business

I have had lip templates 3D printed they worked but getting them redone in a better material. The heat from the friction melted the originals if I cut too many lips at a time I have not done test lures because I lack the computer skill

For myself too complicated often is a result of construction not paint. Personally I don’t get into the designer paint jobs. But I am a firm believer in action and profile over paint job when it comes to fishing My opinion when it comes to paint I calculate my time for both simple and complicated designs to create a base price. If the design is so complicated that it takes too much time you need to question if it is worth the effort You also need think about who is your target fisherman. There is a smaller customer base that will pay more for a designer paint job vs a lure that is moderately priced with a nice paint job one possible option is release a standard line and a “premium” line at a different cost. I would sell the premium line as special order and paint them as needed. It would give you the ability to test the market without getting caught with lures you can’t sell that cost you extra time Something to consider

I also enlist a few people to test baits and hand them out each season. I give them blemished baits and instruct them to hand out a few as well in the end find what works for you

Carving out of wood I could never do it because I am not efficient enough Molding and pouring is another story. Like others have said building in batches makes a difference. What I will do is pour blanks at random needed or not. Even when painting baits I paint extra in popular patterns. this makes it easier to provide a batch or sell a few baits because odds are I have a some complete or partially complete lures ready to go one thing I have also had to except is some designs are not cost effective to sell or involve too much effort to be worth while. You have to be realistic about your time and material costs

Kid can mean teenager. I hand out lures according to the person fishing. Adults get them too I build mostly for pike and lake trout because I am in western Canada. As of last year some of my lures have found their way to Ontario for musky. I build baits between 4-1/2 to 8inch not big by musky standards but not little baits either not what most consider little kid lures Something to consider if you have designs that work well for other species besides musky don’t ignore that possible customer base either way the principal applies using blemished baits to expose your lures to new customers. The hardest part of selling a good lure is getting a fisherman to try it. If you get them to try it and get results they are repeat customers. If they out fish friends with your lure you gain another. A lure in a fishes mouth attracts more customers then a lure on a shelf or pic on the web Your goal should be increasing your customer base not recouping a fee $. The old saying you need to spend money to make money applies This is my train of thought any how

Gained about $2000 or more in sales last year just by giving away a handful of blemish lures at lakes that cost me maybe $100 in materials. It’s even better when the father of the kid calls me to buy some lures because his kid out fished him that day. Nothing sells lures better then fisherman seeing them catch fish I tell every kid that I give a lure to it’s their lure and Dad is not allowed to use it Think of it as investing in advertisement

Wow this forum has become brutal for loading up If I visit as a guest no problem but if I sign in it’s bad. It’s making it frustrating to post

If they are too bad I rob what useful parts I can Mild blemish I fish them and give them away as testers. I often give away lures to kids at the dock as well. I carry cards in my truck and boat as well Giving away blemished lures has resulted in lots of customers I would never sell a blemished bait because I want paying customers to get quality

My opinion is always let the fish be the judge because the end goal is to catch fish. Created many lures that look awesome to me but the fish don’t agree lol The jig in your pic is a variation that will have a thinner profile than the one I posted. There is nothing wrong with that because depending on the forage in the area or the mood of the fish is what will dictate what lure profile is best There is a reason I make and fish with a ton of different lures because a good fishermen adapts their lures to the conditions they are fishing I have tied lots of flies/lures with natural feathers. It’s a matter of colour and if they move in the water the way you want. I am an avid hunter, ex trapper and good friends with a big taxidermist so I have all kinds of odd materials in my kit If I heard right you cannot possess feathers from birds of prey in the US so might want to check this before trying any. Different laws here in Canada so I am not 100% on it

Good advice Dave I think I mentioned in this thread or some other about using a system wear I used different lexan tails. I did that with my old paddle tail lures. Nothing fancy just two small eye screws is how I secured them for testing

Welcome

Congrats at making it work. In my opinion having an idea and making it move is what lure making is about