Hillbilly voodoo

Drag plays a roll in all lures.

What about suick’s? And other pike/musky dive and rise jerks they are definitely not minnow baits like I said clear as mud

The factors you are mentioning are all things that limit drag build a basic spook that is a thinner minnow profile, lighter buoyant wood, keep your weighting minimal and try it out personally I don’t think the flared gills will help other then and artistic look sometimes you just need to build a few basic baits to test theories on action

What about dive and rise style jerk baits they float

This is simply a guess because I have not attempted it but basing it off of things I know regarding other lures like jerk baits likely a lighter more buoyant, and that sits on less of an angle will achieve a wider walk. Basically you are limiting drag so it should achieve more movement with each twitch hopefully someone with more experience will chime in to confirm if this is correct or not

That fat guys mold looks about right

I only dabbled a little with spook style top waters because I don’t really fish them they few I made were with western red cedar. Also weighted so they were tail down and probably sat roughly on a 45. I used a basic minnow shape with a turned up nose. They worked caught a few fish on them but would not say I made anything special

So my favorite tail for my jerk baits is a grub with a thinner tail that is a bass pro brand musky grub. It’s nothing fancy but when combined with my jerk baits it doesn’t dampen the action too much. I would like to start shooting my own does anyone know who sells a mold like this or very close at least. The profile/length of the tail is most important

The cost of the bribe would be higher then the prize Probably more effective to offer “protection” against possible violence in exchange for the judges support

I make my stable paycheck as a heavy equipment operator but do to the hours I work I get 50% of the days off in a year. I do above average with lots of free time so it’s hard to give it up Lure making I do on the side to add a few $ to my pocket. I only sell straight to the customer now. I have sold to shops in the past but it cuts into profits. I could be a lot busier with minimal effort but like having a life on my days off. I prefer to sell less lures that have higher profit margins If I talk $ I make a year on the side making lures it’s better then most expect. A few things I have learned There is a ton of lures that are not worth making to sell do to high competition keeping profits low You need to be realistic about time and materials involved. I have lure I make for personal use that would not command enough profit to justify selling them If you are trying to sell lures that are just like everything else commonly available to your target market area people are going to buy from the big company names over you Buying in bulk makes a huge difference in profit margins. So being able to invest $ without worrying about a timely return helps There is a lot more to making $ selling lures then being able to catch fish. The information above is just a few small things to consider My full time job gives me the time to build and a good income so I don’t need to worry about fast returns on the money I invest into lure making. This makes it much easier for me to sell lures for profit

One per category

I use KBS with createx and the only time I have seen what the picture shows was from the paint not being dry enough. Outside of that I have not had an issue with KBS and createx paint so they are compatible from what has been described the paint was cured in the OPs case so I don’t know what went wrong

It would be nice to see some of the talented people stick around and contribute to the forum. Odds are they will disappear after till next year

I promise to only enter one photo per category But it is tempting to post more just to keep you on your toes lol

Yup it’s clear as mud really now it might also be a twitch bait in some circles too

Vast majority are people who signed up to the forum just to enter the contest and will not take time to acknowledge the contest rules

Every year it’s the same thing lol

I don’t expect to win anything it’s done out of humor

Started a lure for one of the 4 categories I hope to enter but still have to start the ones for the other categories my supplies for the one category may not make it in time

Better bring you A game because there will be a ton of entries from people who never post on the forum otherwise

Don’t worry about me It’s life good or bad you deal with it and keep moving forward.

My opinion don’t throw away the blanks you have printed. Attach some hardware and try some different lips simply pressure fit. Give them a test swim you might be pleasantly surprised

Oh your first lure will work it is just a matter of matching tie point location, lip design and correct weight like I said I have made a very similar crankbait everything has been a mess here as well. I had two deaths in the family. Dealing with my moms estate without a will and all the other stuff that goes with it during Covid. My whole house got Covid resulting in temporary heart issues for my son too 2021 and the start of 2022 sucked basically For molds I ordered 2 from epic bait molds. The 5.6 prey bait paddle tail swimbait and the 8.25 ribbon tail swimbait. The last mold is a combo injection/hand pour. Still need a mold for jerk bait tails and who knows where it will go from there