Outlaw4

im not sure there is such a things as too much wobble if its not unstable. wobble and kick in a paddle tail is good. id fish test it good before making too big a swing

here is an example of where an intercoat could/should have been used, this is new plastic bait i am aiming to try out so i put a quick paint on it not so much worrying about details. I sprayed the white base coat, peal white over that, chartreuse back, and then the pink head. Heat set in between colors. But as you can see in this picture the pink still blended enough with the chartreuse enough to make it more orangey on the top of the head. If i had put an intercoat on before i spray the pink it would have stayed pink. I like to use the kbs spray clear if its important not to blend the colors. Im sure there are many other good ways. An intercoat is also a nice way to "save" your progress, as if you make a mistake you can wipe off and not lose the whole bait.

as stated template, draw the line, cut to the outside of the line, sand the line off. Only real way to make that work in my experience. Fine tooth blades for the saws help and just go slow. Having a template that is good is really important. I find if i get hasty in the setup it goes downhill quickly

I just put some 60* Victory hooks in a custom jig mold designed for the Mustad 32786 and they fit fine and jigs turned out nice. Have not fished them yet but no bad ones in the samples i have. Also put some light wire 90* red hooks in a do it ball head jig and those were good as well. Again not fished with yet but they made fine jigs. Was able to put over size hooks with no issues. They seem sharp and if they are indeed able to keep fish pinned as designed i feel they will be a good additional option for people. ...should also note here i was specifically looking to try the V LOC technology, if it works it could make these an exceptional value

of the one you listed Basswood will carve the best. Its really nice to cut and will hold screw eyes. cedar is good, it carves fine and is arguably the best lure making wood. you left out balsa and its not great for carving but it makes good lures, but needs though wire preferably, but not always a lot of lures get made out of poplar and are fine. if you have some id use it as that is cool to use what you have In general for diving plugs your lighter woods are best, balsa, basswood western red cedar etc... top waters are pretty forgiving and is a good git for poplar, i prefer western red, or Alaskan yellow cedar here gliders are a good spot for maple or other harder hoods

late to the party on this one, but they are common with saltwater suppliers like... https://cart.saltwaterplugs.com/lead-lure-weights.html

a number of the places that sell blanks also put the recommended parts lists in the descriptions would just have to check a few to find a close match. like... https://www.lurepartsonline.com/LPO-Pro-Series-Hard-Body-Blanks

wicked for me.

10-4 ill send you a mail

i am looking to get a couple of custom CNC jig molds made and possibly a buzzbait head. anyone have any suggestions?

its interesting. i have experienced attraction and triggering in several fishing situations, couple examples... 1. jig fishing - the jig is both an attraction and trigger lure that can be manipulated by the user. specifically talking vertical jigging here. large aggressive movements to attract, and small jiggly movements to trigger 2. musky glide baits - these are great attractors, fish love to come and check them out. if you are not moving fish a glide bait is a great way to see a fish. and they do trigger and catch fish as well but attracting is their specialty. This all got me to thinking a bit more about making baits. I generally focus on lures as tools. To get a certain depth, to get through weeds, a certain sound, speed etc...more of if it moves it's food approach So the video got me to thinking even with my lures as tools approach to bait making, i should probably also be paying attention more to attraction and triggering as tools as well, and is something that i might be able to dial into a bit more.

very cool!!

Watched this old Doug Hannon video the other day. In particular the first part where he is talking about attraction and triggering qualities of lures and what he prefers and why. Curious what others here who build lures think of this and do you apply the methodology and if so how to the baits you build. Doug Hannon - The Bass Professor - Catching Big Bass (1986) Youtube wont allow me to embed the video but this is what it is titled if you wish to check it out.

very cool. always fun to get a few on something new. if fish eat them you are usually onto something.

only paints i pre mix are base colors where coverage is king for all accent colors i do exactly as mark and mix in the bowl. i prefer this as depending on the particular detail im doing i may want more or less paint / reducer. Like i might thin down a gold pearl a lot if im just trying to get a sheen on something, or i might spary it straight if im doing dots

this is all cost based, driven by labor and environmental rules in US. We are happy to keep US under regulation and let other countries profit and burn the environment from deregulated manufacturing. Yes they could easily be made in the US, and if there was a profit model to do so it would be done.

if your coming to MN you NEED a topwater, a walk the dog or tail prop or popper are all fun projects.

a good example of a deep diver "hunter" is a reef runner 800. a lot of people dont like as they are "unstable" and "hard to tune". they are a walleye trolling staple for me

I work for a large company in a product development role. I can tell you this, the bigger the company the less they care if the product "works" right. What they need to do is sell stuff profitably good bad or otherwise. Most have great ideas internally that never see daylight due to timing, market or whatever. Personally if i had a great bait that i could reproduce consistent quality catches and is manufacturable, you'd be better off doing an LLC. There is enough power in social media these days to not need the big companies anymore. Its a great time for entrepreneurs imho.

i have a master and it does not spray as well as my iwata does, but i can paint stuff with it. It generally likes a bit more pressure and is a little fussier with tip dry. I use it with the 05 needle mostly ...and should add i have to thin paints with it a bit more it as well, thats not a big deal to me i just mix it in the airbrush bowl with a toothpick. for $30 id have no issue buying one to see if i like airbrushing if you are on the fence. Otherwise its a good investment to buy a good one to start. i see no way to lose in this one

i just got some new blades laser cut for some globe baits im making. hopefully will have a batch done here in not too long

anyone have some good techniques to paint light over dark. have a few patterns where i want to put lighter dots / stripes over black, so far the black seems to really suck up the light color if / when sprayed right over the top. Would an epoxy layer in between help? or is just a layering deal?

what do you guys use for pins, and how do they stay in?