[Wakebait action]

12 hours ago, JD_mudbug said:

I would tape or rubber band some lead to the side of the bait to get it to sit right and try a careful cast or drag along the shore.  This way you can test lead in different places before modifying the bait any further. If you are looking at the bait on the retrieve and the right bottom is trying to roll up (a counterclockwise rotation), tape some lead on the bottom half of the right side. I usually attach lead from a 1/8" coil and keep it below the midpoint vertically. My first place to try is usually in front of the front belly hook.  I have even used scotch tape applied to a dry bait. It usually gives me a few casts/drags.

https://www.amazon.com/Bullet-Weights-1-Pound-Fishing-8-Inch/dp/B00CMR7EX0/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=solid+lead+coil+1%2F8+inch&qid=1640349450&sr=8-9

If I can find a lead amount and placement that corrects the problem, I will drill a 1/8” hole in the location of the taped lead. I drill up from the bottom between the bottom centerline and outer edge avoiding any internal hardware. You can angle the hole slightly outward if the bait gets wider as you go up being careful not to get too close to the outside edge. Slide the lead into the hole, tape over the hole or use superglue and test again. Once you confirm it's fixed, you can fill, seal and paint the small hole. I have had a dozen or so baits through the years that could only be fixed this way. Something wasn't symmetrical in the carving, ballast, lip or any combination of the 3. I have taken some old dud baits and fixed them with this method. Unfortunately, that was after paint. I figure it's better to have a 1/8" blemish than a non-working bait. If you can't match the paint, paint that spot red for the wounded bait look.

When testing a bait pre-paint, I will seal the bait and hot glue ballast to the bottom for testing. This way I can get the ballast right from the start. I change the lead as necessary and retest. On  a large bait, I will use a 1/4" lead coil for ballast.

https://www.amazon.com/Bullet-Weights-1-Pound-Fishing-4-Inch/dp/B003OCAFEC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=35XE1OEHPRNUC&keywords=solid+lead+coil+1%2F4+inch&qid=1640352102&sprefix=solid+lead+coil+1%2F4+inch%2Caps%2C224&sr=8-1

If you have a bait with too much ballast, you can drill out some lead and fill the hole with craft dowels matching the drill bit.

Thanks man for the tips I actually ended up molding the bait last night so I can get another one and mess around with it but I did take some of your advice and drilled a small hole and added just a bit of wait in the tail section and straightend right up. Now to mess around with the 3 piece I made. Thanks again

[Wakebait action]

Ok so I did a few minor adjustments and it’s action is 10 times better but now it’s kinda swimming on its side. When it sits in the water it tilts to the side that’s swim on could this be because I took all the weight out of the tail section and it’s trying to float up 

[Wakebait action]

Thanks for the tips all my baits have been successful but this 2 pc got me haha so I racked my brain last night it was catching the slightest so I shaved it down and also to the weight out of the tail section and widened the lip so going to take it for a test run also separated the joint some to give it more movement 

[Wakebait action]

Hey guys I’ve been making baits for a little while now mostly swimbaits like wakes swimmers and glides but I built my first 2 peice wake last night and took it out for a test swim today and wasn’t getting a lot of action out of it. Would either swim straight with the slightest wiggle to it or If I cranked on it pretty hard And fast I would get some better action. I did lower the line tie down some closer to the bull and it did improve slightly added a few pictures thanks