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Hello, I'm still pretty new to lure making. I have made a dozen or so baits that work well, but I'm looking to improve my designs in a few main ways. My baits are made to target Muskie so durability is key. 1. Lip Material - I previously have made my lips from Lexan that I cut out using my Dremel. Its rough and inconsistent. I have access to a machine through a friend that can cut out metal lips. The material is even free. I got some lips in 2mm stainless and its not working. What material / width would you recommend? Is there a cheap and easy way to get better results from my Lexan? I read something about shears being able to cut it pretty well? 2. Through Wire - I currently twist wire up in my drill and use that for hook hangers. I like the idea drilling a whole all the way through the bait and putting swivels in the bottom, then threading the wire through the swivels. This seems more secure and easier than sawing my whole bait in half. Any advice on through wire? 3. Weighting? Or something else? - I have made quite a few baits that failed in an odd way. They float perfectly, not too much or too little. They go down fine, but they don't swim at all. They stay at a steady depth, but no action. Not enough weight? Weight in the wrong location? Thanks for any advice. Hopefully I will be knowledgeable enough to give some advice of my own in the future.

Hello everyone, this is my first post on here, so I hope it goes well. I've started getting more into carving baits, and I have a few questions for those of you with experience. First off, I'd like to say that I truly admire some of the great talent that I've seen on this website! I hope to get better and improve my baits, and hopefully you guys can help me out. I've designed two lures in CAD already, and they have gone well so far. The first bait is a small ~5-6" swimbait. The second is a huge trout swimbait. As a newbie, I don't know how to weight the lures properly (where to place the weights, and what weights to even use), as well as where to place a joint for the most effective swimming action. Any insight on those two would be greatly appreciated. My large trout lure has unfortunately gotten damaged, from it dropping onto concrete floor. Part of the tail has broken off, so I epoxied it back on. I am wondering if this will be strong enough. Should I have done something different? Also, how thin do you typically carve the fins? I'm using basswood, and I don't want to make them so thin that they're too weak to stay intact (like the tail). I've left the other fins around 1/4" thick, am I able to make them smaller without issue? My other question is about carving the details (gills, fins, scales). I've tried just carving grooves with a knife, but I haven't been able to get the results I'm looking for. I've ordered a Flexcut detail carving kit, and I was wondering if this is the type of tools you guys use for your detailing. Below are pics of the trout. Thanks in advance for anyone willing to respond!

What is the best way to put weight in a crankbait without a lead pot?

So we have great talks and and threads going hear about properly weighting crank baits which usually means something with a lip that dives even if its very little... but what about properly weighting glide baits? Now I am guessing that not allot of people fish with them and if you don't you are missing out because I have had some experience now with some and believe them to be a very great lure especially in the fall which is now coming on strong in the northern part of north america anyway... and the thing I don't see about them or ever talked about is size. I've used plenty of musky sized ones now because that is what's made the most but really how about some bass/ northern size ones that fall in the 3-4 inch range or less all the predatory species in North America would destroy these things in the fall feeding... I've just recently purchased some 1/4 thick aspen wood and some balsa of same size and am going to try my hand at making some smaller and larger gliders and would love to hear some input on everyone's thoughts.