TU Etiquette Takers Vs. Givers

[blackjack]

Been here since the begining and have always shared info to anyone who has ever asked, but how about if you are a new member a small intro about yourself, Location, age, hobbyist, business etc. Then once things are rolling maybe spread the wealth and contribute something back to the site. Way to many takers not enough givers!! Sorry about my rant. JMHO

[IamSpartacus]

Guess I'll start this thing... My names Mike, I'm 19, and I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan. There's nothing thats more fun and more cleansing to me then a smallmouth at the end of my line. I literally just got into making my own lures like a month ago. It all started on a bet between my roommate and I about who could catch a fish first on a homemade hardbait. After making the first one I've become slightly addicted to the whole thing. So... Hopefully eventually I will be contributing as much to the site as I'm getting from it, but it might take a little while.

I have been able to give my roommate some advice though, like "watch out man, that epoxy will stick your fingers right together" and "look! if you leave treble hooks on the living room floor they'll eventually stick to your foot and leave a bleeding bait pattern on your heel."

Well thats a little about me, thanks for all the help, and if you have any questions just ask

[pikeman]

Ok, I'm next...My name is Marius, I'm 24, and I live in Brasov , Romania, I'm an electronics engineer . I build lures for 2 years now , top to bottom, from carving to painting. I've seen better and worst in this two years of lurebuilding , paint incompatibility , lacquer failure, broken topcoat from teeth, broken paint job from water getting to the wood but nothing compares to catching fish with your own lures.

Thanks TU members for help learned allot from you

P.S. blackjack, there is another topic with the same idea...maybe we could ask redg8r to keep this topic "on top"

[allstate48]

My name is Doug. I've been here a while, although haven't contributed much. I'm just about senoir citizen. I have made my own baits, before and painted them. Now I just paint. Two things you must have. Patience, and eyes. I'm short on both. If their is anything I can give, just ask. Number one thing!! Just have fun. That's what they make primer for.

Thanks Doug

[hazmail]

Sometimes it's heart breaking to look at the numbers in the "Replies"- "Viewed " columns - not as bad as some forum I have seen though. Pete

[JBlaze]

My name is John, I am 55 years old and I am from East Tennessee. I work in the retail food industry (grocery store). I've been making my own wire baits (Jigs/spinnerbaits and buzzbaits) for years and there is something very satisfying about catching a fish on a lure you have made and painted. A few years ago I started tinkering with my factory molds using a dremel tool and a drill press. Nothing serious, just giving them bulging eyes, making them accept larger hooks and or different hook styles. It made my lures a little different and I actually felt like I got better hook sets with some of them. In the summer of 2005, I started trying to make a better spinnerbait something that was very different (and in MHOP as good if not better) than most ordinary spinnerbaits out there. I was searching for better vibes, and action. After 6 months, many failures and dissapointments, I finally achieved what I was looking for. One of my friends calls it "A Fish Getter" I call it a "Pivot Point Spinnerbait" It's pic is posted in the blade baits gallery.

I am in awe of the knowledge, skills, and creativity that is shared with others on TU by its members and very thankful that this site exists.

I have been a member of TU now for almost a year. I started attempting to make a crankbait in the fall of 2006. I had no idea how to go about it so I started with an excell knife, a block of balsa wood, some screw eyes, hooks and a metal clatter blade that I thought would suffice for a bill. What I free handed was lopsided and ugly. I had no woodworking skills and no knowledge of patterns and the initial shaping of a lure on a band or scroll saw. I almost gave up then and there but I went on to paint it, sawed a slot for the metal bill, screwed in the hook eyes attached the hooks and took it to the lake. It was a total disaster. It would't sit upright in the water nor would it swim. I also didn't know about ballast.

I discovered TU a few months later and thanks to TU, its members and the advice of a couple of friends, JawJacker and Dean. I now have a few crankbaits that look good, run good and catch fish. I have never thought of myself as a taker but as a still learning newbie crankbait maker, I don't feel qualified to give advice on the subject. Blackjack, you and everyone else here are very much appreciated You guys are the GURU's of the crankbait makers. Thanks, John Blazier

[blackjack]

I do not know about the Guru thing But I do enjoy making baits and catching fish on the baits that I make. This is what I am talking about as now you can develop a repore with someone that has introduced themself. I was not picking on any of the new members as this is something that I have had on the back burner for some time Awesome!!

[woodieb8]

im woodie bait. i have been at bait making and painting for many years. i try to help out folks. fishing like baitmaking has to be passed on. if not there,,in my opinion the great outdoors would be forgotten. the electronic revolution is swallowing the younger generations.

[Vodkaman]

Blackjack, not sure if this was the response that you had in mind for this thread, but it has the makings for a very interesting read. I do understand your message and agree.

My name is Dave, I’m 51, bald and constructed from 200lbs of relaxed muscle. I am a design engineer, I solve problems for a living. I am a hobby inventor and find that lure design fits in with my life’s experiences perfectly. I love fishing but very rarely get the chance these days, work is severely interfering with my quality of life.

I am new to lure design, but I have been involved with fly tying and rod building in the days before my eyes and body started to fall apart. You too may be new to lure design but you are not a ‘newby’, a term I despise with a passion, I vote that it be removed from the TU vocabulary. Everyone has life experiences to draw on, use them, apply them to this craft, join in and contribute.

What is good about TU? A world wide collection of like minded addicts, from rank amateurs to life long professionals, all hungry to learn more and share to further the art of lure design. TU is all consuming, first thing in the morning, lunch break and last thing at night, the posts get checked. I have made many good friends, none of which I have ever met, one day I hope to remedy that situation.

What is bad about TU? I hate those patronizing, condescending, negative responses that seem to come my way on those oh! too frequent occasions when I get it wrong. Also, when ever a large group of people join together in a club like TU, cliques are inevitable. Normally harmless and invisible, but occasionally they do interfere with the harmony of the group and the progression of the art.

The good points out weigh the bad by far and then some. I am here to stay and hope one day to call myself a professional lure designer. Thanks TU, you feed my mind.

[Hoodaddy]

I think along with pikeman that keeping this logged at the top of the forum is a good idea. Why ???? because even with it being very easy to introduce yourself on the new member forum I don't think or just don't know if a lot of people actually look at it.......myself being guilty of that.

That said......My name is Elvis Miller (alright guys go ahead I've heard 'em all ) from Porkopolis...Cincinnati, Ohio. I'm 54 going on 30 as much as I stay active. Concrete man for 25 yrs. Dabbled in woodworking for 15 but never tried cranks until about 5 yrs. ago. Like John my fishing partner and I started making Sp/B's and jigs yrs. ago and once stumbling upon TU decided to give cranks a try. We don't sell a ton of crankbaits but enough along with a large qty. of jigs to help defer some of our expenses and it gives us something to do in the winter.

I have befriended several here on TU and am looking forward to meeting some face to face eventually........especially a cousin I've never met....only kidding about the cousin. (inside joke)

Thanks to TU and all the help I've recieved we produce 5 different models of cranks and still have some new ideas in the fire. We've still got a long way to go but with the help of so many willing to share we may make it someday. I'm always willing to help in any way I can....just ask.

Thanks Blackjack for starting this thread.

[Old man in the boat]

When I'm not being old man in the boat I'm Dan Brovarney....husband, dad, church goer, boyscout leader and grumpy old man. When I'm not selling lures over the internet I'm designing theatrical lighting and rigging systems for auditoriums. I started selling lures when My oldest boy asked me if I could make a swim jig so he could stop getting his head handed to him out on the Mississippi near La Crosse. I have been making my own jigs since the 60's so it wasn't much of a streach.

He starts selling them to his friends and next thing I know I'm locked up in the basement all winter and I'm meeting peole from all over the country.

In my free time I am in constant battle with the Wisconsin DNR over the issue of not being to cull in Wisconsin Bass Tournaments.

I didn't come here as Brovarney Baits or brovarneybaits.com because in reality trying to maintain handcrafted standards with high output is a delacate balance.

I am more than happy to help anybody avoid the many mistakes that I have learned through over the years.

Since you got me out of my hole here is something that you might want to think about this off season. There are hundreds of Jr bass fishing clubs being formed around the country. You guys all know how to use the internet so look up a local one and next time you clean up set up "a send the stuff that I don't use anymore to the kids box" and send it off.

I'll be Down at Lake Keowee in South Carolina with my 13 year old in February so if you are going to be there say hi....just ask for Max's dad since I'm no longer the BIG DOG in my household. (Oh and if anybody has ideas on how to win it he would take them).

Be safe, Be happy, Catch Big Ones and have one heck of a CHRISTmas

[jim45498]

My name is Jim and I live in Eastern Kentucky. I am retired and have just started in making my own baits. First of all I want to thank Fatfingers for the valuable information he has graciously given me to help get me started. I am new to this and don't have the expertise to help but I am hopeful that someday I will be able to give back to this wonderful group of people that make this the best board on the net.

[Boskabouter]

Okay, I'll be the next and the first Dutchie I guess.

My name is Paul and I live in de state of Friesland, up north in Holland.

My native language is Frisian.

I'm 37 years old and work at a cheese factory (typical Dutch, right?).

Picked up fishing again about 1.5 years ago.

I'm especially after the "snoekbaars" (zander).

Got interested in making my own lures after seeing others doing it.

I think catching fish on your selfmade lures is the best reward a man can get. Last week I poured my first series of shads. Made a plaster mold which I ruined yesterday . Up to the next and hopefully better mold.

Since I'm on this forum I read lots and lots of old topics and I'm learning every day. Topics in which I think I can contribute I will post.

Though for now most of my posts will end with a ?

Hopefully I can share some of my lures and knowledge in the near future.

To me TU stands out for the high quality stuff that's made and shown. Besides that the feedback is great i.m.o.

Simply put: TU Rules

[Spike-A-Pike]

My name is Bruce Bonkoski and I am a bucktail tying, wire bending, spinner bait kind of guy. I became addicted to TU about 10 minutes after I started reading my first thread. I don’t know if I really have all that much to contribute to this knowledge base yet or would better serve it by keeping my opinions to myself.

I live in Belleville, IL, about 18 miles east of St. Louis, MO. I fish mostly for what ever was local to the various places I have been stationed… In New Mexico it was rainbow trout, in north Texas it was crappie, in western Illinois it was bass. But in Gods land, northern Wisconsin, I grew up fishing for perch, bluegill, walleye, musky, and pike (of course, I was musky fishing). After a few to many pike and still fishing for musky, you tend to spike-a-pike… the fish of 10,000 casts.

I am currently hoping to refine my spinner baits and attempt a few ideas for improving them. I have already found several folks on this forum, like CADMAN, to be very friendly and out going. I am fascinated by some of the art in the hardbait section… Fatfingers, those baits look great. My goal is to boat a 48 inch musky, build 1 hardbait in the next 12 months, actually catch a bass on a worm, and build a tutorial on inline spinner bait bending.

Thanks muchly,

Bruce

[basssj]

Hey guys. My name is Steve and I am 39 years old. I have been tournament fishing since I was 14. I work in administration at a truck dealership to support my fishing addiction. I found this site about 2 years ago. I stumbled on here after closely examining some of the factory wood crankbaits in my boat that I could never catch bass on, no matter what. I figured out that I could make something better than this crap coming from the third world countries. The guys on this site are expert lure builders as well as expert fishermen. I know my catch rates have greatly improved since hanging out here. I try to provide advice where I can based on limited experience. I try harder to ask intelligent questions that can help me, as well as others. I want to thank Dean and BobP, but I want to especially thank Skeeter. I know he doesn't post so much these days, but his posts over the years have been invaluable. This is the best site on the net, no doubt.

[wantsome]

My names Josh I'm 31 and live in Michigan. I fish for walleye muskie salmon and smallmouth. I came here to learn how to airbrush lures. I've learned a bit but I usualy don't contribute becasue I I'm still learning and don't want to give someone the wrong info. I've been on the site for a couple of years but just lurking around. I paint off and on but still haven't done a lure from start to finish. I've yet to clear coat a lure.

I just got a new airbrush set up and I've yet to use it. Money is kinda tight for me because I'm disabled and don't work. I'm hoping to make a few extra $$$ off painting so I can save up and get a small boat.

Painting to me is also fun becasue I'm highly artistic. When I was in highschool I took advanced art classes. I won a contest at the local collage for one of my drawings. So I'm hoping to get good at airbrushing. Once I get some more experiance under my belt I'll be contributing more to the site.

I'm here for the long hall but I need to learn more before I start giving advice.

Josh

[keram]

Mark here. I'm from Canada (about 60 km or 37.2822715342 miles:) ) east of Toronto, Ont. I'm 52, one wife:roll:, three kids, two cats and one dog. In electronics by profession, as a hobby: angler ,"garage engineer" and home grown woodworker. I do not have a problem with shaping piece of wood, but I have no idea what to do next. Some time ago I've built few hard baits, but they did not swim the way I've wanted, they did not look the way I've wanted, they were just piece of wood imitating fish's shape.

About 1 month ago I've discovered TU and I'm . So much to learn, so little time. At this time I would like to thank all members of TU for sharing their experience:worship: . I hope one day I will be able to do this myself (I'm working on it ).

[Bester]

Hello all. My name is Al. I'm pretty new to this stuff. I'm from Harrison Township, MI. I'm an production worker with The Ford Motor company. I'm married with two children. Sorry I don't reply to much but I'm just learning myself. I'm an avid Musky fisherman so if anyone has any questions on that subject feel free to pm me. This is a great site. I learn something new just about every time I log on.

[Darkman]

my name is Erick Prado

I am from So. California

I am 36 and married...have 1 kid

I love to fish for what ever swims..but it the Bass that love the most

I have more Questions than answers, and this site is priceless

I have a thing for dying my hair...its Lt. Blue right now...but it has been pink, purple, red, orange etc.

when not fishing and tinkering with lures...I golf

that's me in a nut shell:teef:

[whteglve]

I'm next!!!

Hey folks My name is Ashley Carlton (NO! it's not a girls name)or just Ash. I too have heard them all. I'm 32yo I live in Greensboro, North Carolina. I have a wife and three kids, one each of hers, mine, and ours. During the day and here lately evenings I'm a Desginer / CAD administrator. I'm new to making lures. I have several that are in process right now. I am also getting into rod building and just finished refinishing a 1950's era Bamboo boat rod for my dad as a Christmas preasent. Also I'll try to only give advice on things that I know about.

Ash

[tc-lures]

Hi My name is Todd,

I am married with three kids. I live in Evansville,In. and fish mostly Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. I started making bait several years ago and have done it off and on, mostly in the colder months.

I have learned a lot on TU and consider others to be more knowledgable on most things, so I let them answer but I am willing to help if I can.

Good Luck Fishing

Todd

[Big Lou 481]

Hello my name is Lou and I'm a crankbaitaholic. I am a 53 yrs old paint contractor. My hobbies are fishing, bait building, the only things I am able to add to this board are painting skills and thats not with an airbrush. I haven't asked many questions yet but this thing is very addicting so if I can help I will but for now I am soaking up all your expertise but if I can help I will

Thanks

Big Lou 481

[BJ Smith]

BJ Smith.... Balding.... 51...... Mental Health Therapist in Private practice in Central Texas. Fishing all my life (Bass)...... Been building my own spinnerbaits for 20 years and painting cranks for about 4.... I admit I can probably be catagorized more as a taker than a giver..... because I do not have neither the experience nor the expertice (not to mention the self-confidence) as many do who regularly post here .

This place is not only educational but also inspiring.... the Gurus here have motivated me to try things I never thought I would or could do..... and believe it or not..... be successfull...... I have shared PMs with many of you and long phone calls with artists like Dean McClain and the Rookie..... I try to share what little I do know as often as I can.... Even today...

Thank you TU.

[Whitedog]

OK, I'll try. I'm definitely a senior citizen, soon to be sixty-six but still pretty actively fishing and chasing bird dogs. I'm very new to crankbait building. A good friend who has been doing it for several years got me started and is still my mentor. I discovered this site and read regularly but at this point I don't feel I have much knowlege to add but I certainly learn a lot. One reason, I suppose, is that I rarely make the same bait more than three or four times before I monkey around and modify it some way just to see what it will do. I certainly am willing to share anything I know.

[muskydan666]

Hi!!!My name is Danny,im from Quebec,Canada!! Im 33 and im a machinist.

I started making some cranks about 5 years ago,at first they were made of wood but in the last 2 years I started bilding some hard urethane resin musky cranks!All that i know about molding lures I learn it from TU!This site is awesome!!!There is a lot of very good lure builder here and alway ready to share there knowledge to help us being better and better in the art of lure making!!I have a special thanks to artbrush,he learn me all about mold making,without im I would never be making the cranks im building now!I realy miss is help and knowledge since he left TU!Hope see im back one day!Also thanks to husky with is help!that guy know a lot about mold making!

If any of you need help with musky bait building,molds making,pouring lures,painting or anything else,just ask and i'll do my best!

Cheers and good building to you all!!Dan