xtx Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Howdy, my name is Tim and I am 45 and live in Indiana. Been making soft plastics for 30 years and crankbaits for 12 years. I fish a lot of tmts. Most of our lakes are small and they get a lot of pressure. I started making baits because I saw the difference custom baits make and got tired of spending $15+ per bait that I had to order. After a year of making crankbaits, I found out a friend of mine used to make them. With his help and all the good people on here, it really shortend my learning curve. So thankyou to all for the great info and the $ you saved me !!! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrinityLureCompany Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Hi my name is Mike Bruner. I am 51 and 2 years ago my daughters gave me for Fathers day a book on making your own wood lures since they knew how much I enjoyed fishing. Well while I was on vacation I read the book through 3 times and the bug started. I enjoy wood working so it was a natural fit. I never intended it to be a business (still don't) but after starting many people asked me to make one for them. I started Trinity Lure Company after that only to put a name on the lure and a distinguishing name on where they got it. The name came from me being a Christian for many, many years and the thankfulness of Christ coming to this earth to save me, so the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) was the natural choice. I figured the lures would give me an opportunity to share the gospel to someone. I have sold a few and given away more so getting rich on this was never my intentions. The gentlemen in my church that I have given some to have thoroughly enjoyed having them and don't ever intend to use them. My goal at the beginning was to first make a piece of art that could also be used for fishing. I want to say that everything that I have learned has come from you guys that have been so supportive with a newbie to learn his hobby. You have given and given and I want to be like that so I may help someone someday enjoy this incredible hobby. God bless you all, Michael Bruner Trinity Lure Company Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MojoCandy101 Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 Whats going on all, my Name is Tyer Wenner. I am 23 years old from Fargo, North Dakota(brrr) and just a few weekends ago a friend of mine and I were out spearing and while staring at the empty hole a thought came to mind, "how hard could it be to make my own suick" well that turned into doing a lot of research and finding this site which has lead me to a ton of information. Honestly everyone on this site is great! Well today is the day that the wood my friend and I ordered should arrive and we are both jacked to start carving. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone out there. Tyler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat28 Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 I'm Patrick Savard from Quebec City, Canada. I have been making baits for my own tackle box and one of my friends' for about ten years now. Got into woodworking just for lures. I am exclusively into pike and muskie baits, and decided to try my hand at soft plastics and foam baits this year. Just for fun. Over the 25 years I have spent fishing, I have tried hundreds of lures. I now know exactly what I want to see in my plugs, and that is half of the fun. The other half is to catch big fish on a regular basis with a lure I designed and built. Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokieangler Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Thank you all ! My name is Chris Graham ! I live n Charlottesville Va ! I am 46 years old have two kids! My son will be graduating from college this year and my daughter is freshman in college! Ha....can you say highway steak for me and my wife! I have worked at Lowes for 23 years ! I started pouring my own jigs and painting crankbaits to try and gain any advantage I could tournament fishing ! It just seemed like everyone wants to look in the boat! Flattering I guess ! So, I felt the need to come up with something that couldn't be bought at the local sporting good stores ! I hope no one takes offense to that ! This forum has helped me get through the winter months and I wake up daily to check the site! Everyone of you have shared ideas,trials and tribulations that have helped me in posts in the forum! I have shared to those who have asked and will continue to! Thank you all again! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnBreaker Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 I'd like to start with a big thank you to everyone that contributes here. I lurk and read a lot. Just about everything I know about this hobby addiction I learned here. I will answer questions if I'm sure I know what I'm talking about. But, often there are better replies from more knowledgeable members here and I don't see cluttering up a post with my $.02 just to say basically the same thing. With that out of the way. My name is Aaron Wildman. Yes, that is my real last name, and yes, I was born with it. (If you come up with one I haven't heard yet I'll buy you dinner.) I will be 45 in June, however my age is very inappropriate for how I act. (I'm fond of telling people I'm sixteen with 29 years of experience) I spent ten years in the Army and served in the Gulf War and Somalia and a couple of other nasty places nobody cares about.Since then I've become a jack-of-all-trades. My job got franchised out in October of last year so I spent the winter pushing snow and I decided to start my own mowing business this year. I'm married with two kids.The wife and kids got into bass fishing big time two years ago so I started making my own jigs, soft plastics and painting my own crank baits mostly to ease the burden on my wallet from lost lures, etcetera. That and I'm always looking for an edge even if I'm not fishing tournaments. I learn something new everytime I log in here and I'll give back when I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Nice to meet you Aaron and welcome to TU. I'd also like to thank you for your service to our country. It's greatly appreciated. Ben 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnBreaker Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Nice to meet you Aaron and welcome to TU. I'd also like to thank you for your service to our country. It's greatly appreciated. Ben Nice to meet you too Ben and you're welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier4reel Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Hello all! I am new to the forum so it's my turn for an intro. My name is John and I live in Southern Indiana. I travel a lot, both to fish and just vacation and am getting obsessed I think with the idea of building my own lures and rods. I am an avid tournament fisherman and have fished with the best out there since I was in college. My idea of learning is to learn from the best which I have done with fishing and now I'm trying the same with lure craft and rod building. I read this forum for awhile before becoming a member just to see what kind of info was out there and I can say that I believe this forum is top notch. The knowledge that is here is tremendous and I look forward to learning from you all and in the future, contributing myself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnBreaker Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Glad to meet you John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogAddict Posted March 31, 2014 Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 Whats going on all, my Name is Tyer Wenner. I am 23 years old from Fargo, North Dakota(brrr) and just a few weekends ago a friend of mine and I were out spearing and while staring at the empty hole a thought came to mind, "how hard could it be to make my own suick" well that turned into doing a lot of research and finding this site which has lead me to a ton of information. Honestly everyone on this site is great! Well today is the day that the wood my friend and I ordered should arrive and we are both jacked to start carving. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone out there. Tyler Tyler, I'm just up the road in GF. Welcome to the Forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kustom Krankz Posted March 31, 2014 Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 my name is mike Wilson- I live in Starkville, Mississippi- I enjoy painting baits and fishing with something of my own- I do sell a few baits,however I am not in the bait making business, I am in the bait painting business- not really in this to make a living(too many out there who are pretty handy with an airbrush) more to cover my obsession- I enjoy trying to make something look exactly as it is in nature( although that has not been done yet, and probably never will be by me anyway)- but at the same time there is a lot to be said for painting those baits that catch the fishermans eye too- after all, if he thinks he can catch a fish on it he probably can- with that being said, I will head to my table and paint some more- I have been doing this long enough to make a lot of mistakes and learn from them while also figuring out how to solve problems you run into and don't know exactly what caused them- all of which I will be happy to share with anyone here- however, most of the time I find my problem is impatience- when in doubt let it dry for a day!! mike <::>< 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.smallie Posted April 1, 2014 Report Share Posted April 1, 2014 My name is David and when I'm not fishing, I'm a web developer. My wife and I are avid bass fishermen and I'm tired of paying so much money for lures, especially cranks and hard body swim baits. I'm particularly interested in learning how to make my own swim baits. I've just now begun to read through the forum but so far there is so much to learn. I look forward to talking with you guys on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castmaster Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 Hi, my name is Brent, and I am an addict. Its been many years since my last confession... 39 years old from Hastings MN. Do a lot of fishing for walleyes and smallmouth on the Mississippi River and Muskies wherever and whenever I can. Build topwater wood musky lures under the name Musky Maven. I love handcrafted wood musky baits and have been fortunate enough to learn things from those that have come before me. Try to share when I can, and am always happy to do so if I am able. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 I just googled musky maven. I like the lures bro, good work there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChilliSpoons Posted April 5, 2014 Report Share Posted April 5, 2014 Hey People, My name's Terry and I live in Chilliwack, British Columbia. My local flows bring in seasonal runs of Salmon and Steelhead and the local lakes contain trout, kokanee and dolly varden. The ocean is close as well but I'm a relative newbie when it comes to fishing the salt water. But we did have some good success dragging my spoons off the East Coast of Vancouver Island last summer for Chinook Salmon. I've been painting spoons for a little over a year and now I've expanded to painting plugs. My mentor is a fellow painter that I've met on a local forum who lives in Salt Lake but loves and fishes our coastal waters. I owe him so very much as he's shortened my learning curve and guided me in the right direction. We've build a friendship and bond that usually comes from many many years. I toast a glass of scotch to my great friend BigFishMike. I stumbled across this forum and have been very impressed at the generosity of the members that share their experiences without judging. Usually in this age of online forum members are quick to judge and belittle those that are trying to learn and share similar passions. Another scotch toast but this time to the members of this forum. I look forward to learning more from the Tackle Underground members and hopefully I can share some of my experiences good and bad. I think that maybe one day I'll sell some of my spoons or plugs but until then I'm enjoying sharing with my fishing buddies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crankie Posted April 5, 2014 Report Share Posted April 5, 2014 I see this is starting around again. That's good. I go under CRANKIE. I have been around here for awhile. I did a lot of cranks plus poured and painted my own jigs. Used the color variations I have seen through photos to blend different colors. I have dipped my jigs and used these blends to airbrush crank baits. I have also given numerous little seminars to over a dozen Cub Scout packs over the years. That's where the info goes. We all need to pass this on the younger fisher people out there. The kids ask the questions as you show them how to do things, but the parents come up afterword to learn more. Now off to the big river to ply my lures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoMtnGuy Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 Hi, my name is Gregg. I'm in Colorado and have been doing this for a couple years, fly tying for 15, and rod building for about a year and a half. I guess anything tackle, except soft baits like worms etc., has an interest for me. I am an engineer by trade, so I definitely need something to drive the numbers and projects from my mind in the evenings, and on those weekends when fishing isn't the best choice due to weather or other commitments. Now that my kids are grown and off to, or graduated from, college I find I actually have some pocket money. Who'd a thunked those kids consumed so much of my hard earned wages. I've been woodworking for many years and have an adequate shop to make my own jigs and tools. Having a midi lathe and a pen lathe have been a big plus for plugs and swim baits. I'm fairly self taught, avoiding classes and local groups. I get enough egos and chit chat at work, I kind of like the solitude and peace of lure making. I learn from books (have dozens now) and on-line videos. I use specific epoxies for rods, but for lures I've experimented - after all they get pretty beat up anyway and I've found two-part crystal clear 20 or 30 minute epoxies make great undercoats and topcoats, protecting the lure quite well. I invested in an airbrush and have found it invaluable, almost as invaluable as a Twistech wire former. I make and sell spinning and fly rods, more spinning rods than fly, and most people seem to want their rod customized with team colors, or targeted to certain species or fishing methods. While I have plenty of repeat and referral business from the rods, they're really not my passion. They provide the funds for the real fun stuff - hand carved wooden crank baits and swim baits, materials for fly tying and hardware for spinners! I sell plenty of these, but only after I've fished the design and know they catch. This is where lure making has expanded my fishing arena. Before I started tackle crafting I targeted trout, pike, tiger muskie and salmon. As I started lure crafting I was getting asked if my lures worked on warm water species? I decided I should find out what works best.... and began fishing for small and large mouth bass, perch and crappie. I had no idea I was missing out on some really fun fishing. I even learned some good recipes for warm water fish, and now enjoy a much broader range of fishing, with low altitude lakes and ponds in the winter and high altitude streams and lakes in the warmer months. I've been blessed with a frugal wife that supports my hobbies - which seem to be turning into a retirement fund generator. She just asked what I wanted for my birthday and I replied I was thinking about stuff at Woodcraft, namely a new carving knife and some supplies. She said "Let's go!" While I was shopping knives and Dremel sanding drums she walked up with an armful of basswood and a nice set of cobalt lathe tools, saying she also found me some birthday stuff! What a great gal. Note to self... remember to pick up the tanzanite earrings she was ogling last week in the jewelry store, I mean after all.... how did I luck out to get a woman to put up with me drawing two or three tubs of water per week just to run lure designs, the ongoing stink of epoxy drying, the whir of machines and tools, and encourage the hobby? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
