VMAXX Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 I saw on a website of a bait co.(for sake of argument lets call it brand x) they claimed there baits were shipped tuned but there tuning process looked to be dragging the bait by hand thru a small tank(maybe3'x3'x2'deep) is it possible to tune a bait in this small of a tank ? I would think you might get it to run but now where near where it needs to be, just curious made me feel like Im wasting my time dragging my boat out to take a box of baits to check Vmaxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe32 Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 Hi,I would think the only thing you would be able to test with any accuracy would be the sink rate. I beleive you need more water to test a bait to see how it runs,I mean how do you test a glider that runs 2-3 ft left or right.I am lucky enough to be able to use a swimming pool at a local school which gives me a much better idea of how my baits run. There is a company in the u.k that have just started making bait and they say that all there's are tank tested,Well all of the people who I have spoken to say they don't do what they say they do,I would imagine they use a similar tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
out2llunge Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 I don't think you're wasting your time at all. Manufacturers, with all of their high tech machines can control a lot of the variables in lure making through the simple act of mass production. When you or I build a bait, essentially they are one-offs; sure we might build a number of one kind of bait, but with the tools and equipment we're using we're essentially making one of a kinds. It's hard to create built-in tuning into one of a kind baits. When you've developed a design and make many baits of that same design, don't you feel more confident that your bait will work (at least somewhat) straight from the box so to speak? I wouldn't worry that they say their baits are pre-tuned, most good fishermen are going to check or alter the baits action (through tuning) anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMAXX Posted December 31, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 No Outtl I was just kiddin I dont think Im wasting my time,just thought It was kinda funny when they said there baits were tuned and then had a picture of them pulling them through a trough, man if it would work like that though my horse's would be mighty thirsty when there tank disappeared Vmaxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musky1 Posted January 1, 2004 Report Share Posted January 1, 2004 I think just about any lure would look good in a small tank. The lure needs to be moving a lot faster to get a good indication whether it is tuned or not. Just my two cents worth. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted January 1, 2004 Report Share Posted January 1, 2004 You can get the lure in the ball park with a quick drag like that tank. But you cannot get a bait truely tuned that way or even on a lake with short casts. I tune baits for some of my customers. I take them out on the lake and really put the meat to them on the cast. I want that sucker running perfectly straight the entire distance. If you have a medium to deep running crank and it comes back perfectly straight and THEN goes straight back underneath the boat before it turns around and comes back to the rod tip..... then you got it right. Shallow running baits will usually come up out of the water before it has the chance to go under the boat. If you are really serious about cranking, keep tuning the bait untill it runs this way time after time. It can be time consuming..... but it is the only way to go. Bait companies will tell you anything to sell you a lure. Most guys don't have a clue as to whether they are telling the truth or not. It is not the average fishermans fault. We take the time to really learn our baits, and what makes them tick. We build them. We have the intrest. The average joe just wants that magic bait that will earn him tons of money and fame. But if you really notice..... it seems that every area has a few individuals that really win alot of money in the local tournaments each year. These guys are not average. They put the time in to make sure that their baits are right. Bait Companies won't do that for you. You have to do it. Cheeeez, why do I get on my soapbox so much here lately? Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatnik13 Posted January 1, 2004 Report Share Posted January 1, 2004 I see this at outdoor shows and what they use is a simple design > the jointed minnow type lure.It may sink(sub surface) or float and sometimes they are jointed 2 or three times and they call it "SWIMMING" in that 3'x2' container of water. TANK TESTED! cause all they needed was a ballance not a certain type of action you maybe looking for. The dive produced by these is manytimes just 2-3ft depth. It just has the action produced by the" joint" and a tiny lip . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draper11 Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 I am not sure if this is the one you are talking about or not, but Stanford lures has such pictures on its website of such a testing tank (roughly 5'x 5' and 3' deep). That was not truely indicative of the tuning their baits get. ALL baits they sell are tuned in a large in-ground pool by one of the two partners in the company using a standard rod & reel and line tied to the split ring (no snap). I can say that some shallow round and square billed baits can be tuned very, very accurately in that indoor metal tank, but deeper diving baits would vary from perfectly tuned to somewhat close. You really have to have a longer cast and be able to speed up the retrieve to test those baits. That tank is used mainly when initially testing countless prototypes (for instance testing 20 different pull points and lip angles on the same bait), quickly tuning baits for special shipments to pros that need the baits next day, etc. All lures do go in that metal tank after they are completely built to verify that they float. Any that sink are held back. That picture is not indicative of the tuning the baits receive, it was only a photo-op with the web designer to illustrate that the baits are tuned. Running baits through that thing is cool when no other machinery or fans are on. You can hear those baits rattling across the whole room (just the hooks and split rings vibrating against the wood), and there is a lot of noise when they hit something like the metal posts or grate on the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draper11 Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 No longer speaking on my knowledge of what one company does, you really have to be able to tell if a bait is tuned or not when using it. I don't care what kind of plug you have, if that thing isn't running right, it is junk. Every time I fish with someone in the back of the boat who is cranking along with me, I pay attention to what their bait is doing as well as my own- especially when I am catching them and they aren't. Sometimes I tell them what is wrong, , depending on who they are. A lot of folks just take one out of the package and sling it until they loose it without noticing its action, components, etc., which is a big mistake. But the fewer people that know those things the better some of us might be, so I better be quiet . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
