My Latest Lure Test Video

[diemai]

Hi , folks ,

I think , that I have read somewhere , that there is gonna be a section to put up members video's in here .but so far the new outlay of the site is never copleted , so I've thought , that I could post my video in here , maybe .

The quality of that video made this morning is nothing to be proud of , but at least it shows the true importances quite reasonably , I guess , ......myself , .....only visible as a shadow against the morning sun , should not be the object of interest , anyway !

I have taken ordinary pics of this latest bunch of lures as well , but as far as our gallery here on TU is still down , I'm unable post them in there .

Please check

Any comments , questions or opinions welcome !

greetz , diemai

[Vodkaman]

Thankyou for posting the video, I enjoyed it very much.

The lures were top notch as usual, you are truly a master builder.

You would make your life easier with a tripod, this would give you hands free. Does not need to be an expensive one for this job.

Dave

[jamie]

Diemai, great video, I really like the swim of your swimbaits. All your baits have great action to them and I cant wait to see some more videos( hint some of your homemade spoons, I enjoy your pics of those baits)

[mark poulson]

Diemai, great video, I really like the swim of your swimbaits. All your baits have great action to them and I cant wait to see some more videos( hint some of your homemade spoons, I enjoy your pics of those baits)

I liked the video, too. Your swimbaits looked great!

I am amazed at the variety of lures you make so well.

And it was fun to see the vintage lures in action.

Keep posting.

Edited November 9, 2009 by mark poulson

[KcDano]

Nice video, nice lures and history lesson! Good job!

[hazmail]

Diemai- great range of lures here and 100% for the video. I know what you mean about doing it yourself, I sometimes get strange looks testing in a storm water dams too. Well done, that 'Whirly Gig' caught my eye. pete

[diemai]

Thanks a lot for your kind words , guys ,I really do appreciate them a lot !

@ Vodkaman

I've got a camera stand down the workshop(nice place to be on such occassion ) !

Did not take it along , because I am using my bicycle for a stroll around the lake there , I've mounted a 75mm drain pipe sideward to its carrier , which only accomodates my rod and my collapsible landing net , my lure bag I'd strap on top of the carrier , so not much space left for the tripod .

Its much better that way fishing in the city ,.... I'd put the bike into the back of the car and park it somewhere in the vicinity(I know some "secret" spots in the city for vacant and free parking) , otherwise I'd spend half of the day looking for places to park and walk for miles to the water , if I wanna fish the entire lake and its sidearms .

But I guess , that it really might have turned out better utilizing a camera mount , taking it into consideration for next time , ...but the days have turned so short now , not much time at all , if I wanna make a video and still do some casts as well .

@ Jamie

Be sure , on next occassion I'll make a spoon video as well , ........promised !

@ mark poulson

Had a tough time with some of them , since I had issues with my spray paint , .....after two or three days some finishes got crackled , so I had to strip off all paint again and since I did'nt wanna go through it again , I decided to paint them with model making enamels .

That "Rush Tango" did not quite turn out like the original , since I have made them only after pictures so far .

But recently I have received two original vintage lures(repaints)through a swap with an Australian lure enthusiast , and now I can clearly figure out that the diving bill is supposed to be somewhat wider and a little curved . This would mean , if next time I'd turn down another "Tango" blank , I'd have have to furnish the cone ahead of the body , that makes up for the lip , a bit thicker and at a bigger angle .

I am planning on making some more of this kinda swimbaits , about 10% to 20% larger ,...... guess , that this would still be OK for rigging only ONE treble as shown ?

This way I would not have to thru-wire the two sections , actually only the line tie , hook eye and the lower hinge eye of the first section do consist of a three-point harness , the other three hinge eyes are epoxied into "blind" holes , as a hooked fish should not put tension on them .

@ KcDano

Yep , .....I find the history of vintage lures quite interesting , though I do not know much about too many models .

But I have made more or less accurate copies of a few models , most likely after pictures , and some have really turned out to become proven catchers for me .

@ hazmail

After book informations that "Whirlygig" was designed in Pennsylvania by a certain Mr. Bob(Robert ?) Bates in 1947 , he actually intended to render the proven topwater "Globe" model into a diving lure .

And it certainly worked out , as one can work the "Whirlygig" on top and one to two feet deep alike , just by rod tip manipulation and retrieve speed control .

But still the lure was never commercialized , only homemade by a group of enthusiasts around Mr. Bates and the author of that book , Mr. Charles K. Fox .

I have once had seven pike attacks on this great lure model within approx. 75min in a bigger pond(could land four of them) , it's also well-suited to be worked around dead timber and along or above vegetation in summer .

Anyway , this particular one shown is going to "Down Under" for a swap , really eager to know , whether your "natives" there would respond to them as well !

Thanks again , everybody , .......greetz , Dieter

[jamie]

Watched the video again today and I love the action of the Rush Tango model and you have inspired myself to build this style of bait. I didnt think that this style of bait would have such great action.Without seeing this bait swim I would have never thought of making this style of bait. Thank again for posting your video.

[spoopa]

Hey Dieter,

Really enjoyed the video! I liked your banana lures the most, they look like they have quite some action. I also liked your swimbaits, it sure is tough to make jointed lures that small

Also enjoyed your variety of paint schemes and different lures you had. Great bunch of lures!

Thanks, Jacob

[diemai]

@ spoopa

Thanks a lot , Jacob , .....indeed it is tricky making joints at such small baits , they always get stuck with epoxy , when topcoating , .....I carefully dremeled that excess laquer off with a 1 mm drill bit and small balsa scalpel knives , I have a set of these with different , partly very narrow blades .

This is the reason , why I never dared to furnish baits with more hidden joints , less gap , so to speak !

Doesn't look very pretty this way , but I'm sure , the fish should not bother !

@ jamie

This lure body configuration is about the oldest in angling history for floating and diving lures .

This "Rush Tango" has an elongated rear body , thus runs stable to provide a regular wiggle , ......there are other models from different vintage manufacturers with a shorter rear , rather more "egg"-shaped body(but also with a similar front portion , though may be at different angles), these ones lack lengthwise stability in the water and therefore swim somewhat irregular , meaning , that the wiggle is not as rythmic , they feature a kinda "drunken" wobble .

Made some pictures with my new original "Tango" repaints together with a copy , that I've made after book pictures only , so you can see the differences in the shape of the diving bill portion , that I had already mentioned in my previous post .

Never swum these originals , but I guess due to their wider diving vanes they still perform better and run still more stable than my copies so far .

Maybe , these pics could help a bit !

Thanks and good luck , ....greetz , Dieter

Edited November 10, 2009 by diemai

[diemai]

@ jamie

As I know , that it is not that easy to furnish lure copies just after pictures , I have got my lathe turning this morning(wanted to go fishing , but the weather is just too horrible)and made two "Rush Tango" blanks after my new original repaints .

This way I could take over the exact measurements and I've shaped them as accurately as I could .

My little diagrams are in metric millimeter scale , 1 inch makes up for 25,4 millimetres . The sketched lines are referring to the penciled circumference lines on the wood blanks , the measurements stated "dia" refer to the blank diameter at that particular spot .

When mounting eye screws to these lures , make sure to run them EXACTLY crosswise to the wood grain , as this provides the greatest strength , especially for the thin diving vane .

After supper I'm gonna proceed with these , so hopefully I could still mail some more pics about how I furnish the line tie on such kinda lures(guess , that this is also shown in an older thread of mine named "New Banana Lures" or similar).

@ hazmail

Also turned down another "Whirlygig" blank for display , maybe you'd be interested to make one as well ?

There is no accurate measurement neccessary on that one , they can be build between 85 mm and 120 mm , slender or a little fatter , ......with longer fins or shorter ones .

The shorter lures with longer fins swim a bit more lively , when constantly twitched underwater , but they are not as easy to submerge(but it certainly works) as a longer , slender lure with shorter fins ,..... that one goes down easier and also zig-zags a bit better on the surface(glides sideward a fraction further) , I'd say !

This is the pre-turned blank ,..... body ends are rounded after having removed the dowel remainder on either end .

I have drawn reference lines on the body , that virtually divide it into quarters , marked the hole for the belly eye , also made pilot indentions for the holes with an awl on either end .

Next step now would be to separate the two sections and sand the opposing planes smooth , after mark the center holes on these planes as well , as I drill the center holes for the wire shaft from eiter side of each section to meet internally(hopefully ) , this way I avoid the drill bits possibly wandering off center as they'd exit .

..........to be continued ........greetz , Dieter

[jamie]

Thank you for the info, it would have taken myself several turns to get it right. I may have to ask a few questions down the road.

[diemai]

@ jamie

By now I got done with those "Rush Tango" blanks , took some more pictures .

I pre-cut the diving vane with a saw , the fine shaping of the curved lip plane I did free handed on my 40 grit sanding disc , guess , that this is the hardest part of all , requires a calm hand and good eye balling ! Just sanded it over by hand with higher grit sandpaper and broke the edges .

I don't like to mount screw eyes to such narrow lips , so I rigged this certain wire form line tie , that I always assemble on such lure type , all will be epoxied later . I use my "Dremel" with small drill bits and router bits to furnish the groove and slot .

Anyway , feel free to post or PM if you've got more questions , always welcome !

greetz , Dieter

[diemai]

@ hazmail

Also finished the "Whirlygig" blank for display .

Shot two close range pics to show the pitch of the fins , virtually one only has to divide the crosswise diameter line into quarters and the lengthwise center line of the front section into half .

So the pitch of the two opposite fin saw cuts results as from connecting one quarter mark next to the center bore with the half of the lengthwise centerline .

Difficult to explain , but I'm sure , by viewing the pics you'd get behind it .

The other two pictures show the pre-assembled lure and the lure taken apart with all of its components .

For any details feel free to call back in , I'd gladly answer all questions !

greetz , Dieter

[jamie]

@ jamie

By now I got done with those "Rush Tango" blanks , took some more pictures .

I pre-cut the diving vane with a saw , the fine shaping of the curved lip plane I did free handed on my 40 grit sanding disc , guess , that this is the hardest part of all , requires a calm hand and good eye balling ! Just sanded it over by hand with higher grit sandpaper and broke the edges .

I don't like to mount screw eyes to such narrow lips , so I rigged this certain wire form line tie , that I always assemble on such lure type , all will be epoxied later . I use my "Dremel" with small drill bits and router bits to furnish the groove and slot .

Anyway , feel free to post or PM if you've got more questions , always welcome !

greetz , Dieter

Very nice... I like your solution to the line tie. I was worried about the screw eye in such a narrow lip. Im going to turn one down ( or try ) tonight. Also, did I miss this or does this bait have no ballest in the belly or are the hooks enough? Thank you for your fountain of knowledge and sorry for getting off topic.

[Fishwhittler]

Great video! I really like those swimbaits. I made one sort of like that a while back that had a very good action but I lost it the first time I took it fishing. Guess I need to make some more...

Ben

[diemai]

@ jamie

I had made bath tub trials with earlier models , just taped on some lead shot to different locations at the belly to try to increase diving performance and/or stabilize running , but only thing it did is to minor the wobble .

No , even these original repaints don't have any ballast weights , they feel rather light in the hand .

If you use light wood like pine or basswood , they might not dive as deep , but on the other hand made of hardwood like maple they might not wobble that much , also it would be harder to work with .

I'd surely prefer the first option !

I have placed the hooks more towards the tail compared to the originals , as the front hook often fouls with the diving plane with one hook point , it just binds over it , ......even if rigged without a splitring .

But maybe they are intentionally placed that way to put the balance weight more to the front for better diving performance , but I don't really know .

@ Fishwittler

This is too bad losing a lure on it's first trip , probably might put me off for a while as well........(just joking ) !

Thanks for your kind words , anyway !

good luck , Dieter

[JBlaze]

Hi Diemai, I just watched your video, and I second all the others on your talents. Great looking lures, all of them. I especially like the action of your banana lures and the swimbaits. Very nice swimming action and I love the way they start swimming at a very slow speed. I wouldn't let the exposed hinges bother me if I were you, the fish the fish won't notice them either. Good Job. Looking forward to the next one.

John

[diemai]

@ JBlaze

Thanks , John ,.......in fact I find these kinda hinges the easiest to make , not much space for different ones on this small lures , anyway .

It was only tricky to clean them off topcoat overflow in the end , but a 1 mm "Dremel" drill bit and some narrow bladed balsa knifes did the job .

Only the line tie , the hook eye and the lower hinge eye on the front section are connected in shape of a three-point harness , all the other three hinge eyes are epoxied into "blind" holes , the tail fins are connected with bent close open screw eyes .

These small swimbaits have a 10 gr ball sinker embedded right ahead of their hook hangers , had to hammer that one into a kinda "brick" shape to fit into the narrow wood board(a tropical lighter wood similar to teakwood), cut an elongated pouch on my hobby routing machine to accommodate these weights .

The tail fins are made from 2 mm Lexan sheet .

Thanks again , .......greetz , Dieter

[jamie]

just wanted to say thanks for the specs on those baits. It made turning the bait alot easier. The baits pretty close to yours but not quite yet, I will try another. How did you trim the lip down on this bait?

[diemai]

just wanted to say thanks for the specs on those baits. It made turning the bait alot easier. The baits pretty close to yours but not quite yet, I will try another. How did you trim the lip down on this bait?

@ Jamie

At first I'd pencil four center lines down the length of the readily turned blank , these also meeting at the round front plane of the funnel-shaped front portion to make up for the lip(looks like the target cross inside of a rifle scope then) .

So virtually dividing the blank into quarters , making sure , that these pencil lines are positioned in a way , that one opposing pair of lines is located exactly parallel to the woodgrain , and the other pair 90° offset to the grain !

Now mark another line on the round plane on the front , parallel to the woodgrain and the corressponding center line and rather at the rim of the circumferrence ,..........this line is to mark in about the thickness of the diving lip at it's tip .

The lip plane HAS to sit PARALLEL to the WOOD GRAIN for maxium stability !

Now make two lines on either side of the funnel-like front portion , connecting both ends of previously drawn line with the narrowest diameter location at the end of the funnel , these lines meet at same spot with the crosswise-grain center line on top of the blank .

These lines I only make by eye balling , these lines on the side are only for "about" saw cut reference .

Now chuck the thickest edge(diameter) of the funnel in a vise , in a way , so that the line(s) on the side of it come to sit on one side of the vise vertically for a saw cut , tail of blank should point downward .

It does not matter , if you'd squeeze or blemish the wood blank in the vise chucked like this , as the particular loctions would be cut off , anyway .

Now take a wood saw and cut down that marked "slice" of the head cone of the blank , don't cut too close to the marked line to leave sufficient "flesh" for final grinding .

Now comes the hardest part , as I grind the diving vane to final shape on a 5" dia sanding disc , chucked into my lathe(a belt sander would surely do as well), 40 or 60 grit ! .

I must make sure , to hold the blank ABSOLUTELY in a repeatative horizontal position on every pass , when slightly pressing it against the wheel ,......... same time giving it a little "twist" from the wrist of my guide hand to achieve the little curved plane of the diving bill .

The small marker line near the bottom circumference parallel to the woodgrain serves as a reference for the lip plane to become paralell to it , also of course for thickness of the tip .

The pointed top end of the evolving lip plane should also come to sit centered to the previously marked center line on top of the bait .

These two should finally meet at the narrowest blank diameter level behind the cone lip portion of the blank .

And if one manages to sand over the entire curved plane in one fluid motion from the wrist , holding the blank absolutely horizontal , a nice homogene surface should evolve ,........ takes some practice , so one should leave enough material standing after the separating saw cut .

It requires good eyeballing down the curved plane to determine about little flaws , being uneven or somewhat twisted within , ........off course one might as well sand over such little imperfections by hand , or even utilize a "Dremel" with a sanding drum ???

AFTER your lip plane is done , put it on the workbench and eye ball down the center line at the belly ,...... due to making the lip plane , it might have gotten a little out of center now and requires re-marking to position the pilot holes of the belly eye screws accurately centered .

At the end make sure to break all edges of the diving plane thoroughly .

At first read this must sound very complicated , but it really isn't , once you get the hang of it , probably you might also find a little different solution , but this is the way , that I do it !

good luck , Dieter

[jamie]

Thanks for the reply, I tried to pm you about this but for some reason my pm is not working( I dont mean to keep writing for directions on your thread and getting off topic, sorry for that)but its the only way to get some direction for right now. I must have made a bad pass on the sander the lip was off a bit. It will take a couple more tries but I will get it right. Thanks for your help ole buddy

Edited November 17, 2009 by jamie

[diemai]

@ Jamie

Don't worry about "off topic"(which isn't IMO , as our "how to" discussion is a direct result of that video), no problem for me at all !

Yesterday I have also tried to PM an advanced member and the upcoming error said something like "the person is invalid to receive PM's" or something .....??????

The new site layout really requires some working over , I'd say !

Sorry about your blank spoilt , but I guess this tought you a lesson , .....it's a matter of high concentration and "bit-by-bit" work , don't attempt to go too fast shaping the lip ,........careful passes , eye ball checking , ......pass over the wheel again , etc.....!

If you accidentally put a little blemish into the blank , some wood putty would help ,.... but if the entire lip comes to lay in a wrong position or plane , there is nothing much you can do , ......except cutting it off and render the blank into a lipped lure or a prop bait !

good luck , Dieter

[jamie]

@ Jamie

Don't worry about "off topic"(which isn't IMO , as our "how to" discussion is a direct result of that video), no problem for me at all !

Yesterday I have also tried to PM an advanced member and the upcoming error said something like "the person is invalid to receive PM's" or something .....??????

The new site layout really requires some working over , I'd say !

Sorry about your blank spoilt , but I guess this tought you a lesson , .....it's a matter of high concentration and "bit-by-bit" work , don't attempt to go too fast shaping the lip ,........careful passes , eye ball checking , ......pass over the wheel again , etc.....!

If you accidentally put a little blemish into the blank , some wood putty would help ,.... but if the entire lip comes to lay in a wrong position or plane , there is nothing much you can do , ......except cutting it off and render the blank into a lipped lure or a prop bait !

good luck , Dieter

Thanks dieter, thats what happened, I sanded a slight pitch to the right and its just like cutting a lip slot that isnt square in a crankbait.

[diemai]

@ jamie

I haven't forgotten about my promise making a homemade spoons video , .............only took some time , .......it's never too late , though !

So here it is , sadly still of minor quality , .....just bought myself a little video camera , being an absolut computer dummy I've had a tough time getting all of the originally twelve video sequences from the camera together to make up for two clips and finally submit them onto "YouTube" .

Maybe also my PC memory capacity is too small , don't now , .........tried to utilize "pinnacle3"(a download from a friend) , but I could not get my camera uploads into that program to work on them , so I've tried my old "picasa3" , and I finally got it done , though dead slow !

I don't know , why sometimes the pixels run wild in that video , .....maybe next time I should do the filming with less pixel setting on the camera ?

Anyway , at least something is visible , .....and in general the picture focus quality is a bit better as on my older videos taken with my simple foto camera .

Hopefully I would be able to learn a bit more about all of these things to be able to produce better lure videos in future .

greetz , Dieter