Rapala Original Floater Disaster!

[Snow Crash]

I made these 3 to imitate the Rapala Original Floating Minnows. They turned out awful, completely unfishable.

The tigers do a death roll and the blue one swims on his side but it can probably be somewhat fixed. Also the two tigers don't float so they would be Countdowns if they could be used. I wonder if sinking is contributing to the death roll. I use basswood but maybe balsa is required for tiny floaters? I do all the work by hand so it's possible something is out of alignment but it looks ok to me.

I've made a dozen or so other lures and most ended up functional but they were all bass lures. So I was wondering if anyone has had success making tiny lures like these or if you have any tips for mine.

[RayburnGuy]

If I'm not mistaken the original Rapala's were made out of balsa. I know they were awfully light and contributed to quite a few spectacular backlashes. I know next to nothing about how to construct baits, but someone with that knowledge is sure to chime in.

RG

[jamie]

I made these 3 to imitate the Rapala Original Floating Minnows. They turned out awful, completely unfishable.

The tigers do a death roll and the blue one swims on his side but it can probably be somewhat fixed. Also the two tigers don't float so they would be Countdowns if they could be used. I wonder if sinking is contributing to the death roll. I use basswood but maybe balsa is required for tiny floaters? I do all the work by hand so it's possible something is out of alignment but it looks ok to me.

I've made a dozen or so other lures and most ended up functional but they were all bass lures. So I was wondering if anyone has had success making tiny lures like these or if you have any tips for mine.

The problem when you start making small baits is all problems are magnified. Did you add any ballest weights to these baits if so where?Nose also looks to be higher up than the rapala. Just guessing off hand wire looks heavy and too high( right above center balance). The weight of the wire high in such a small bait might be some of the problem. Notice the blue bait line tie sets lower in the bait. Lip angle may be a hair too steep also on the tigers. This all a guess, I dont make such small cranks, but like I said all problems are magnified when you down size.

[Snow Crash]

I think you're right they're probably balanced too high and the wire is too thick for the size. They don't have ballast.

I looked through the gallery to see how it was done but didn't see any pics of Original Floaters. I may try one more with balsa next time and apply some of the lessons learned from this failure

[Vodkaman]

Check out the video's in this thread: http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/15262-looks-that-simple-the-finnish-way/

Similar type of body, long and slender. See how he does the ballast.

Dave

[Capital Fishing Lures]

Thease lures look good, good luck with ur problem

[Snow Crash]

Thanks! That video was awesome. Those are much bigger than mine but definitely makes me want to try balsa for these

[Lincoya]

Snow Crash,

Here is a cut-a-way view of a #11 Rapala Floating Minnow. Maybe this will help.

Gene

[swarma]

Your lures look great, just like Rapalas. I too am making a bunch of small rapala-style hardbaits, they are not easy to do! I m using balsa and have gotten decent results on two of mine, but the other three have failed. It's not easy at such small sizes.

[mark poulson]

Your choice of wood may be the problem. Sounds like it's not buoyant enough for a floater that's properly ballasted.

Try some suspend dots or tape, or wrap some lead wire/solder around the front hook shank, to see if you can achieve stability without losing all buoyancy.

As was stated, small lures magnify any problems.

You may have to use a more buoyant material to start with, like balsa, in order to be able to add stabilizing ballast.

Gene's Rapala cut away should give you a good start if you find you need to switch to balsa.

[jamie]

Snow Crash,

Here is a cut-a-way view of a #11 Rapala Floating Minnow. Maybe this will help.

Gene

Notice on this bait the wire set low in the bait and the belly of the the bait runs straight to the nose with no upward slop like yours. I believe my statement above is the answer. The wire is too heavy and is too high in th back due to the upward taper of the nose.