RiverMan Posted March 4, 2004 Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 This lure is huge, about 9 inches long..the rapala minnow in the pic is about 3 inches which should give you an idea of the size of this beast. He is weighted to just barely float and made of cedar, two coats of Devcon. All portions of the construction of this bait went very smoothly except for where the two joints meet, could have done a better job here, will improve this on the next one. He does swim well tho. Should scare em to death if nothing else, lol. jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsac Posted March 4, 2004 Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 Very nice! I think on your next one, you should incorporate a soft tail to really make it kick in the water. I've got lots of 9" swimbaits. They weigh upwards of 5 oz. If you could make one that would run right on top, I know a few people that would put out $$$ for one. Besides me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted March 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 Thanks Woodsac, You know I thought about doing that but wasn't sure how best to handle it. I have seen where guys slit the back of the bait which allows the soft tail to slip in and be pinned. I don't want to take the time to make the tails, hate the smell of plastic, can I buy the tails? jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert giberson Posted March 4, 2004 Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 very ,very nice job, love the big baits myself!! all the ones i do are 8 inch and up , big bait ,big fish they say L.O.L once again very nice job!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtrs5kprs Posted March 4, 2004 Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 That is a darn fine paint job! As to a soft tail, you might be able to embed some ss wire in the tail end of the bait (think of the body-loc jigs) and attach a tail that way. I would think a big shad tail, large curl tail (6" or so), or even part of a jumbo slug-go/fluke type bait would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted March 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 I'm curious as to how a guy can improve the body joint area. I have noticed that many cut the body on each side so as to partially hide the gap. I am very interested in trying some SS cable instead of screw eyes, anyone tried that? I do like the idea of adding a soft bait component to the back of the bait...will have to think about this some more. Thanks for the ideas! jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsac Posted March 4, 2004 Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 Jed, I'm not sure if you can buy them or not. There are a couple of different companies using the big tails for hard baits right now. I don't know if they are manufactured for them or not. You could always ask Mike Shaw http://msslammer.com/index.html if he buys them or pours them. The thing I like about the big flat tails (like on the slammer) as opposed to the curl or fluke is the huge wake it helps put off on the top of the water. I also think part of the slanted joint is to help with noise, as well as help hide the joint. One of the new Slammers I got last week only uses 1 screw eye in the rear half. The front half has a hole drilled in it with a pin inserted vertically. The screw eye goes around the pin. When I asked about the bait, Mike Shaw said he designed it this way to help create more noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted March 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 Hey thanks for directing me to that site Woodsac and posting the pics, great looking lure! I really like that tail, is it firm or flexible? Seems that alot of the "big bait" guys build round baits, that bait is wood right? I can't quite tell from the pic what's going on with the connection point. jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsac Posted March 4, 2004 Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 The Slammer tails are considerably harder then the plastic I pour, but that's what makes them so durable. They have a lot of action because they are only about 1/8" thick. I have trout plugs and plastic swimbaits from 5" to 10". I have several Slammers' 7" and 9". I just don't have the right equiptment for throwing the big 12" plugs...yet. The bait pictured is 9" and is just over 3 oz. I think the primary reason for the round plugs is the appeal to bass. They are easier to swallow then 'oblong' fish like bluegill. Some of the newer plugs that are just hitting the market have a taller profile like yours. It's more realistic, but harder to get it to swim level at different retrieve speeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsac Posted March 4, 2004 Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 :oops: Sorry missed the last part. The connection point is a metal dowel that runs up and down inside the front half of the bait. The rear eyescrew is interlocked around the dowel. The idea is for the squeeking of the metal on metal to 'echo' inside the cavity the dowel runs through. Mike said the baits with this style connection are very limited, but still effective. He even offered to exchange for a traditional (2 eyescrew) bait if I didn't have confidence in the new one! That's good customer service Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted March 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 I like that idea for a connection, sounds solid to me...I want to try that. It doesn't surprise me that the tails are a bit more stiff, probably hold up alot better in this way. From the pic it looks as tho the tails are pinned in place. I am guessing that he probably pours the tails himself. I hear ya too on the long thin baits being easier for a bass to swallow. The profile on this big bait of mine does look real but would certainly be difficult for a bass to swallow, not that they wouldn't try, lol. The next one I build will be a bit thinner from back to belly. jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerdy Posted March 5, 2004 Report Share Posted March 5, 2004 theres a big market for those out here in socal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
