Favorite Wood For Wake Baits And Topwaters

[jkustel]

Hey guys,

Been using poplar for my wakes and topwater walking baits. Its readily available at HD and Lowes which I like. I will normally select the lightest of the bunch and its pretty buoyant. These are large baits 5"-12". I've been thinking of trying some basswood (ordering it) but according to some figures I've looked at its pretty much on par with poplar in terms of buoyancy. What do you guys like?

JK

[mark poulson]

If you shop at Lowes and HD, see if they carry AZEK PVC decking. It's the same buoyancy+- as poplar, harder, and strong enough to hold screw eyes and hardware.

The biggest up is that it is totally waterproof, so you don't have to worry about sealing out water.

I used to use poplar, too, for my jointed swimbaits and Punker-type topwaters, but water intrusion was always an issue, sooner or later.

I've been using it for a few years now (thank you JRHopkins), and haven't had a single paint issue since I switched.

I make poppers, walking baits, and jointed swimbaits of all sizes with it, and had great success. The fish in my avatar, 8lbs+, came on a PVC popper that is similar to the thru gill River to Sea popper.

I've made deep diving cranks with it, and it works for them, too.

[thujalures]

I have been using northern white cedar for all my top-water baits and have had no issues at all. Hope this helps.

[BobP]

As far as average buoyancy goes, my chart says poplar is 26 lbs/cu ft, basswood is 23 lbs/cu ft, and white cedar is 20 lbs/cu ft.

I haven't built lures from poplar but basswood is a dream to cut, sand and finish. The cedar I tried from HD tended to show its grain more than basswood when hand sanded. I think all of them are close enough in density that a specific sample of one might be heavier or lighter than another. But if you are looking for increased buoyancy, cedar would be the best bet.