BigZ Posted April 24, 2004 Report Share Posted April 24, 2004 I wanted to design a cool bait for Carolina Rigging since I fish mostly deep reservoirs here and I like reapers and lizards a lot, so, I figured I would combine them. I also wanted heavy feet on the legs so they would have more action and cause it to flutter a little more than if it had wispy little legs . I hammered out a cad drawing of this lure and Bob Jones from Bob's Tackle Shack machined it up! The "Z-LIZ" as Bob calls it now is just shy of 5" long and 2" wide. I am really happy with it, it looks even better in real life than in 3d! I think it came out looking damned good for my first design,but I haven't gotten to test it yet!!! I just need to stick some hawgs on it and I will be even happier! This mold will be super easy to do 2 color pours too, Green Pumpkin top/Watermelon bottom? I think so! I'd appreciate it if you fellas would let me know what you think, I value your opinions! A Huge Thank You To Bob for being a CNC Wizard and making my bait reality instead of Virtual Reality! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senkosam Posted April 24, 2004 Report Share Posted April 24, 2004 Nice design! Kind of like a lizard-reaper. Good luck with it and report how it did. Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted April 24, 2004 Report Share Posted April 24, 2004 Looks great. I think you're on to something there. I don't think I've ever seen one quite like that. Should work great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted April 24, 2004 Report Share Posted April 24, 2004 Very cool Z. Love the design, and I'll bet it will catch some fish for ya too. You gonna call it a Leaper or Rizard? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigZ Posted April 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2004 In the earlier pics you can't see it, but the body is ribbed as well. I enhanced one of em so you can see it better. As far as naming it, I think "Z-LiZ" has been hung on it, but that could be short fo zlizard or zleaper. LOL. Thanks for the encouragement guys! I can't wait to fish it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capecodsmallie Posted April 24, 2004 Report Share Posted April 24, 2004 That's a great looking bait and mold. Shouldn't have any problem catching fish with it. I can't help and think if there was a small version of that , Maybe 2-3 inches, how great of a topwater bait that would be. The shape of the body and the way the arms stick out, it's the first thing I thought of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigZ Posted April 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2004 My buddy was already wanting a smaller one for dropshotting, so we'll probably look into a smaller version of the bait, probably not smaller than 3.5 inch due to machining limitations. We're gonna add eyes and make the feet a little bigger than the prototype. My favorite ponds just opened for the year (They close cause the creek that feeds em has steelhead in it) so I'll test it there this week I hope. Bob is gonna list the mold on his site in a couple weeks. I wanted to share it with everyone, I am not in this for selfish reasons. I feel that this site/forum is a place to pool our ideas, not to hoard trade secrets. Fishing is all about fun! Let's keep it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted April 25, 2004 Report Share Posted April 25, 2004 You said it Z. I sure share in your opinion. By the way, I didn't notice your heading......Z-Liz......DUH!! Sorry about that. Very cool name. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtrs5kprs Posted April 26, 2004 Report Share Posted April 26, 2004 Completely cool, and nice work by Bob's as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.J. Posted April 26, 2004 Report Share Posted April 26, 2004 Great looking bait. I'm sure they will catch lots of fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtrs5kprs Posted April 27, 2004 Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 Z...what sort of cad-ware did you use? Is it at all user friendly, or do I need to quit my real job, give up the bait making, and leave my wife to learn how to use it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigZ Posted April 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 Buy the wife some earplugs, call in sick and turn off the lee pot for a while. That should do it. I am using a cheapo program called "DesignCAD 3D Max." supposedly it does everything that the bigger $$$ cad programs (Ii.e. Autocad, RHINO, etc..) can do, but I can say from experience that the learning curve is pretty huge. I am getting aggravated at this point with it. I did autocad a long time ago, so I do have a bit of experience, but this thing is hurting my head. Don't let this discourage you, there are a couple free 2D Cad programs that will give a basic sketch and export to .DXF(autocad's Drawing eXchange Format) and the guys with CAM programs can import the drawing directly but will have to do a lot of work on it themselves. I have a lot of drafting and graphics experience (see my avatar and Charkins) and a ton of patience for this kind of stuff. I still get irked sometimes when I don't know how to do a step on the schematic. I intend to have the cad stuff fully wired by the end of the summer, but it would be nice to have a better quality CAD program, in this case you certainly get what you pay for. If you opt for a cheap cad program, make sure you don't get an "express" or "lite" version, they are neutered in a big way. Another consideration is that your computer will need to be decently fast to run any 3D cad. I have an AMD 2.4 with a radeon9600XT and 2gb of ram and it still bogs down a bit during some operations, it depends how many things you are trying to have it render (draw to the screen) at once.. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigZ Posted May 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2004 OK , got to test the Z-liz at Shadow Cliffs in Pleasaton, CA today. 3RD cast I got a fish. Falls perfectly horizontal on a 2/0 Owner EWG. It sure feels nice to know your baits work! More bait desgns in the next month, I have 5 on the burner now! I'll post em as we go. Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amador Posted May 3, 2004 Report Share Posted May 3, 2004 Bait looks nice Z! Where are you at? I'm in Pleasant Hill. I am just getting ready to pour my first worms. I have all of the supplies, now I am just waiting for my mold from Del. Do fish Shadow Cliffs often? There are some hogs in there huh?! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigZ Posted May 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2004 OK here is the first good fish on the Z-Liz. 18" ain't bad. They hit the thing like they have a grudge against it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinTXAngler Posted May 13, 2004 Report Share Posted May 13, 2004 Sweet man, good job. 18 inches ain't bad at all!! Thats a killer looking bait, guess the bass thought so too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
