Quick Swimbait

[davemyway]

i have been playing with a easy way to make a swimbait and i thought i would share with u guys ...

start buy cutting a patern out if card stock paper

then copy the pattern onto pvc board and cut it out with a scroll saw

sand it smooth, cut it into sections but let the first joint be the longests, sand the begining of the second and third jiont to a 45. add screw eyes and cut notches to allow free movement .connect the eyes with a piece of wire

paint then clear .

i know i left alot out but this is a rough idea on how i made some 5'' swimbaits

they swim great !

if anybody has a way i can improve my process let me know . im a jig and spinnerbait guy. this is new to me ..

[mark poulson]

Great looking bait!

The only thing I might suggest is purely cosmetic.

I angle the joint cuts on my swimbaits, so the eye is somewhat concealed in the V of the joint.

I still round off the pin face of the joints, but I leave the eye section as a V.

And I pocket the eye sockets in my pin section instead of making a thru slot.

You can try drilling a hole in the rounded face of the pin section where the eye will hit, oval it a little to allow play for the hinge, and it will conceal the eye a little, and keep the eye cut confined to the rounded joint section, without extending back into the flat face of the bait.

As I said, it's a cosmetic detail, and not at all critical to your bait working, as it looks like it does already.

Congratulations.

P.S. One functional thing you might want to try is beveling your bait's profile, so it's thinner at the belly than at the back. I found that allows me to burn my baits at any speed without them rolling.

My baits typically go from 7/8" at the back to 5/8" at the belly, with the taper starting down 1/3 from the back. It's not exact, but it eliminates rolling.

Edited November 15, 2012 by mark poulson

[davemyway]

thanks . that is the kind of info i need to improve my bait. i do have belly weights in them witch helps them

run upright .

[EdL]

What are you guys using for tail fin material??

[mark poulson]

Ed,

I use three different tails.

I pour my own soft plastic tails, or buy them from Capt. Sully.

They screw onto a wire spring I epoxy into the back of the tail section.

I also make harder tails out of clear plastic sheet, like the tops for margarine tubs, and glue them into a slot in the tail section.

Last, for little two and three piece baits I make tails from Plano dividers, and attach them with split rings to the last section.

The soft plastic tails are the most subtle and life-like.

The others are more for action presentations.

[EdL]

Thanks Mark. I'm about to do a swimbait and was thinking some thin plastic that would hold paint shaped to a fin and pinned into the last section. Now you got me thinking about other ways. That's why TU rocks.

[mark poulson]

Ed,

When I use either the plano dividers or the margarine tops for tail, I sand it to simulate fin lines, and then color with a sharpie or two.

For the soft plastic tails, I wound up making a two part POP mold and pour my own now, so color is no problem if I use a light color or clear, and flake.

I tried coloring details and rays onto my soft plastic tails with sharpies, and found that the color bled and eventually became blended together. I still do it, but only lightly.

[davemyway]

i got lucky and found about 10 rolls of pastic each roll about 100' long and 5-6 inches wide. it is the same

as they use on aaron martins scrounger. i use it to make my scroungers and tails on swimbaits

[mark poulson]

i got lucky and found about 10 rolls of pastic each roll about 100' long and 5-6 inches wide. it is the same

as they use on aaron martins scrounger. i use it to make my scroungers and tails on swimbaits

That's a great find! I'm sooooo jealous! Hahaha

[Hoytdaddy]

Where do I get PVC board?

[EdL]

May I suggest doing a search in the Hardbait section of this TU board usin PVC as keyword.  You should find Numerous threads about PVC boards, sources of boards and advice on using PVC for cranks and swimbaits.  Should help you get started on using this material.

[Hoytdaddy]

Thanks man

[Hoytdaddy]

EdL i tried seaching pvc and using the hard bait thing and nothing came up, i must be just doing something wrong? im new to the site ha

[mark poulson]

Home Depot and Lowe's both carry it.  Ask for the trim board for cranks, but stick with the decking for swimbaits.  It's stronger, so it holds hardware better.