TheSilverFox Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 With all these guys painting cranks now using stencils and photo film images, how much more effective do you think it is? Some of the painting and most of the photo images look really life like. i have to say it's my opinion it catches more fishermen than it does fish when compared to your older style basic paints. With cranks being an reaction style bait, they eat it without getting long to look at it. It's here and gone... at least in my presentation. I may stop the bait for 1/2 second but most of the time it's a steady crank unless I hang it up, then it stops! I don't know about you guys but I couldn't tell you what just passed by me other than a basic color when it's moving away and side to side at the same time... especially with the tricks being underwater would play on me. If the water was swimming pool clear then it would possibly be a little easier. I'm not trying to knock anyone here... I paint some as life-like as I can from time to time but the majority of the time I paint for people it's a color style they want followed... and I paint cranks for some pretty good fishermen. It just seems to me that having 2 or 3 cranks that match colors for the price of one life-like paint or photo image would be better... at least for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toadfever Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 I agree with you on many levels, i make my own balsa baits and have not yet bought an airbrush, i just use spray paint, the paint jobs look ok but I can only do basic patterns like shad, of alabama craw. they catch fish better than anything in my tacklebox, but once someone sees one they want to know if i can do a sunfish color of a tennesee shad color, does it really matter to the fish? or are we trying to catch fisherman, not fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagine_studios Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 I LOVE all the detail on the lures I'm seeing out there, and I'm looking forward to trying to recreate some of the things I've seen, but do the fish notice all the detail? When you consider a Pike will hit a red and white spoon, or a Muskie favorite is the orange and black tiger stripe, I'm not sure all the detail matters as much as we might think, but what do I know? My personal thought is that the fish can't see most of the detail, but it definitely can't hurt to have it there, in case it does matter, plus, it really looks cool. Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 Bass can't see the detail until the lure is directly in front of them within 12" of their nose. When I make baits for myself I could care less how detailed they are but the moment I make some for sell I am not selling to fish so they need to be alot more realistic. The people that I am selling the baits to, do see in great detail and that is the unfortunate truth. If sales are your end game then get real good at realistic finishes but if it is just about fishing then you do what ever you want regardless of what every one else wants. As a lure maker I love seeing the realistic paint jobs alot of these guys can do. I do not have that raw talent and may never have it but if I did I would definately use it to my advantage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSilverFox Posted November 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 No doubt it's nice but for who? It's kinda like mono vs fluorocarbon line for me. Is it necessary? Not in my opinion. If a fish will hit an Alabama rig with all those wires, whats a little line they can see gonna hurt? I fish fluorocarbon line but usually only in the cooler months when their bites are very light... and then i still feel I could probably catch them on mono. This year I haven't spooled any of my reels with it and don't know if I will. I've never used it for anything but a jig rod or a grub rod... Haven't used it on grubs in the past 2 years. I can see making a lure like a jig look as life-like as you can. It's a slow presentation for the most part. But something that's moving I don't know that it helps. If it does I'd say it's very little. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonoman Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 That whole deal is about selling, and if that's the focus I recommend that you get good at it because there are plenty out there willing to pay plenty for it...I imagine soon there will be so many doing it that he prices will come down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 As far as what bass see underwater I'm pretty sure we don't know all there is to know about that subject. An article I read recently was explaining the different types of flash a bass sees in different water and weather conditions as well as the type and color of the blades used on a spinnerbait. When we look at a spinning blade we mostly see a bright flash. The article claimed that a bass could actually see the individual flashes as the blade turned. Something akin to a strobe effect. Does that relate to the color schemes used on crankbaits? I don't know, but realistic finishes do catch fish. If we knew all there was to know about catching fish it wouldn't be as challenging or as much fun. If you like the old style patterns then use them. If you like the realistic photo finishes then use that method. There's plenty of room for both styles. That's why I try to keep an open mind when it comes to things like this. just my , Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSilverFox Posted November 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 I'm not knocking anyone who does it or buys it... just a general statement that i think it catches more fishermen than fish. My shad patterns are pretty life like even down to dot placement. The only thing they are missing is a crankbait that really looks like a shad body. Several baits I paint for guys are nothing like a shad color but they all have the dot and none of them are where they would be on a shad. These craw baits guys paint now... you ever seen a craw swim? We are backwards of the way they actually move. That's all I'm saying... I guess it's the same reason car makers make ugly cars and use ugly colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougarftd Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 It's really not what the fish want...fish will probably at one time or another hit just basic patterns. It is about the confidence of the fisherman to get him/her to even throw the bait. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 HaHa yeah I like when you hear "it works because it give the fish a new look" since the creation of man we've tricked things into our bag from purple worms to chartreuse 4 tailed willy monster's, yep I'm out to catch me a fisherman not the fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougarftd Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 (edited) I don't mean that in a negative or deceptive way...we all know if you tie on a 6" purple Texas rigged plastic worm we will probably catch fish. Over time guys get convinced that the fish get conditioned to a color or a bait and stop throwing it...a good custom painted crankbait gives them (fisherman) the confidence that they are throwing something that few if any others on that lake have, thus fish have not seen it. My end is...if it gives them added confidence, they use it more, catch fish,...everyone is happy. Most of what we do is psychological anyway... Edited November 24, 2014 by Cougarftd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSilverFox Posted November 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 Ha... a photo image of a shad or bluegill is something they haven't seen! LOL i know what you're saying. Confidence means a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted November 24, 2014 Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 Plus it's fun doing all those different finishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdeee Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) I have never ever had a fish buy one of my baits!!! Edited November 25, 2014 by Jdeee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveG Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 "it's my opinion it catches more fishermen than it does fish" Absolutely right, plenty of fish were caught before these fancy finishes came onto the scene and I think a bait can look too realistic sometimes when fish will respond better to a more animated finish, a lures action is infinitely more important than the finish. Having said that I love experimenting with finishes and that is a hobby in itself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 "a lures action is infinitely more important than the finish" That might be true most of the time, but not always. If you had been fishing Sam Rayburn back in the early spring of 1990 you would agree. We all know how popular rattle baits are in the early spring and that year was no different. The only thing was that if you were fishing anything other than a pumpkin seed 'trap you weren't catching fish. Bill Lewis couldn't build them and ship them fast enough. When you were lucky enough to find some you didn't buy one or two. You bought all they would sell you. Many times I've had "followers" track a bait all the way to the boat without biting only to change to the same bait in a different color and start catching them. If I've learned anything over the many years spent fishing it's that just as soon as you think you've got bass figured out they will throw you a curve ball. Ben 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougarftd Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 Plus it's fun doing all those different finishes! Oh there is no doubt you get a big kick when you can make a piece of wood or plastic seem to come alive. No different than when an artist brings a blank canvas to life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 Some years ago I took a small dry branch from the shoreline; tied two treble hooks on it with mono. Then tied it on my line. I caught 2 bass before the twig broke. The point of the experiment was to prove to myself that fish will hit just about anything if it attracts them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdeee Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 Dumb bass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 Dumb bass I don't think so. Fish, like all creatures on this earth, act on instinct. Give it a try and you will see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonoman Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 So what exactly is the attraction of a small dry branch?...could it possibly have been a pond where there was limited food resources and the fish were starving? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 So what exactly is the attraction of a small dry branch?...could it possibly have been a pond where there was limited food resources and the fish were starving? No. It was in a lake that we fish tournaments in. Like I said it's just an instinctive reaction. Some topwater baits work the same way. Take a buzzbait for instance. What the heck does that look like to a bass. Certainly nothing it usually eats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonoman Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 I can certainly understand the attraction of a buzz bait , the commotion and the instinct to check it out, I guess if I squint real hard I can see the resemblance of a small dry branch to say a rapala....very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdeee Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 Sorry not offend anyone, I just never found bass to be the smartest fish in the pond. Maybe that's where the term Dumbass comes from LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted November 25, 2014 Report Share Posted November 25, 2014 Sorry not offend anyone, I just never found bass to be the smartest fish in the pond. Maybe that's where the term Dumbass comes from LOL. Didn't offend me. Got to do a lot more than that. It would be something like Montreal Canadians suck.lol (I'm a Canadian like you) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
