SW Lures Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 (edited) I agree with playing the edge of tolerances of buoyancy. Example suspending, I just get close and the bait will do what it will do. Some reason are the flow of the water. The temperatures of the water. I also buy hand picked wood. This includes basswood, balsa, cedar, poplar etc. Because I use to make consignment furniture and still do some. I don't believe in buying anything like this that I can't look at. I brought this back up to get more thoughts about this topic. I honestly have no issues with any of the woods that I have used so far for baits. Balsa, basswood, cedar and poplar are the ones. Balsa is so soft, basswood I like, cedar is to fibery but ok, poplar is very similar to basswood but more convenient to get. I buy my native woods from a mill that's dries the wood there. These are people that I have got to rough cut trees for me. I can walk and search for and piece that I like. I believe the eye, feel and knowing how to pick out wood is what gets you quality like Bob stated, he picks his own wood. Most people starting out just goes and grabs the wood and never takes the time to understand how to get the quality of the wood for the buck. I believe that is what I am really trying to say. Thanks for your reply's. Take Care, Dale Edited September 30, 2016 by DaleSW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Young Posted October 1, 2016 Report Share Posted October 1, 2016 I have often thought of splitting the bait the other way...horizontally instead of a vertical plane. That way you could have the strength of a harder wood and have a light weight top half for extra vertical stability when swimming and thereby reduce roll. I haven't tried it though. It is difficult to sand something soft next to something hard and come out evenly. If you do this, then I suggest shaping the harder wood first, then glue on the balsa and shape it to the hardwood. This is another RC modelers technique. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uttexas Posted October 3, 2019 Report Share Posted October 3, 2019 (edited) I'd try experimenting with hydrodynamics also. Weighing down the top rear of the wood bait a little by drilling a hole and filling with baking soda and dropping in some super glue (baking soda is more dense than wood) Drill a hole at the front top of the bait and filling with pool noodle foam, then seal with thin layer of epoxy. This will have the wood lure nose up/plane up a bit more on retrieve making it run less deep. Other thoughts--shave down the length of the lip or change the lip angle to more perpendicular to the lure. Edited October 3, 2019 by uttexas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodieb8 Posted October 17, 2019 Report Share Posted October 17, 2019 On 4/26/2015 at 2:35 PM, JRammit said: Advice accepted!... This particular project is not a finicky one, and its close to completion, so ill try my idea on this one rather than starting over... This will be (hopefully) my 1st "successful" hard bait, and i read some advice on an old thread for newbies to stick with one particular wood to better understand changes from one bait to another... Maybe i should have started with something different??... Where does poplar rank among oppinions here? poplar for us is good for broom handles. we find expansion/contaction and poplars ,don't mix. were in the great lakes with large temperature variances.. our top wood choices are white cedar,or mahogany. .both hold epoxies/paints well.,never a swelling issue once toothy fish breach the paint. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
