Is It Hard Or Is It Soft?

[Montana Riverboats]

Fly tying mates with lure making?

 

The diving bill on this one was snipped from a tomato container.  It isn't strong enough.  They tend to bend and/or break eventually.  Especially when it's cold.  But it does work. I'm looking around for a good supply of stouter plastic.  The body takes about ten minutes.  Maybe another 5 minutes or so for the paint job.  And then an hour or two for glue to set up and dry.  Dives and wiggles like crazy.  The position of the leader exit hole determines the action. High up on the diving bill makes a wide slow motion wobbler that doesn't dive deeply.  Lower down on the bill makes a tight high speed vibrator that dives surprisingly well.  And deeply.  These lures (the way this one is made) sinks at rest.  You can either add more foam or reduce weight some to make one that suspends or even floats at rest.

 

body: snipped with scissors from soft but buoyant closed cell foam.   Slit the underside of the body with a razor blade.

 

weight:  3/8 or 1/2 ounce slip sinker threaded onto plastic tubing and then pressed into the slit in the body foam.  Soak the body slit with Super Glue. Hold it together for a 15 seconds or so.

 

diving bill:  snipped from plastic sheeting, roughed up with sand paper and glued to the foam with Super Glue.  Poke a hole in the bill for a leader.  Push the leader tippet through the diving bill hole.  Poke the leader through the plastic tubing buried inside the slip sinker, buried inside the body.

 

Press on some adhesive backed eyes.  Slobber Super Glue around the eyes to fix them permanently.

 

Mark up the foam with permanent magic markers, which are not permanent.  So after making the color job with marking pens slobber on some clear water based fabric cement to fix the colors permanently.  Set it aside to dry.  

 

Tune the action by trimming the diving bill with diagonal cutters (dikes) or toe nail clippers.  If it tracks to the right trim the left side of the bill.

 

If anyone has any ideas about where and how to buy stouter sheet plastic, for making diving bills, I'd love to hear about it.  Tomato container diving bills are fine for tiny fly rod trout and pan fish wigglers.  But they aren't strong enough for fist sized bass lures.  Sheet metal sheers cut through all kinds of plastic.  Like sewing scissors on paper.

 

Edited June 15, 2015 by Montana Riverboats

[BobP]

I suggest using G-10 garolite circuit board.  It's very stiff and durable and comes in a wide array of thicknesses and colors.  You can order it from McMaster-Carr or search online for other sources.  McMaster also carries clear polycarbonate (aka Lexan) sheets in different thicknesses.  These are the 2 materials that crankbait makers use for most of their lures.  The G-10 or G-11 garolite is stiffer for its thickness compared to the Polycarbonate but does not come in a clear color.

 

(1/16" thick polycarbonate)  http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-polycarbonate-sheets/=xn0r2t

 

(1/32" thick G-11 garolite)  http://www.mcmaster.com/#garolite-plastic/=xn0pdz

Edited June 15, 2015 by BobP

[JRammit]

Montana, ive been working diligently on a hard bodied bait verry similar to your design... I have a few questions... Sending PM

[Montana Riverboats]

Thanks guys.  Circuit board.  Somebee

[Vodkaman]

Terrific lure idea. Perfect for the fishing that I do. I will be making a few of these for my next trip.

 

Dave

[Montana Riverboats]

I've been working on (quick and easy) crankbaits for a long time.  I'm making progress.  The above lure works.  I've made zillions.  Many didn't work well at all.  I don't claim to have all the answers.  Small changes in proportions can make huge differences in the action.  That's why they mold the expensive ones.  So they always come out the same.  The Rapala makers still have to tune their lures in little tubs, before they package them up.  There is a video out there on the web somewhere.  Quick and easy is important for me because I have such a high failure rate.  I mean....once I find a design that works I can reproduce it well enough.  But when experimenting with new shapes it's hard to get it right at first.  It takes determination.   

 

..........I wrote the following for a fly tying forum a few years ago, in a thread about making small ultra-lightweight flyrod wigglers.  Bass and Walleye lures are the same though, I think.  Just bigger and heavier.

 

All wigglers (molded factory made Rapalas included) rely on a balance between buoyancy and weight. If you cut a crankbait open with a band saw you'll see the upper rear end of the body is buoyant because it is hollow, or made from wood. But it has weight embedded too, where the weight is further forward and lower down compared to the buoyancy.  Buoyancy above. Weight below.

I cut the diving bill from the lid of a Costco tomato box. Cut it out too big. Way too big. Rough up the back side with 220 sand paper so glue will work.
 

Cut some closed cell foam into a slightly V-shape. Glue the front V of the body to the bill with CA glue (super glue) or Epoxy. Set it aside.

Skewer the rear end of the foam body onto a horizontal needle (needle in the fly tying vise).
Use thread to tie on a tail tuft, made from whatever. Marabou.

Use a wide-eyed sewing needle to sew a loop of thread into the body so a mini-loop hangs down in the middle of the body. This will be a hook keeper, as pictured. Knot the thread on the top side of the body. Put CA glue on the knot so it doesn't come apart.

You're done. You cold add all sorts of adornments. But that's the basic fly.
Snell a hook onto some tippet. Thread a bead onto the tippet. Poke the hook into the hook keeper. Thread the tippet up through the hole in the bill.
Ooops. I forgot to say make a hole in the middle of the bill. Make two or three and see which one works the best. You can use needle nose pliers to push a fat sewing needle into the bill in order to make the leader hole.

tie the front end of the tippet to a barrel swivel. Knot that onto your leader.
Go fish.

You will need to tune the wiggler. Use toe nail clippers. If it swims to the left trim the right side of the bill.
A hole in the bill lower down makes a deeper diver with tight wobble.

A hole in the bill higher up makes a shallow diver with slower wider wobble.
If you want a slow wide wobble at depth use a bigger bead, or use weight on the leader.

Divers that work well in still water generally do not work well in a stiff current. And Versa Visa.

They're fun to make. They work well. Fish will swim a long way to attack them.

 

 

Edited June 16, 2015 by Montana Riverboats

[Vodkaman]

Great action, especially with the trailer.

 

DAve

[benton B]

I suggest 1/32 lexan for you bills, I use it on tiny ul balsa cranks and it works well.   You can order from Micro Marc.