flipper2 Posted October 1, 2015 Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 I couldn't believe what I was reading and to think he has time to hand carve and finish all those baits while fishing professionally. What do you guys think of his ad? I'll never buy one!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted October 1, 2015 Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 Got a link to it? Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipper2 Posted October 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 Sorry Ben I'm not sure how to attach the link. But, long story short. Craig Powers seems to be bashing anyone who builds there on baits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted October 1, 2015 Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 Copy and paste Copy the web address... Then come back here and paste Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltwater Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 Or go to craigpowersbaits.com and look for it there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 I have just had a quick look through the Craig Powers baits sites and could not find anything controversial. The baits seem no different to any other flat sided crank on the market and they are priced reasonably, but I would not call this bait innovative or new. From the read-up on tacklewarehouse.com and as a pro angler, Craig understands what is required by the angler and understands enough about bait design to make the bait do what he wants. He is using his successful name to market his baits, but what is wrong with that - I would too, if I had a name. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 If you believe that Jase, Jep and Uncle Si actually sit in a werehouse and assemble duck calls all day.... Then why not believe that this guy hand carves and paints every bait he sells Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 JR - But he told me so, must be true! Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 (edited) I didn't see anything controversial either and in fact do agree with some of the his points. For example he is dead on when stating any one can make a handmade bait.....his point is just because someone makes a handmade bait doesn't make it good. It doesn't take long, if you are crank bait guy, to learn a lot of handmade baits are junk and that in my opinion is his selling point. Many of us would take a hit to the ego if our best work was put in the hands of serious crank bait guys (ok probably just state something to the effect our baits work for me so good enough, the fish I catch don't seam to mind, etc... ). I also think that it would be quite possible to make them dependent on a few factors. Are we talking 5000, 1000, 500, etc... the three bread and butter cranks he has are all the exact same body just different lips. Once you get everything worked out how long does it take to cut, shape, drill, sand a balsa crank? With a shop with the correct tools, set up to do the same thing, with correct stops and jigs one can churn out some bodies. Only 10 paint colors...once again once set up a guy knowing how to paint will whip through a lot of cranks in no time. I know if I bought balsa strips (correct thickness as he does) I could spend an afternoon cutting out several hundred blanks. How long to knock the edges (carve)with a knife and sand, drill,weight, etc...How many could one knock out between events or over a month or so? I have looked at them a few times in the past but never bought any........he has two less Series 1 now. Will have to see if I have any balsa flat sides left or how my best attempt fairs. Edited October 2, 2015 by Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipper2 Posted October 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 Sorry, What he was saying must have came across the wrong way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted October 3, 2015 Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 Just looked at his actual site Another good selling point is "precision duplication".... Id like to learn that trick! Honestly, im not a crank bait guy, but id like to be... They look pretty in my tackle box, but i catch more fish on soft plastics Even though i hardly use them, ive learned alot about them here on TU... One thing i remember reading is how the pros will test dozens of "identical" production cranks and throw most of them away, only keeping a handfull that perform to their expectations None of the cranks ive built act the same... Granted, i just began making them, so errors are abundant..... But, how many guys can build true identical crank baits???..... Im not asking to promote Craig Powers, im asking for inspiration... It can be done right??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted October 3, 2015 Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 When you pick a crank out of the box, you have a specific function in mind. Craig talked about this on one of the sites; he talked about baits that swim at a specific depth, he talked about a nose down attitude for fishing cover/grass, to protect the hooks, tight or wide wobble to suit what the fish are liking on that day. This is where prototyping comes into play. Most of it is in lip shape and eye location, but ballast location and overall density play a part. Body, lip shape, ballast location are not difficult to control. The hard part is overall density, in other words, how deep the lure sits in the water. This is affected by the original density of the wood and can vary considerably, especially with balsa. For true repeatability, the density must be accounted for by controlling the ballast weight. This sounds impossible, but measuring the density of the wood blank is easy, and a simple spreadsheet can tell you the ballast required to achieve the consistency in the float. I don't, but if I was to reverse engineer an existing bait, the final density would be the first measurement that I would make, along with the angle that the bait sits in the water. These two factors, along with lip shape and tow eye position, are the key to repeatability. Other functions are more difficult and finicky to manage purely numerically; such as maximum depth or hunting. These will require fine adjustment of the lip in a test pool environment. Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted October 3, 2015 Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 If hand made definitely going to be hard to be true identical copies. However "identical", in my opinion, has some variance that will allow one to get the same to near same performance. This allows one to make cranks that repeatedly perform. I try to repeat the same process when making my cranks once I get one worked out as it reduces errors. We could take a micrometer and find variances but I believe I use enough methods to insure repeat ability and get "identical" cranks. Starting out important to do multiples as it really helps one to to learn repeatable technique (at least for me). I try doing a half dozen or so as a minimum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted October 3, 2015 Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 Density, from many other reads here on TU, sounds tricky with wood... Be it from species, moisture or even different parts of the tree Although many pull it off, my thoughts are that PVC may be more predictable I think my problems are caused by finish (epoxy)... Easily solved by building a lure turner I see a lot of beautiful hand made cranks here in the gallery!... But i see no videos... Just curious how many of them run as good as they look?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted October 3, 2015 Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 Travis - of course there has to be a tolerance, and it is not particularly tight either. But for deep divers or hunters, the tolerance IS tight. You can use regular tolerances for deep divers, but you may not be getting the maximum depth available. But talking specifics is beyond the scope of this thread. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmaster42nwnc Posted May 19, 2016 Report Share Posted May 19, 2016 C.P. has not fished professionally in a few years now so I would say time is not a factor in his lure making nowdays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 If you do any hand shaping on wood crankbaits, there's zero chance of getting any two exactly the same. There will always be some variability among wood crankbaits, even those done in a large factory like Rapala. If you design a bait that is 'middle of the road' in performance, the small differences among cranks in that series will affect the performance much less than if you design a bait that is "cutting edge" in performance. So you pay your money (and effort) and take your chances. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to shoot for the stars when designing a crankbait. There's nothing better than a crankbait that performs past expectations and catches fish like crazy. But you have to accept a greater failure rate among your crankbaits if you go that route. Like they say, "there's no free lunch". 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted August 3, 2016 Report Share Posted August 3, 2016 (edited) If he's selling baits commercially, including on Tackle Warehouse, I think you can take "hand carved" with a big grain of salt. He's almost certainly not sitting in his garage carving baits with a knife or in any method that is truly hand carving. If you have hundreds of baits to make per week/month, you are using as much automation as you can muster, especially if your price point is $12.95 per bait. Or you are going broke. That doesn't mean he isn't turning out very good baits. I just put the hoopla down to advertising hyperbole - not very rare in the bait business! Edited August 3, 2016 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishon-son Posted August 6, 2016 Report Share Posted August 6, 2016 must be down....cant find it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
