Why Are My Swimbaits Surfacing?

[porkmeatballs]

So to keep the bait down, should I use more microballoons and more lead or less microballoons and less lead?

[mark poulson]

Porkmeatballs (why do I love that name),

I've never made a resin swimbait, but I've made lots from wood and from PVC.

I've found that the lighter the actual lure body is, even if I have to add more ballast to get it to float/sink the way I want it to, the better/more lively the action of the bait.

I also found that making the bait thicker on top, in the back and shoulders, than it is on the bottom (a V cross section for my baits from 1/2"+- at the belly to 7/8" at the shoulders) makes the bait more stable and less prone to roll on a fast retrieve.

Since you're pouring your baits in a mold, you can play around with everything until you come up with what you really want.

Good luck!

[Vodkaman]

More MB's and more lead gives your bait vertical stability, in other words, it stops the bait from flopping over or rolling. As for keeping the bait down, that is the bait design, lip angle tow eye position etc.

 

Good comments by Mark, again promoting vertical stability.

 

Dave

[Chuck Young]

Porkmeatballs (why do I love that name),

I've never made a resin swimbait, but I've made lots from wood and from PVC.

I've found that the lighter the actual lure body is, even if I have to add more ballast to get it to float/sink the way I want it to, the better/more lively the action of the bait.

I also found that making the bait thicker on top, in the back and shoulders, than it is on the bottom (a V cross section for my baits from 1/2"+- at the belly to 7/8" at the shoulders) makes the bait more stable and less prone to roll on a fast retrieve.

Since you're pouring your baits in a mold, you can play around with everything until you come up with what you really want.

Good luck!

I love that reverse V idea. Thanks for sharing!

[SW Lures]

Yep Mr. Young, it works very well. Mark told me about it some time ago. I believe that it gives a bait more action and guides the bait a little straighter. Not to mention this technique holds the bait more upright (stability). It does not effect the action in my opinion. I have been doing it to a very slight taper. You can hardly see it. I do this while shaping. My way is not faster then what Mark does. His being saw I believe, but it doesn't take much.

Dale

[mark poulson]

Dale,

I cut my joints almost through on the tablesaw while the blank is still rectangular.  I leave 1/8" to hold the bait together for shaping.

Once the profile is cut out on the bandsaw, I drill my ballast holes on the drill press, so I can keep the blank square and keep the holes centered.  I also drill a small through hole at my eye location so the eyes will line up later.

I do all of my rough shaping on an oscillating belt sander.

I add detail with a dremel and it's sanding drum, and an exacto knife.

Then I cut the joints completely through with a drywall knife after my shaping is done.

I clean up the pieces on the belt sander, and do the final joint shaping.

I install my screw eye hinge parts, mark where I want the slots on the next section, and cut/shape the hinge slots in the front of the next section.

I have a drill press table with a small centering pin that lines up with the center of the bit.  I mark where I want my hinge pins to go, use an awl to mark the holes, and then put the right size bit in the drill press.  I put one side of the piece down so the awl hole is on the centering pin.  I drill half way down from one side, then flip the piece, put the starter hole onto the centering pin, and drill down to finish the pin hole.  

If I do it right, the two holes meet at the center.  If not, because I have the hinge slots already cut, I can see where the holes miss each other, and can use a hand held drill to correct the alignment.  It's not hard to do.

Having a process has made it easy for me to make a new jointed bait, or multiple baits, if I want to.

I hope this helps.

[clemmy]

Since you are still developing, take a piece of wire or paperclip and superglue it to the forehead of this one, and see what happens. It should pop off pretty easily with side pressure to try different line tie positions.

You could also try taping/ super gluing some lead tape or small splithot on bottom sections to see what the added ballast does.

That way you have more info for next mold attempt.

You could event make front forehead section mold only with wider top as already suggested, and see if that helps. Then sand the top flat and see if it helps/hurts the Surfacing you are experiencing.

On the plus side, you've built a swimbait with a jigging action! I.e. Let it sink, jerk to raise, let it sink, etc.

Craig

[Chuck Young]

My observation of fishies indicate that the orient themselves nose down when swimming toward the bottom. So I wouldn't be opposed to a slightly nose heavy bait.

[Chuck Young]

 

Dale,

I cut my joints almost through on the tablesaw while the blank is still rectangular.  I leave 1/8" to hold the bait together for shaping.

Once the profile is cut out on the bandsaw, I drill my ballast holes on the drill press, so I can keep the blank square and keep the holes centered.  I also drill a small through hole at my eye location so the eyes will line up later.

I do all of my rough shaping on an oscillating belt sander.

I add detail with a dremel and it's sanding drum, and an exacto knife.

Then I cut the joints completely through with a drywall knife after my shaping is done.

I clean up the pieces on the belt sander, and do the final joint shaping.

I install my screw eye hinge parts, mark where I want the slots on the next section, and cut/shape the hinge slots in the front of the next section.

I have a drill press table with a small centering pin that lines up with the center of the bit.  I mark where I want my hinge pins to go, use an awl to mark the holes, and then put the right size bit in the drill press.  I put one side of the piece down so the awl hole is on the centering pin.  I drill half way down from one side, then flip the piece, put the starter hole onto the centering pin, and drill down to finish the pin hole.  

If I do it right, the two holes meet at the center.  If not, because I have the hinge slots already cut, I can see where the holes miss each other, and can use a hand held drill to correct the alignment.  It's not hard to do.

Having a process has made it easy for me to make a new jointed bait, or multiple baits, if I want to.

I hope this helps.

 

This will save much trial and error when i make a bigger swimbait.

[porkmeatballs]

Since you are still developing, take a piece of wire or paperclip and superglue it to the forehead of this one, and see what happens. It should pop off pretty easily with side pressure to try different line tie positions.

You could also try taping/ super gluing some lead tape or small splithot on bottom sections to see what the added ballast does.

That way you have more info for next mold attempt.

You could event make front forehead section mold only with wider top as already suggested, and see if that helps. Then sand the top flat and see if it helps/hurts the Surfacing you are experiencing.

On the plus side, you've built a swimbait with a jigging action! I.e. Let it sink, jerk to raise, let it sink, etc.

Craig

 

 

I just made my new gill swimbait with a low forehead. I haven't tested it yet, but hopefully the different shape will keep the bait down... I'll post pics soon.

[porkmeatballs]

Here it is! I tried it out in my tiny pond in the backyard and it seemed like it swam pretty well... I couldn't really tell though since the pond isn't very long. This was the only pic I could upload because the other pictures were over 2MB

 

 

[SW Lures]

A very nice looking bait. I'm going to try that type of joint soon.

Looking good,

Dale

[fishon-son]

lead tape that golfers use on there clubs might help you...put some on the bottom of your bait......golfsmith has it  

[porkmeatballs]

Took it out for a swim yesterday and it stays down really well! That low forehead really helps. I think that gill might be my new favorite now 

[SW Lures]

When you flare out the gill plate it causes another issue going thru water. Another point for me is when a forage fish is moving fast to very fast to elude a predator fish the plate is not open very far. Speed is essential for escape.

If I'm making a lure that is being cranked in moderate to pretty fast, I am just bring the body down behind the plate a little, then painting the effect of the gill. The technique is starting to look pretty good.

Just less issues for the action of the lure,

Dale

[porkmeatballs]

When you flare out the gill plate it causes another issue going thru water. Another point for me is when a forage fish is moving fast to very fast to elude a predator fish the plate is not open very far. Speed is essential for escape.

If I'm making a lure that is being cranked in moderate to pretty fast, I am just bring the body down behind the plate a little, then painting the effect of the gill. The technique is starting to look pretty good.

Just less issues for the action of the lure,

Dale

 

 

Wow I've never thought about that! On my bluegill, the gills aren't flared too much... I don't think they should be a problem. However, some of my other baits do have more prominent gills. I'll look in to this. Thanks Dale!

[tendelta]

It looks that the line ties are all below the centerline of the baits, horizontal line from nose to tail with 50% above and 50% below this line, at a point below the line any line tie would be pulling a constant upward lift on the entire lure body.  I would relocate line tie to a point slightly above or at centerline to reduce the lifting affect and also increase the forward ballast to offset the natural forces of water that also produces lift or the surfacing problem. hope this helps. 

[mark poulson]

I forgot to mention that I put an open mouth on my trout swimbaits, and put the line tie in the open mouth.  It is just below the centerline of the bait, depending on the actual bait's shape.  I think the combination of the V section of the bait's body, which reduces the amount of buoyant material in the lower half of the bait, plus my belly weighting, keeps the baits stable and they stay down.

[Chuck Young]

I noticed that line tie in the mouth. It looks cool. All it needs is a catchy name - like tongue tied.