Weight in a crankbait

[Devoncota]

Hey guys new to TU,

I just started making my own lures and I spent a bunch of money on everything to get me started and I even made some pretty decent looking lures but I am having some trouble with getting them to dive good. I have some that pull to the right some that pull to the left and some that don't really do anything I messed around with weights and bills but where is a good starting point for weights. How much weight Do I use, and where on the bait is the best. I am making 5 in baits and am trying to get them down 7 to 10 feet. Any help would be appreciated.

Edited August 2, 2017 by Devoncota

[BobP]

The best advice I can give is to build a lure that copies a bait you like which has the dive depth and performance characteristics of the bait you want to build.  It takes a lot of time, effort, and failed prototypes to design and build a successful crankbait from scratch.  Why reinvent the wheel if you just want to build a bait as a hobby builder who will not sell them as unethical knockoffs of a commercial lure?  In copying, I think many guys don't realize the detail required.  It requires exact overall weight, bill length and shape, body size and shape, body balance, and symmetry.  Details are critical.  When you do one successfully you can then modify the design in later versions to tweak the performance to suit yourself.  I buy a bait or two of the model I want to copy as the basis of work.  Photos and descriptions in a catalog won't  provide the detailed info you need to copy a bait.  Then I go to work with a digital scale and a ruler to get data.  And build a bait that conforms exactly to the measured data.  Easy to say, not so easy to do.  But worth the effort.

If your baits run off to the side, it can be any of several problems or a combination:  lip design, lip size or angle, incorrect ballast, lack of straightness or lack of symmetry, etc. it's hard to diagnose build problems unless you have the bait in hand and know how it was built.

[Anglinarcher]

Bob is dead on.  It can take a lot of effort to get it right.  Start easy, work up from their.

 

[SW Lures]

The two bait maker's above is dead on. It takes time for someone to learn what changes will correct issues. Depth of a bait diving can be all of the above, Like Bob stated it takes info to answer each question. Post a pic with detail info, that would help.

[rosko2]

I've found that line tie location can play a role as well when it comes to how a crank runs. I was having a bear of a time getting my first crank to run the way I thought it should until I moved the line tie location. Also, the ones that are running to the left and right may just need tuned?

Joe

[Musky Glenn]

I wanted to make a copy of a commercially made lure, I bought one took measurements, cut it apart to see how much weight and where they spaced the weight. When I found out how much work it was to get all this right, I just bought more factory made lures. Good luck. Musky Glenn

[BobP]

I agree with rosco2.  Medium depth cranks usually require a line tie out on the lip of the bait, and the exact positioning is a big factor on how well the bait will perform.  It's freaky how a mm or two fore/aft in the tie can alter the action of a bait.  One mistake is trying to get a bait to run deeper by leaving the line tie in the nose of the bait and simply making the lip longer.  The lip then overpowers the bait and causes it to run off to the side, cease to wiggle, and spiral through the water.  Most of us learned that painful lesson at some point in our hobby career.  That's why I suggest a faithful copy of a "known good" bait to start the process.  Only experience really teaches most of us about what will work and what won't.  And its frustrations can kill your enthusiasm for making crankbaits, so working from "known good" designs gives you a leg up to a satisfying result.

Like Glenn, I don't build every bait I fish and I don't mind paying for great baits that are difficult or impossible to copy.  But I do get a kick out of catching fish on my baits.

Edited August 2, 2017 by BobP

[BobP]

Btw, most of the crankbaits I make are variants of commercial "custom wood baits" and the vast majority of them employ ballasts that are cast as part of the belly hook hanger.  You can make your own belly weights or can buy them at lurepartsonline.com.   Of course you aren't limited to using this method but it is in common use.

[Anglinarcher]

One thing to remember is that you need to lower your initial expectations.  Consider each lure a new bit of knowledge learned, a bit of information that you did not have before.

I have a lure I make that swims awesome, but I am tried of the overly complex joint and molding process to get it right, to get the center of gravity (a more critical thing then just ballast, and more difficult) just right, to get consistency out of it.  So, I took it upon myself to test several materials and concepts.  After hours and hours of testing I am almost back to the same concept I came up with almost 10 years ago.  BUT, I have learned a lot in the process.

I don't want to discourage you, and this site can get you pointed in the right direction, but the more information, the more pictures you can give us, the better our collective advise will be.

[SW Lures]

It is amazing how the tow eye location can make it or break it. It seems that a standard stick type bait with a lip does better near the nose. On the other hand a lipless bait does better up the back. But with a flat head on the bait the eye is still relatively close to this area. Interesting for sure, that's why we do it I guess.

[Anglinarcher]

16 hours ago, DaleSW said:

It is amazing how the tow eye location can make it or break it. It seems that a standard stick type bait with a lip does better near the nose. On the other hand a lipless bait does better up the back. But with a flat head on the bait the eye is still relatively close to this area. Interesting for sure, that's why we do it I guess.

Agreed.  Most of us sure don't do it to make or save money.  ROFLOL

I think I need to start another project. 

[ROD W]

My first batch of lures were some square bills. They are a cross between a KVD and Fat CB. Ran fantastic caught fish. I was going to be the next James Heddon. So I thought I was smart and modified the angle of the diving lip to get some extra depth. Lures ran terrible no way they would catch a fish. I went from glory to ghetto.

I agree look a some lures you like and match the angles but don't stop thinking outside the box. Maybe......................................

 

[Vodkaman]

The only thing that I can add to the marvelous and knowledgeable comments above; is when you modify your bait to improve, change only one thing at a time and make a note of its effect. If you change more than one thing, you learn absolutely nothing because you do not know the effect that each individual modification had.

Yes, it is a lot of work, but with each change, you EARN knowledge that will reap short-cuts in the future. An experienced designer/builder has a 'feel' for what needs to be done. This comes from the knowledge of what each adjustment will do. That is why I say 'Earn'. Pay now with the work and effort, earn the knowledge, and apply it freely in the future.

Dave

Edited August 12, 2017 by Vodkaman

[Vodkaman]

I totally agree with Rosko2 - eye position is probably the most powerful adjustment that you can make. This is a good one to experiment with and learn. Eye position is key to attaining depth.

DAve

[SW Lures]

Well can't add much to Dave's comments. Number 1 he and others help me to understand these issues that I ran into. I came to TU thinking I had learned everything on YouTube to make a deep diving gizzard shad.........wrong!! First off, I agree make one change at a time. I didn't and got hung up because of it. I thought putting the tow eye out on a long bill and a angle close to perpendicular of the horizontal center line (x line). Well two out of three, plus weight location was a nightmare. I ended up with the tow near the nose on the bait. The bill change from 2" from the nose to about 1 1/2", still perpendicular to the center (I got right). Ballast moved way forward to a point the tail of the baits sticks above the surface. That bad boy will get down there now. I know it runs more than 25'. Yep, take one thing on at a time.

Dale