Why does everyone paint now? Literally everyone

[sonoman]

 Don't worry yourself over things you cannot control, do the best work you can , be honest and fair and you develop a following based on quality work ethic and most likely will be busier than you care to be...best of luck.

[azsouth]

On 6/30/2019 at 7:32 AM, Skeeter said:

Here is the way I see it. You just have to worry about yourself. You cannot stop what you are talking about. So you just need to do it better than everyone else. It is not an easy thing to do. Being the best never is. Bottom line is.....How bad you want it?

Skeeter

Straight up perfect! Thanks Skeeter

[Munkin]

Facebook is a joke with custom baits period. Like you said everyone that has been painting for 15 minutes is spraying the same Chinese blanks. Jigs and spinnerbaits are the same way with some being just a BOSS pre-made skirt on a BOSS jighead.I use to  pick up some decent lures from the Fishing Flea Market and Bass Baits Buy and Barter. Now they are just flooded by 500 different guys trying to sell the same thing and fighting each other for scraps. Go onto one of those pages I mention and post you are looking to have some crankbaits painted and see how many replies you get,

 

Allen

[Skeeter]

And the basketball courts are a joke with all of the players out there. Just like the golf course, the football fields, and the baseball diamonds. But the cream always rises to the top doesn't it? Most of us recognize true tallent, don't we?  

"How bad you want it?"

Skeeter

[Walking Dead]

Welcome to free enterprise.  It will peak and the numbers will fall off.  Same goes for plastics. Repackaging is king in so many. It will be alright.  The big boys have been doing it for yars.

[DingerBaits]

As a supplier i see it very cyclical. One day they are here, the next gone. 

[RM3]

So much butthurt, frankly it cracks me up. Anybody on here whining about Farcebook groups and "too many painters" need to just shut up. Probably angry because when they started the help available wasn't as easily attainable.I wonder how much help this forum has been to them over the years? I guess it's OK to get help and info here but no place else on the internet? And as far as the sale pages, THE CREAM RISES TO THE TOP! Plain and simple. Are there a ton of guys doing crappy work? Yes there is, same as before, always been hacks in every business however. There are also a ton of folks putting out some amazing work, hell yes there is. As I said before, the damn cream rises to the top, the hacks sell few and when they do it is at low prices, the quality folks sell plenty at premium prices. crankbaits, jigs, spinnerbaits, plastics etc. 

Someone brought up "cheap blanks from china", guess what dude, damn near ALL manufactures source the blanks, painting and packaging from China as well, not much to bitch about here either. Well, if there is a bitch its that it all comes from there, and we are responsible for that as a whole, but discussing that issue further is impossible without it getting political.

So, my recommendation is, quit the whining and get painting. If your work is good, it will rise to the top too. let the hacks be hacks, they don't sell hardly anything at much of price anyway. Try embracing the shared knowledge and adding to it, instead of whining about it, after all you are on THIS site and I was under the impression that's what this site is about. Its no different on Farcebook, just more of it.

Have a wonderful day and try not to be bitter.

 

Edited July 21, 2019 by RM3

[samoody21]

1. Nobody on here was the first person to paint a crankbait. Get over yourselves. You started at some point too.

2. You should be glad that custom baits are gaining in popularity because you have more competition on the equipment/supplies side. More competition means more innovation and possibilities.

3. Do you discredit an artist because he didn’t handcraft his canvas? What about a sculptor because he didn’t make his own clay? Where do you draw the line? If I cast my own crankbait blanks, can I call them custom...even though I didn’t invent the resin I used?

Bottom line, you’re mad because other people are taking a piece of the pie. Welcome to capitalism. Like skeeter said, be the best and don’t worry about the rest. Row your own boat. 

[azsouth]

Walk the walk, Then talk the talk....put up or shut up, pick any saying you want and insert here.

[Bassin Dude 365]

On 7/19/2019 at 7:51 PM, Munkin said:

Facebook is a joke with custom baits period. Like you said everyone that has been painting for 15 minutes is spraying the same Chinese blanks. Jigs and spinnerbaits are the same way with some being just a BOSS pre-made skirt on a BOSS jighead.I use to  pick up some decent lures from the Fishing Flea Market and Bass Baits Buy and Barter. Now they are just flooded by 500 different guys trying to sell the same thing and fighting each other for scraps. Go onto one of those pages I mention and post you are looking to have some crankbaits painted and see how many replies you get,

 

Allen

So true. I take a hook put it in the mold and pour, paint, skirt with tabs, all my own baits. Way more custom than a guy who buys 100 pre poured, painted heads and slaps an Ez-skirt on there and calls it "custom". Then talks about how its made around blah blah hook and powder coated with armor proof paint blah blah...game changer etc.

[woodieb8]

try being in the musky world lol. I have been at shows. had another builder open packaging,taking pics of my colors. butthurt not relly but there is a threshold. even have competition call and ask what colors on baits. .to truly learn the art aspect most will agree ,it comes from many paint jobs,failures etc..we just stay out of the negative,do our own thing. .when in business remember.....at the end of the day you only have your name. be honest,fair and life will be good. .after 40 years building/painting I don't have a Bentley.lmao.

 

[cadman]

This has been going on forever, whether in fishing or any other hobby or business. I make jigs, and have been doing it for 20 years. When I started doing powder paint it was in its infancy. I then started doing multi-color jigs out of powder paint with the tap brush method, while a good friend of mine on here Smalljaw was doing multi-color jigs using powder paint with an air brush. In 2005 we were the only two at that time doing this with powder paint. The TU community exploded asking us questions on how it was done.  I was selling jigs off the wall with multi-color patterns. Myself and Smalljaw literally posted our process on how it was done on TU. This is a teaching site. To this day I do not regret people learning from what I brought to the table. Some guys were able to accomplish what I taught, others struggled and figured it out and others just could not get the hang of it.    Fast forward to today. I don't sell nearly as many multi-colored jigs as I did back then because everyone is doing it. In all honesty, it doesn't bother me. This is a hobby for me, it always has been and it will always be . I cannot make a living making jigs. With that said, I try to help people when I can, and if they steal my ideas so be it.  This is my perception on the whole thing. Someone will steal your idea if they can figure it out and if he doesn't then China will figure it out and steal it. It's just the way it goes. Life is too short to worry about inconsequential things. JMO

[JawjaBoy]

Sad to say, but what you speak of is not remotely new.  Ask any artist, singer/songwriter, inventor, etc.  The copyright and patent offices have been in existence for a long time for a reason.  

I do understand your point to a degree, but even the big boys deal with it everyday.  I remember when Strike King brought out the "Sexy Shad" pattern.  Almost overnight EVERYBODY was turning out the same pattern with similar naming.

My only complaint in the whole thing is I don't agree with calling an airbrushed, mass-produced plastic blank a custom lure.  "Custom Painted" is fine, but that's it.  I freely admit that most of the lures I make are copies, but of classic lure models and paint patterns.  And they all start off as a chunk of wood that I turn and/or carve into a lure.  Hell, in many cases I even cut the tree down and use a froe and wedges to split slabs out that I resaw into the blocks I turn/carve.  I just don't get the same satisfaction out of catching a fish on a plastic blank I painted as I do on a lure that I made from scratch. 

I do this purely as a hobby. I do sell a few when I've got time to make some, but I know I'll never get rich at it.  Hell, if I make enough to break even on parts and paint I consider it a win.  However, if I ever decided to make lures as a business, it would be with the understanding that there are myriad people out there who won't think twice about ripping off any design or paint scheme I come up with.  I'd just have to put out a better, more consistent product that I could call "The Original" with a clear conscience. 

[mayhem1202]

6 minutes ago, JawjaBoy said:

My only complaint in the whole thing is I don't agree with calling an airbrushed, mass-produced plastic blank a custom lure.  "Custom Painted" is fine, but that's it.

I agree with that 100%. Looking at the beautiful paint jobs I see produced by some, it seems such a shame to put them on a cheap knock-off blank. You can make 'em look as pretty as you like, but underneath the paint that's all they'll ever be.

[Salty's]

It's not just painting it's the whole business. It's full of people doing cash business. IRS doesn't care. It's disgusting and I been saying it for years. Now there's no more fish left that conservation was supposed to help....funded by Sportfishing excise...cash people in this business have only themselves to blame.

[Hillbilly voodoo]

On 12/15/2019 at 12:27 PM, Salty's said:

It's not just painting it's the whole business. It's full of people doing cash business. IRS doesn't care. It's disgusting and I been saying it for years. Now there's no more fish left that conservation was supposed to help....funded by Sportfishing excise...cash people in this business have only themselves to blame.

I would not agree at all. If your fisheries are declining you can only blame the gluttony of your local fishermen and a lack of effort to educate them. We all have the ability to give or take when it comes to our fisheries. Just because regulation say you can take does not mean we don’t have a choice not to. We also have a choice to donate, fundraise and lobby to make change 

The failure of a fishery is not because of some guy selling baits out of his basement. 

If you don’t like what is happening with you local fisheries do something about it. Look at the big picture and not seek out petty things to blame 

All fishermen will get more out of their effort if they ask themselves what they can do for their sport rather then point fingers at others 

Sorry but petty finger pointing excuses piss me off

[Salty's]

On 7/20/2019 at 11:37 PM, DingerBaits said:

As a supplier i see it very cyclical. One day they are here, the next gone. 

But the real issue here is it's a never ending battle. 20 years now here. I feel the cashmo and under tables sales/building/etc is just out of control at this point. It's disgusting and quite frankly I'm tired of it and the lack of IRS enforcement etc dealing with this stuff. If it's affecting my business then take a guess how much it affects even bigger businesses. 

If you own a lathe, bandsaw and a spray bomb of paint your an instant lure company. 

[Salty's]

On 12/19/2019 at 9:43 AM, Hillbilly voodoo said:

I would not agree at all. If your fisheries are declining you can only blame the gluttony of your local fishermen and a lack of effort to educate them. We all have the ability to give or take when it comes to our fisheries. Just because regulation say you can take does not mean we don’t have a choice not to. We also have a choice to donate, fundraise and lobby to make change 

The failure of a fishery is not because of some guy selling baits out of his basement. 

If you don’t like what is happening with you local fisheries do something about it. Look at the big picture and not seek out petty things to blame 

All fishermen will get more out of their effort if they ask themselves what they can do for their sport rather then point fingers at others 

Sorry but petty finger pointing excuses piss me off

Well be pissed off then. The failure of the fishery is INDEED in part to guys do underground sales. WHY? Because here in the US we are required to pay a federal excise tax on sales of fishing components. This gets earmarked for all kind of things, INCLUDING CONSERVATION. Last time I checked that included fish counts, etc etc. ALL of which have a DIRECT bearing on decisions made by fisheries managers.......... Current issues with Striped Bass could have possibly been averted years ago had fisheries managers held accurate information....

[Hillbilly voodoo]

16 minutes ago, Salty's said:

Well be pissed off then. The failure of the fishery is INDEED in part to guys do underground sales. WHY? Because here in the US we are required to pay a federal excise tax on sales of fishing components. This gets earmarked for all kind of things, INCLUDING CONSERVATION. Last time I checked that included fish counts, etc etc. ALL of which have a DIRECT bearing on decisions made by fisheries managers.......... Current issues with Striped Bass could have possibly been averted years ago had fisheries managers held accurate information....

I am well aware of the Robert Pittman act. We both know this generates money from many different outdoors related products used by more then fishermen. Now let’s not exaggerate the impact on basement baits because it is a drop in the ocean when looking at the big picture 

I stand by what I posted and I practice what I preach. 

If you don’t like the direction your fishery is going DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. 

Maybe rather then complain about these small builder try approaching them for donations of cash or their lures to be auctioned off to generate $ for projects to benefit your local fisheries. Lure builders are fishermen that are impacted by the local fisheries as well

Your choice be someone who does something to improve things or be the guy who sits there and complains

I give the challenge to all fishermen and lure builders get involved support your local fisheries 

[Chuck Young]

Painting a dozen or so patterns on a few different blanks is not my idea of custom paint. I am currently working on a site that offers thousands of variations. None of the baits will be pre-painted. 

[Vodkaman]

Adjective: custom - made or done to order for a particular customer.

 

Just about sums it up for me.

 

Dave

[Hillbilly voodoo]

1 hour ago, Vodkaman said:

Adjective: custom - made or done to order for a particular customer.

 

Just about sums it up for me.

 

Dave

Custom is a fancy term for “ too much of a pain in the a word” lol

This painting business sounds way to complicated  

[Vodkaman]

Custon is a specific design to a particular customer's specifications. If that customer decides to go to mass production for general sale, it is no longer custom.

Dave

[ZeroBaits]

I thought about adding some painted cranks to my site and ultimately I just decided what a joke. I don’t wanna be known as a strike king someday for repackaging cheap Chinese stuff with paint job on it. 
 

I gotta paint jigs. My main thing is softplastics, however the next step is jigs and lead in general. Now I gotta figure out how to mass paint hundreds of jigs at a time. 
 

I don’t do custom. I want to serve fisherman, and frankly there’s only so many effective paint schemes and colors. 
 

the crankbait painting is a great hobby. But it’s just to limited. 

[Mason52]

I make custom baits all the time, it’s easy 

here’s how I do it 

get a bait I like, then a piece of wood about the same size 

file sandpaper etc

then I start shaping the bait trying to make it look like the original.

then when I get it shaped it looks nothing like the original, so instant custom bait.

my painting is pretty much the same so instant custom paint job.

imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I just wish I could do it.