Why does everyone paint now? Literally everyone

[goolies]

So many are painting now because so many are willing to pay.  IMO owning more than 3 to 4 colors of any one lure is ridiculous.  It's also ridiculous to think you need a lure that has been painted with 8 different colors and 3 different stencils to catch a damn fish.  On Lake Erie for walleye, it's become all about spraying a lure with 3 to 5 unnatural colors and giving the color scheme a catchy name.

Edited January 21, 2020 by goolies

[mark poulson]

12 minutes ago, goolies said:

So many are painting now because so many are willing to pay.  IMO owning more than 3 to 4 colors of any one lure is ridiculous.  It's also ridiculous to think you need a lure that has been painted with 8 different colors and 3 different stencils to catch a damn fish.  On Lake Erie for walleye, it's become all about spraying a lure with 3 to 5 unnatural colors and giving the color scheme a catchy name.

I paint because it's fun, and because I make my own lures.

[Hillbilly voodoo]

Sure glad my priority is creating a lure and its action. This whole world of painting sounds down right unfriendly and dare I say mean even 

 

Starting to wonder how many pages this one will go

[goolies]

19 hours ago, mark poulson said:

I paint because it's fun, and because I make my own lures.

To me making new lures is fun and painting is a necessary evil. 

[Vodkaman]

50 minutes ago, goolies said:

To me making new lures is fun and painting is a necessary evil. 

Actually, I find it unnecessary, but that is a whole new subject, argued through many times on this site

Dave

[Hillbilly voodoo]

6 hours ago, Vodkaman said:

Actually, I find it unnecessary, but that is a whole new subject, argued through many times on this site

Dave

Oh it’s definitely necessary for catching fishermen and there is no doubt about it. I have stepped up my efforts with an air brush for this very reason alone 

 

 

 

 

[Skeeter]

It is true that you don't need a lure painted 8 different colors to catch a fish. But oh...aren't some of them a work of art? I appreciate good work. Those guys just separate themselves from the rest of us. Personally, I appreciate their efforts. It keeps me striving to do better everytime I pick up an airbrush. 

Skeeter

[Hillbilly voodoo]

They definitely look cool

[Skeeter]

Lol.....and the definitely aren't easy to do cleanly either.

Skeeter

[Hughesy]

10 hours ago, Skeeter said:

It is true that you don't need a lure painted 8 different colors to catch a fish. But oh...aren't some of them a work of art? I appreciate good work. Those guys just separate themselves from the rest of us. Personally, I appreciate their efforts. It keeps me striving to do better everytime I pick up an airbrush. 

Skeeter

You do great work Skeet! They got nothing on you.

[B-Rad Baits]

I found this site while looking for advice about epoxy coatings. Great info, so I signed up. This is probably the third forum string I have read.

WOW! Pretty heated. 

I am one of the hacks that just started doing this about 3 months ago. I saw Marling Baits on YouTube and thought it would be fun. I bought a cheap airbrush on Amazon, a block of balsa and some other materials and now I'm a bait maker. 

Every time i paint a new bait (about 15 so far), I improve or at least learn something. When I am done painting and coating a bait and it looks like something I would buy I get pretty excited. I don't however, call it a lure until i see it swim. I have had plenty of misfires so far. Baits that look like what I was going for i.e.: rainbow trout, perch, crappie, shad, but when retrieved on a line they have about as much action as a pencil. 

Paint schemes catch fishermen but a lures action catches fish. It is the reason a white twister tail grub on a naked lead jig will catch fish almost everywhere you can cast a line. No paint scheme needed. 

Just one hacks opinion. 

[Hillbilly voodoo]

9 minutes ago, B-Rad Baits said:

I found this site while looking for advice about epoxy coatings. Great info, so I signed up. This is probably the third forum string I have read.

WOW! Pretty heated. 

I am one of the hacks that just started doing this about 3 months ago. I saw Marling Baits on YouTube and thought it would be fun. I bought a cheap airbrush on Amazon, a block of balsa and some other materials and now I'm a bait maker. 

Every time i paint a new bait (about 15 so far), I improve or at least learn something. When I am done painting and coating a bait and it looks like something I would buy I get pretty excited. I don't however, call it a lure until i see it swim. I have had plenty of misfires so far. Baits that look like what I was going for i.e.: rainbow trout, perch, crappie, shad, but when retrieved on a line they have about as much action as a pencil. 

Paint schemes catch fishermen but a lures action catches fish. It is the reason a white twister tail grub on a naked lead jig will catch fish almost everywhere you can cast a line. No paint scheme needed. 

Just one hacks opinion. 

Learning does not make you a hack at all. We all started somewhere and have all made ugly lures and failures with action. I still do at times lol. I can tell you myself and many on this forum are willing to help you learn as well. I can paint but not to the level of some here. I am more interested in the action. If you ever need help bringing one of your pencils to life ask I bet you will be met with help and no judgment 
 

Too many are heated over competition in their painting market and are forgetting that if you are in business finding out how to stand out from your competition is part of the game 

I am of the mindset I don’t worry about another’s hobby or business because it’s not mine to worry about 

I actually find these threads funny in a sick way

[Vodkaman]

B-Rad - don't take this particular post too seriously.

We all flex our ideological muscles occasionally on this site, but it is fairly meaningless. Arrive at your own conclusions.

This forum is comprised of lure genius, but we rarely agree on a majority of issues. This is a good thing as you get to make your own decisions. Read, take it all in and decide for yourself.

Dave

[mark poulson]

18 hours ago, B-Rad Baits said:

I found this site while looking for advice about epoxy coatings. Great info, so I signed up. This is probably the third forum string I have read.

WOW! Pretty heated. 

I am one of the hacks that just started doing this about 3 months ago. I saw Marling Baits on YouTube and thought it would be fun. I bought a cheap airbrush on Amazon, a block of balsa and some other materials and now I'm a bait maker. 

Every time i paint a new bait (about 15 so far), I improve or at least learn something. When I am done painting and coating a bait and it looks like something I would buy I get pretty excited. I don't however, call it a lure until i see it swim. I have had plenty of misfires so far. Baits that look like what I was going for i.e.: rainbow trout, perch, crappie, shad, but when retrieved on a line they have about as much action as a pencil. 

Paint schemes catch fishermen but a lures action catches fish. It is the reason a white twister tail grub on a naked lead jig will catch fish almost everywhere you can cast a line. No paint scheme needed. 

Just one hacks opinion. 

B-Rad,

Everything I know about bait making I learned here on TU, from other members who generously shared what they knew.  

Think of this as encouragement to continue to paint and grow.  Of course, it can also be seen as a cautionary tale.  Bait making has grown to almost match fishing as my passion, so you are forewarned!

 

[Hillbilly voodoo]

33 minutes ago, mark poulson said:

B-Rad,

Everything I know about bait making I learned here on TU, from other members who generously shared what they knew.  

Think of this as encouragement to continue to paint and grow.  Of course, it can also be seen as a cautionary tale.  Bait making has grown to almost match fishing as my passion, so you are forewarned!

 

And I would say you are pretty good about passing on the knowledge you have gained as well 

[BigFish1973]

I make baits straight from scratch, two sided foam baits molded together, made by hand, that is custom to me. The paint job I put on them is straight old school nothing fancy. The paint means nothing it's all in the vibration of the lure. 

[jcromerangler]

Three colors is all you need in bass fishing crankbaits. 1). Hot mustard color 2). Red craw Color 3) natural shad color 

 

If you cannot catch a crankbait fish with these three colors they aren't biting!

[Hillbilly voodoo]

59 minutes ago, jcromerangler said:

Three colors is all you need in bass fishing crankbaits. 1). Hot mustard color 2). Red craw Color 3) natural shad color 

 

If you cannot catch a crankbait fish with these three colors they aren't biting!

“Must have” colours for fishing is a funny thing. I have found from fishing many different areas there is always local “must have” colours and sometimes you just need to drive 2hrs to see the opinions change lol. 

For example red is never a go to for me because it is the first colour in the spectrum to washout to shades of grey. I do find paying attention to the colour spectrum is effected by light being filtered out by the water is worth paying attention to. Contrast and how it creates a flicker is another. But in all honesty outside of clear shallow water fishing a lot of colour and pattern choices are fishermen shiny syndrome. If it’s a fast moving presentation this is another thing that makes patterns no more than a blur 
 

I will be %100 honest that most of my painting is to catch fishermen more than fish. Under 90% of conditions with crankbaits I could pick two contrasting colours hit the bait with a sloppy spray bomb paint job and she will fish well. I have caught lots of fish on plain sealed wood and freshly poured white resin crankbaits 

I actually dominated a lake trout derby fishing a prototype crankbait that was just a white resin poured blank 

Whatever works or brings the fishing mojo keep at it but 90% of patterns are about catching fishermen and looking cool

[KennyP]

On ‎1‎/‎21‎/‎2020 at 6:24 PM, Hillbilly voodoo said:

Starting to wonder how many pages this one will go

    I am amazed every time I logon how this thread keeps growing. 

    Anything of mine that has had the opportunity to receive paint has been to seal for testing.  I hope one day to have something worthy of applying some type of pattern with an airbrush.  I guess I should start practicing so when the time does come it wont look like an angry third grader sprayed it.  

[mark poulson]

4 hours ago, KennyP said:

    I am amazed every time I logon how this thread keeps growing. 

    Anything of mine that has had the opportunity to receive paint has been to seal for testing.  I hope one day to have something worthy of applying some type of pattern with an airbrush.  I guess I should start practicing so when the time does come it wont look like an angry third grader sprayed it.  

If it performs as a bait, it will still get bit.  My own lures are proof of that!

[bockscar]

first post....and I am a bandwagon painter!!! LOL Just starting out

Ill never get to the point where I carve my own balsa, or make my own baits completely from scratch the way some of you do. I always just planned to get good enough to paint some patterns that match the hatch at my lake...and buy the "expensive" blanks and replace my  current collection with my custom painted blanks. 

Currently I bought some wLure and lower priced shelts/alternative lure blanks. Just gonna use all these to start learning. I will fish these, but these arent likely to see time/take up space on the boat regularly. I figured once I get good enough, Ill buy some "expensive" blanks from places like dinger and predator baits and use those as my regular baits that stay on the boat.

Are "expensive" blanks like those from dinger and predator lower quality, in the big picture of things? I fish strike king and love it, so my standards arent high....but I do want a consistent/quality bait. Do you all fish your blanks regularly or primarily? Not doing this for money and doing it for myself....so im not trying to catch any fisherman!!! LOL but if I do this for my own use am I still getting quality by using these blanks? I figure they are all coming from china since I called alternativelures the other day and they told me stuff is out of stock due to quarantine in China and that site has a good rep for quality from what ive read...and when you pay shelts via paypal the seller is in chinese characters/letters. 

 

So just want to make sure the stuff is decent enough that youd fish them regularly....figure they are since that would suck to know people are selling custom paint job on trash blanks! but looking for the TU educated opinion

Thanks.

Edited February 4, 2020 by bockscar

[JayBee]

Dinger and Predator have higher quality blanks than those other places you've listed in my experience.  Great customer service as well.

[bockscar]

19 hours ago, JayBee said:

Dinger and Predator have higher quality blanks than those other places you've listed in my experience.  Great customer service as well.

are they good enough that you would fish them regularly as confidence baits? I was kinda shocked how much hate the "cheap chinese blanks" were getting in this thread. Im just doing this for myself....so I started to worry that the baits arent even worth fishing! lol

[Hillbilly voodoo]

28 minutes ago, bockscar said:

are they good enough that you would fish them regularly as confidence baits? I was kinda shocked how much hate the "cheap chinese blanks" were getting in this thread. Im just doing this for myself....so I started to worry that the baits arent even worth fishing! lol

Ok first off I don’t buy blanks so take my opinion for what it is 

In my opinion the only way to really know is buy one of each and compare. Run them side by side and compare the action. Check out the durability as well. This is the way I compare brands of everything and at times the cheaper option is good other times they are crap. 

When it comes to brands there is a ton of options some justified some not

[mark poulson]

2 hours ago, bockscar said:

are they good enough that you would fish them regularly as confidence baits? I was kinda shocked how much hate the "cheap chinese blanks" were getting in this thread. Im just doing this for myself....so I started to worry that the baits arent even worth fishing! lol

I also build my own baits, but I also paint and fish baits from Predator and Dinger.  I always have a few of their baits tied on.

I am primarily interested in catching fish, and their baits do that better and more consistently than others.