TootsMalone Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 Hey TU! New to making my own baits but have been reading on the forum for a few months now. my first bait was a 2 piece baby bass which did not get enough ballast to sink at all but with the right technique walks really well. Learned from that one to test designs before painting and clearing. second bait was a 2 piece mullet glider. Added much more weight to this one so it sinks and got lucky that it swam fairly well. Put a paintbrush tail on it with silver leaf sides and details painted on the head before clearing. 3rd was a 2 piece Black crappie that i liked enough to try molding it with silicone and pouring resin copies. Have had some decent success with this one, only 3 tries to get a workable resin copy and have made a few extras for other people. my most recent is a 4 piece bass that will also get molded if the wooden swim tests workout well. Finishing up the details after the thanksgiving holiday. Really just wanted to thank everyone here for the amount of knowledge you all have accumulated here. This place is truly amazing. Happy thanks giving everyone!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 Welcome aboard! Those baits look great. You're miles ahead of where I was when I first started! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootsMalone Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 10 minutes ago, mark poulson said: Welcome aboard! Those baits look great. You're miles ahead of where I was when I first started! Thanks man! Couldn’t have made it this far without everyone’s input on this forum. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 Dude! Way to soak up information and put it to use making some really sweet baits! Those look great man! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootsMalone Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 43 minutes ago, fishordie79 said: Dude! Way to soak up information and put it to use making some really sweet baits! Those look great man! Thanks man. I appreciate the kind words! Couldn’t have done it without you guys here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 Your carving and art work are top shelf, and if you are catching fish then ignore my advice. Personally, I would stick to one bait and learn as much as possible before moving on. But you seem to be well on top of things, so it is just a mild suggestion. Glad you learned the painting thing, investing time before proving a bait is a very painful lesson Great work, keep it up. Dave 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootsMalone Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 31 minutes ago, Vodkaman said: Your carving and art work are top shelf, and if you are catching fish then ignore my advice. Personally, I would stick to one bait and learn as much as possible before moving on. But you seem to be well on top of things, so it is just a mild suggestion. Glad you learned the painting thing, investing time before proving a bait is a very painful lesson Great work, keep it up. Dave Thanks Dave! i’ve read so many of your posts on here and stoked you replied to my thread. i moved on from my first bait since it got cleared and finished before i tested it. Did manage to catch a fish on it my first time out on the first cast even. But the action is not what i was hoping for. The mullet was made for inshore fishing here in Jacksonville. The crappie and mullet were made around the same time honestly. Spent a lot more time fishing the crappie than the mullet. Have gotten a ton of big bass follow the crappie but no takers yet. i appreciate the kind words man. And thank you for all of the info you have shared on here. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootsMalone Posted December 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2019 made the decision today to put soft fins on the 4 piece bass. Just finished cutting the masters for the fins on the band saw and not need to get the shape carved into them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootsMalone Posted December 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 This one is really starting to take shape 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 15, 2019 Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 Dude! Freaking awesome man! Can't wait to see the final product brother! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootsMalone Posted December 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 6 hours ago, fishordie79 said: Dude! Freaking awesome man! Can't wait to see the final product brother! Thanks man! Me too, this one has taken me forever to get to this point 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted December 15, 2019 Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 7 hours ago, fishordie79 said: Dude! Freaking awesome man! Can't wait to see the final product brother! I agree! That looks great! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootsMalone Posted December 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 6 hours ago, mark poulson said: I agree! That looks great! Thanks Mark! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 15, 2019 Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 8 hours ago, TootsMalone said: Thanks man! Me too, this one has taken me forever to get to this point Well man I would imagine so. I mean by the looks of it you only had to carve about 3000 scales:) Great work! I have yet to make a jointed bait but it is on the horizon:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootsMalone Posted December 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 2 hours ago, fishordie79 said: Well man I would imagine so. I mean by the looks of it you only had to carve about 3000 scales:) Great work! I have yet to make a jointed bait but it is on the horizon:) Thanks! The worst part was as soon as i cut the fins off i didnt like the profile at all. so out came the knife and had to carve and sand off almost all of the scales on the back and re-carve them. So happy the scales are finished. Dive right into a jointed bait man. Its so satisfying once you get it swimming right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 16, 2019 Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 Just curious what kind of wood you used for this build? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootsMalone Posted December 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 8 hours ago, fishordie79 said: Just curious what kind of wood you used for this build? This one is made of poplar. I’d really like to try bass wood since i hear it carves really nicely. Than Linden you use sounds nice as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 16, 2019 Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 Nice man I found some poplar boards online that I am gonna buy. Linden is great for carving. Requires quite a bit of weight however but using it for masters is awesome. I've done a couple of basswood builds as well and it also carves very nicely. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastman03 Posted December 16, 2019 Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 Basswood is Linden is it not? Very nice carving by the way! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saugerman Posted December 16, 2019 Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 Great work Toots Malone. Welcome to the forum. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootsMalone Posted December 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2019 4 hours ago, fishordie79 said: Nice man I found some poplar boards online that I am gonna buy. Linden is great for carving. Requires quite a bit of weight however but using it for masters is awesome. I've done a couple of basswood builds as well and it also carves very nicely. Nice! I just got some basswood tonight for when I'm done with this project. 3 hours ago, eastman03 said: Basswood is Linden is it not? Very nice carving by the way! I believe you are right. According to wikipedia linden is the european version and basswood is the american version. Thanks! Im still learning the craft. 1 hour ago, Saugerman said: Great work Toots Malone. Welcome to the forum. Thanks man! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootsMalone Posted December 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2019 Made some more progress tonight. Broke one of the pectoral fins in the process so i have to re-carve that but otherwise very happy with it so far 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootsMalone Posted December 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2019 Fin slots are all finished and fins are fitted and aligned. Just need to drill the eye pockets and assemble the joints and she’s ready for testing and tuning. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 18, 2019 Report Share Posted December 18, 2019 Great job Toots! Let me know how she swims! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basscatlildave Posted December 18, 2019 Report Share Posted December 18, 2019 Amazing work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
