fishordie79 Posted December 8, 2019 Report Share Posted December 8, 2019 (edited) Hey TU Folks! I drew this up this morning and want the end result to be a single piece, fast sinking jerk bait. I've got some oak, some spruce, and some linden laying around but the linden and the spruce may be too light for such a big bait that should sink fast. I'm just wondering how some of you folks would approach this? What wood would you use and where would you weight it? As always thanks for all of your help! Edited December 8, 2019 by fishordie79 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted December 9, 2019 Report Share Posted December 9, 2019 If carving details I would be using linden especially if you are planning on weighting anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2019 @Travis Thanks for the response man! Yes I will be carving the details on this one. The problem I have had in the past with Linden and baits this size is that I have to put so much weight into them that I can't just put it into a couple of spots. Unless I want to drill all the way up into the middle of the bait I have to drill and fill multiple holes along the length of the belly just to get the lure to sink. I have always heard that you want to keep the weight low but, I am willing to give anything a try so if you think that drilling fewer holes but making them deeper would work for a bait like this I will surely give it a try. So, how would you go about weighting this thing? Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootsMalone Posted December 9, 2019 Report Share Posted December 9, 2019 From what i’ve gathered on my own similar journey, you want the body to be buoyant and then add ballast to the belly to get it to sink at the desired rate. This keeps the bait upright, and the mass towards the pivot point on the body allowing parts like the tail to move more freely. personally, i use poplar. Its plenty buoyant and doesn't take too much lead to sink. Also are you melting lead, or drilling weight holes and inserting solid weights. If solid weights, you could always go with a denser metal like tungsten so you don't have to use as much. I'm no expert by any means so please correct me if I'm wrong. Good luck in your search! Love the baits btw! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2019 Hey @TootsMalone all great suggestions brother! I live in Germany and am having a little trouble finding poplar which I really want to try. I'm gonna keep looking but I did have some good success yesterday with a 4 inch jerk made of Linden. I was able to get enough weight, but not too much, into it around the pivot point and it was perfect! Awesome glide bait action and literally caught a pike on the first cast;) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennyP Posted December 10, 2019 Report Share Posted December 10, 2019 fishordie79, question? Will this lure end up as a master for molding? If so I would stay with the softer wood for the detailing as suggested. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2019 @KennyP That is the goal eventually but I would like to make one to completion first so I can test it out before making a master. I've got one made of Linden ready for paint and because of its height I think I can drill rather deep into the body to get enough weight in at the pivot points to make it sink as I want it to. The Linden is great for carving and I have to say I'm extremely happy with how far my carving has come in such a short period of time. As you suggested I will definitely be sticking with softer woods like Linden for making masters. The lure in the image has not been sanded yet so it still looks a little rough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TootsMalone Posted December 11, 2019 Report Share Posted December 11, 2019 Looks really good man nice work!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2019 @TootsMalone Thanks brother! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saugerman Posted December 11, 2019 Report Share Posted December 11, 2019 Fishordie79, the lure looks great. If you have only been carving only a short time, you catch on quick. Nice lure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2019 @Saugerman Thank you sir! This is the third one I have carved details on and with each one it gets better. I have the folks in the community and a handful of Youtubers to thank for that! Tight lines! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted December 12, 2019 Report Share Posted December 12, 2019 10 hours ago, fishordie79 said: @Saugerman Thank you sir! This is the third one I have carved details on and with each one it gets better. I have the folks in the community and a handful of Youtubers to thank for that! Tight lines! You are really talented. What tools do you use for your carving? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennyP Posted December 12, 2019 Report Share Posted December 12, 2019 20 hours ago, fishordie79 said: @KennyP That is the goal eventually but I would like to make one to completion first so I can test it out before making a master. I've got one made of Linden ready for paint and because of its height I think I can drill rather deep into the body to get enough weight in at the pivot points to make it sink as I want it to. The Linden is great for carving and I have to say I'm extremely happy with how far my carving has come in such a short period of time. As you suggested I will definitely be sticking with softer woods like Linden for making masters. The lure in the image has not been sanded yet so it still looks a little rough. @fishordie29 That is kind of what I was thinking if you were concerned with adding an abundance weight to the lure. If you made one out of the softer-lighter wood, you would get the detail your looking for then make blanks for testing. That's a nice looking lure right there. keep us up to date on the progress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2019 @mark poulson Man thank you so much. To be honest I watched some videos from Solar Baits to learn how to draw a grid on the body and then I started with a box cutter which I found to be a bit too rough. With this lure I was walking around in an Aldi here in Germany and they usually have a pretty cool selection of different kinds of tools believe it or not. Surprising, I know. I was born in the states but after getting out of the Army I stayed here with my wife and you would be surprised at the kind of things the Aldi stores over here carry. Anyway they have a tool section and I found this little exacto knife set with a solid aluminum body and maybe 15 different blades of different sizes and lengths. One of the blades works perfectly for carving in my case. If you would like me to send you one you need only ask. It would be my pleasure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2019 @KennyP Thanks so much man! I'll be weighting and hopefully painting tomorrow. I'll update you guys with pics of the final product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2019 (edited) @TootsMalone @mark poulson @Saugerman @KennyP @Vodkaman @eastman03 @Travis and @anyoneiforgot if you guys are ever in Europe let me know before hand and hopefully we can meet up and I can put you guys on some fish. Edited December 12, 2019 by fishordie79 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted December 13, 2019 Report Share Posted December 13, 2019 9 hours ago, fishordie79 said: @mark poulson Man thank you much. To be honest I watched some videos from Solar Baits to learn how to draw a grid on the body and then I started with a box cutter which I found to be a bit too rough. With this lure I was walking around in an Aldi here in Germany and they usually have a pretty cool selection of different kinds of tools believe it or not. Surprising, I know. I was born in the states but after getting out of the Army I stayed here with my wife and you would be surprised at the kind of things the Aldi stores over here carry. Anyway they have a tool section and I found this little exacto knife set with a solid aluminum body and maybe 15 different blades of different sizes and lengths. One of the blades works perfectly for carving in my case. If you would like me to send you one you need only ask. It would be my pleasure. That is very generous of you, but I'm not able to do hand carving anymore. Old hands taking their revenge for too many years of abuse, I guess. But I still enjoy seeing the beautiful stuff you and the other builders on this site make. Keep it up! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2019 Well here it is guys. First attempt at a European Bream. Pre epoxy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted December 13, 2019 Report Share Posted December 13, 2019 3 hours ago, fishordie79 said: Well here it is guys. First attempt at a European Bream. Pre epoxy. Looks good! I have no idea what a European Bream looks like, but do know what good carving looks like, and this is it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishordie79 Posted December 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2019 @mark poulson Thanks man! I think it turned out pretty decent. On the drier right now so should look even better with epoxy topcoat. You know, I was in Virginia in April and May for work on Ft. Eustis. They had a big lake there that was part of their outdoor recreation program. You could rent kayaks and canoes and get a license to fish the lake as well. I got one of the licenses and spent each day on my lunch break and on the weekends out there fishing. Killed the bass with a white chatter bait but that is beside the point:) Anyway, one of the first things I noticed is that they had giant common carp in there. It got my attention because carp fishing here in Europe is big business. One day I was walking through the woods around the lake, making my way from spot to spot, and I saw a dead fish on the bank. I got close to take a look and low and behold.....it was what I know as a "Brachse" or "European Bream". I was like "What in the hell is this doing here?" The European Bream is a type of carp so I assume that maybe they made their way over there at some point just like the commons, mirror, and Asian carp did. The one I made looks more like what you will find in England but the one I saw in Virginia was the kind we have here in Germany. See below. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
