mark poulson Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 (edited) When I saw the TU review of the latest bluegill glide bait, I decided to make one. Mine wound up being 4 1/2" long, plus the tail, and about 2 1/2" tall. I made it from 3/4" AZEK trimboard, tapered to 1/2" thick at the belly. I did my usual hanging of lead egg sinkers off of the trebles to get the ballast amount. It wound up taking 90 grams for the front section, and 10 grams for the tail section, to get them to both fall slowly at the same rate. The good news is that the bait does glide like a cover glide, with a tight back and forth, and rests upright on the bottom, sitting on top of the trebles. The bad news is the finished bait weighs almost 5 oz., without paint and topcoat. I will not be finishing it, because there is no way I'm going to throw a 5 oz bait all day! Those days are long gone. So it's back to the drawing board. Maybe a 3" bait will weigh enough less that I can throw it a lot. I have 3" bluegill spybaits that are easy to throw. I just got so carried away with the idea of that 5" bait it never dawned on me how much ballast I'd have to add to get it to slow sink. Doh!!! Live and learn, I guess. Edited February 20, 2020 by mark poulson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenlures Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Maybe you could pour one with micro balloons to make it lighter needing less weight for balance Wayne 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly voodoo Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Get a bigger rod and start eating your weaties 5oz is a bit much for a lure that size sounds like you may need to redesign it to cut weight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chonch12 Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Sounds like an impressive lure. Although look at it this way you ahve a great structure on making the same thing just reduce the overall scale. Any pics??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Fisher Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Mark, I made a similar sized resin bait, 6 inch, 4.6 oz. I've had great luck with a Dobyns 806 rod, rated at 2-8 oz. I have a bad back and still manage to throw it most of the day. If you stand to fish, try a kind of underhand side lob cast, seems to help me some. American Legacy fishing has a 20% sale often and if you sign up for the email list, you can get another 10% off, a Dobyns Fury series 806 was about $95 shipped with discounts, great rod for the price. Don't give up on your bait, if it looks and swims like your other baits it will get crushed. Paint and clear on a bait that size shouldn't add more than 6-8 grams or so. Something that size will move a lot of water and attract some really big fish. You don't have to bomb the bait out there either, I do a lot of shorter roll casts to and past cover that are effective. Finish it, fish it and post some pics of the giants you catch!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Hey, I wouldn’t be throwing 3 oz much less 5. I can see two paths to reducing the weight. One is using a heavier substance than pvc that would require less ballast. The other is to adopt a skinnier Shad shape. Jmho, bass will try to eat a Shad shape with bluegill colors as well or better than a deeper bodied bluegill shaped lure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Epp Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Sounds pretty sweet Mark. I'd love to see a picture. How do you balance the weight? I'm working on 8" smallmouth bass shaped baits I hope to throw for Muskie this year. They are made of poplar, but the one I've weighted took around 3oz. of lead! Like you, I'm a little concerned about throwing it around all day, not to mention if I have any tackle heavy enough to toss it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastman03 Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Fine Mark, i'll take it and throw it all day! 5oz would be on the lighter side of most lures in my box! Could you make the same lure of a something more dense like maple, and add much less ballast? I suppose it still might end up on the heavy side. Plastic and microbaloons might be the way to go. It would be easier to reproduce and play with the weights. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Guys, I'll have to think about your points. 9 hours ago, ravenlures said: Maybe you could pour one with micro balloons to make it lighter needing less weight for balance Wayne Wayne, the problem is it's too buoyant as it is. I have add so much ballast to get it to slow sink that it's not manageble for me to throw all day. Plus having that much weight hanging out of a fish's mouth, even with swivels as hook hangers, will give the fish a lot of leverage to throw the bait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 8 hours ago, Hillbilly voodoo said: Get a bigger rod and start eating your weaties 5oz is a bit much for a lure that size sounds like you may need to redesign it to cut weight Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 8 hours ago, Chonch12 said: Sounds like an impressive lure. Although look at it this way you ahve a great structure on making the same thing just reduce the overall scale. Any pics??? I am fighting a cold, and the bait is tied onto my test rod in the boat. Once I'm feeling better I take some pics and post them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 8 hours ago, AZ Fisher said: Mark, I made a similar sized resin bait, 6 inch, 4.6 oz. I've had great luck with a Dobyns 806 rod, rated at 2-8 oz. I have a bad back and still manage to throw it most of the day. If you stand to fish, try a kind of underhand side lob cast, seems to help me some. American Legacy fishing has a 20% sale often and if you sign up for the email list, you can get another 10% off, a Dobyns Fury series 806 was about $95 shipped with discounts, great rod for the price. Don't give up on your bait, if it looks and swims like your other baits it will get crushed. Paint and clear on a bait that size shouldn't add more than 6-8 grams or so. Something that size will move a lot of water and attract some really big fish. You don't have to bomb the bait out there either, I do a lot of shorter roll casts to and past cover that are effective. Finish it, fish it and post some pics of the giants you catch!! I have several rods to throw it on, so I'm set. I'll use the same setup as I use for my Huddleston ROF 12s. Whether or not to finish it is an ongoing debate. Once it get it tuned to my liking I'll have to make that choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 5 hours ago, Big Epp said: Sounds pretty sweet Mark. I'd love to see a picture. How do you balance the weight? I'm working on 8" smallmouth bass shaped baits I hope to throw for Muskie this year. They are made of poplar, but the one I've weighted took around 3oz. of lead! Like you, I'm a little concerned about throwing it around all day, not to mention if I have any tackle heavy enough to toss it... I would use an older swimbait rod and reel setup that I already have to fish Huddlestons. I've thrown big baits like that in the past, but that was when my body would let me. All of my swimbait gear is at least 15 years old. I'm pretty sure the new rods are much better and lighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 5 hours ago, eastman03 said: Fine Mark, i'll take it and throw it all day! 5oz would be on the lighter side of most lures in my box! Could you make the same lure of a something more dense like maple, and add much less ballast? I suppose it still might end up on the heavy side. Plastic and microbaloons might be the way to go. It would be easier to reproduce and play with the weights. I envy you your abilities. I have come to peace with the idea that I'm not that guy anymore. Maybe when I grow up. The Fish Lab swimbaits are light. The bigger one are right around 2 oz. Making one that size and shape that is that light is beyond my mortal abilities. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gliders Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Surely if the lure has the same overall shape and volume, it will not matter what you make it it from in terms of micro baloons,wood density etc. ? At the same sink rate, the lure will weigh exactly the same regardless? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wchilton Posted February 21, 2020 Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 20 hours ago, gliders said: Surely if the lure has the same overall shape and volume, it will not matter what you make it it from in terms of micro baloons,wood density etc. ? At the same sink rate, the lure will weigh exactly the same regardless? For slow sinking (ie. just over density of water) you'll have to reduce overall volume to get a lighter bait. If there's room to make it slimmer that could help, otherwise it will have to be a smaller bait. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodieb8 Posted February 21, 2020 Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 never give up. I can attest to having more then a few I have re-homed to young shoulders and backs though. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 On 2/20/2020 at 3:28 PM, gliders said: Surely if the lure has the same overall shape and volume, it will not matter what you make it it from in terms of micro baloons,wood density etc. ? At the same sink rate, the lure will weigh exactly the same regardless? That's exactly what I thought, but it isn't true, at least in my lure making. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 5 hours ago, woodieb8 said: never give up. I can attest to having more then a few I have re-homed to young shoulders and backs though. My thoughts exactly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted February 22, 2020 Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 (edited) It doesn't matter what you make the lure body from; balsa with lots of lead or ebony with a little lead. If both identical shapes sink at the same rate, they will weigh exactly the same. Dave Edit - sorry Gliders, just spotted your post Edited February 22, 2020 by Vodkaman 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastman03 Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 Really Vodkaman? Is that actually the case? You could very well be right. But there is some wood that is quite buoyant. And some wood that is naturally less. Like cedar is very buoyant. I think I’d need to make it much heavier than an equal maple lure to sink at the same rate. That blows my mind if you are correct! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 Eastman03 - I am extremely confident in this statement Dave 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD_mudbug Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 Could you use that lure body for a different lure type. That body with far less ballast and a lip would make a great 'Shellcracker' type bait. I have made a couple that size from cedar with ballast just in the front half. They weigh 1 to 3 ounces depending on size and ballast. They are so bouyant that they wake with the rod held up and they dive 2-3 with the rod tip down, making them very versatile. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 11 minutes ago, JD_mudbug said: Could you use that lure body for a different lure type. That body with far less ballast and a lip would make a great 'Shellcracker' type bait. I have made a couple that size from cedar with ballast just in the front half. They weigh 1 to 3 ounces depending on size and ballast. They are so bouyant that they wake with the rod held up and they dive 2-3 with the rod tip down, making them very versatile. I could probably repurpose it as another type of lure, but the wild hair that inspired me is to make a bluegill glide bait, so that's the plan, for now. Once I've gotten that accomplished, I'll revisit the original bait, so see what, if anything, I can do with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 (edited) Eastman - this experiment might help with your visualization. 1 - Take an empty plastic drinks bottle. 2 - Fill it water until it just starts to sink in a bucket of water. Drop by drop towards the end. 3 - Weigh and write down the weight. 4 - Repeat adding lead instead of water. Both should weigh the same. Dave Edited February 23, 2020 by Vodkaman 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
