Kastmaster style slab baits.

[J. Pierce]

I've been a member here for a while, but I've been just sitting back watching and learning.

I've been making mostly inline spinners for a few years now.

But I tried something new to me today, and I thought I'd share what I've done so far. I'm not the first one to do this, but I haven't seen them on here yet.

Since I was a kid I've seen Kastmaster spoons, but I've never used one.
Today I decided I wanted to try some.
But I'm not made of money, so instead of spending 6 or 7 bucks to buy a couple, I decided to buy thousands of dollars worth of metal working machines and twice that amount again in tooling.
Thanks to some sketchy fixturing and a little luck, I now own two homemade slab spoons.
I'll test them and see how the action and weight is. If everything is good I'll pick up a couple hundred bucks worth of paint and supplies and pretty them up a bit.

So for a few thousand bucks a piece I got what I hope are some nice spoons for deep water and windy days.

If anybody else has made something similar I'd sure like to see what you did or what your finishing scheme looks like.

Raw steel slab spoons.

A sketchy setup to saw off a couple bias cut slabs. A scrap of steel 1/2" round bar set at a 14 degree angle.

 

I had so much bar projecting out of my collet block that it was vibrating and didn't cut super smooth, so I cleaned them up a bit on the belt grinder.

[21xdc]

Very COOL! 

[J. Pierce]

17 minutes ago, 21xdc said:

Very COOL! 

Thanks!
Hopefully I can get out of work early enough one night this week to test them out and see if they are worth painting or not.

I still have no idea what kind of paint job to put on them.

I've been half tempted to buff them and just paint an eye on them and spray a clear coat. And see if it holds up well enough to keep 'em from rusting long enough for me to lose them.

[jigmeister]

I believe the original  Kastmasters have the hook at the other end of the bait (fat end)  . I think the original Kastmasters are made from brass and chrome plated . The density of the steel compared to brass could impact the liveliness of the swimming action ?

Guess you could try putting the hook at opposite ends of each bait and see which one swims better  ?

Edited May 11, 2020 by jigmeister

[Anglinarcher]

I bet they will swim great.  I have made some out of lead and they were impressive..... but with knock offs available from Lurepartsonline.com, I won't pour any more.  The brass ones work just fine.

Kastmasters are such a simple bait, and yet so effective.  I see no reason that they will not work as you designed them.

PS, I prefer them in bright silver or gold, with holographic tape on one side.

[Musky Glenn]

I've had good luck with the ones painted with uv paint, but they don't paint the larger sizes with uv paint.

[J. Pierce]

21 hours ago, jigmeister said:

I believe the original  Kastmasters have the hook at the other end of the bait (fat end)  . I think the original Kastmasters are made from brass and chrome plated . The density of the steel compared to brass could impact the liveliness of the swimming action ?

Guess you could try putting the hook at opposite ends of each bait and see which one swims better  ?

I've never seen a real live Kastmaster, so mine might be different, but these are symmetrical. Both ends are the same.

I had a chunk of  1/2" brass rod, but when I grabbed it out of the drawer I remember that I had used it as a drift punch and it was bent and beat up pretty bad. So that's how I ended up with steel. I don't doubt the steel will change the action. I still haven't weighed these yet, but they are pretty damn heavy compared to what I would usually be throwing around.

I also considered trying a lighter weight version with a piece of cast acrylic rod, but I didn't have any. I do have a little Delrin, but I have other uses for that so I didn't want to waste it.

[jigmeister]

OK got it you have both flat sides oriented parallel to one another . The kastmaster actually has a slight taper between both flats from the hook end and thinning out running up to the line tie end . (maybe 10 deg ballpark)

Since you mentioned kastmasters I thought that's what you were going for .

I think I remember seeing  some big saltwater jigging spoons that are similar to yours in design though  .

[J. Pierce]

18 hours ago, jigmeister said:

OK got it you have both flat sides oriented parallel to one another . The kastmaster actually has a slight taper between both flats from the hook end and thinning out running up to the line tie end . (maybe 10 deg ballpark)

Since you mentioned kastmasters I thought that's what you were going for .

I think I remember seeing  some big saltwater jigging spoons that are similar to yours in design though  .

I've never handled a Kastmaster, so I was just going off of a couple pictures I saw. I thought mine were close to the real thing, but it doesn't sound like it now.

The shape you mentioned really makes sense and probably would give better action than mine.

I might have to break down and shell out the 3 bucks for the real deal so I can compare the two.

[mark poulson]

On 5/11/2020 at 8:06 PM, jigmeister said:

OK got it you have both flat sides oriented parallel to one another . The kastmaster actually has a slight taper between both flats from the hook end and thinning out running up to the line tie end . (maybe 10 deg ballpark)

Since you mentioned kastmasters I thought that's what you were going for .

I think I remember seeing  some big saltwater jigging spoons that are similar to yours in design though  .

I think the taper helps keep the weight more to the rear, so the lure doesn't tumble on the cast.  I know the Kastmaster casts like a missle!

[jigmeister]

From what I have read a Hopkins spoon balanced heavier at the line tie end to give it a little wiggle on the drop when fished vertically . 

I have fired those 3/4 oz Hopkins spoons a long way at  breaking fish and I don't ever remember a problem with them fouling in flight .  I maybe wrong here but I have always assumed the distinct wiggle of a Kastmaster was due to the tail heavy attitude on retrieve and balance of the bait . I guess the way to know for sure would be to swap the hook on a Kastmaster to the thin end and see if it tumbles in flight and then see if the action on retrieve is impacted ?

[J. Pierce]

On 5/17/2020 at 7:37 AM, jigmeister said:

From what I have read a Hopkins spoon balanced heavier at the line tie end to give it a little wiggle on the drop when fished vertically . 

I have fired those 3/4 oz Hopkins spoons a long way at  breaking fish and I don't ever remember a problem with them fouling in flight .  I maybe wrong here but I have always assumed the distinct wiggle of a Kastmaster was due to the tail heavy attitude on retrieve and balance of the bait . I guess the way to know for sure would be to swap the hook on a Kastmaster to the thin end and see if it tumbles in flight and then see if the action on retrieve is impacted ?

I spent the last couple days on the water and I had a chance to fool with my spoons a bit.

Casting was not an issue, I didn't notice any tumble effect. But the action was pretty dead and unimpressive. My parallel sides make is like dragging a flat slab through the water, because well.......... I was in fact  dragging a flat slab through the water........

Looks like revision two is in order. Or most likely next time I order some other lure making supplies I'll just get a handful of blanks.

It was still a fun way to spend some time in the shop when the weather was crappy, but now it's nice out again, so I'm going fishing. When the weather goes to hell again I'll dream up some other foolishness to try or maybe I will take a stab at Kastmaster Revision 2? I am kinda curious what effect varying tapers would have on the action...............

[MonteSS]

I buy the Chinese ones for very cheap and change the hardware.