Test blank weight variations

[UKandy]

Hi all,

I've spent today making some new 7" flat sided lure blanks, I've made 6 identical copies in total, the reason I have done this is for testing purposes, I'm looking to make diffetent weighting/hook position variations on 3 of the blanks for initial testing, as I have quite a drive to my lake.

The lure blanks take 70g of ballast for a relatively slow sink rate, this is with all hardware attached already.

My question Is, if you had 3 blanks to try different hook & ballast placements, what variations would you try over the 3 blanks? & why?

I have found the cog/pivot point & was going to try placing the belly hook directly at this point & then insert the ballast slightly forward of the belly hook, I have the front eye dead centre on the nose & the rear hook dead centre off the back tail.

It would be good to get a nice side to side glide action if possible, but I'm more interested to find out what 3 variations you would try first to achieve this yourself.

I'd like to see if you would move the belly hook from the cog/pivot point or insert the ballast at multiple locations etc, whatever your ideas I'm all ears!

The lure blanks are shaped so that the belly is the deepest area of the body, tapering up to the tail area, tear drop shape if you like.

I find all input interesting & it helps me learn 

Andy.

 

 

[exx1976]

70 GRAMS?!?  Is that a typo?  That's nearly 2.5 OUNCES of lead.  For only a 7" bait?  What are you making them out of, styrofoam?!  My 8" blanks only use ~5 grams of lead (they float), but I could sink them with ~15 grams...

 

Anyhow...   I'm sure some others will be along shortly, offering all manner of (blind) advice, however, before offering any advice myself, I have (a) question(s):

What type of lure is this?  Is it a glide bait, does it have a lip, what is the result you're looking for?

Edited January 31, 2021 by exx1976

[UKandy]

7 hours ago, exx1976 said:

70 GRAMS?!?  Is that a typo?  That's nearly 2.5 OUNCES of lead.  For only a 7" bait?  What are you making them out of, styrofoam?!  My 8" blanks only use ~5 grams of lead (they float), but I could sink them with ~15 grams...

 

Anyhow...   I'm sure some others will be along shortly, offering all manner of (blind) advice, however, before offering any advice myself, I have (a) question(s):

What type of lure is this?  Is it a glide bait, does it have a lip, what is the result you're looking for?

Bit of a smart arse comment my friend, really any need?

Yes the lure blanks are actually high density foam, so take 70g with ease at 7".

Will get it figured out, no need for any (blind) input if I've not explained what help I'm looking for.

Sorry guys

Andy.

[Hillbilly voodoo]

It’s really tough to offer much input without it in my hand because of how I do things 

In the end though because the basic principle is to get the lip to ride at the correct angle when you retrieve you don’t have a ton of options on a crankbait 

you can move the weight up an down though effecting the stability. Or distribute the weight through the body front to back differently. More weight in the tail deadening how wide it wiggles or keep it light so it can really swing

these can all be tested by taping weight in different locations before making it permanent 

[UKandy]

Thanks for the input  I know what you mean by having it in your hand, it's not always easy to advise, but thank you I will take your advice on board, for a crank version test.

I have shaped this particular lure to the best of my ability, so that I could try a number of different options with it, jerk, glide, crank, I'm not for one minute saying they will all work, initially the 1st 3 blanks were going to be tried as jerk/glides, with hopefully a nice side to side sweep on retrieve.

I'm just interested in learning, vodkaman has helped me a lot already & I was looking forward to some other ideas to try out also.

Many thanks

Andy.

[eastman03]

UKandy let us know how these test blanks work based on the differences of weight/hook placement.  I'm making a side to side top water (prototype) and just guessed at where the best weight placement would be.  I would think you'd aim for a level fall with the weight close to the center of the lure to act as a pivot kinda? But I really have no idea.  

[Hillbilly voodoo]

Dave’s a smart one and has a completely different way of accomplishing things then I do. I am more the winged it and screwed up lots to the point I just know how to make things work now lol

I build mostly crankbaits, lipless plugs of all kinds, and dabble with jerks and top water when it comes to hard baits. Gliders I have only made a handful 

One thing that helped me a lot was making a test bait that I could swap different lips and weights in different locations to try things out quickly without having to complete the whole process of making a lure. I build mast of my prototypes this way. That way I can test multiple ideas before I invest the effort of completing a lure. 

[eastman03]

ahhh but I want it nowwww.   That is a good idea Hillbilly.  I've seen engineered angler do it as well.  Make adjustable or multiple tow points, or weights.  I should make myself some screw in weights so i could really test a lure out.  I really wish i had somewhere to test it through the winter as i usually have to wait several months between building and actual tests.  A bathtub is difficult to test a 8"+ lure.  I can do float tests, so I'm a best guess kinda guy as well.  Documenting all the weights and placement has helped me lower that learning curve.  I will also usually build 4 or 5 test lures "quickly" and have varying components to try to hone in on the ideal action.  

[Hillbilly voodoo]

1 minute ago, eastman03 said:

ahhh but I want it nowwww.   That is a good idea Hillbilly.  I've seen engineered angler do it as well.  Make adjustable or multiple tow points, or weights.  I should make myself some screw in weights so i could really test a lure out.  I really wish i had somewhere to test it through the winter as i usually have to wait several months between building and actual tests.  A bathtub is difficult to test a 8"+ lure.  I can do float tests, so I'm a best guess kinda guy as well.  Documenting all the weights and placement has helped me lower that learning curve.  I will also usually build 4 or 5 test lures "quickly" and have varying components to try to hone in on the ideal action.  

I test my lures in front one of the dams near home. My buddy works there so it’s easy to ask if the let through enough water to blow the ice out of the canal if I need calmer water to test in. You just need to out smart Mother Nature living in Canada lol

Tub tests suck for most lures 

[UKandy]

3 hours ago, eastman03 said:

UKandy let us know how these test blanks work based on the differences of weight/hook placement.  I'm making a side to side top water (prototype) and just guessed at where the best weight placement would be.  I would think you'd aim for a level fall with the weight close to the center of the lure to act as a pivot kinda? But I really have no idea.  

No problem buddy, soon as I have them tested I will let you know 

Andy.

[Big Epp]

Agreed, tub tests are very limited.  I guess that's the penalty of living too far from the equator...

I love your idea (if I understand you right) of using one shape and alternating the type of bait it is based on lip/no lip and weight placement!  I try to do that too, and have successfully modified one profile to be a crankbait, lipless crankbait, and two variations of glider.  I am also going to test is as a surface walker.  I even took one blank with a deformation and am turning it into a mouse wakebait...

I really like using a hot glue gun for testing weight placement and amount.  It's a really simple way to move the weights around and stack them as needed.  The glue dries quickly and pops off really easily.

Unfortunately, I haven't found a way to test multiple lips without making multiple baits, which is much more weight.

With a foam bait do you get most of your toughness from a through wire and the epoxy coating?  I'm got some rigid foam insulation I've been wanting to try a lure with.

[UKandy]

11 minutes ago, Big Epp said:

Agreed, tub tests are very limited.  I guess that's the penalty of living too far from the equator...

I love your idea (if I understand you right) of using one shape and alternating the type of bait it is based on lip/no lip and weight placement!  I try to do that too, and have successfully modified one profile to be a crankbait, lipless crankbait, and two variations of glider.  I am also going to test is as a surface walker.  I even took one blank with a deformation and am turning it into a mouse wakebait...

I really like using a hot glue gun for testing weight placement and amount.  It's a really simple way to move the weights around and stack them as needed.  The glue dries quickly and pops off really easily.

Unfortunately, I haven't found a way to test multiple lips without making multiple baits, which is much more weight.

With a foam bait do you get most of your toughness from a through wire and the epoxy coating?  I'm got some rigid foam insulation I've been wanting to try a lure with.

Hi buddy, thanks for your input, to be honest I've got a lot of varying blanks, many, many, tests with the help of vodkaman, one that I'm really liking at the moment is a mixed version of resin and foam that I came up with.

The foam is solid, rigid & tough, so once a top coat is on I would (imagine) it will be hard as nails, but this is why I'm doing all the testing now, as of yet I've not got a through wire in the blanks, I'm first testing with screw eyes & moving the hooks and weight about until I get a bait I'm happy with, my idea then is to make a new mold from the final chosen blank, which will then allow me to include the through wire when I do the new pours!

It's maybe a long way of going round things, but hopefully I will have 100% confidence in the final product.

I will keep an update going on how I get on, it's a little slow at the moment as I have limited time to work on them, but I will get there!

Andy.

[Hillbilly voodoo]

34 minutes ago, Big Epp said:

Agreed, tub tests are very limited.  I guess that's the penalty of living too far from the equator...

I love your idea (if I understand you right) of using one shape and alternating the type of bait it is based on lip/no lip and weight placement!  I try to do that too, and have successfully modified one profile to be a crankbait, lipless crankbait, and two variations of glider.  I am also going to test is as a surface walker.  I even took one blank with a deformation and am turning it into a mouse wakebait...

I really like using a hot glue gun for testing weight placement and amount.  It's a really simple way to move the weights around and stack them as needed.  The glue dries quickly and pops off really easily.

Unfortunately, I haven't found a way to test multiple lips without making multiple baits, which is much more weight.

With a foam bait do you get most of your toughness from a through wire and the epoxy coating?  I'm got some rigid foam insulation I've been wanting to try a lure with.

Testing multiple lip styles is simple a layer of masking tape and pressure fit it into the slot. Lips with the line tie in the lip I drill holes in the lip in possible locations. I then have a wire I slip through the hole and sucre with tape around the belly. You are SOL testing multiple slot positions 

I have my prototype testing systems all figured out just ask how to deal with each issue. I have a lot of ways to test action without putting in too much work into a lure 

[LHL]

For a 7inch glide bait I personally like to have one hook in the first third of the bait and a second hook on the back third. I've noticed that a lot of predatory fish will hit a glide head first, and so a hook near the front is very useful.

As for the weight placement, Hillbilly has a great idea: drill several holes along the entire body of the lure that will accept weights and temporarily hold them in place with screw or tape or hot glue etc. This will really allow you to play with the weight placement without building a ton of lures. Be sure to bring a notebook with you too and take lots of pictures if you can. The mind can easily forget! (Maybe that's just me?..)

[UKandy]

55 minutes ago, LHL said:

For a 7inch glide bait I personally like to have one hook in the first third of the bait and a second hook on the back third. I've noticed that a lot of predatory fish will hit a glide head first, and so a hook near the front is very useful.

As for the weight placement, Hillbilly has a great idea: drill several holes along the entire body of the lure that will accept weights and temporarily hold them in place with screw or tape or hot glue etc. This will really allow you to play with the weight placement without building a ton of lures. Be sure to bring a notebook with you too and take lots of pictures if you can. The mind can easily forget! (Maybe that's just me?..)

If drilling multiple holes would the empty holes have any effect on the lures action? Through drag etc, would it be best to tape over the unused holes or am I thinking too much into it 

That's normally the problem... when I start over thinking things!

Andy.

[Hillbilly voodoo]

21 minutes ago, UKandy said:

If drilling multiple holes would the empty holes have any effect on the lures action? Through drag etc, would it be best to tape over the unused holes or am I thinking too much into it 

That's normally the problem... when I start over thinking things!

Andy.

when testing how a lure falls yes holes will effect the results. Testing a straight retrieve no they don’t matter 

Unless you are weighting above the belly line don’t drill holes. I have drilled holes and used wooden plugs though if you want. It works but extra effort in my opinion.

thin strips of duct tape or an elastic band to hold weight to the belly is enough to tell you if you are on the right track