Bibless 3 piece swim bait

[Lochie]

Hi, I’m just wondering what makes a good swim bait? I’ve tried making some and they didn’t swim at all. I put lead in the body but they didn’t sink, so do I need to put more lead in? Also does the head section need to be the bigger section to get more water resistance?

This is a 3 piece mullet lure I’m making out of red cedar.

Any replies will be appreciated.

[Vodkaman]

I have built about 20 or more 4-piece swim-baits, purely for experimental and investigation purposes. I do not consider myself a swim-bait expert but I have learned a lot and all my baits swam.

A swim-bait requires vortices to provide the snaking ‘S’ type motion. For a lipless bait this is achieved with a more bulbous nose, perhaps a flat-ish forehead. Your torpedo nose section is generating nothing but laminar flow and so I see your lure swimming like a stick.

Swim-baits need to be slight float or slow sinking.

Hinges MUST be totally resistance free, the slightest rub will kill your lure action.

Each segment needs to be weighted to float or sink horizontal. Failure will add load friction to the hinges.

The front section needs to be longer than the rest. This is flexible but I would start with a 5:3:3 ratio. If it looks right then it probably is right.

Your body looks very pretty, but you are doing WAY too much work for a first prototype. Keep it simple, the last thing you need to be doing is carving detail like the tail, gills, scales or painting. Once you have a working prototype then you can start work on the aesthetics. If you want a tail, fit a piece of polycarbonate or Perspex.

ALWAYS test with hooks fitted.

This should be enough information to get you to a swimmer.

Dave

[Lochie]

16 hours ago, Vodkaman said:

I have built about 20 or more 4-piece swim-baits, purely for experimental and investigation purposes. I do not consider myself a swim-bait expert but I have learned a lot and all my baits swam.

 

A swim-bait requires vortices to provide the snaking ‘S’ type motion. For a lipless bait this is achieved with a more bulbous nose, perhaps a flat-ish forehead. Your torpedo nose section is generating nothing but laminar flow and so I see your lure swimming like a stick.

 

Swim-baits need to be slight float or slow sinking.

 

Hinges MUST be totally resistance free, the slightest rub will kill your lure action.

 

Each segment needs to be weighted to float or sink horizontal. Failure will add load friction to the hinges.

 

The front section needs to be longer than the rest. This is flexible but I would start with a 5:3:3 ratio. If it looks right then it probably is right.

 

Your body looks very pretty, but you are doing WAY too much work for a first prototype. Keep it simple, the last thing you need to be doing is carving detail like the tail, gills, scales or painting. Once you have a working prototype then you can start work on the aesthetics. If you want a tail, fit a piece of polycarbonate or Perspex.

 

ALWAYS test with hooks fitted.

 

This should be enough information to get you to a swimmer.

 

Dave

 

Thanks heaps for all the info mate

[Vodkaman]

Good luck, it is a great project.

Dave

[rayre7]

Dave covered most of it. I would suggest carving it with a tail slot and doing your initial test without a tail to get a baseline for the swim (the action of the bait should be at its liveliest without a tail). From there you can experiment with different mediums to use for a tail. Just the tail alone can have a huge impact on the swim / impede the action. 

[Lochie]

6 hours ago, rayre7 said:

Dave covered most of it. I would suggest carving it with a tail slot and doing your initial test without a tail to get a baseline for the swim (the action of the bait should be at its liveliest without a tail). From there you can experiment with different mediums to use for a tail. Just the tail alone can have a huge impact on the swim / impede the action. 

Thanks heaps for your reply