prototype thru-wire

[exx1976]

Just whipped this up quick in the shop.  Sealed the lip slot with baking soda and superglue, which was surprisingly fast.  I may just do that on the smaller baits.  Sanding went MUCH better with a 320 belt, too..  Didn't accidentally eat anything.

Anyhow..  12" from nose to tail, not including lip.  The lip on this one is Aluminum.  If it makes it to production, the lip will be pinned.  This one will just be superglued.

Planning to superglue seal it and take it to the pool tonight.  Any guesses as to depth or if it'll swim?

 

[Hillbilly voodoo]

Depending on the size of hooks you might want to move the front hook hanger back a bit. You might experience it catching the lip or line where it is now

[eastman03]

I think it’ll work. Probably pretty shallow, like 6-7 feet? with a big slow wobble.  I’ve made one similar looking with a 12” body as well, my lip was slightly smaller and it basically didn’t do anything.  I think you have enough lip to give it some action.   Let us know how it goes. 

[Big Epp]

Ya know, one of the things I like about muskie fishing is you typically use lures as big as most of the fish I catch around here...

[exx1976]

Well, it was.....  Interesting.  It didn't really have much "wobble" to speak of, but what it DID do was pretty cool - it swung WAY out to one side, wobbled a little bit, then swung WAY out to the other side, wobbled a bit, and did that for a while, with seemingly no pattern.  Every once in a while it would come back and run true.  Kind of a weird, almost lifelike behavior, save for almost no wobble.

I hung 7/0 hooks on it, and there's no way they could reach the end of the lip.

I superglue sealed it, shot some paint on it quick, and then covered it in clearcoat so it would survive the chlorine.

I think I'm going to epoxy it and fish with it some this year.  I really like the odd "hunting" behavior it has.  Definitely not an action I'd consider sale-worthy though.  A local guy told me if I move the line tie down more, closer to the lip, I'd get a better wobble out of it.  Maybe that will be V2.

In other news tonight, I figured out that my band saw does not cut lip slots thicker than the blade in anything resembling a straight/perpendicular line.  All three baits I took to the pool tonight to test lip slot depth - all three were crooked.  Ugh.

Ordered a $200 table saw blade to fix this problem.  Also need to build a crosscut sled and a jig now.  It never ends...   Not looking like I'm going to make my goal of having lures for sale by March 1.  I guess we'll see??

[Vodkaman]

That action sounds good to me. I would have expected people to pay double or more. I suggest that you make a few more and prove them with monster pics.

Dave

[exx1976]

22 minutes ago, Vodkaman said:

That action sounds good to me. I would have expected people to pay double or more. I suggest that you make a few more and prove them with monster pics.

Dave

We'll see if I catch anything on it this season first.  If I do, then you might be onto something.

Either way, it doesn't matter.  This bait wouldn't be for sale until next season at the earliest.  I really need to sort out my 8" minnow bait and get some of those for sale prior to taking on another model.  This was more just my impatience, and having some time (and materials) to kill.  The practice with the thru-wire was nice, though.

 

Edited February 8, 2021 by exx1976

[Vodkaman]

It is never just one feature that makes a lure successful, but we all know that every lure has its day. One would have to say that in the hands of the right angler that any lure could be a magnet. If we can put something special into a lure then that would improve everyone's game including the master and the novice.

To me, that special ingredient is hunting, the change of direction. It is 100M years of Darwinian science, a change of direction triggers the attack.

Dave

Edited February 8, 2021 by Vodkaman

[Vodkaman]

The lack of wiggle action could be down to the width of the lip, possibly too narrow. The speed of the wiggle is proportional to the width, but if the cadence is too fast then the long body can't move/change direction fast enough, leaving you with an action that is hardly visible.

This is all part of the prototyping procedure. Try out different lips, soft glued in for easy exchange.

Dave

[Hillbilly voodoo]

Like Dave mentioned the hunting action is a good thing and much harder to achieve then a static wiggle. This makes a huge difference trolling and is why good fisherman bump the throttle or do s turns ex to disrupt the action. This plays even more true when it comes to species that have a habit for following for long periods like Musky

If you are looking for more of a wiggle trying different lips like has been mentioned is an option. But another is lighten the back end of the lure. If you have weight in the tail remove it or go with a smaller weight. 

if you can post video of the action it would be easier to discuss and tweak the action 

As for the action being effective the top producing lure design I built last year has a very wide wiggle and breaks off to either side hunting a little. It’s been great as a trolling lure and twitch bait do to a very slow rise on the pause 

 

[Hillbilly voodoo]

Oh another option to increase your action is move your tow point closer to your lip. It will make a small difference to your depth but it will increase the force applied to the lip 

[Vodkaman]

Also remember, hunting is not an all or nothing thing. Hunting is speed related. Most shallow lures will hunt, the secret is achieving the hunt at a slow enough speed within your operating envelope.

Dave