One piece fin tailed glides

[Flaswimbaiter]

I want to make one of these, but found little information or vids online. Anyone here experienced in making them that can help me with overall body shape? I want to make a 6” basic baitfish version to start with. 

[Flaswimbaiter]

Well, I made one fashioned after one I saw made by dock rat lures,  I struggled to get it subsurface even after adding a bunch of weight. Even with the weight evenly distributed it still doesn’t glide nearly as much as it should. Any advice? 

[Outlaw4]

im not sure how the tail affects things for sure, i know it can be tough to get a good glide with the tail.

the musky world is filled with one piece gliders, lots with grub type tails that glide nice. could maybe check one out. like a soft tailed phantom is a very good one.

 

[Big Epp]

I just recently made a 6-in glide bait and instead of distributing the weight across the length of the bait I used a single lead hole at the point of balance on the lure. I've also made several much smaller glide baits and used two lead holes equidistant from the balance point. I found that both of those approaches produced a very nice glide, but none of those had plastic tails.

Are you talking more about a hard plastic thin like on a hellhound or some of the other musky glides?

As for getting it subsurface, what kind of wood are you using? A lot of the musky glide baits are made with a more dense wood like maple. The one that I just made I actually made of oak. With the one lead hole for balance and weight it slow sinks very nicely. I would imagine something like a hard Pine might also work, but for a Glide bait I probably wouldn't use a more buoyant wood like cedar, redwood, basswood, etc...

[Big Epp]

The lead in this bait is all in a single hole just behind the belly hook hanger.

[Hillbilly voodoo]

6 hours ago, Outlaw4 said:

im not sure how the tail affects things for sure, i know it can be tough to get a good glide with the tail.

the musky world is filled with one piece gliders, lots with grub type tails that glide nice. could maybe check one out. like a soft tailed phantom is a very good one.

 

I have made lots(majority of the ones I make have soft tails)of jerk bait/gliders with a soft tail. The tail has a large impact on the action. The wider the tail the more it works like a keel robbing the action. I use almost exclusively long thin tails because of this. Even the thin tail robs a fair bit of the action 

Mine are all resin pours and I use a combination of pure resin/bird shot for balancing the lure. I find a highly buoyant top section combined with a pure resin belly with bird shot center or front third works well

It takes a few pours to get things just right on new designs. I find when test swimming without a tail with a glide style I want the bait to be able to almost turn on the twitch. This way when I add tail it tames the action just enough 

I imagine the lexan or wooden tails would have a similar effect to a wide grub tail so you will have to overcome the drag from it

I don’t know if this will help you or not but this is what I have figured out that and works for me

[Hillbilly voodoo]

5 hours ago, Big Epp said:

The lead in this bait is all in a single hole just behind the belly hook hanger.

With the body shape of your design the weight placement makes complete sense to me. 

The shape of the bait makes a huge difference regarding how weight needs to be distributed 

[Flaswimbaiter]

I took the bait to the lake today and it glides better than in the pool. Got some crazy action compared to a two piece. I still think it could shoot out wider, but this is my first attempt. I am using a lexan tail, but it is horizontal and I am using Tupelo wood. I distributed the weight because that’s what I do with a two piece and was just kinda guessing.  I will try that technique of adding to the balance point.

[Flaswimbaiter]

10 hours ago, Big Epp said:

The lead in this bait is all in a single hole just behind the belly hook hanger.

That’s a unique design……may have to steal it ;-)

[Big Epp]

Your bait looks good! Glad to hear the lake test was more promising. I've been wondering lately a lot about the differences between one and two piece glides in terms of action and effectiveness, so this thread has been fun!

I'm pretty sure this is the picture I used for the profile. It's an arowana, which, while not local to Illinois, look awesome! I made the first one as a wake'n'crank earlier this year.

[Flaswimbaiter]

19 hours ago, Big Epp said:

Your bait looks good! Glad to hear the lake test was more promising. I've been wondering lately a lot about the differences between one and two piece glides in terms of action and effectiveness, so this thread has been fun!

I'm pretty sure this is the picture I used for the profile. It's an arowana, which, while not local to Illinois, look awesome! I made the first one as a wake'n'crank earlier this year.

That looks like a fun project. I am finding out that One and two piece glides are different animals. I took the finished bait out today and actually caught a small fish.  It does not glide like a small bait, it’s a long not wide glide, if that makes sense and it shoots out when it want to. It may just take some getting used to. I own a Japanese three piece glide called a dowzswimmer, I plan on making my own version soon.

[Outlaw4]

nice catch. i noticed you are tied direct to the bait. have you always done this? i have seen glide baits that are very sensitive to this. maybe try with a split ring if you have not?

in pike water we use solid wire leaders on glide baits, it also makes a big difference in glide

[Flaswimbaiter]

3 hours ago, Outlaw4 said:

nice catch. i noticed you are tied direct to the bait. have you always done this? i have seen glide baits that are very sensitive to this. maybe try with a split ring if you have not?

in pike water we use solid wire leaders on glide baits, it also makes a big difference in glide

I have been using a flouro leader and loop knot for decades, it’s a habit I brought over from saltwater fishing. I believe the stiff leader and loop allows for more freedom of movement then a clip and split ring.  We don’t really have toothy critter in Florida where I fish, except for gators. LOL

[Outlaw4]

3 hours ago, Flaswimbaiter said:

I have been using a flouro leader and loop knot for decades, it’s a habit I brought over from saltwater fishing. I believe the stiff leader and loop allows for more freedom of movement then a clip and split ring.  We don’t really have toothy critter in Florida where I fish, except for gators. LOL

roger that i missed the loop. you should try a short wire, we get way better glide with something like a stealth tackle spring leader than any flouro leaders on small glides. it might surprise you

 

[Hillbilly voodoo]

38 minutes ago, Outlaw4 said:

roger that i missed the loop. you should try a short wire, we get way better glide with something like a stealth tackle spring leader than any flouro leaders on small glides. it might surprise you

 

I stopped using wire and only use heavy fluorocarbon leader material. I have only had one failure and that was a 40# after catching pike well into the triple digits. I have since upgraded to 60# without issue. It has to be leader material not just fluorocarbon line to withstand teeth 

I actually find I get better action with a heavy fluorocarbon leader material vs wire. I also find it makes a huge difference when fishing pike in high pressure C&R waters. Old pike that have felt too many hooks do seem more wary

to each their own but personally see no advantage to wire

my gliders/jerks are 5inch or larger so not small 

Action wise the correct rod and braid is the biggest factor when it comes to jerks/gliders in my opinion 

[Flaswimbaiter]

1 hour ago, Hillbilly voodoo said:

Action wise the correct rod and braid is the biggest factor when it comes to jerks/gliders in my opinion 

I strongly agree with this statement. I was rinsing my reels in a lake after saltwater fishing and tied on a 7” ladyfish glide I made, but on my heavier, longer rod, with a lower speed reel and was surprised how little action I got out of the bait in comparison to my usual setup.