Twitch bait wont Twitch

[Hand Crafted Angling]

My buddy requested I make a twitch bait for striped bass. I threw one together in cad. I think I got the weight right because it slowley sinks perfectly level. I havent used twitch baits much but I know im doing somthing wrong. Its my understanding that some twitchbaits dont swim on a normal retrieve and some do. I would like it to swim if possible. But mine doesnt swim at all. Straight retrive does nothing. A light twitch it moves forward straight as an arrow. Ill post some better pictures tomorow but can someone point me in the right direction for what I did wrong? Im not sure what part of the body gives this bait the action. Im working on a v2 with a flattend front and bottom of the tail like a rattle trap but im not sure if thats the problem.

[azsouth]

I would say try moving weighting and be sure and use a snap... if you're direct tying it will kill action.

A good video would also help.

[Vodkaman]

The flattened nose is a good idea. You want a shape that will disturb the water, not simply glide through, I suggest a fatter nose. The 'twitch' action causes a single vortex down one side, causing the side deviation. The next twitch will move in the opposite direction provided not too much time between twitches.

As usual, I am talking theoretical, I have never made this type of bait. I tried to resist posting, but alas....

Dave

[Hand Crafted Angling]

1 hour ago, azsouth said:

I would say try moving weighting and be sure and use a snap... if you're direct tying it will kill action.

A good video would also help.

I had it tied to a splitring. Ill give a snap a try. Where should I move the weight too? Ill try and get a video of it soon.

[Hand Crafted Angling]

47 minutes ago, Vodkaman said:

The flattened nose is a good idea. You want a shape that will disturb the water, not simply glide through, I suggest a fatter nose. The 'twitch' action causes a single vortex down one side, causing the side deviation. The next twitch will move in the opposite direction provided not too much time between twitches.

As usual, I am talking theoretical, I have never made this type of bait. I tried to resist posting, but alas....

Dave

Yea Im not good when it comes to lipless lures. I made one lipless crankbait before but that was a rattle trap design with the line tie up top.

[azsouth]

Shoulders are usually quite a bit bigger than the bottom of the lure, the belly weights should be as low as possible and static.

This is the learning curve of building your own bait, knowing were and how much weight is tricky at best.

Ad weight to the belly hook and see how it affects the swim. Remember +/- 1 gram can be the difference between a good bait and a paper weight.

[Vodkaman]

5 hours ago, azsouth said:

Remember +/- 1 gram can be the difference between a good bait and a paper weight.

Love this, very poetic

Dave

[Hand Crafted Angling]

15 hours ago, azsouth said:

Shoulders are usually quite a bit bigger than the bottom of the lure, the belly weights should be as low as possible and static.

This is the learning curve of building your own bait, knowing were and how much weight is tricky at best.

Ad weight to the belly hook and see how it affects the swim. Remember +/- 1 gram can be the difference between a good bait and a paper weight.

I dont think I can make the weights go any lower without making the bait weak. I can deffinitly tweak the ammount and make it static. Ill give that a shot.

[Bdnoble84]

Try moving the weight back. The weight in the nose is possibly deadening the bait. Its a tough balance because you want the bait to stay somewhat level on the sink. My understanding is, the farther back, the less stable the bait is, I.E. the weight in the back will maintain momentem longer than the the front of the bait making the tail swing forward. I have gained much better results since i started mong my weight farther back to the center balance of the lure. Basically, you want the tail to maintain momentum longer than the head of the bait. 

[21xdc]

These work great. Maybe more similar to these?  I don't think it's the weighting. 

 

https://megabassusa.com/product/karashi/

 

[Hand Crafted Angling]

Im gonna try putting a bunch of line ties on one bait to see where the best spot to put it is.

[josssiii]

On 9/4/2024 at 6:32 AM, Hand Crafted Angling said:

My buddy requested I make a twitch bait for striped bass. I threw one together in cad. I think I got the weight right because it slowley sinks perfectly level. I havent used twitch baits much but I know im doing somthing wrong. Its my understanding that some twitchbaits dont swim on a normal retrieve and some do. I would like it to swim if possible. But mine doesnt swim at all. Straight retrive does nothing. A light twitch it moves forward straight as an arrow. Ill post some better pictures tomorow but can someone point me in the right direction for what I did wrong? Im not sure what part of the body gives this bait the action. Im working on a v2 with a flattend front and bottom of the tail like a rattle trap but im not sure if thats the problem. pixel car racer unlimited crates

Your bait likely needs more hydrodynamic shaping. Try adding a slight curve or taper to the body and flattening the sides or belly to create water resistance for better swimming action. Adjust weight placement for balance during movement.

[Hand Crafted Angling]

8 hours ago, josssiii said:

Your bait likely needs more hydrodynamic shaping. Try adding a slight curve or taper to the body and flattening the sides or belly to create water resistance for better swimming action. Adjust weight placement for balance during movement.

I made two different versions of this bait I've tested so far. One was a smooth bait that I think was weighted correctly. The other was like you were saying but I definitely made it on the heavy side. I've printed out a 3rd version with the flattened spots again. This time it has multiple different line tie spots so I can dial in exactly where to put the line tie. I'm just waiting for it to warm up enough to test it. Everything close to me is frozen.