crank bait help needed

[Tom S]

I have this finished deep diving crank bait wannabe,and it does not run at all.It goes through the water like a jerk bait being reeled in.It has no wobble.I have made this same body style bait in shallow divers many times so I think its the lip angle or the tow eye placement because that is the only thing different.It is a good looking bait and I would like to salvage it, if someone has a suggestion on how to fix it or knows what the problem is.I attatched a photo( if I did it right)Thanks in advance.

Tom S.

[Tom S]

Here is the front view of the same bait.

Tom S.

[woodieb8]

definately screw eye placement. either go lower or go to the pull from the lip. this means using wire thru the front half. take a look at the tuff shads

[baitmaker2]

believe you would be better off putting your line tie on the lip, hard to tell what degree your lip angle is but that could be an issue also, what I would do is take a lip and try different increments from the nose of the bait until you get the action desired, also the lip shape can also make a difference, adjust your increments in small steps , spent 3 months once playing with lip shapes and angle and placement in lips until I got the action I wanted, it can be time consuming but when you have it right you will feel it time well spent

[savacs]

with that angle i would've tried a different shaped lip. I would've put a lip that has an increased area just from vhere it starts.

Depending where yu put the line tie, you will always have a dead angle, in which the lure won't work.

I usually tune my lures before gluing the lip.....

[Nathan]

I'd go with a slightly wider bill,and it is mounted too low..Move the bill up close too the "nose" of the bait..If that doesn't do it,leave the changes,and move your line tie onto the bill..Nathan

[folk]

I'd start with bending down the lip gradually (provided it won't crack. The larger the lip surface showed to the front side, the more likely your bait would wobble.

folk

[cheesehead]

I love how those eyes glow, What are they made out of?

[Tom S]

Thanks for all the help guys. I will be trying some of the easier fixes first and see if it will go.

Cheesehead, Sorry but I cant tell you what the eyes are made of yet.I am selling those. I am selling them to a very popular muskie bait maker in Mn. and another in Pa. You will see them at the Chicago show next year. I had researched getting a patent, but too much$$.So I got to keep quiet for now.

Tom

[mangeboy79]

i would try useing a really heavy rear hook and see if that dont get it started..

[Skeeter]

You only have three options:

1. Widen the lip.

2. Increase the angle of the lip.

3. Change the placement of the line tie.

Skeeter

[LaPala]

If u want a more messy route, try cupping the lip by heat forming it . I said messy because cupped lips are better with shaved leading edges as well, so b4/after bending you'd have to file/sand & polish the leading edge as well.

Some info on heat bending/forming polycarbonate can be found here: http://www.sheffieldplastics.com/web_docs/Makrolon_Fabrication_Guide.pdf

[mangeboy79]

You only have three options:

1. Widen the lip.

2. Increase the angle of the lip.

3. Change the placement of the line tie.

Skeeter

4. change the center of weight

[Tom S]

Thanks again for all the replies! Unfortunatly I have not been on the water to try any of the remedies yet.

Tom

[baitmaker2]

I don't believe changing the location of weight will help you much, like Skeeter replied the three most common fixes is line tie placement , lip angle and lip shape

[Skeeter]

My first shot at this thing would be to widen the lip. It really doesn't take much lip angle to get a bass size crankbait to wiggle. If that did not work I would remove your current line tie and place it in the lip as close to the nose of the bait as you can get it. Those are the main two things that I would try. This bait appears to be a pretty good sized lure. I classify a big crankbait as anything over 4 inches long. I have read allot of what the muskie guys do with their plugs to get them to work and it seems to be a little different. Really big plugs seem to be an animal of a different nature. But....... the two things that I have suggested should get that bait on the right track to moving correctly.

Skeeter

[Tom S]

I finally got to test this bait again,and it needed the lip heated up and bent down.Works fine now.Thanks again!

Tom S.