longball Posted April 13, 2006 Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 I have tested my crankbaits and every once in a while I get a bait that will start good then take a hard right or left and start making a big loop. Just wondered why. They don't seem to be out of line visually. I wondered if it could be excess weight, bill too small, or just operator error. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 It could be several things that are causing it. The main cause is usually not enough weight. Or the lip could be too long for the lure. Also the lip should not tilt to one side. It needs to be square in the bait. What is the bait made of and how long is the body? How long is the lip and how close is the line tie to the nose? Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longball Posted April 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 The bait is 2-1/2" long and the line tie is in the nose. the lip is a round one 1-1/4" long and seated 1/2" inside the lure. It is made of pvc board with a 1/8oz weight attached to the bottom hook hanger. It runs great without hooks eventhough that won't catch many fish. Visually the lip looks seated correctly. When I get back I will post a pic of the offenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longball Posted April 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 After all I have learned and applied from Tackleunderground the cranks that I finally post a pic of are two that run like they are drunk. I hope they post I made the file small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinner Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 Finally got out this weekend to test run my "winter production" of crank baits. Most required little or no tuning except one. Of course, this is the one I really liked due to a paint job. How I can make the same model several times and have one not perform still baffles me. Skeeter, of course, is correct. I asked him the same questions you are about two years ago. Number one issue is weight. Low in the belly works best for me. Second is the "line of sight". Look down the bait and make sure the line is correct. Belly and back, hooks, and lip/tie is all in line with each other. If it blows or loops in the same direction, look for the imperfection that would allow this to happen. It is the little things. I have had a lip in straight, but it was deeper on one corner than the other. This allowed it to dig at one corner and caused it to loop as you have suggested. Hope some of this has helped. When you find the issue, make sure you add in a process to correct it when you build the bait. Document everything. This saves on the frustration index. Spinner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 From the looks of things I would say it it your weight. Especially if the lure is made of balsa. Double it. Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longball Posted April 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 It is usually the ones that have the best paint job that turn out to be wrong somehow. The belly weight is low in the body, it is wrapped around the hook eye. On the coffin bill bait you can see some of it sticking out. I use a one piece pvc blank to make the lure and use the line / hook tie method from the tutorial. The lips are now 1/16" Lexan. Devcon cleared. I took one out this weekend and did not use any weight in it and it just needed tuned. I think I had too much weight in the ones pictured. I make a larger model that has to have 1/8oz weight on the hook eye. I just thought I could get one a few feet deeper by adding weight in the smaller ones. Didn't work, which stinks because the paint jobs on those are pretty cool. I made 8 on top of that so I have 8 that are on the way to the garbage. All I need is to better understand the physics of a crankbait to make a more perfect bait. If I make 12 lures I have to go to the lake and tune each one. That shouldn't have to happen should it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinner Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 One thing I learned is to never change your bait until you have tried and tested the modification. I make several blanks, modify the lip setting several ways, then see which setting gives me the result I was looking for. Then I reproduce that version and paint, not the other way around. The little things can become big issues in building. Spinner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 I've found that when making smaller baits, the thickness of the bill can be a factor in causing it to roll out of control.so to speak. I bought thinner Lexan for my smaller baits and have had no problem since. If you think about it, as the lip size gets thicker the forward edge of the lip has more of an effect on the bait; it is more blunt and causes a swerving effect. Naturally the effect will be more pronounced on smaller baits. Another thing that you might try to salvage the baits in question is carefully shaving one side of the bill with a rotary tool to that it has less resistance on that side. Of course that is a trial an error excercise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
