Line tow in the lip

[Yake Bait]

I've done a few deep divers and used thru-wire construction with a single piece of wire to place a line tow in the lexan lip. Alternatively I have seen a few guys do this with wire while using screw type eyes for the hook eyes. I think that Snax and Tigger do their deep diving cranks this way if I am not mistaken. Wondering what is done to secure the wire to the blank when using this construction method? This technique might offer some advantages when you are not certain amount and placement of lead in a bait.

Thanks.

[benton B]

Drill a hole under the lip slot and when the lip is epoxied in place so is the wire. In my baits I drill holes in the back of lip for the epoxy to bite on, that is what holds the lip in place.

[Esoteric]

I was about to ask exactly the same question Pete.

Not sure I'd trust simply epoxying it in.

I came up with this idea although I haven't tried it out yet. Form the tow eye in the lip, take the remaining wire under the lip and fold it round the back and on to the top. Twist a closed eye in the end of the wire. Put a screw through the top of the lure, through the closed eye and through the lip. Epoxy everything in place during this process. Screw can be countersunk and hole filled to hide it. I'm pretty sure that would be rock solid but as I say I haven't actually tried it.

[Yake Bait]

I would feel more confortable using a technique like you describe although I think 99.9% of the time the epoxy would likely hold. My luck would be that the only failure would be on a 50" musky and then the stars would align, the lip would pull out of the bait, and I would loose the fish.

I had an experience just like that on an 80# flurocarbon leader where I had a 48+" fish up next to the boat and he thrashed, bit through the leader, and away he went forever . I have used wire leaders ever since

[benton B]

I don't build baits for musky and I would do thru wire if I did. On my bass baits the lip is not going to fail. I've rip enough baits appart after screwing them up to how hard it is to pull the lip out.

[Tally]

without a doubt, thru wire is the safest way. However, if you epoxy the lip in correctly, you should not have any problems. "Correctly" is the key word.

[Yake Bait]

Some guys brign the wire into the bait below but not in the lip slot and anchor it somehow. Curious how this is done. Possibly on the dowelled split baits that have been shown which is way out of my league for sure, but if there is a simple way of doing this on a one piece plug I would like to try it.

[muskydan666]

Hi Pete,i am making some thruwire musky cranks,A few year ago I was doing some wood cranks and I was using wire to do the tow eyes in the lips!!Just bring them under the lip all the way to the bait and then make 2 lops!after that you only have to screw the wires on the bait!!!Works very nice!!never add any problems with that!!

cheers,Dan

[rofish]

I made just a few crankbaits with the line tow in the lip. I have seen in a tutorial here on TU that in such a case the wire goes into the body as far as the lip goes. I didn't much like the ideea, so in my lures the wire goes into the lure much further than the lip. First I make the hole for the wire, as long as I want it to be (or as long as the angle of the lip can afford, before the hole ends on the back of the lure), then I put the drill bit with the round part into the hole, and then I make the lipslot by hand, with the saw blade leaning on the drill bit, so the cut for the lip and the hole are parallel. When I epoxy the lip, I check first the length of the wire, so it could fit the length of the hole, and also I check if the lip and the wire stay well together. Then I epoxy both together.