Curved Bibs

[Balls]

G’day all

This is an alternative option for curved bibs on smaller lures, I use it on my smaller lures for Barra & a number of other tropical species without any concern, on larger Iures I either use Hazmail’s oil technique & or just cold bend the heavier Polycarbonate.

In Australia the product is called Suntuff, it’s a Polycarbonate corrugated roof sheeting that comes in clear, opaque & a number of colours, the product is designed for use on roofing, so its designed for an extreme environment, there are a number of other brand names for the same use, just make sure it’s the product that identifies it as a polycarbonate product on the sheet you purchase, Laserlite is another one over here, hopefully a similar product is available at any of your hardware stores, building suppliers or similar outlets wherever you live.

For ease of use & the particular size bib I was using I just cut 50 mm strip from across the sheet, I then just used a template to mark all of the bibs in direct line with the hills and or the hollows of the corrugations, (so your curve is across the front of the bib), I just cut the bib out with a small pair of cutters we use to cut fish at work, but any reasonable cutters will do the job, I cut in neat so didn’t have to worry about sanding, but that’s up to the individual. The end that you glue into the lure is flexible enough to push into a straight cut in the bib slot, also prep how you do normally, drill hole thru end of bib, scuff or whatever your preferred method is. Obviously the curve on the sheeting is what you end up with depending on the width of your bib, its quick & you don’t have the concern of over heating the product or injury with the hot oil, I have found I don’t require much curve to provide the action required compared to a straight bib.

The minimum size sheet I saw here was 1.8 metres in length & I think it was 820 mm in width off memory & was $19.00 Aussie, which will allow for a bloody lot of bibs using both the hills & the hollows & at a pinch you could use the off cuts for small micro lures.

The only thing I haven’t tried is to use the product with my bib punch, I’ll have to set it up to align the centre of the corrugations to the centre of the bib punch & give it a try when I get a chance, hope it helps someone out, cheers Balls.