Swinbaits

[sammy01007]

I have been trying to build a decent swimbait and after several attempts and adjustments I finally have one that swims. It is about 4 inches long and has three segments. Weight is placed in the fisrt and second segment. One hook hanger is in the second segent and the other comes striaght out the third segment. My plan was to use a dressed hook, made with fish fiber for the rear hook.

When I used a dressed hook, I get a slight swimming action, when I use a plain hook the simming action is better, if i remove the rear hook entirely I get the best swimming action.

It makes sense that adding a dressed tail would inhibit some of the movement, but it makes the bait look much better and I really want to include this on my swimbaits. I am just a little lost on what changes I should make to achieve this.

Edited August 17, 2011 by sammy01007

[Vodkaman]

First of all, congratulations on getting it to swim. A four inch, three section bait is not an easy build. Can you post a pic, so we can see what we are discussing. Pics are allowed as long as you are not just showing off your bait and it is valid to the discussion.

I think that your biggest problem is mounting the hook in the second segment. Probably would have been much better to mount it in the first section. The head generates the water forces that push the second section and generate the S shaped wiggle. By mounting in the second section, you are effectively stifling the action. By mounting the hook in the nose, you will be damping the first section and more forces will be imparted on the second section. The result should be a steadier nose, a more fluid action and probably enough energy left to drive your dressed hook at the rear.

There is nothing you can do to improve this bait, other than check the hinge joints and make sure there are no rough spots. The slightest blemish will spoil the action. Try the nose mounted hook on the next build.

Dave

Edited August 17, 2011 by Vodkaman

[sammy01007]

Thanks for the quick reply!!

I will try your suggestion in my next build.

I build the bait by creating a lexan backbone with all the hardware then gluing on carved basswood sides. The first picture shows an example of the lexan backbone. This was not used in this bait but a previous one. The concept is the same for this bait, but I made a few changes to the construction. The second picture shows the completed 4" swimbait. The thrid just shows the lexan backbone mounted within the bait.

[Vodkaman]

That is a very cool design. It solves a lot of space problems and allows you to get closer with the hinge pin. I really like it.

In the second picture, looking at the hinge. You can see how the top eye is touching the top of the slot and the lower eye is touching the bottom of the slot. This is a possible friction source and could be your problem. I would trim the slots just a tad, to guarantee that nothing is rubbing. Only need to do one of the slots.

Edit your pic size next time.

Dave

[nitro98]

Do you have any video? Do you have to burn it to get your swimming action? Just judging by your pictures, I bet that thing sinks like a rock only being 3 or 4 inches long with ballast in two sections and you took out probably 1/4 of the wood and replaced it with lexan. That may be what your looking for the bait to do not sure?

Vodkaman is right though put the first hook in the first section of the bait. Honestly putting the hook in the tail is not the best thing either. To me, you want the tail section to be the lightest and most free of all the segments.

Anyhow just my two cents

[sammy01007]

Do you have any video? Do you have to burn it to get your swimming action? Just judging by your pictures, I bet that thing sinks like a rock only being 3 or 4 inches long with ballast in two sections and you took out probably 1/4 of the wood and replaced it with lexan. That may be what your looking for the bait to do not sure?

Vodkaman is right though put the first hook in the first section of the bait. Honestly putting the hook in the tail is not the best thing either. To me, you want the tail section to be the lightest and most free of all the segments.

Anyhow just my two cents

The lure does sink. I do not need to burn the lure to get good movement out of it. Without the ballasts the lure retains a good bouyancy. I will try to get some videos done when I get a chance of the lure now, and after moving the hook hanger.

[nitro98]

cool. good luck. You may could get away with putting the hook hangar in the very front of the second segment. Just like with any bait, trial and error will get you where you want to go.