the-bass-catcher

Haha, I did paint the prototypes before I sold them...it still takes me WAAAAYYY too long to make lures from scratch, especially to make a profit off of. I'm still keeping with the lure making on the side, but I'm just looking to paint for the summer.

Ok fellas, I know a lot of you probably don't remember me, but it's the same newb that used to chat on here a few years ago. I've actually had the chance to make a few prototype lures for a company and since I'm out of college for the summer, I was hoping to start up my custom painting business. Since it has been a while since I've searched, where are some good places to look for quality unpainted plastic lure bodies? I'm not talking huge numbers, I'm just trying to paint enough to make a name for myself and get that name out to folks. Thanks guys!

Thanks for all the help with the colors. I painted my first handmade crankbait two days ago in a color almost like the Horton color but a little lighter. I know this color will tear the fish up on my favorite lake, actually the bait itself was designed specifically for this lake. Fishing quickly over the coontail moss that grows in the crystal clear lake. I can't wait to fish it! Will post a pic in the album soon!

I just read on an old rapala minnow package that if you bend the line tie downwards, it will have more wobble, and if upwards, less. I know your bait's shape is dramatically different, but maybe if the linetie is bendable stainless steel, or even better, brass, you might wanna give this a try! If not, your solution seems very practical as well.

I have a variation of blackjack's that I use. Pearl white body, flo. green shoulders to back, light trans. blue over the back. Flo. yellow down the belly, with flo orange throat and tip of tail. Either a light blue or flo orange shad spot. I prefer the blue, but the bass pro version is orange, and it looks pretty good too. I've been learning alot about colors lately

Thanks for the pics lurehead, they are very nice! Skeeter - that some good info to know. I guess its always good to know what the pros go to when they need a win. Now to the airbrushing booth to attempt these... Another question i have, not about color, is that are those baits in the pictures above original tennessee tuffy's or are they replicas? Also, whats the relation between the t.t. and the tapp that WEC produces. I thought they were supposedly the same bait, but they look completely different to me! (besides the coffin lip, and weighted belly style) As for the classic color, I was under the impression that it had tan/light brown shoulders, a dark brown back, and white lower sides, orange throat. Thanks for correcting me fellas!

I know that these are two of the hotest colors out there and have caught plenty of fish in big tournaments. I've only see a few extremely blurry photos of both, and I can't really see the details enough to try to duplicate them. If anyone could post a high quality pic of either color pattern I would greatly appreciate it, as I need to paint of few of both and have searched like crazy without finding a good pic of either. Thanks

Riverman, I've been trying to do the rolling to get the patterns on the foil w/o much luck. I don't think I've found a good enough utensil in which to roll yet, like the one in the posted pic. However, I did find this in my room while I was thinking about it yesterday. Try cutting out a template for you baits from the foil tape and rub it evenly on the grating that covers stereo and computer speakers (and some space heaters, and I'm sure plenty of other places). This looks 100 times more like scales, has an original look, and would look pretty dang deadly on those nice glider baits you cook up. Hope this helps!

Gator_Fan: the best program out there for photo-editing in my opinion is Adobe Photoshop. Its very expensive, but maybe you'll know someone w/ a copy available. savacs: If you'll go to my post, "water slide decal beginnings" I had actually taken and decal and placed it over the foil layer underneath. It looks good, but i had too many bubbles in the clearcoat after all those layers. Husky, it seems to me that if you spray the foil with any type of clear fixative it will fog up and become less shiny. I'm curious as to whether or not you can contiunually rub the foil smooth without the ink coming off. Good idea to heat it w/ a hairdryer! Keep at this thing!

I like vytautus's answer, we are trying to catch the eyes of fishermen, and I think a custom painted bait is far nicer than a photo finish lure. By the way, I only meant the glue was a mock-up to see if the decal would fit the bait's contour ok. You probably do need to attach it with something stronger if it is a rattle trap or something that will encounter much abuse from rocks and such. Other times, such as regular med. diving and shallow diving cranks, they might only need glue and a good epoxy clearcoat, as Coley said.

being a bass fisherman, i don't know much about how to protect a bait from muskie teeth. I'd say that you need to put two layers of whichever clearcoat you usually use. Most of the time you have to worry about extra layers weighing the bait down, but i'm assuming these lures must be big enough to where that wouldn't really matter. Again, we'll probably never know which clearcoat is the best, but I'd suggest using e-tex, devcon, or maybe in flexcoat highbuild. Try em all out and let us know which one suffers less injuries!

Buzzbug, here is what I do. Find a high-res pic or a large pic of anyfish and save it to your pc. Scan in the profile of your bait and make sure it prints out the same size as it really is (or close). I like to use photoshop for the rest: Make a layer in which you trace the outline of the bait loosely(for tight edges like the rattle trap noses you'll need to get closer). Using the transform function bend, size, and warp the exisiting photo to fit in the frame you've drawn. Print it out on regular paper, and w/ elmer's glue see how it fits. You may have to adjust the contour of the decal a bit if the lure curves alot. All in all, once the paper prototypes are good enough, print'em out on that decal paper. this way gives you unlimited resources for creating your own baits. I've been wanting to take my own fish photos myself for this purpose, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I hope this helps. BTW, you can also utilize the paintbrushes to create almost any details you wish. also use the layer blending options to perfect the look of scales, etc.

Go with what Mallard said as far as a popper that swims as well as pops. I've had times when I've tied a popper to lines that sink and get caught in submerged vegetation, which makes a regular popper dive underwater, but not a really good wobbling action, just a slight roll from side to side.

Ya'll may or may not want to look into this, but I saw recently in some magazines ( i think Bass Pro Shops) some new VMC trebles that, when put on a split ring correctly, have one point on the treble elongated much like having a trailer-hook on your treble hook.

Way cool and great tips! Can't wait to see the next installment