BowfinBoy95

im planning on using it as more of a flippin type thing..its very light though i did put solder bits in the botton to ensure it floats upright even without the hook.i would think the wings would provide alot of air resistance, so this isnt made to cast supremely far(though i did recently discover a device through a fellow fisherman that allows you to cast really far with very light lures. its a casting float). the wings are made of a thin flexible acrylate plastic, though if i could get a thiner more durable plastic that would be better. like lexan as thin as the lid of a CD case. ive been really interested in the river2sea dragonfly for awhile but dragonfles dont swim like a jitterbug.they twitch in the water..and thats how i plan to fish this..like a popper. worry much more about the durability of the tail section than the wings. im gonna epoxy them on the edge of a square of plastic and then epoxy the suqare into the back( in the slots you see in the dragonfly). i know itll get some surface blowups..i just dunno if itl'll hold up..heres to hopin! and if it doesnt ill modify the design till it works and stays intact:)

ok im pretty new at making lures but im eager to take advantage of designs that have been ignored by other anglers i posted the fact i was making a dragonfly awhile back. well now i scanned a preliminary pic, to get an idea what itll look like when its all done.i just put the wings against the back for reference. they will be positioned better when they are epoxied in place. the paint is nail polish. it will have a full epoxy coat by the end. a single trebel on the bottom of the thorax.line tie is below the big eyes.

ive recently noticed that nail polish would make a great lure paint if covered with epoxy. while the idea seems terrific, why dont more people do it? im assuming there is a drawback? some of the metallic colors that nailpolish is available in are just phenomenal. if its a mistake to try it let me know!

yeah im definitely aware this thing would be frail without a few layer thick epoxy coat. especially since the tail has onl a portion of wire in it. ill try the createx paints. i did find a nice black primer which will make the joints look how i want them to, and i decided to get some regular acrylics. red with a bit of silver in it silver eyes with agreen tinge..not going to do any elaborate patterns or anything as this is my first attempt. itll be done soon, so ill be posting the picture!

i woulda though more people wouldve thought it was a good idea..no paint suggestions from anyone??

the balsa foam can be carved just like balsa or basswood. if you have through-wire construction you never hafta worry about the wire being ripped out of the bait. thast why through wire construction was invented..all the bait is really is a case around the frame. all the strain of the pulling fish is on the wire frame and not the bait itself. so long as the epoxy you use is strong enough and the lure is coated with enough of it, the wire will not bend or rip out(unless you hook some kind of alien squid monster. so long as you dont fish anywhere near bridgeport Ct you shouldnt have any problems.(lol)

has anyone ever tried making lures with this stuff? its so easy to shape and you can smooth it with your fingers. its lighter than balsa wood, and lacks the grain, making the ability to take details extremely good. its really porous so sealing it with spray on gloss is prolly the best idea. my dragonfly lure is made of this stuff and balsa wood. soon itll be done. has anyone else ever attempted a draagonfly pattern? its a common bass forage..dunno why no one would try!

im actually building my own dragonfly lure. i was thinkin the same thing. i always realized that dragonflies and other insects where a forage of bass and other freshwater species that were largely ignored by lure designers. my dragonfly is going to be a floating popper very similar to the river2sea model but with a more natural dying the the water action. theirs wobbles like a jitterbug and while it looks like a damn good lure..dragonflies dont wobble. they freak out in the water in spastic twitches..and that draws in fish..i cupped the face so it'll spit water like a popper.the wings are hard thin plastic. the body is a mix of balsa wood and balsa foam. the pattern on the wings..well..thats my own little trade secret..lets just say it looks pretty real. i had a question pertaining to paints. i want very shiny metallic colors..like youd see on living dragonflies. but ive had little luck in finding any. if anyone knows how to make them let me know!

i was actually contemplating using rustoleum spray on laquer finish instead of epoxy. ya think it will suffice? i dont think its the same as the rubbery spray on rustoleum stuff.but i could be wrong.

i add a wood sealer before i add primer. this keeps the air in the wood from escaping into the paint, which causes such bubbles. balsa is the worst in terms of this. my suggestion is to use foam board. it takes a few coats of sealer to make it smooth to the touch, but once it is you can prime and paint it. its lighter than balsa too! balsafoam and balsafoam II are both sold in art supply stores. check it out

you can get basswood dowels and other shapes at craft stores. its very popular in making things like birdhouses and furinture molding. also ya might wanna try Balsafoam II. 12 lbs per cubic foot. very easy to carve and shape. dont even need woodworkin tools. You can still use balsa for stuff like that. if you think its too light just add some counterweight down the center of the belly.

i saw this stuff in janns netcraft called plastidip. is it good for use as a clearcoat for lures? says its rubbery..dunno if thats a good thing or not. and i see alot of products meant for rod building that provide one step clearcoats..seems easier than mixin up epoxy. how are these in terms of durability and water resistance. another thing..i cant even find devcon stuff in my area..its irritating. any other brands of epoxy that work just as well???

im fairly new to tackle underground but my expertise in crafts goes back a long way. Only in the past few months have i begun lurecraft.ive recently undertaken a project in which i hope to successfully make a dragonfly surface popper out of balsa wood and BalsaFoam foamboard. thus far its coming out excellent. im going to seal it with krylon acylic gloss. then ill add a spray on black primer, shielding the wings with masking tape. i will then start painting it by hand. where can i find some high quality metallic paints that actually have the sheen of metal rather than glitter? this is gonna be a metallic red and green draginflywith black joints if i can find the paints...when its finished ill be sure to post the pics!

Premo is my favorite poly clay and its more flexible than one might imagine, especially when re baked or mixed with superflex sculpy.ive also foundusing translucent liquid sculpey as filler to anchor the lip and through wire in place is just as effective as epoxy for this stuff, because its chemically compatible and bonds instantly to the clay upon baking.the liquid sculpey is ridiculously flexible and tough as nails..it would be interesting to make a lure body mold and use this stuff alone to make lures. One of the advantages of poly clay is you can rebake as many times as you want so long as you allow the clay to cool between bakings and dont leave it in the oven for too long. it sands very nicely, and by rubbing liquid sculpey into the sanded surface afterward, the sheen of the clay,especially metallics, comes out and the sanded surface appears totally smooth. and even this layer can be sanded after firing. once a couple coats of epoxy or other tough clearcoat are applied i think it would be just as durable as a wooden lure. but tuning the lure is still a problem i have yet to perfect..ive added ballast weight to my current project to balance it, but i dont know if ive added enough. i hafta fill my bath tub and test it..lol. i am going to try making the through wire and anchoring the lexan lip to that with epoxy first, to make certain its straight. then i sculpt the body how i want it, mount the wire in it so i know it wil be straight when i bake it, remove the wire add some details to the body , bake it, then carve, sand and add more details(extra layers of colored clay etc.) and so when i mount the wire in the lure its just like mounting the wire in a wooden lure, and it can be tuned from there. i dont have alot of fancy tools unfortunately, so i hafta rely on my dremel and its many bits, emery cloth, sandpaper, hobby files and good old fashioned skill. weather or not i actually have skill remains to be seen..lol