Hoodaddy

Happy B-Day Cuz Have'nt been on for several days and must have been karma to jump in here now. Have a Great one !!!

OK here goes:lolhuh:.........:whistle:Alright is that enough ???? Only kidding they look real good. You're really getting the hang of it with only 9-10 paint jobs under your belt. Must be one of those dang fast learners again

1. Chart Shad 2. Sexy Shad 3. Bluegill

Shawn I agree....topwaters are probably the easiest to start with but as Nova said do'nt get too dependent on them or you wont want to try making anything else. As for ballast...you do need some near or in the rear in order to make it walk properly. As for props.....with a walking bait like a spook I would veer away from a front mounted prop and just keep it in the rear. I would be concerned about the line becoming entangled with the front prop. You may want to lean towards a hardwood of some kind ( I do'nt know whats avail. in Korea) because I hear those Snakeheads are pretty mean critters. Maybe even go with some heavy duty S/S swivels and possibly some H/D maybe even salt water hooks.. Good Luck and have fun

BV, I think it may be the swirling winds created by the cross flow coupled by the cobweb laying on the bait.....when you paint and remove them thats what you end up with......Think I'll clean a little less.......if thats possible. My girlfeind likes taking her freinds to my workshop and getting a good laugh at how "organized" I am. But on the other hand ....she is amazed about how I can "usually" find what I'm looking for.

Prior to getting into this addicting hobby (for me) I used to listen to freinds about certain baits and colors and be swayed into purchasing them that way. Now I have hundreds of unused baits lying in boxes and elsewhere just resting.....or rotting . When I started making them I fortunately found (the same as many.... found this wonderful site) and opened my eyes and got me thinking about what makes a C/B do what and why. Also to the unfortunate demise of some of my favorite baits they got cut apart, paint peeled off, lips measured ,weights weighed and measured.....and everything recorded. Then I thought I was ready to start......"Thought" was right ......... Well after 5 yrs. I'm still finding things out and hope to continue doing so as I go along experimenting with weight placement, finishes, wire, lips and angle,line tie placement, clearcoats and everything else that you never foresee when beginning. So to make a long stroy short....er I agree with Bob you should grab up some of your baits that work like you want your bait to and check them out....thoroughly. Measuring thickness, legnth, width, lip length and angle, shape and if you get real curious all the internal aspects also. TU can give you a good starting point on some things but you will have to experiment yourself to see what works best for you and...learn how to make adjustments on how to make them better. There are some really good people on here that will make your sailing a little smoother and have they're own niches that they excel in so keep asking and searching and you will get where you want to be. By the way.....That watch I took apart when I was 10 still isnt working..... After all that........ my veiw on the subject is that lip angle, tow eye posistion , weighting and shape of bill will affect the dive most. i.e. low bill angle,tow eye slightly less than half the distance from nose of bait to tip of lip, and more of a forward weighting will get you started in the right direction.

Kribman Etex goes a long way so your 20 bucks could be a good investment. You should be able to coat lots of baits with that. (more than I could lose in a year )

Tamira paints I believe. Come in a small qty. and found at RC model stores. Not 100% on name but pretty sure. The color is called Drab Green or Drab army green.

Great that you're baits work well. When I seen the first pick I was like Dang its bigger than that Horse . Thought you must really have some big fish over there and was ready to book a flight:lolhuh:. Good job on your first ones.......You're Hooked !!!

PBB Vman is absolutely correct .......NEVER EVER let it drip back into the container . The very first thing I do is tranfer it into another container then out of it into a smaller one to apply. Be careful what kind of container. It will melt some plastics. I was told about using an empty wine bottle (easy to pour from and fun to empty) . This stuff is moisture cure and even the moisture in the air will start it setting up. Its a little pricy....(but good) to have to replace it too soon. It looks like you found out the #1 NO NO the hard way. After this hurdle you should'nt have any or many problems. You may want to do some reading on it.......Sorry Bad Statement

As I was corrected a few weeks ago I now beleive it is best to use a water based clear over Createx before applying D/N's. It protects paint and signatures with Sharpies and other inks from running after applying D/N's and it just makes sense "water based paint/ water based clear"....no sense complicating things.. JMHO "MAKE SURE YOU HEAT SET" In my adventures this one little step can save a lot of regrets. I'm full of opinions this morning. Well full of something anyway:lolhuh:. Dean stated that with Createx on T-shirts you heat set the paint in a dryer........dont do this with your baits.....IT DONT WORK Sorry this did'nt answer your ??? about Seal coat but just my lousy 2 cents.

Just my opinion but, the only thing that would concern me about the oval spilt rings are you would definitely have to watch hook hanger placement so the hooks would'nt overlap and get hung up on each other. I had this problem once on one style bait and had to go to smaller split rings to solve it. Other han that I love them (when I use them) on tow eyes.

When I used Etex I would time it right ( just lucky I guess) and hang mine on the turner and spin all night ( blessed with a silent motor ). I would normally wait until I had at least 10-12 baits before doing this since 12 is the limit on my dryer. That way the next day I would'nt have to worry about tackiness.

Snax I also use the Krylon over Prop and after sanding lightly for adhesion purposes spray Createx. My concern was the same as you but, have'nt experienced any problems with it yet and I've been using it for months now. It just seemed to make sense.....plastic sealer.......plastic bonding primer.............DUH.

I have done as BEZYB with Etex but just to be safe than sorry I turned all nite as Mark. Now that I'm using DN's I only turn 4-5 hrs and they're fine.

Good ideas guys....... I noticed not too long ago someone had mentioned that they used a hacksaw handle for a bait holder wihich I also thaought was a good idea. Its really nice to be able to paint or work on a bait w/o having to hold it also.

Gotta be a proud PaPa after that. She's gonna give all the guys on TU a run for their money in a short time looking at those. Pretty Baits Baby Girl