I've been using Poplar that was bought from Home Depot. Most of the baits I made, I put in the screw eyes in last there by leaving an opening for water to get in then failure. What I don't understand is other Musky style baits out there on the market get chewed to hell, exposing bare wood. And these baits stay together, other then the chew spots. My steps now im trying is
1. seal with kilz white
2. final paint
3. add hardware (screw eyes, lip)
4. devcon epoxy final
Letting each step that requires drying at least 24 hrs.
Jim