Pebo

I think the full-spectrum bulbs is a good idea, but have you thought about taking those diffusers off of those lights. It might cause glare but seeing where you have the bulbs mounted it might make it much better as well...

I would more so call that a sponge bait. But if you had fun doing it and you brought a smile to your daughters face then I would call that the best kind of bait. Nothing better than the smile of a child, win win in my book. Good looking bait to boot...

I drill the hole with the forstner bit on the drill press but then mount the bur in a drill chuck on my lathe and feed the lure into the bur. Once you get the hang of it it's goes pretty quickly. Just practice with some scrap wood at first until you get the hang of it. Be sure and wear a leather glove on your lead hand.

If you are looking for a step by step kind of book the best one I have come across is at. http://www.woodenluremaking.com/ I don't get anything from the sale of his eBook I just happen to have found it on the web and bought it and really enjoyed it, I even added to it. You can tell him Galindo sent you. It is mostly on turning topwater lures on the lathe but it covers the whole process with text and a lot of pictures. And when you move on to other types of lures most of the information will still be relevant there as well, like the painting and the resources for sure. He's a great guy and and readily answers emailed questions. In my opinion it is a great starting point for anyone wanting to start making wooden topwater lures. I sound like a commercial, but I am a customer and I thought it was more than worth my money. Peter