ninjalake

It was an accident, it started running to the left so I got to bending on the line line tie to straighten it, accidently bending the split ring end straight in the process(as seen in the pic). I don't know if that straight split ring end is what causes it or not. i'll try it on another bait

A hunting flatside crank, that's cool! I've never seen or heard of that, how about posting up some photos or a little video of it swimming whenever you get a chance, I'd like to see that.

The megabass 'jumper'

For what it's worth- the new Bagley balsa B's (b1) will hunt at higher speeds right out of the package. I've been buying a lot of different American & Japanese squarebills lately. From my observations, the ones that hunt have a few things in common I've found: - they weigh less than 1/2oz - the line tie is right on top of the bill, touching it(see the new b1). - they have a skinny little 'tail' (as in the back is tapered sharply). Whether these attributes help make them hunt I don't know, but they all have these 3 things in common. An interesting take on hunting cranks is another crank by Imakatsu(those guys are seriously innovative), called the scare brow. It's a crank with 2 knots on its forehead like a furoughed brow. It makes subtle tics to the left & right. Like other hunting cranks, the smaller size version (the 48) has a better action. It's a cool little crank that catches fish. I have a little megabass sr-x quiet griffon that I tweaked and torqued on the line tie & split ring, and whatever I did... It'll run straight at normal speeds but speed it up and it'll come up and jump right outta the water (and not in a sloppy, blown out way). It's the damnedest thing I've ever seen, and it looks good/triggers strikes lol. Should be effective when throwing into schooling bass chasing shad

Hey mark, I meant to comment on your previous post, about the side to side ballast/balls. I love it man. I've always just set the ballast higher, some baits I'll drill through the ballast and past it, then fill it in with lead. I've thought of the side to side shifting ballast you mentioned but have never tried to build one. I was actually thinking of making a track/tunnel in the shape of a smile, or upside rainbow. My theory being that you could control it with a quick burn or shift in the rod, and that it might also cause the bait to hunt higher or lower diagonally. Just haven't thought of a way to drill a 1/4 circle tunnel. I recently came across a unique square bill that sort of reminded me of your previous post, this little guy- http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/AR_Lures_Crank_65_Shallow_Crankbait/descpage-ARC65.html It seems to have a soft ball rolling around in it's head. It's either a rubber ball or soft tungsten & gives a unique thump instead of a knock/rattle. The walls on it are extremely thick as well and the tone is slight and deep. It also has what appears to be a screw in its face above the line tie. This crank will hunt in a unique way, in that it appears to be drunk, for lack of a better description. Where it really shines is in its deflection properties, that sucker will hit a rock and deflect as much as a foot. It's very lifelike. If you've ever had an aquarium with wood or rocks(especially wood) you'll see fish do this, as if they're trying to scratch an itch, hard. It drives the alpha fish in the aquarium crazy and he immediately keys in on said itchy fish. Why it drives em crazy, I have no idea, but it does, regardless of species. Sorry to get off topic. Thanks for sharing that, now I want to go disect a KVD

@blackjack I wasn't referring to people who build & sell lures specifically, I was referring to cb fisherman in general who know how to modify & tweak their cb's to hunt. I'd say there's hundreds. (But it was probably more prevalent in the 60's-80's than now). To quote David Fritts himself: “I think it’s safe to say that the fishermen in the High Rock area know more about crankbaits and crankbait fishing than anyone in the country,” Fritts said. “And I’m not talking about myself; there’s a world of good crankbait fishermen and people who mess with crankbaits in my home area.” And I think perhaps you (and BentonB ) have me confused with the OP. I'm familiar with a variety of different methods for making crankbaits hunt. I'm only 34 but I've been throwing crankbaits since i was 10 and have been blessed to have learned from some incredible fishermen. No big names, just old timers who whittled all week & fished all weekend. Growing up in Florida, I think I was about 12 when I was taught some of the more simpler techniques like bending a line ties, driving a small nail tip into the head, shaving lips & bodies, etching grooves, etc.(but to be honest, most of the time we just ruined our grandads lures lol). I love cb's. CB's have captivated me to a point where it's almost unhealthy. So much so that I even studied hydrodynamics courses through MIT. But I'll be the first to admit I'm much better at altering baits than building em. I'd also like to apologize if I came off rude. I sent a PM to skeeter directly, apologizing for the way I replied to his post. This being a bait building forum where folks share & learn, It just seemed weird that one would chime in to just to say "I know how but I'm not telling". Im new here & dont know the ropes, but after reading lots of older posts it made sense to me that some techniques are held sacred and just aren't given out so freely. And I can respect that. I know a bit about crankbait dynamics, but I still consider myself a rookie and feel I have a long way to go. I look forward to learning from others here, sharing their ideas & knowledge on the subject. And hopefully one day I can contribute something cool as well.

@rayburnguy- slightly off topic from how to make a crank hunt, but....The best hunting crankbait ever imo is the waddlebaits by imakatsu. it's got a wonky blade that spin's 360 deg, mounted between the rear treble and the body. It's by far one of the most innovative features i've ever seen on a crank. But It's probably only a matter of time before some big company like strike king comes along and rips off the idea. Anywho- check this out-

You know how to make a crankbait hunt, but you won't tell us how you do it? Gee thanks. Seriously, why would you even post that? And also- "In all of the years that have been making crankbaits there has only been one person that has gotten it right on how to make a crankbait hunt."? Only one person? I think there's alot of old crankers in Tenn & NC who would seriously disagree with that statement. who are you referring too? Or our you not going to tell us that either? Hajime Oguri?

Awesome, thanks guys! I figured it was a resin of some sort but having never worked with a resin I wasn't sure. @mark got some PVC board to try out, just haven't put a blade to it yet. Want to try and make a mold of my current 'clay lures' first.

Hi guys, I'm new here and in aww at the work(more like art) I've seen here, you guys are amazing! I've been drawing lure designs, studying hydrodynamics and making clay prototypes for about a year and i'm now looking to take the next step. I'm looking around at different materials, and curious what material the Bull shad is made of? It looks to be a mold of some sort? I'm a big fan of this lure, I just haven't seen any other lure that seems to use this material.