Jump to content

RPM

TU Member
  • Posts

    218
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Everything posted by RPM

  1. Thanks guys, Like I said it just had me wandering. B.A.S.S. has a big tournament this weekend I'll be watching to see how many are fishing crankbaits, surely there will be a few ? I cant remember the last time I've seen an angler on TV fishing offshore throwing a crankbait, I know theres been some but just stating it seems to me that the younger guys are fishing other lures & tactics. Anyway thanks for the replies, we shall see. Anyone interested in watching Fox Sports One has quite a few hours of the BASS Coverage on today & tomorrow Live. Have a great weekend. PS, The date in my first post should be 2001, not 2010 sorry guys I guess I fat fingered that and didnt catch it.
  2. Question for the historians sorta. What was the last tournament that came down to a win or duel with crankbaits as the major factor? I had a buddy come by today and while talking he asked why I spend so much time working on crankbaits and it got me thinking, so I thought I'd ask and maybe a few of the original OG Members could supply the info. As far as a fisherman I'm a Jig guy, always have been, then I reach for soft plastics, then crankbaits. But! the reason I build crankbaits is they facinate me and I have been beat many times by a guy fishing a crankbait while I was not. Last year we fished a club tournament where I fished all day sat with crankbaits and bites were few and far between, then Sunday the weather changed and the wind blew and the crankbait bite got much better, my partner and I were able to squeak out a win. He was fishing shakeyheads and texas rigged baits and helped tremendously to add to our total weight, we won but not in dominating fashion, only by ounces. I've often said to be competative today you must be versitle enough and not get locked onto one style of bait. But that was not the case a few years ago, meaning some lakes, conditions set up for certain baits over others? Today's anglers seem to throw everything at them and dont seem to be locked onto a certain style of fishing. But it was not to long ago when guys would enter a tournament, known for thier strength and they finished accordingly to how well that style of bait performed. My neighbor which I've mentioned many times is a crankbait guy, thats all he threw, kinda lived by the sword ( plug ) if you will, but he claims he won his fair share ( and more than most ) with a crankbait. Are those days gone? have the bass became conditioned, or are we just influenced by other factors? and if so what would you say they are? My journey is interesting, I've always fished, then got involved in tournaments and in 2010 I was beat handily by a guy who fished crankbaits, leading me to where I am today. On the final day of the tournament I was in contention to win, but the guy who won fished nothing but crankbaits and beat the field fairly handily. I vowed to become a better crankbait fisherman and it led me to focus more on crankbaits, fishing them and understanding them. David Fritts is known as a crankbait guy, Jerry Lohr, Gerald Beck, Paul Elias, heck even Kevin Van Dam all crankbaits guys, I dont recall when a crankbait dominated like it used to? Am I missing something, or has the Bass become conditioned to crankbaits and have we over used our secret lures and conditioned bass? I'm only asking because for the first time since 2012 I'm considering joing a fishing association and testing my skill against other anglers around here and wandering have I focused to much on the wrong presentations? I guess I'm asking for an honest evaulation, and honest opinion of what you guys are seeing in your perspective areas? I know this is a loaded question but it's really not that hard when you break it down. Also Travis asked me to provide him with a event or season where a crankbait guy dominated and won a Pro series handily. Any input would be greatly appreciated in my personal fishing evaulation. Guys sorry to get philosopical but the weather here is horrible and us anglers, lure builders are grasping at straws, trying to come up with something to argue over amongst freinds, because that seems to be what we do. Lol Have a great weekend, stay safe and warm. Rich
  3. Dave your welcome, I'm a fan wether you bennefit from it or not, you have always been there to offer sound, solid advice which I applaud you for. This conversation could escalde but I graciouly decline, and bow out, your willingness to offer an engineering viewpoint has reached my maximum capacity and all I can say is anyone interested better get on board and join the conversation because I think it's going to be a good one. Best wishes, and I for one cannot wait to see the baits you guys come up with. Let the party begin, it's almost like th Super Bowl of lure building. P.S Man I have to get up to speed! In other words my flux capacitator has reached it maximum acheivable level and if we go much further the do dad inputer will ovreload. LOL Have fun guys, I know i will certainly be entertained reading all the input on this lure building venture. Tight lines Rich
  4. Dave this is very generous of you, Thank you! I'm sorry I'm not going to be much of a participant on this one, becasue it's far beyond my expertise, but I will be watching and paying attention the best I can in hopes of picking up something I can use or incorperate for sure. Hey Guys this is Monumental anyone with CAD experience or interested should certainly pay attention to this post. My youngest son is a CAD Engineer and I'm hoping he can help me decipher some of this so I can absorb some of it. I've never seen a 3-D Printer in action but I have watched some videos on the net and they are really good at doing what they do. I did see a video not long ago where a company printed a speed boat and it turned out awesome and performed very well. In the mean time I will continue doing what I do, kinda like an old blacksmith beating out lures while all you high tech guys are building rocketships. Anyway I want to personally thank Dave, Vodkaman for all his help, knowledge and willingness to help others as well as helping me. He has certainly helped me and coached me through some rough patches on a few designs I was struggleing with, his knowledge on these lures is priceless. And it should not go unmentioned, maybe the only guy I know that would be willing to share, teach, mentor anyone who is striving to seek the betterment of lure crafting. Great job, Dave! Very well done Sir. I tip my hat to you and say Thank you. I appreciate it. Your friend. Rich
  5. RPM

    How much lead?

    Anglinarcher, Yes seems I do remember Ole Hank saying that as well, but I'm pretty sure KVD said something similar as well. I've been building handmade plugs since 2010-2011? and they sure have evolved or at least mine have. I still have alot of my original crankbaits, I've always signed and dated them, it's nice to rummage through those old boxes and look at those baits. As of late I have landed on a process that suits me and I owe alot of that to this site, I would spend hours reading old posts about design, construction and basics in general. I've mentioned this before, I had a buddy that I was mentoring, we built baits together, but he decided he wanted to fish more and left the building to me. I'll be honest I have missed some fishing but the enjoyment I get from building a really good plug sorta makes up for the lost fishing time. He still kids me about making plugs but its rewarding when he comes here and says! Hey Rich I need some plugs to do this, or to fish these conditions. Also the plugs sorta speak to me, I can tell when I'm building if one is really going to turn out above the rest or if one is superior, then the fire is rekindled and I cant wait to take it to the lake and run or test it. I also mentioned my mentor a few times, he came to me and ask for a plug that would dive 12 ft and would run well past the boat when retreived. I worked on that idea and design for months but finally got several that did just what he wanted and talk about proud! LOL I get asked all the time about building plugs, and I'm always happy to opine, but I know it's not for everyone, especiallly if your in it for the wrong reasons. I guess about mid stream I decided I was not going after the mass produced baits and setteld on building lures for situations and quality instead. I could not be happier and still have alot of untested plugs and ideas, but it always keeps bringing me back in my shop, where building plugs is medicine for me. About the durability, I'm satisfied with my crankbiats and durability, never thought about them lasting forever but if built with durability / quality in mind I think my wood plugs still out perform any plastic bait and last as long as I expect them to. Recently I've been studying Japaneese crankbaits, and trying to build around thier ideas / priciples, it's been a game changer as I've got a few sqaure bills that will blow your mind and are kept highly guarded around here amongst my fishing buddies, club members and guys who get thier hands on them. I highly suggest anyone interested in crankbaits should look long & hard at the Japaneese crankbait, craftsmanship, quality and performance they are great and when I get one to out perform them I know I have built something special. Sorry to ramble, if you cannot tell crankbaits are a passion of mine. Thanks Rich
  6. Plastic mfg should be able to tell the durometer of thier blends to help choose the desired firmness which will help make a tougher bait, also you can buy hardner to add to your plastic to firm it up and make it tougher. But I'm not aware of an additive that will keep the bait real soft and make it more durable? Not saying there is not something out there, just stating what I have experienced when I want to make a tougher soft plastic bait.
  7. RPM

    How much lead?

    UKandy, On Bass plugs kinda the same here. My Balsa baits do vary and it really does depend on the lot of Balsa, I've built suspending baits and used 4.5 - 6.5 grams, but swithced or ordered a different lot of wood and seen it change + or minus 1/2 gram, then getting real technical Ive ordered hooks from same mfg, same hook and seen similar changes. I'm not an expert on Balsa but I do know there are several densities that will effect your builds. I bought a fairly large lot several years ago and it was suppose to be the same density, it was not and it took me forever to get it figured out, I had to build and test each bait individually to get the same results. Also switching from different sealers, paint and clear coats has proven to effect my end results as well, so it basically led me to finish / test baits one at a time to get them as close as possible. The one thing I've learned, it's not that critical on high floaters, fast risers, square bills, etc. but when your trying to get a bait to be neutral or suspend the prise is in the small details, but it makes for a much better performing bait, in my opinion. I have a buddy that fishes alot of bigger Tournaments, he buys his Crankbaits by the dozen, takes them to the lake for test & tune day, I've spent a few days with him doing this and it's taught me alot about what he's looking for and how he seperates or segregates his crankbaits. Fast risers, Medium risers, etc. He also tries to guage the depth and diving performance ( how fast it gets down to desired depth ) on his plugs as well. He takes several dozen spends the day with them and marks on the bills ( sharpie ) of his findings. He said it's the only way he can make quick decisions and choose the right crankbait for the depth ( fish ) he's targeting. A few years back I built him several medium diving plugs ( 8' - 12' ) we went to a local lake that has alot of grass, we found deeper grass that was about a foot below the surface, he said I'll show you a few tricks. He fished those crankbaits most of the day finding what it took to get them to touch or dive into the grass, then made changes, rods with Mono / vrs Flouro or Braid. Switched hooks, added bigger O Ring on line tie, etc. He could almost call his shot and get the plugs to just barely touch the grass or get them to dive into it. I was surprised on how critical he was and after watching him it made me understand the reasoning. He also suggested I build plugs for situations, instead of trying to mass produce them. Meaning, if we are going to take the time to build these lures and want them to outperform other plugs on the market, we must first and foremost understand what that plug will do. I cannot remember who told me this it might have been Travis? but he said many years ago a famous ( great angler ) known for 3 intials, used to buy hundreds of custom balsa / wood crankbaits in hopes of getting a few great ones? Dont quote me on that but thats what I remember. Now I'm not suggesting plug builders today are any better than the older plug makers a few years ago I'm just saying if that was the case a few years ago, it's probably the same still today? Anyway sorry to ramble, but I'm no where near where I was 3-5 years ago and my thoughts and ideas have certainly changed ( for the better ) in my opinion, but I took Travis advice and have built much better plugs recently and owe alot of it to him. Thanks happy plug building and tight lines when you get a chance to fish them. Rich
  8. JD_mudbug & Mark I agree, Iv'e been building handcrafted lures for quite a while and have had some great success with them, but the one that sticks out to me was a tournament buddy of mine asked me to build him a pair of shallow water crankbaits for a certain situation, I built 2 and painted them in a japaneese style or version of sexy shad. He fished them the weekend after picking them up and caught over 30 bass ( 1 day ) with those lures. So I'd have to say seeing someone else, especially a buddy fish your creation and have success would be my best. I've built this particular lure for many years and fished it all over and in different situations, always caught fish but having a buddy new to the lure have success with them was really special. I always encourage anglers I come in contact with to follow thier passion or dreams in tackle crafting and take pride in helping others when the opportunity arrises. Recently I've been mentoring a young man, the son of a friend I work with, he sends me pictures all the time of soft plastic baits he's made and fish he's caught with them, always bring a smile to my face seeing him enjoy the baits he's created and the fish he catches with them. Rich
  9. Got this picture off the internet, I have several of these types of molds and like pouring open pour swimbait laminates. Hope this helps
  10. Jig Man sorry I do not have any photos, but I can reccommend youtube there are several videos showing what I'm speaking of. I mostly pour open pour swimbaits, and rarely shoot unless I'm using a double injector with a blending block. If the weather was better I would most likely be pouring this weekend, but it's cold, snowy here now, not much tackle making going on right now, best of luck I'm sure you will come up with a system that works.
  11. Jig Man if they are injection molds use a blending block, and keep your molds warm with a electric griddle, if they are open pour molds just keep the molds on the hot plate or griddle when pouring your plastics, this will help with the bonding of the colors. I normally pour alot of 2& 3 color laminate swimbaits this way. It takes a little while to get the feel for it but once you do it's easy. Best of luck
  12. Juice this has come up a few times, check out Lincoya here on TU He posted a video of routing bills using templates, very fast and effective way of cutting your bill / bibs.
  13. Very cool, and nicely done on finding a winter testing / tuning pond. LOL All kidding aside, your lures look good in and out of the water, Great JOB! Thanks for sharing your video. My only problem would be Id have to get a room or take up residence as I'm a testing junkie, and with access like that it could become habit forming. It's probably a good thing we dont live close together because I'm not sure how your buddy would react to both of us showing with with hundreds of lures for a test session. Rich
  14. Dave, your welcome and Thank you again for your scientific approach & knowledge on this and many subjects we are truly blessed to have this forum and each other to bounce ideas, thoughts and share our experiences. I appreciate and want to wish everyone here a Merry Christmas. Rich
  15. Great explanation, Thanks Dave I appreciate it.
  16. Mark yes they did, surprisingly they caught really large trophy bass. Last time I talked to the doc he said he caught at leat 10 over 6lbs with one close to 10lbs Thanks again. Rich
  17. RPM

    1BL6.jpg

    One of the many Trophy Bass caught on these experimental lures. This was a request and experiment I will revist this next coming season. Thanks
  18. RPM

    1BL5.jpg

    Thanks Mark, it was just an experiment and kinda novelty but learned alot building and testing these.
  19. Mark pictures are posted in gallery, let me know your thoughts, please overlook the paint finish and the Deep diver is one I grabbed in the dark, i think the finished plug is still in my boat? They are pictured next to a poes for size reference.
  20. Dave heres something for you to ponder. Back this summer I had an opportunity to fish a trophy private lake owned by a local Doctor, avid fisherman who loves Handcrafted crankbaits and trophy bass. He asked me to build him a few special Big Bass Baits, so we decided on huge crankbaits. I built 4 total 2 square bills and 2 deep divers, Huge baits, I mean 4.25" L X 2" Wide bodies not counting the lips, one of the sqaure bills weighed just over 2 oz, and the other weighed right at 3 oz, the Deep divers both weighed over 3oz with one close to 4oz, sorry I dont have my notes in fron of me. The Square bills in testing were so bouyant it took this much ballast to get them to sit in the water correctly butt even more so it was the heaviest lure that performed the best and dove to about 4' the lighter lure acted more like a wake bait, swam great just below the surface not enough ballast because the bill was under the water while sitting. The forces did not have a great enough effect to pull the lure underwater due to the huge amount of bouyancy, but once weighted properly the lure would dive and swim like designed. Now the deep divers, it gets interesting, same body shape, size of the squarebills and the bills had the right angle to be under the water line while sitting still. The lighter lure would dive but once it got a few feet below surface it would not perform and would act crazy, my thoughts were the huge bouyancy was trying to lift the bait from the water while the bill was trying to pull it below? So we added and rebalanced the lure with more weight, gues what we acheived a balancee that the lure would float up, sit at the right angle and would dive to the bottom of this 14' lake with no trouble and have such a thump it would almost shake the rod out of your hand while cranking with a big action. This was an extreme and first for me, but guess what he choose 2 of the lures and has fished them with great success, caught almost a dozen Large Bass all over 6lbs on these lures. I'm not sure I want to build anymore but would love to hear your thoughts - ideas as I've got several of these Monsters sitting waiting to be finished. I'll post a few pictures in the Gallery incase you would like to see them? Thanks Rich
  21. RPM

    Blanks

    Very neat, always happy to hear someone thinking outside the box, and using what you have. Thanks for sharing.
×
×
  • Create New...
Top