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JD_mudbug

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Posts posted by JD_mudbug

  1. Day or night, I don't use a trailer hook on a spinnerbait most of the time. Very rarely there is a day where the fish just nip at it and I use a trailer hook then. That doesn't seem to happen at night at all. At night, I find the fish seem to fully commit when they strike. Night time strikes right at the boat can be heart stopping.

    • Like 2
  2. When I fish at night, I use black nickel blades on dark nights. I use silver plate or nickel blades on nights with a bright moon or when there a lots of shore lights. I sometimes use LPO glow blades or white blades coated with Folk Art Glow in the Dark paint. I really only use the glow blades in murky water at night. I seem to get more blade strikes when using glow blades in normal conditions.

    https://www.lurepartsonline.com/Glow-Colorado-Blades?quantity=1&custcol10=540&page=1

    Instead of dulling a good gold blade, you could buy the cheap economy brass blades. The come fairly dull. You could scuff them up with a Scotch bright pad to make them even duller.

    I agree with Smalljaw on the arm length on a 3/4 oz bait. I find I have better luck with 1/2 oz bait with #5 Colorado or Mag Willow/Oklahoma with a shorter arm of 2-3/4 to 3-1/4", especially in shallow water and around cover.

    For trailers, during the day I use a Zoom or Luck e Strike spinnerbait trailer. I tend use a thin trailer that doesn't do much or even no trailer because I don't want to interfere with the flutter of the skirt. At night, I either go with no trailer or will use a grub or cut off trick worm. Spinnerbait trailers can be hard to find in black. I might use a craw if I wanted to keep the bait higher in the water column or if I was hopping it off the bottom.

    • Like 1
  3. Hi,

    Welcome to the site.

    Here are some guesses.  Better close-up pics of the ones not identified below would help. Lure lengths would also help.

    1. Bill Lewis Stutter Step 
    2. Cabela’s Mean Eye Crankbait Shallow
    3.                  (need a better pic)                            
    4. Strike King Red Eye Shad
    5. River 2 Sea Snub Crankbait
    6. Luhr Jensen Sugar Shad
    7.                     (need a better pic)
    8.                    (need a better pic)
    9. Strike King Squarebill 1.5
    10. Strike King Red Eye Shad
    11. possible Jann’s Netcraft FG Squarebill. I have some in different colors and the lines match.
    12. Strike King Pro Model Series 3 Crankbait
    13.                      (squarebill, need a closeup to see molding lines)
    14. Ima Squarebill
    15.                      (a better side pic might help) Looks like a painted fin on there?
    16. Fairly common, might be hard to identify. Looks like a knock off the discontinued Cabela’s Dig It crankbait (not the Dig It Craw).

    17. Bandit 100 Series Crankbait
    18. Strike King Squarebill 2.5. Chartreuse Crazy Shad color which has been very effective for me  the past couple of years. I am a sucker for the old school crackle back look on that bait.

    19. Strike King Squarebill 1.5
    20. Gary Yamamoto Midasu Lipless Crankbait (fish in pupil is the giveaway)
    21. Rapala Scatter Rap
    22.                        (squarebill*, need a closeup to see molding lines)
    23.                        (squarebill*, need a closeup to see molding lines)
    24.  A better pic will help. Looks like there is a small dorsal fin?
    25.                        (squarebill*, need a closeup to see molding lines)
    26.    This minnow has a rearward point at the top of the gill plate. I have seen it somewhere but can’t remember where. I will keep looking for it.

    27. L&S Mirrolure, could be a Top Dog model
    28. Bass Pro Shops XPS popper  (no red gill line), discontinued model, new one is different
    29. Booyah Prank
    30.                     (squarebill*, need a closeup to see molding lines)
    31. Strike King Squarebill 1.5
    32.                    (need a better pic)

    33.                     (need a better pic)
    34. 6th Sense Movement 80X or a knockoff
    35.                   (squarebill*, need a closeup to see molding lines)
    36.                   (squarebill*, need a closeup to see molding lines)
    37.                    (squarebill*, need a closeup to see molding lines)
    38. Bass Pro Shops XPS popper  (no red gill line),  discontinued model, new one is different
    39. Yozuri Pop’n Splash, Arms Series (Duel)
    40. could be Yozuri Surface Cruiser or Tsunami Talkin pencil popper. These lures used to come in smaller sizes. Length would help here.  (need a better pic too)

    41. Bomber Square A
    42.  Looks like fairly generic lipless crank. Could be hard to identify. A closeup might help.
    43.                   (minnow crankbait**)
    44.                   (minnow crankbait**)
    45.                   (minnow crankbait**)
    46.                   (minnow crankbait**)
    47. Rapala X-Rap
    48. Rapala X-Rap
    49. Rapala X-Rap
    50.                   (minnow crankbait**)
    51.                   (minnow crankbait**)

    *Squarebills – There are so many brands and knockoffs out there. A lot of these are sold at fishing expos by various vendors. They run the range in quality from junk to good quality with nice paint schemes. They may be hard to identify. The ones where the front gill plate line looks like a curved 'Y' and there is a shorter second gill plate line are knocks offs of the Lucky Craft. The pics have to be clear and show all lines on the gill plate, the scale cross hatching and the eye pupil to have a chance.

    **Minnow crankbaits – These look like store type brands such as Bass Pro XTS, Ozark Trail, Walmart Pradco assorted bin lures, Chinese lures from Amazon/Ali. These may also be hard to identify.
     

    Jim

    assorted lure 1.jpg

    • Like 2
  4. Yes, I wanted a higher frequency. The LPO magnum jig dancer blades have a low frequency.  I think they should sell a size halfway between the normal size and mag size. The big blade Chatterbait size is right in-between the 2 LPO sizes. The LPO mag blade has a much bigger surface area than the big blade Chatterbait when you hold them next to each other. Fortunately, it is easy to trim down the mag blades and smooth the edges. 

  5. It might be hard to find specific designs because there are many variables: blade type and size, wire size, size/weight/number of beads and bodies, hook type/size/dressing, etc.

    I base mine off the main brand types like Mepps, Blue Fox and Panther Martin. I vary the design to add more or less weight and/or up or downsize the blade to achieve different running depths.

    The following posts should help. There are lots of pics in the Gallery too.

    https://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/38302-spinner-body-weight/

    https://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/38287-spinner-vibration/

    https://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/38131-mepps-spinners/

    • Like 1
  6. No, it was a joke. I drilled a test hole 10 feet from shore in 3 feet of water and quickly realized I should not be on the ice. 

    Next time if you see someone doing that with their rod, tell them to let out extra line, wrap the line around a stick and do the pull thing. Don't risk breaking the rod.

    I walk the ice with a telescopic 12' pole and retrieve lures from trees. If the lures are too high, I tie paracord to a 1' long 1.5" diameter stick with a rag on it. I throw the stick over the branch, get the lure snagged on the rag or stick, and pull it down with the paracord. Over the past decade, I have found several hundred lures.  I do it from my boat too. The lures are easier to spot in winter with no leaves on the trees.

  7. If you go through the trouble of making a master and a mold, you might as well use a casting resin that is waterproof. The Smooth On and Alumalite products are better suited for lure bodies. All clear coats can fail. You never know when a rock or bridge support will jump out in front of your lure.

    We went from 15" inches of ice to 'my ATV is at the bottom of the lake' in a few days. A 55 degree day, followed by a 70 degree day, followed by a 50 degree day with rain wiped out nearly a foot of ice. There are a couple of rivers I can fish but they are hazardous right now. The water is high and the current is swift due to the snow melting. As the water rises, it picks up trees and sticks from shore. Lots of floating logs to dodge.

  8. I think you could make a POP crankbait float with microspheres. I can't remember for sure but I think hardened POP will float on its own until it softens and dissolves.

    Dave is right it can be used for both casting and molds. I just don't think it would hold up as a casting of a lure body. The impacts on casts and fish strikes would cause POP to crack. Any water penetration would doom a POP lure.

    POP makes great castings to replicate detailed plaster work for building interiors. But those castings just sit on walls and ceilings and aren't taking any abuse.

    • Like 1
  9. By 90 degree hook, do you mean the hook eye would come out on the back (top) of the head and that is where the blade will attach?  The blade will be set back from the tip of the nose?

    If so, I bought a bladed jig like that. It snags on any piece of vegetation and you can't shake it off. Anything soft gets caught on the top of the head and the hook eye. You can't rip it from the weeds, which can be the best way to trigger bites. The weeds just come with it. Another drawback is that a lot of trailers kill the action. I had to use a low drag trailer. Paddletails kill the blade action. I don't use it anymore. I prefer the blade to be attached at the front like on the typical bladed bait types.

     

    • Thanks 1
  10. As Travis said, POP is just as easy to use as silicone. Measure properly, mix properly. It probably isn't the best product for your detailed swimbaits. POP is mostly used for ornamental ceiling, cornice and wall details like the rosettes around ceiling light fixtures.

    POP works great for soft plastics because those baits are pliable and can be demolded from a hard POP mold.

    Microspheres are compatible with POP. But, why would you want to do that? The mold would be made of POP and there is no need for the spheres in the mold. You don't want to make baits out of POP. POP is only durable in a static environment.

    If you want to make a big sun dial on your ceiling and are concerned about the weight, POP can be lightened with the spheres. Plasterers use POP with spheres to make a lightweight fill material for delicate plaster repair work.

  11. I also have made molds out of Plaster or Paris. My first mold was using sections of threaded rod to make a senko-type mold. I melted old soft plastic baits in a microwave to use in that mold. Cheap and easy.

    You may also want to try a casting resin like Alumalite High Strength 3 Casting resin. You can get a 1 lb. kit for $30.

    https://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Casting-Products-Liquid-Rubber/dp/B07Q331JYR

    You can make your masters out of Sculpey if you want to cut down on carving time.

    https://www.amazon.com/Sculpey-Super-Sculpturing-Compound-Beige/dp/B0026C1T8C

    Mike Lopez's video shows a quick way to make big baits.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVXeSBG-2-8

     

  12. Your welcome.  Sorry to hear it is not worth more. So many Flatfish were sold, genuine and knockoffs, it seems that they don't get the collectors' love that the other brands do.

    Your lure has the Helin body lines. Based on an X4 or 5, it looks like what I would envision a Flatfish F8 or 9 would have looked like if those existed. The hook setup in the grooves is definitely notable enough to be in a display case even if not worth a lot.

    I once built a bottom crawling sinking hard bait with 2 top-mounted single hooks in a groove in the center of the back. Your pics reminded of it. The hooks were set in the groove like your 'flatfish' but could swing out on a screw eye. The hooks were held in the groove by a magnets. It was a dud. 

    Jim

  13. Unfortunately, some of the early Flatfish had no markings. Some had the model number ink-stamped near the tip of the lip/diving surface which wore off easily. Later, they model number was put on the top of the back.

    I don’t know if you have any old Bassmaster magazines. Karl White used to do a series called “What is it worth?” on older lures. His email address was at the end of the section where people could send in photos of lures. He retired and opened up a tackle museum with his collection. I couldn’t find any old Bassmasters with his lure articles. You might try that email if you can find it in an old Bassmaster.

    You could try to track down the 1996 book “A Collectors Guide to the Helin Tackle Company” by Jack Turner.

    These links have some Helin and Flatfish info:

    https://www.mybaitshop.com/pages/helin-tackle-company

    https://helintacklecollector.wordpress.com/

    This link has a list of sites on old tackle. I have not been on all of them. Maybe you can get lucky and find some info on one of them.

    https://lurelore.com/links.html

    Good luck on your search.

    Jim

  14. Get a sketch pad for practicing. PVC and plastic pipe also works well for practicing on curved surfaces. Practice making dots and circles of varying sizes

    Airbrush Asylum has some good tutorial videos.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inZcoxkuylk

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2r9YyaGx3k&list=PLkd3s0ymmV0OKlXI7wEma4Z4ntvXMs9jv&index=1

    I would start with paintjobs to replicate whatever your local baitfish look like, craws, and some standard color schemes. We have a lot of gold shiner and yellow perch in my area. I also usually do an all black with red throat, chartreuse black back, and pearl white with blue or smoke back.

    • Thanks 2
  15. It would depend on if you are talking a single piece glider or a jointed S-waver type bait.

    If you are talking single piece body, I like a ballast 1/4 to 1/3 the distance on the body from the nose and another ballast 1/4 to 1/3 from the tail end. You can change the amounts to affect the sink rate rate and body angle position. I like very slow sinking baits. I will adjust the ballast amounts so the bait sits slightly nose down to keep it running below water at the depth I let it sink to. I will adjust the ballast to make the bait sit slightly tail down to run subsurface or surface.

    For an S waver jointed type, I like the sections to float/sink in a straight line across the sections. You don't want the sections at an angle to each other for the best joint movement. I like these nose down for subsurface and level for surface.

    • Like 2
  16. Epoxy thinned with DN, Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES),  Spar Urethane cut with 25% mineral spirits, propionate wood sealer if you can find it, and superglue all do a good job.

    Minwax Wood Hardener makes a good and very tough seal coat. But, the dry time is long.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKjZsSbD2IM

    https://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/37551-propionate-source/

    You have to be careful with boiled linseed oil due to the fire risk. Boiled linseed oil generates heat when it dries and can ignite rags, paper towels and other trash causing a spontaneous combustion fire.

    I haven’t tried it but Brotherhood Baits sells a wood bait sealer.

    You could also try PVC boards and not have to worry about sealing.

  17. You have to click on your user name at the top right corner.

    Scroll down and click 'Account Settings'.

    On the right side under 'Other Settings' in blue, click 'Notification Settings'.

    Under 'Mentions & My Content', make sure the 'Email' box is checked to get emails. Check the 'Notification' box to be alerted by a number sign above the bell at the top right corner of the screen. You can select one or both of these.

    You can also select to be notified about reactions to your posts the same way.

     

     

    • Like 1
  18. It could be an old Flatfish X5. The X stood for ‘Expert’. Helin got the patent for the Flatfish in 1936. It could also be a knockoff of the Flatfish as it was widely sold and copied through the years. I don’t think it is a Kwikfish which came after the Flatfish. The Kwikfish usually has traditional type hook arrangements. It does not appear to be Lazy Ike which is narrower than a Flatfish. It also does not appear to be a Brooks Reefer or a Beno lure.

    Your lure has the body length and weight of a Flatfish X5 which came out in 1947-8. It was available in wood or plastic. The hook setup on your lure is different from the typical X5 which had 3 trebles, a tail treble and two belly trebles mounted to the ends of a single wire spreader that had a loop in the middle that went through the belly hanger. Helin called that hardware setup - ‘gang hooks’.  Some of the models could be ordered with two double hooks or gang single hooks.

    The older Fly Rod Flatfish models came with a single hook that could swing on a piece of wire imbedded in the center of the belly. Some of the bigger fly rod models had 2 single hooks mounted gang style. The biggest Fly rod model was the F7 which was 2-1/4” long.

    Your bait looks like an X5 but with a fly rod type hook set up. The line tie wire also looks like the line tie on some of the Fly Rod Flatfish models. Your lure looks like it was an attempt to use the X series to make a bigger model in the F series.

    From what I have read, Charlie Helin was concerned about increasing the chances of a hooking fish that did hit the lure. He created some unusual hook layouts and designs on baits to keep hooks facing away from each other or on opposite sides of the bait.

    I would not fish with it. It could be worth something. It could be one of Helin’s designs that was only available for a short time. Even if it is a knockoff, some of the older well made knockoffs can be worth something. 

     

    helin hook assembly us2621438.pdf

    • Like 4
  19. I have used both Bob Smith and Devcon 2 Ton. They both work great for bait hardware. The D2T has a longer working time. I use mostly D2T now because of availability in my area.

    When I use Denatured Alcohol, I only use a few drops on a typical batch, which would do around six squarebills sized type baits. It helps to have a plastic plunger type syringe because a couple drops goes a long way. I mix the epoxy first, add the DN, and do additional stirring to blend the DN into the mixed epoxy. It is a 'feel' thing when you mix it to get the consistency you want. I just want it easy to apply and not too thick for a bass bait. I only thin epoxy on small and medium bass sized lures. I don't thin topcoats on larger bass swimbaits and musky/pike baits.

    Two penny size amounts of resin and hardener are a small amount when combined.  I think it will only take 1-2 drops of DN for that small of a batch. If you are using that size batch for a seal coat, you might want the epoxy thinner with an extra drop or 2 to give the epoxy a better chance to get into the tiny imperfections on the bait's body for a better bond.

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