UKandy

JD That's some very good information thank you I will certainly take that forward into my design thoughts. I'm already liking the Idea of a cup washer on the bait, the Z bend from the later posts is a top idea aswell. That's something I'd never thought about either until now... the counter rotating prop blades! This has certainly given me something to go at and try out, so big thanks JD. Andy.

Thanks for your input JD I will be having a good look over the video you linked. So it sounds like a small adjustment to the wings can make a big difference to the wobble. You have given me a good starting point regarding wing position, so thank you my friend. As for the prop bait I was thinking of either a single prop or front & rear props, as I am yet to design or build this type of lure, I would be interested to learn what the differences are by having the props located in different positions, pros & cons? Many thanks again Andy.

Hi all, So as the title suggests I'm looking to make a few lures that are totally new to me, I would like to ask if any of you can give me some pointers to what design features make a crawler work well and what design features make a top water prop bait work well please? I would like to make a chunky 4"-5" crawler bait & a 6"-7" prop bait that throws a lot of water. I would be very interested to hear your thoughts and hopefully learn a little from you, any mistakes I can iron out before I make a start on the new designs will help massively Many thanks guys Andy.

Hi all, Can anyone give me information as to what material mass produced lures are made from please? I understand it's a kind of plastic, but I'm wondering if there is a specific type used for lures, regarding strength, buoyancy etc? I may be looking to have some parts made in China, but will not have all components made under the same roof, for obvious reasons. Many thanks Andy.

I think in this case you may aswell give it a try see if your resin idea works, do some testing If the resin does not hold up after testing then you already have the mould shaped with the correct bib sizes, so you then just pop an aluminium or lexan bib in before pouring next time. I will also be trying out what you are, I'm a few months off yet though, so your feedback would be awesome I'm still waiting to test some jerk/glide baits I made months ago Andy.

Looks cool man Andy.

it was a good watch though, you don't see too many videos like that explaining the weight points etc, I thought it may help some with getting closer to a decent action if starting out, I'm yet to build a diver, but will be shortly! Andy.

Hi guys, I came across this video today, I found it interesting so I thought I would pass it on. Hope it's useful to someone Andy.

Very cool good information thank you. Andy.

Did the different blade shapes have a different effect on the hunting action? Interesting idea, well done Andy.

How you apply your twist eyes is very interesting, i like that idea Andy.

Interesting take on things Rich, I'm only new to bait making, to be fair I've come into this hobby with a view of making baits 6" plus, my idea was to always do through wire construction, why? Because I see it as a more bulletproof option if someone else is using one of my baits, just a confidence thing maybe, in case the worst should happen. I've seen a few videos testing twist eye strengths & I agree they would take some removing if correctly implemented, I don't know, I just feel it would always be at the back of my mind... the what if it gives and pulls out scenario, is there any difference regarding twist eyes seated in wood too seated in resin? Not seen any videos with a resin test as yet. So what are your pros & cons, twist eyes vs through wire? very interested to hear. I agree that if a bait is made with care and correctly, then you should charge what you see as fit, if someone really wants a bait they will pay for the quality in my opinion. Andy.

Good point that maybe explained my test results from the other day when the 2 fish went for the lure when it rolled with a side flash! Like this hunting idea! Andy.

So did the companies actually get back to you? Sometimes its about getting to the right people! Best of luck sounds a great bait Andy.

Dave have you a link to your published solution? I would expect it's a good read. Andy.

Yep totally agree with you Big Epp, I'm keeping plenty of notes so will be able to cross reference information. Vodkaman's ballast calculator started me off on the right track, so big thanks to him, I will keep learning and hopefully the next outing may have a fully working lure! I have actually been wondering if I was fishing the lures too aggressively on the rod jerk part of the testing, causing the roll, this again will need to be tested with a more subtle jerk style, I've been that used to fishing the shop bought jerk/gliders I have, it never even crossed my mind. Andy.

Cheers for the info mark I will be making some more test blanks up when my products arrive, so I will give your idea a try, it's always interesting to learn, second time lucky hopefully! Andy

Have you watched this bud, may give you an idea for testing your bait out.

I'm going to have a think about what I can change & then make a few more blanks up in the coming weeks & test them again, I will let you know what happens my friend! I was both happy & deflated after the initial tests it's difficult when you've spent so much time on something. Andy.

Hi guys, as promised, I can now share the first outing results, of my initial resin test blanks. I hope a few of you can give me some guidance moving forward please. The lure blanks that I made are all identical one piece lipless 7" flat sided, rounded edges, jerk/glide baits, the tie eye was placed on the centre line, the belly hook directly on the centre of gravity point & the rear hook on the centre line. Having weighted all 10 of the blanks in differing positions, I found that a 50/50 ballast split front & rear had the closest action to what I was after. The ballast was split 63mm away from the belly hook (cog) for the front & 36mm away for the rear, this gave the lure a flat horizontal slow sink rate. The lure was fished a few feet under the surface during my tests. The lure on a steady continuous retrieve had a really nice right to left swimming action, however it did have a very slight amount of roll in there also, I would say the right to left sweep on the swimming action was around 12" to 16" not massive but looked great (pretty much just like a fish swimming) I was really happy with that, been my first attempt, I did notice that if the reel was paused at any point of the retrieve, the bait only glided within the 12" to 16" range as above & then it would straighten itself up. If I then retrieved the lure on a few cranked turns of the reel, the bait would loose a lot of the nice sweep action & the side rolls became much more obvious & spoilt the action. (Funny thing is i had 2 fish swoop at the lure when fished like this, but the lure just didn't feel or look right too me) I'm sure a few of you have also had that feeling! I was hoping that the bait would glide out more on the reel pause of the retrieve, but the lure seemed to instead straighten up really quickly. I would like to point out that I tried removing the rear hook to see if that changed the glide action on the pause, it did not! I couldn't quite grasp why the lure acted so good on a steady retrieve & then acted so bad on a few cranks of the reel, it's confused me a bit, maybe im asking one lure to do too much. All the blanks I tested with differing ballast positions did have the right to left swimming action, which was encouraging, some rolled out more than others & some had a tighter swimming action, something I did note was the difference a slight adjustment to the tie eyes made! So i have a few questions please: Should I try sitting the ballast horizontally so it's much lower down in the body of the bait? At present it has been drilled in vertically, so is very close to the centre line of the lure, I'm hoping this may address the roll issue? Secondly do you think the roll is effecting the glide on the reel pause of the retrieve, will it be acting like a kite catching the water, preventing a smooth glide? Also I'm not sure if the belly hook should be sat directly on the (cog) point, could this be having some negative effect maybe? Really hope you guys can give me some sound advice as I feel close to having a good lure, any other input & advice you can suggest will really help me out. Thank you Andy.

Good advice thank you! Like the both sides down part, didn't think of that Andy

Ahhh that is interesting info buddy, no microballoons added to this particular blank It's a relief you have had the same issue & have given advice, Thank you Andy.

Cheers buddy that's the plan, these are my test blanks for use as the master in the next stage I see how putting the wire in the mold speeds everything up big style, so good advice & I will use it! I just hope at least one of these testers has the action I'm looking for, it's taken me ages to get to this point, learning as I go though lol. Andy.

Thanks for the input guys, I think I have it sussed now after a good few tests, it would appear that after a number of holes are drilled the problem occurs, this would suggest to me that it's the drill bit getting hot and melting the resin that I am seeing, I will however keep an eye on it! The blanks seem solid right through, put it this way I wouldn't be snapping one lol Andy.

Hi all, So I had made a few resin blanks about 3 weeks back now, they have been sat indoors while I was ready to carry on with the next stage. Today I drilled the eye holes on the blanks and notice on around 3 of them, that when the drill bit was reversed out of the hole it appeared to be a little wet. Seems strange too me, all resin was mixed the same by weight, and well staired and the issue was only on 3 of the blanks, so I am a little bit confused. I wondered if it could be the drill bit getting hot causing this? Or if it is indeed that the resin has not fully cured during this timescale? I would have thought 3 weeks was plenty for the resin to fully cure, but then again I'm pretty new to all this! No issue with the outer structure of the blanks, they are all solid. Do you see this causing a problem if an epoxy basecoat was applied before paint? I'm worried about the whole moisture thing, when it comes to the final lures. I would rather get this sorted now if it's going to be an issue! Thanks for any advice guys Andy.