bigborebob

Curious to your choice on keeping tow point on the body vs lip? Do you swim large baits similar to muskie trolling baits? The bait makers in our area, that I'm aware of, choose lip tow points, just asking because I've never thought about it...

AZ, We plan a test swim this weekend with the 22 degree baits, weather permitting. Our current lip shapes are round & elliptical with various lengths, widths, thickness & tow point locations. Currently all our lips are 0.125" or 0.175" Lexan. We have some success with this bait in 8" & 10" at 45 degree lips but thinking the 22 degree will give us a bit more depth, maybe down to 20' - 25' with short lines. Currently, all of our bodies have the same shape with some concavity - 0.090" each side x 2" in length - in the eye location. So, I'm wondering if this concavity affects wiggle pivot point or is it lip slot location? When we test swim the 45 degree baits next to our boat, the baits show an "X" pattern with wiggle pivot point just behind the eyes. That's where we like it. I'll keep making one change at a time looking for this answer, just hoping at 64 years of age I live long enough - ha!

To answer az south 1) looking for low frequency action with lots of side to side wiggle, preferably with pivot point just behind eye location. 2,3) single body x 8" length x 110g 4) buoyancy is floating with nose slightly angled down < 5 degrees 5) depth, unsure if we'll run long or short line with this bait I never gave thought to lip slot location affecting the buoyancy - thanks To help all understand, photo attached showing 22 & 45 degree unfinished baits. I believe this is permitted via rules? 8" bait with proven results at 45 degree + slot depth 0.875" + bottom of slot line intersects bait C/L 1-3/8" from nose tip. 8" bait at 22 degree + same depth + same intersection. The 22 degree slot at this location has lip closer to bait C/L vs 45 degree slot which raises the tow point, unless tow point extends far in front of nose. So, I was wondering if there was a "rule of thumb" regarding effects of moving the slot intersection further from nose which also lowers the lip. But deep down, I know there is no easy solution as vodkaman points out - make 1 change, take notes, build another, repeat...ha Keeping the "wiggle" pivot point just behind the bait's eye with low frequency & lots of side to side movement is our desire on this bait. Unsure if moving the slot location will move this pivot point closer/ further from nose. We thought designing flies & casting methods to lure muskies on large open water bodies was difficult, but this hard bait project is keeping me awake at night & quite interesting. Thanks in advance & I hope this helps another angler.

Hello, New to posting on this forum, but research threads here often for great info. I've been building large wooden trolling baits for a some time & understand the entry level basics on buoyancy, body shape, thru[wire vs screw eyes, lip angle / thickness & tow line location. My question regards baits with a lip tow line connection - how to determine layout for lip slot location & what effect is there by moving the location one way or another? Using a sketch, I locate the lip slot by intersecting the desired angle to a certain distance from bait nose tip, ie 1-1/2" from nose tip. The lip slot layout always lays on top of this line for consistency. Length of slot is determined by bait OAL. Is there a general "rule of thumb" how far back to intersect the lip slot with bait C/L & does anyone know the effects on moving the slot location closer / further from nose tip? Hopefully I've explained my question & apologize if this has been answered previously. Of course I could build lots of prototypes & swim them, but trying to save a few tress - ha! Thanks in advance