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Boomer22

Rookie Glide Bait Builder

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Howdy! I’m new around here and I want to start off by saying you guys do some really nice work.

My question is about glide baits. I have read most everything I can find about glide baits and how/why they work. A friend of mine and I started kicking around the idea a few month’s ago and he ended up making a larger bait out of poplar, and it turned out great. Good action and it walks really well. Just complete luck I guess.

He ran with it and started trying different sizes. He ran into trouble on the smaller baits. He can’t get a consistent walk with any of the weight combinations from center weighting to equally weighting 1” from each end of the bait. We can get good slow level sink in the tank test, but when it comes down to walking it, the left right left right pattern isn’t there.

So now I’m starting to try to figure this thing out in my garage as well and I was wondering what ideas you guys might have? Any ideas are welcome

Feel free to jump in and ad anything i left out Ranger373

Thanks

Boomer

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LETS GET ONE THING STRAIGHT DIPSTICK!!!! THEIR IS ONLY ONE ROOKIE HERE...So if your going to use my name in the topic.. PLEASE SEND 10 bucks to my paypal account for Naming Rights and I will drop the pending lawsuit.. I have the copywrite to that name. :D

WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD OF LURE BUILDING

Sorry just bustin your chomps for pure entertainment... WELCOME TO TU BUD!!!

Edited by The_Rookie
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For surface walkers/gliders, I add ballast just past the mid point toward the tail, so the lure sits slightly tail down in the water. But I like them to rest almost horizontal, with 1/3 of the top of the front section out of the water.

I think walking baits work because the tail is heavier, so it has more momentum, and it keeps moving when the front stops. That turns the bait to one side, and then pulling it again, followed by slack, turns it the other way.

My rule of thumb is the smaller the bait, the deeper I want the tail to hang down. In a small bait, like the size of a small Sammie, it's not hard to get the bait up on the surface and walking, and the additional weight helps in castingt, but bigger baits, like the Lunker Punker or the Pupfish, have a lot of body to move, so it's hard work pulling that tail up and getting it walking if it's hanging down.

So my bigger baits hang just slightly tail down, but almost horizontal, and my small baits hand tail down, almost vertical.

For me, the best way to figure out how much the tail should hang down is to get a bait that you like, like a Sammie or a Spook, that's about the same size as the one you want to build, and see how it sits in the water. If you match that, you won't go too far wrong.

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There are no shortcuts to making a good glidebait, making an "ok" glidebait is easy, making a "good" glide bait takes time.

The smaller baits are harder for several reasons. One is they don't weigh nearly as much as a large bait so it's harder for them to have any momentum. Don't expect too much from a small glider, most will only dart left and right with very little glide. If you want a huge glide, build a big glider of put a lexan tail on the back of the lure.

Small baits don't have much surface area on the front of them so they are harder to turn so keep that in mind.

Finally, make sure the lure you are working with is at least 3/4" thick. I have gotten some 1/2" thick gliders to work but they are tricky. Try several different woods, several different shapes, and experiment with the weighting. Some gliders work best with two weights, others four or more. Some like to put one weight at the balance point.

Take notes and keep trying. Eventually you will find a good combination.

good luck,

Jed

Edited by RiverMan
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