scrubs Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 (edited) I've gotten interested in smaller lures again. In looking through Whittler's, Mark Twain's and Robert Pachea's gallery pics I see a lot of comments on how smaller baits are harder. The British and Polish do a lot of stuff around an inch or so and down to a gram. Lots of beetles etc. At what size do you think baits become harder to make & tune? 2 inches maybe? bill Edited July 13, 2015 by scrubs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 To me anything smaller than 2" is a pain to cut out, shape, and sand. Not saying it can't be done with lots of care but I shape baits by hand and 2" is about the limit that I can handle comfortably with my fingers. I also mark shaping and sanding lines on my baits to insure symmetry. That's very difficult on a 1 1/2" bait. You also need to be very conservative in how you sand, mostly using finer grit paper. In the end, if I want a bait shorter than 2", I start looking for pre-formed wood blanks online. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 I never found the smaller baits I made to be any more difficult to tune. More difficult to make...not that much different but did use a scroll saw to cut them out and proceeded as normal. For me the issue is they drive me nuts to fish. I am more about quality of fish anymore as using a small crank insures constant action with majority of that being the usual assortment "gills" and dink bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benton B Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 I find ul cranks no harder to build than the bigger baits. Carving and sanding takes a little extra care, don't want to loose a finger tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 I never found the smaller baits I made to be any more difficult to tune. More difficult to make...not that much different but did use a scroll saw to cut them out and proceeded as normal. For me the issue is they drive me nuts to fish. I am more about quality of fish anymore as using a small crank insures constant action with majority of that being the usual assortment "gills" and dink bass. You must not fish trout Travis I have a friend in Colorado whos been hounding me to make him a bait similar to the smallest Rapala minnows for river/stream Rainbows Ive been nervous to take on such a project!.. My 1st attempt ever at a crank was a 3" Rapala floater KO.... It did not fair well, but ive progressed a lot since then... Its funny to see this thread today, because i was considering this as my next step Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrubs Posted July 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Interesting, I would think the tuning would be more difficult. Making a couple of 2 1/4 flat sides now. Next maybe some 1 3/4 ones. Made a couple of Janns 1 5/8 divers into surface prop baits a week ago. bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 My last batch of baits (bawal video) were 1.5". I designed them to keep it simple; flat sided rounded over, big round nose profile, to provide room for hardware, ventral negative curvature same radius as my belt sander. Small lures need not be more difficult to make, they just need a lot more thought in design. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
