CoreyH Posted February 14, 2020 Report Share Posted February 14, 2020 I've noticed that my favorite crankbait (Zoom WEC E1) has the line tie actually located just slightly forward of the body, in the lip of the bait. It's a very clean look, almost as though the line tie was molded into the lip, not like some I've seen where the wire for the line tie is situated below the lip and comes up through the bottom of the lip through a couple holes or a slot. If I'm wanting this type of line tie positioning and this clean look, is this something I can do myself or is there a place that sells the lips with the line tie cleanly built in? And for now, I'm only interested in the squarebill lip, not an elongated round bill for a medium or deep diver. As always, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 15, 2020 Report Share Posted February 15, 2020 Corey, WEC E1’s do in fact have the line tie wires running under the lip into the body of the lure. Here’s a pic of one: it’s worth noting that Ed Chambers , the Zoom company owner who made WEC crankbaits in his spare time, died recently. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyH Posted February 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2020 Bob, thanks for the info. I lost my last E1’s last summer and figured I’d get more, but then Mr. Chambers passed away and there was no way I was going to spend $50+ on any bait so I didn’t get any more. I’ve tried to find a substitute for it and just bought a couple of John Hott’s H-1 squarebills since they are supposed to be replicas of the E1’s. Water is still frozen up here so I won’t know how well they work until spring. Since I just started making some crankbaits myself I thought I would ask about the line tie in the E1’s since I’m sure that factors into their great action. The cranks I’ve made so far have all had the line tie attached directly to the nose of the bait, just above the lip. If possible for a beginner I was wanting to try putting the line tie in the bill like the E1. The build was always so clean on any of the Zoom cranks that I just thought the line tie didn’t go in below the lip, but was rather somehow molded into the lip. Thanks again for the pic and correcting my mistake. Any suggestions on how they got such a clean through-lip design on the Zoom cranks? Did they just epoxy and smooth it out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyH Posted February 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2020 Right now I’m twisting .041” as wire for my line ties and hook hangers. Would I be better off going with a cotter pin and bending it for the through-lip design? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted February 15, 2020 Report Share Posted February 15, 2020 (edited) 18 minutes ago, CoreyH said: Right now I’m twisting .041” as wire for my line ties and hook hangers. Would I be better off going with a cotter pin and bending it for the through-lip design? Just personal preference. Twisting the wire isn't an issue for this lip style (typically don't use brass). Edited February 15, 2020 by Travis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyH Posted February 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2020 Good to know. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
