Newbie with a couple of questions

[Doppelganger Lures]

First time making a hard bait, I'm building a small propbait made from pine wood. I just have two questions.

1. How do I know how much weight I need to add to the lure to get it to work properly? I'm more familiar with hard plastic lures which usually just use some small lead balls as weight, but wood baits are different. Obviously if I don't get enough weight that can easily be adjusted, but too much weight and the whole bait is ruined.

2. Can you put stickers or decals on a lure and expect them to hold and last a while underneath a protective coat? I have a specific design I want to put on the lure, but nobody makes a stencil small enough for me to paint it on. Of course, I could just make my own stencil but I'm not very good at drawing and a sticker of some sort is like the easy way out.

[eastman03]

Welcome here first of all!  Bait making is a fun and addictive hobby!   

With a small propbait, you might not need any weight at all?  Might be a trial and error thing.  The hardware and hooks might give it enough ballast to remain in an upright position.   Tough to know without some trial and error.   Lots of information on wood density and weight needed if you look up Archimedes dunk test here on the forum.  That probably gets a bit more technical than what you need at the moment

Decals would probably last depending on the topcoats strength.  Many of us use foil (like aluminum foil tape from a hardware store for duct work), or you can buy holographic sticker material.  So as long as you have a good topcoat, whatever is under it should be protected.  That being said, depending on the fish you are catching, might also depend on how long the topcoat lasts!  Lots of great info and help on this site. 

What I usually do when I'm making a new to me style lure, make a few of them.  Whip out a few kinda quicker prototypes (mine usually don't even have paint).  Experiment with different weights, in your case maybe prop blades, or body sizes/shapes.  Just don't change too many variables at once!  Have fun with it.  Keep asking questions here if you are stuck.

[Travis]

I am a big believer if float testing/weighting baits.  Especially ones that orientation in the water is critical.  Once you get weight placement down and weight easy to just wing it on subsequent baits (even then individual float testing will end up with a better bait ).   Most guys aren't churning out numbers of baits so not much time involved in getting a properly tuned lure.

I have fished prop baits that have sat with a slight cant towards the nose to baits that stood almost vertical, bottom line you will need to float your design to dial it in to your goals.  

Water slide decals have been used by many to add details to lures. I have used electrical tape for kill spots and eyes a few times years ago without issue.  

[Vodkaman]

What you want is for the lure to float the same as the commercial lure that you are copying. In technical terms; you want to match the density of the lure as a whole, including hooks and all hardware. There are two ways to achieve this; a none-technical method and a technical method.

None tech – Float the commercial lure in a pan of water. Observe how much of the lure sticks out of the water. Also, you need to match the angle that the commercial sits, this also is required to be duplicated. Tape lead to the body until the same float is observed. Move the lead around until the angle is duplicated.

Tech – As mentioned above by Eastman03, the Archimedes dunk test will enable you to get a very accurate fix on the density and how much weight you will need to add. This requires the use of a gram scale. You will still need to do the float test to determine the angle of float.

Most builders will settle for the float test, plenty good enough for this job.

Dave