Wood vs Plastic Bait

[Coley]

Will a plastic bait, with about the same action, painted exactly

the same, catch just as many fish as a wood bait??

I know a rattle trap will catch a lot of fish, and I have yet

to see a wooden one.

Coley

[Markell]

I have thought the same thing about a rattle trap. I bought a wooden Trap off eBay but it was not what I expected. You could not fish with it. All the hardware was way too big for the bait. Looked like a novelty item.

[Skeeter]

I feel that there are certain types or designs of baits that work best made out of a certain types of material. I know this sounds stupid, but what I mean is that a design like the rattle trap may have the best action made out of plastic rather than wood. It is up to the bait maker to find the best material for his bait. Personally I don't think that my flat baits would perform as well made out of plastic or some other type of wood. I have made that bait out of many types of wood and have only settled on two types of wood that the particular design works well with.

Skeeter

[RiverMan]

I agree with Skeeter entirely. With my gliders I find that the difference between woods can be huge so the same is likely true for plastic versus wood. Generally I find less dense woods to be more lively although this isn't always the case. Lure shape is important too, the height of the bait from belly to back and the shape of the nose and tail can really change things. I flat cannnot get a bait to walk/glide with a large tail on it...the back of the bait must be thin or it won't turn.

I think you should give it a try from wood Coley....would be interested in seeing what you come up with. It would also be interesting to see the RT in several sizes....something to think about.

Jed

[BobP]

In a lipless crankbait like a Rattletrap, one of the main fish attractors is the noise created by the many BB's inside. Could you do it with wood? Sure, but it would need to be a very durable/dense wood to get the sides as thin as with plastic. To me, plastic just seems the practical way to go in this specific case. There are wood saltwater plugs that use the same head shape as the Rattletrap to create vibration, though.

[boatnik13]

Wood makes a nice rattle trap without the rattle in mind. Plastic will always make better noise. My thought is > Its how the person fishes the lure and type of lure and its action. Wood lures are going to last your life time but unless your using pvc plastic > the plasic can go anytime. Wood lures take better to paint finish. Wood lures not only are tuned in but can be re-tuned over and over without loosing its ballance to glue. Plastic advantage is the price> you can buy up alot of plastic lures but try buying quality wood lures and I don't mean wood wraped lures or balsa wraped. I'm getting off the subject > SORRY!

[mgodliman]

I've made many wood versions of plastic baits and they usually work to some degree or other but rarely like the original they are just too different. Something like a Burt or Believer have such thin plastic sides that no matter how light a wood you use the action is different.

I have made wooden copies of lipless crankbaits out of sycamore and are easier in my opinion because it's compact and relatively heavy, it's important to make the shape thinner at the top of the lure by the pull point and fatter at the bottom to help create the wiggle. I also put in rattles sometimes more than one home made with a small tube and variuos sizes of steel ball. Originally I made them specifically for Nile perch fishing in Egypt and copied something called a "Bayou Boogie" because they had done well and were 3 to 4 inches across, but I have made them smaller and they work fine for pike.