Wiggle vs. Wobble

[Spinner]

Hope this question makes sense.

Crankbait is 2 inches long, made of western cedar. Low lip angle so the dive is about 2 ft. deep. Weight is placed at the lowest point in the belly, right behind the treble. I have increased the size of the rear treble so generally remove the belly hook since this prevents the bait from floating or suspending. The added weight causes the bait to sink. Bait is about 3/8 inch thick.

Question: I have used both square bill and rounded bills. Both styles cause a wide wobble action. I would also like to make the bait so it has a tight wiggle. Suggestions on what I might try?

Thanks

Spinner

[TBait]

Where is your line tie? Is it at the nose of the bait , or out on the bill?

[baitmaker2]

Skeeter has posted volumes on this matter, might check archives. Usually to get a tight wiggle you want the line tie close to the body and not too much of a angle, also the width of the lip can play a role in the amount of action a bait has. 3/8 inch material is tricky to get weighted properly, ususlly don't take a lot of weight, I would guess 1/16 oz. or less depending on the size of hooks you are using. I once made some shallow running baits from cedar that I didn't put any weight in at all, they worked great, only weight was the screw eyes and the hooks and split rings.

[Skeeter]

If you want to decrease the wiggle then straighten the lip out or go to balsa. Hardwoods have a wider wobble and a stronger thump than balsa does. Believe me.... it will make a difference. Cut the amount of weight in half and put the belly hook back on the bait if you stick with the cedar. Square or round bill, the bait will have a wide wobble. Keep the lip the same length and straighten it out if you want the cedar to have a wiggle instead. Now one other thing. The closer the line tie is to the nose, the greater the wiggle, not the other way around.

Skeeter

[Spinner]

Thank you for your reply's.

The line tie is in the nose of the bait right above the lip. For these baits I use a small countersunk ice fishing split shot for the belly weight. Assume 1/16th of an ounce.

When I removed the belly hook, I noticed no difference in how pronounced the wobble is.

I have a hardwood models (maple) I will test this weekend to note any differences due to the wood density.

The lip is wider than the bait body. Would you also recommend that I try a narrower lip?

Thanks

Spinner

[SpoRoller]

I am just starting to apply what I have learned from this site, so I not the smartest person on this subject. However, here are some observations I have made so far concerning tight vs wide body action.

A lip that is roughly the same thickness as the bait will create a tighter body action (wiggle) while a lip that is wider than the body will create a wide body action (wobble). The width of the bill is in reference to the overall length and not the width at where it meets the body. In making my own bills and testing them I have noticed you can create different bait actions by varying the width of the bill as it meets the body in relationship to the width of the bill on the front end (at least in my observations to this point).

Be warned though, it is addictive to start tinkering with crankbaits, bill designs, angles, line tie positions, etc.......

A good example of a bait you can look at for a tight action is a Shap Rap.

[Skeeter]

SpoRoller,

You are correct about the width of the lip at the nose. You are learning aren't you? Everyone always worries about the width of the lip at the end of it, but very few pay attention to the width of the lip where it enters the bait. You are right, it can be addicting. But you have to be addicted to crankbaits before you can take it to the level that you are on right now. Congratulations.

Spinner,

Spo is giving you good information. But there is nothing better than experimenting and taking the lure to the water to see the results. Maple is a hard wood to make bass size crankbaits out of. It is very dense. There isn't much wood to displace water to help it float like a muskie size plug would have. If you really want to work with hardwoods then I would suggest cedar or poplar in that order. The one thing that I have found is that when you put a lip in at a severe angle, the width of the lip does not play that great of a factor in the wobble of the lure. I made a bait with the lip inserted at over 20 degrees in the bait. The bait had too much wobble for me so I took a dremel and thinned the width of the lip. It made no observable difference. So I got the dremel and thinned it more, again no real difference. By the time I was done, the lip was 1/2 inch wide and the lure still had a sever wobble. The crankbait was a round bait. I don't know if a flat bait would be different. But the only way that I could get less wobble out of that bait was to straighten the lip.

Skeeter

[SpoRoller]

Skeeter,

The things I have learned so far comes from the information that folks like yourself provide and studying popular brands to figure out what makes them do what they do.

[FiR3 TiG3R]

dear gurus,

sorry to budge in... what u guys mean by 'straightening the lip'? is it making the lip narrower with respect to both ends? so instead of having a coffin /teardrop shape, it becomes more of a rectangle? i'm lost...heheheh

[Skeeter]

When I talk about straightening a lip I am talking about having less downward angle to the lip when it is installed. Having a lip comming straight out from the nose of the lure will give a lure the tightest wiggle that it can have. If you want more wiggle or wobble then you need to start dropping the end of the lip down. Therefore, you are adding a downward angle to the end of the lip. As a general rule....... the more downward angle the more wobble.

Skeeter

[FiR3 TiG3R]

skeeter,

thanx for explaining!