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Westy

Glide Bait Action/Weighting

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Ok, I've got a glide bait problem that's driving me insane. I have been on a six inch glider made out of basswood. Action is very consistent when I work it slowly. However, when I start to work it a little faster it basically loses all of its action and becomes ridiculously erratic. I am thinking of adding more weight of it to settle the action.

Shane

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sorry to borrow ur thread but on a similar note, i'd like to know more about the glider. haven't come across it in this part of the world(yet), or maybe i'm just lost hahahha...

care to explain the weighting, float/sink, position in water, basic patterns?

from what i heard, it's like walking the dog underwater.

i've been told gliders are used for muskie.

so muskie specialiests, i seek ur guidance. thanx

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Jed's the master (not taking anything away from anyone - just my $0.02) so hopefully he can chime in. A glider is essentially a sinking version of a walk the dog topwater lure. By weighting the lure in the front and back, the lure will dart from left to right with short taps of the rod. The faster the taps, the more erratic the bait moves. Wood types vary with some using cedar, some using basswood, others using harder woods like maple and oak.

Check out Jed's web site, www.bikinibaitcompany.com - he has a video of one in action in a swimming pool.

Shane

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Several things might cause this:

1. Lure shape-you don't want anything too tall from back to belly and the back of the bait must taper.

2. Lure thickness-

3. Lure length....a six inch lure is actually quite small and gentle taps are probably all that is necessary to get this lure to react properly.

4. How its weighted...this is the tricky part and took me 2 years to figure out.

5. If you switched to a hardwood like hard maple, honduras mahogany, or eastern cedar, you will see the action change considerably. With a hard wood the weight is much more evenly dispersed whereas with a wood like Basswood it is concentrated where the lead is at.

Enjoy the experimentation, it's the best part! I love seeing if I can get a lure to swim!!

Jed V.

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Westy,

I should have mentioned that there isn't any reason why the basswood shouldn't work. I only mentioned the hardwoods because they are another option for you. I build some of my baits out of very hard wood and some out of very soft wood depending on the action that I am looking for. Generally light woods will provide you with more action but sometimes less action is what you want.

:rolleyes:

I know it's a hassle but it doesn't hurt to buy a few different woods and experiment some, it's fun. In the long run it will make you a much better builder too. B):D

If you are still having trouble post a pic of the lure and I will try to provide more help.

Jed V.

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Good stuff Riverman. Been experimenting with gliders lately too. Plenty of good info from you and several other guys here. Also been talking with Jerkbait some on these plugs.

When you say the tail needs to be tapered, do you mean belly to back, or side to side? Know what you mean about the weighing, certainly seems to be the biggest issue. Can make or break a plug. On the 3/4 inch thickness, seems to me that it may be more of a thickness to length, or depth, or weight ratio. Or at least depend on the shape of the glider. I'm making smaller ones (4-6 inches) and a thinner plug (.5 to .65 thick) seems to work better. This may be related to the shape/size of the glider I'm doing.

Andrew

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jed,

i've seen the gliders on 101. i was wondering is that the ONLY shape i can follow? or are there any other shapes i could use? (i prefer a minnow like profile)

how about making a topwalker pencil into a sinking pencil? will it walk the dog underwater?

i only weigh my topwalkers at the back of the bait(gliders have 2 points to insert lead, correct?). can i still use only i site to weigh it?

why am i so interested in this glider-mania?

hahhahahaha... thanx dude.

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...how about making a topwalker pencil into a sinking pencil? will it walk the dog underwater?...

I make some pencils like this. Work real well for areas that you need more distance in the cast and that have moving water. They'll come up top pretty quick.

Its not too hard to get a plug to walk the dog under water. Some of my glider protos worked that way. Problem was that they would not get the glide that Riverman and others get from their plugs. I think the glide makes them more effective, so mine that just walked the dog are in the scrap pile :oops:

Riverman, makes sense on the tail. On the thickness, yeah, I've found a couple of mine that work better with the thinner profile. Again, it may be that they work cause they are smaller plugs to start with (4-6 inches). I tried some of these at 3/4 inch and larger and they just did not want to turn or glide well. Could also be due to the shape. I have no doubt that the larger ones you do work better when they are greater than 3/4 inch thick. I think the video on your site proves that! If I could get mine to glide like that I would be happy.

Andrew

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FT,

Yes, you can make your topwater out of any shape you want. I just sent you to 101 so that you see how the lures are weighted. You will find that if you use a very heavy wood hardly any weight is needed at all to get a topwater at the right level in the water. Weagles have no weight at all. With lighter woods you have two options for weighting them.

1. weight them just like you do a glider only with less weight

2. a whole bunch of weight toward to back of the bait (an inch or two forward of the very back) so that it sits at a 45 degree angle in the water like a spook (zara spook).

I have found several lures shapes by looking at pictures of salt-water fish, you might try this too. My Turmoil glider came from a pic of saltwater fish.

_____________________________________________________________

Andrew,

Actually the bait on my video I would consider more of a "darting" bait than a big glider, glad you like the action. If you want a bait to glide, make your lures round instead of flat. Also make them a little on the heavy side, the extra weight helps carry them forward. My 16" gliders will glide.....like 3-5 feet in each direction, it's beautiful to watch a chunk of wood do this, magical even. If you think about baits that really glide like the Manta....note the shape, mostly round. Once a bait gets 8" or larger it becomes quite lethargic and just kind of "lumbers" along...in my opinion. If you keep a bait in the 7" and shorter range you can make them dart, hesitate, dart, swim, stop, lookout!!!

jed v.

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thanx jed for the info, it was very useful. currently my topwaters are sitting abt 80 degs in the water n i'm liking the action.

gliders aren't that common over here in malaysia, YET, i think. hahahah... i can only testify from the little amount of shopping that i do :)

i gues that's why i want one hehehehe....

once again, thanx for the light. will be working on it sometime next month or so. will report on the outcome.

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Riverman, u'r posts were usefull. I made one glide bait till now. A 4yncher. I made it from hard wood. Actually it's basswood, but here u can find the basswood very light and very hard as well.

It's weighted good, it glides, but not that much from side to side, although i'm pretty happy with the effect, cause it can turn on it's longitudinal axis. And it's a very slow sinking one.

Curently i'm working on one one piece bait and on about 3-4 jointed ones. I'm trying out different shapes and weightings. U can try ataching the weight with elastic so u can see how the action changes, before actually puting the weight in them.......

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Here's the lure that I am having problems with. Problem is that if you work the thing fast enought it will actually go upside down (obviously not ideal).

Length - 6"

Wood Thickness - 11/16"

Lure Width - 1 3/4"

Lure Type - Basswood

Leadholes - Three holes in front and three in back. Holes are 9/16" deep and 3/8" wide. Locations for lead holes are marked.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Shane

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U'r right LP, but it helps in weighting the lure properly. I know that the placement as i mentioned gives the lure a lower point of gravity, and it can actually make it more stable, and make it glide more, but u can at least have an ideea of how it'll work. U wont be able to tell how it works otherwise unless it's already weighted(a 90%finished lure in that matter).

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