[Vodkaman]

Shortlite, thanks for the PM and for the comments above. PM your e-mail and I'll send a copy.

The spreadsheet is not finished completely yet and is not of any real use. When finished, it will take into account the lip, all the hardware, paint and epoxy. I believe even paint will make a difference.

The epoxy is the tough one, as it will be down to the builder to be consistent in the application.

The aim is to be able to determine the ballast and fit it with confidence early in the build, with no further testing required. Well, you have to give yourself a challenge.

Appologies to Carpoleo for all the tech talk, but you just might end up with something that helps.

[Shortlite]

Awesome mate! Paint and epoxy up to the builder though. Lip and hardware assume total uniformity, or very little variance. Great if you have laser cut bibs, etc. Split rings and hooks shouldn't have enough variability to greatly affect that. I suppose you'd have to build up a components database in addition to that, wouldn't you?

Definitely a great idea. Will PM you, cheers.

[clemmy]

Vman,

Just an idea for calculating the paint/topcoat in the spreadsheet. I know you are doing it for you, but you also may change (develop?) your paint/clearcoating process... Why not have a function built in to allow for paint/clearcoat. My thinking is that if you weighed a few baits before and after painting/clearcoating, it should give you a ratio of before and after. This ratio could then be used as a function to apply to the spreadsheet calculation adjusting to your way of painting/clearcoating, i.e. brand, application thickness, # of coats, etc.

Of course you may also need a seperate one for foiled baits, or for "toothy" fish neccessitating more epoxy coats, but hopefully you see the idea....

Also given that densities are normally published at, I believe 20 degrees celcius, you should be able to input a desired fishing temperature constant.....

One further complication (lol) is that monofilament line will act as a buoyant force, fluorocarbon a ballast....


Hope this helps???



Craig

[captsully18]

Vodkaman, Thanks for super video. Definitely not an engineering mind here, I mostly rely on trial and error. The video is quite inspiring and just watching has helped me a lot.

Thanks again

David

[KcDano]

Great Job! Looks like it worked slick to me.

[Palmetto Balsa]

Do we need a different spreadsheet and lure for each 3 or 4 degrees difference in water temperature we might be fishing? And will we need a different set of lures for each water column we will be fishing in?
About 6 of each deep, medium, and shallow divers (to cover the temperature variations) in about 5 different colors should cover the days fishing for suspending lures. 6X3X5=90 lures. Might be a few more for extreme conditions.
Or if we know the water temp prior to departure we could just swap out the box with the lures for that temperature of water.
Then I will still need to pack the cranks that rise and the ones that back up on the rise and the Rattle Traps Jerkbaits and the jointed swimbaits.(I have got to be leaving something out)
I just realized that I will need 3 different sizes of the suspending baits so that takes my total to 270 suspending baits + all the others. Will 5 colors be enough?
This is all just in fun.

The cool thing is that most lure builders that read this thread will get something out of it that will help them in some way or another.

[Vodkaman]

Clemmy, you are on the same wavelength. Yes, the epoxy and paint will be a before and after estimation. So the builder will have to finish one first, to extract this infomation. Extra entries will be built in for foil and fins. If not used, just enter zero.

Shortlite, I am thinking of a components database too. But, the builder will weigh a number of hooks, type in the weight and the number that he weighed. The spreadsheet will work out the volume of the hook etc. The same for split rings, quick releases etc. This would take care of variations between hook types. This would only have to be done once for each item. I will add extra lines that can be defined by the builder.

Lips will be dealt with by material type. The builder will enter the weight of the lip against the material used, also the thickness and a rough estimate of percentage glued in the body (10 -20%), this should get us close.

I am planning on including water density, for the salties. It will also allow those that are concerned enough about water density to still play. I'm sure I could do something with temperature too.

The spreadsheet is not just about suspenders, it is designed for all types of lure and will help to achieve repeatability between lures. The builder enters a percentage that represents its buoyancy. The builder enters 100% for a neutral buoyancy, or 95% for a slow rise, 105 for a slow sinker, and so on...

I am accepting any suggestions, but the danger is making the thing too complicated, seeing as it was developed to make the job simpler.

[Shortlite]

It's already getting there by the sounds of it. Calculating the volume of a hook? Bloody hell..... Well, if you want one set of lures for specific conditions and another set for others, then you will end up with 90 crankbaits in a box.

Water temperature and salinity plays a bit part as well. Varying salinity occurs depending on where you fish, and even conditions. Playing with you lures and adapting is one of the keys to success, but keeping down the amount of gear you are slinging is also important. Sticky putty, SuspenDots and SuspenStrips work for those times when you have to weight the bait down to get it to act right. So I just go for a slow float in fresh water, then tweak it when I fish brackish or fresh. You can swap for a thicker wired treble, go up a size, heavier split ring, drop down a size, etc. No need to get all bent out of shape and overcomplicated with calculations and computer programs. Repeatability is fine if you want to be stuck there forever, but need to guarantee the same performance for each bait you produce, ie. ones for sale.

Don't waste fishing time!!! We all know tuning is a part of the game. Get close, and do the rest on the water with whatever is at your disposal.

[Vodkaman]

Personally, I don't fish, so hopefully I can save everyone else some fishing time. Everything you have said is true and because of all the inputs and variables, we can only expect to get reasonably close. Every measurement has errors and these will accumulate, so don't be expecting majic, just close. Adjustment on the bank would still be necessary.

[redg8r]

Shortlite, you gotta excuse the guy for trying to help, he thought someone asked for it.

If you want to get into the ballpark, pay attention to the video he so generously provided & there you go, no density factors, salinity factors, temperature factors, pressure factors, or added components.

Take some lead wire with you & adjust on the water, ignorance is bliss.
But don't rib the guy for wanting to comprehend the fundamentals & making an effort to provide a tool to better inform those interested.

To each his own, if the class is too hard, drop out & go fishing