[Mountain Man 26]

What do you think? My first one ever. Any comments that will help me improve are welcome. Cedar with a Janns pre-cut lip and #2 Gammie RB's. I used 18 gauge galvanized wire. I could not find SS. Painted with rattle cans. All info for making came from good ol TU. Thanks!

[Palmetto Balsa]

Great looking bait. The shape is excellent.
Have you taken it for a swim yet? My first cranks took a lot of extra work to get them swimming correct.

[Mountain Man 26]

Going swiming in the morning. I just hope it dives.

[pizza]

looks great - awesome for your first bait! Kinda like a poes but with a better lip. Did you just press gently on the rattle can to get the splatterback/speckled look? Was the can fully shaken and how far did you hold the rattlecan from the bait?

Another technique (which I have yet to try) to get that look is to use a toothbrush and some (thinned with laquer thinner to a milk consistency) model paint like testors brand. That tip courtesy of fatfingers.

[mark poulson]

Great looking lure. With galvanized wire, be sure to put the lure where it can dry out after each trip. The galvanizing can flake where it's bent, but that won't rust enough to matter if you dry it between trips, unless you fish it in salt water. Nothing but sst wire survives the salt!

[diemai]

@ Mountain Man 26

Your bait looks far better than my first one a very long time ago , that's for sure!

But as mark poulson has already mentioned , you should really get yourself some stainless steel wire for future lures , you would really enjoy using them for a much longer time!

I always test my lures prior to painting in my bath tube for their swimming action .
I'd apply one or two coats of ordinary clear paint onto them before , just to prevent water sepage whilst testing .
This way I can determine about eventual neccessary balance weights and their locations and embed these into the lure without having to destroy the paint finish again and paint a second time after closing the weight holes !

The first temporary clearcoat I just sand a little rough after those tests for following paint coats to adhere well .

I wonder , why you obviously utilized screweyes as hookhangers , and did not make a thru-wire harness instead ?

Don't mean to critize your work , at all !
You'd have your reasons to do so , I'd just like to understand !

Keep on carvin' , diemai