[DSV]

WELL....

i got the lure finished. well at least i thought they were finished. i put 2 coats of thinned epoxy and got a satisfactory clear coat, but then when i put them in a bucket of water to see their rate of fall, they all floated!

so now im not quite finished. i gotta go out and drill some more holes and pour some more lead and then cover up with paint and epoxy. THEN i'll be finished....

lesson learned.... test before finish.

[diemai]

@ DSV

I ALWAYS test prior to painting !

Once I have thought , that I could save myself from that extra work , and got punished instantly !

Had a bunch of 5 equal jerkbaits , same model , same size , same dimensions and same wood(teakwood kitchen boards).
Wanted to weight them slowly sinking , and after having determined about the neccessary weight on two lures , I stopped my waterbucket trials , just embedded the same size of an olive sinker into all of these lures .

After finally topcoating them I've found two jerks still to be floating !
Still can fish them this way , but it tought me a lesson , not to leave out this step on ANY single lure !

greetz , Dieter

[Vodkaman]

You are not doing yourself or anyone else in the hand made industry by selling yourself short. The way I look at it personally, is that my time and effort is worth a dollar figure per hour, the number that my previous employer paid me is a good starting point. That is the number that I am looking for. Now I would accept slightly less, as I would be working to my own terms and enjoying my work for the very first time in my life.

In many cases, the buying public (even members of this site!) needs educating as to what is involved in making these piscatorial masterpieces. If they want personalised quality, individual fine tuning etc, then it has to be paid for. We are not competing with rapala and the big boys, we provide a superior product. The big boys are competing with us.

Daimai, a 5% difference in the hand carving volume can make a big difference. Carving to this accuracy is about the limit. So you are right, if you are looking for a specific result, like a slow sinker or floater, each one will have to be individually tuned for ballast. I estimate a required accuracy of +/- 0.5% for making suspended (or close to) lures. This fits in with the above discussion. I am thinking of offering a suspended lure option, guaranteed to rise or fall within x seconds per foot. But for this level of fine tuning, the cost would increase significantly.

[DSV]

i now have them all weighted properly so they sink about a foot per second (maybe a little slower) and they sit on their hooks when they reach the bottom. all that is left is to fill in the weight holes with epoxy. then i'll be catching some fish on these!

[DSV]

Finished Pictures:

[Predator Bass Baits]

DSV, I sent a vistor message, I do not know how this works with the new system.
Or please just send me a email
predatorbassbaits@charter.net

Thanks, Jim

[mark poulson]

Dude,
They would have to pry that bluegill out of my cold, dead hand before I'd sell it.
It's beautiful.
Do yourself a favor.
Ask an older person you know and trust, who works with their hands for a living, how much your time is worth, and figure out how much time you have in that bait.
Then figure out how much it's worth to you to have to make them, instead of doing it for fun.
That's how to price your lure.
If it becomes a chore, for which you ultimately feel burdened and underpaid, you'll probably get discouraged and stop doing them.
That would be a shame.
You do beautiful work.

P.S. I'd love to be able to do a photo finish like that. You're very talented.

[KelpKritter]

Everything Mark said above is spot on.

I live in Southern Cal which as most know is a big bass mecca. I personally am not a freshwater guy but still read about and see all the gear. That bluegill is quite simply the most realistic one I have ever seen. For the fishermen that have the swimbait mindset and want the best, which there are a lot of, that bait is easily worth $75.

I'll add that time and effort and costs of production are all necessary factors in determining price, but supply and demand are as important. If you are a bad craftsman and it takes you forever to make a so-so product you cannot base your product price primarily on the value of your time then your bait may be overpriced. On the other hand if you are skilled and efficient with your time and can still produce a superior product you do not short change yourself and charge less because the process is shorter. Bottomline is you charge what the bait is worth and what people are willing to pay because of demand. Your bait is worth a lot more then 20 bucks.

[Vodkaman]

If you are intending to sell, even if it is only part time supplement, Mark and KK have given good advice. The first baits may have taken several hours to make. A lot of this time may have been spent admiring the result or thinking and planning time. This is not part of the equation, as once you have made fifty, it will no longer be valid.

I suggest you start to keep a book. Itemise all the individual steps and time them. You would not make them one at a time, if you had orders, you would make them ten at a time. You will be amazed at the time savings that repetition building makes. But don't rush the job. Your main selling point is quality craftsmanship, not mass production.

I would estimate an 60 to 90 minutes per lure. Sorry if I am way off. This would make the $75 price tag a fair price. If the photo finish takes a lot of extra time, this must be charged for too.

Also, a video of the lure swimming would be a valuable asset. If you don't own a vid camera, you must know someone who has.

[DSV]

predatorbassbaits, i sent you an email.

wow i really could not see anyone paying $75 for one of these!

maybe i will make another bluegill and put it on ebay and see how high the bids go.

i think if i were to start making a lot of these, like to sell them, it would stop being fun.

i am already working on 5 that my dad is buying and it doesnt seem quite as fun as the others.

i think that i will lose steam not enjoy making them if i have to make a bunch for other people.

if i were to sell them, i think i would only take a few orders at a time, so that way i'm not being overwhelmed with having to make these.

i would get more satifaction out of making just a few here and there for myself.

i'm still gonna put one on ebay to see how much i can get for it