out2llunge

Sorry, I misunderstood. I don't usually use that shape of lip.

Try http://www.luremaking.com/catalogue/download/making_crankbait_lips.pdf Just upsize/downsize the lip template you need with a photocopier.

It's also know as pencil lead. Trout fishers use it for bottom bouncing the streams.

You could also drill the hole a little oversize, epoxy in the matching sized piece of dowel and then re-drill the dowel and screw in the eye screw.

Riverman, I also make king baits, though less frequently now, but what type of bait are you trying to make. Is it a J plug/Lyman type bait or something else? The previous post had some good tips, but there are other ways too depending on the bait. A pic or similar bait type would help.

Sorry, I haven't added images before, but here's another.

Do an image search on Google. Don't use the default screen that comes up, but instead click on "images". I tried a quick one for you and got these.

I tried epoxy thinner and it worked sort of okay, but your best bet is not to let it happen again.

Siscoe Kid nailed it. THe mix must be 50:50 or else that will happen. It happened to me years ago and boy do I understand your frustration.

I've never used one, but I think there's a product called a hitchhiker that's made for that type of purpose.

Just plug the hole with ???? kleenex, maybe? Epoxy over top and cut/scrape/drill away the junk later.

I'm assuming the tail section looks like a TopRaider. What I did is epoxy everything while it is apart. This includes the tail. You are right you don't want any epoxy inside the rivet or else your bait won't spin. I used aluminum flashing for the tail - I should have used stainless sheet stock. The aluminum, although it won't rust was just too thin. The epoxy held it in just fine though. After your bait is epoxied you can assemble using through wire construction. Don't forget to add a bead or some sort of bearing between the head and tail and make sure it's bigger than the rivet hole.

Hey Westy, Check out the thread Lure Making Workshop at http://www.muskystriker.com It's in the main forum of the message board. I'm doing a similar workshop on Saturday in Toronto - You can come if you want to

Hey Westy, Check out the thread Lure Making Workshop at http://www.muskystriker.com It's in the main forum of the message board. I'm doing a similar workshop on Saturday in Toronto - You can come if you want to

Well, wasn't that a surprise, I click on this forum and there's my name... Anyway, to answer your question, it is indeed on for the 17th. I'll be showing how to make Parrywinkles and Bobbies and a couple of other guys will be showing Bucktail making techniques. Admission is still $2 or 2 cans of food to donate to a food bank and everything starts at 9 a.m. Check the thread at MS for more details and a map. Cheers, o2l

I'm not sure what type of wood you're using, but I'm guessing balsa. Balsa is extremely buoyant. Have you tried using a different kind of wood that is less buoyant? That might help because you wouldn't need to add as much weight.

Pencil lead is popular with the trout and salmon boys. A piece of pencil lead and surgical tubing and you have a nifty drop sinker that gets hung up less on the bottom. It's really just long, thin, cylindrical lead, very cool actually. As to buying it...I'll leave that up to Riverman, I haven't bought any in years.

Jed, I'm making BIG muskie baits and pouring the lead into it to ensure that there's no undesired air cavities anywhere in the bait. It's really not much work at all. I thow a few wheel weights in a ladle, turn on the heat, and once melted...it's a straight pour - about 1 min. total time.

I usually pour directly into the holes because I don't have any molds. What I've done recently though is drill (with a forstner bit) a variety of different diameter holes in a wooden block and fill these with the molten lead. I pop them out of the holes and re-use the wooden mold. I then have a variety of different sized weights to choose from.

I melt down old lead wheel weights that are used for balancing car wheels. They are cheap or free - just visit a local tire shop and ask them what they do with their old weights.

I prefer to do it before whenever possible. I find it to be far more accurate and results in a higher percentage of baits running true vs. having to fiddle around trying to determine what adjustment needs to be made to resolve the problem.

They look great Robert! It's hard to believe that's only your second attempt. BTW, are you coming on Saturday? o2l

It really depends on what you want the lure to do. Softer woods like pine, cedar, basswood, etc. have faster actions and higher buoyancy's. denser woods like maple, oak, ash, hickory, etc. have slower actions and are more (yet not) neutrally buoyant. It also depends on what you're fishing for, muskie and pike would destroy balsa baits, but some hardwoods might not be appropriate for smaller panfish. Think of your application, target species and method of use before you decide on a type of wood. Cheers, o2l

Thanks for the info guys! I've been making shad style baits for a little while now, but I wanted to get the opinions of those who who make them for bass - it allows me to think outside the box and get viewpoints I wouldn't normally think of. I've been doing very similar steps to what's been described, just looking for more tips.

What's a partridge style hook? Can you post a pic?