Lure--Prof

I recently read about another fisherman doing the same thing, breaking his line while hand-stripping line like that through the drag. I think Ike is a great fisherman but view this practice as unnecessary showmanship. The last time I checked (just now), a $530.00 Daiwa Steez spinning reel advertises a, "...waterproof drag with super micro-pitch adjustment". I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess this particular reel does not have a problem with its drag sticking or freezing-up, and breaking one's line on a hot non-keeper bass near the boat, and the odds of it happening are incalculable... obviously the odds of breaking the line while hand-feeding it are far greater. This practice causes far greater impact on the line than does a bucking bass pulling a much greater length of line through an expensive shock absorbsion device (Steez Rod), so it was an accident waiting to happen. I'm sure I'm not the only one who saw that coming...I'll bet there were some Daiwa executives who wondered why they went to all the trouble to engineer one of the best drag systems on earth, only to have one of their leading endorsers act as though it was an untrustworthy system. It turned out to be a good lesson on how NOT to play a fish! Dean:D

Here's for you a belated good wishing for big things fishing in the coming year!! hope it was great! Dean

I have different uses for epoxies, but I mix them using the same manual technique, which is similar to Husky's motorized method. I mix on an aerosol can bottom with a rounded piece of wire that roughly corresponds to the curve of the mixing surface. Move wire into the epoxy and keep it there while rapidly mising with both back and forth and round and round motions, keeping the wire in contact with can bottom for a squeegee action which will leave no epoxy unmixed; and by keeping the wire immersed in the epoxy, one is not constantly introducing air into the mix which cuts WAY DOWN on the bubbles. The few bubbles you may have are then easily eliminated by exhaling a bit of CO2 on them. With a little practice of this method, you'll completely eliminate incomplete mixes, and be amazed how few bubbles you create while thoroughly mixing any epoxy. Hey Skeeter! Good to hear from you! You know the reason you don't get any complaints is that they are all SCARED to complain, afraid you'll DEVCON them to some deep offshore boulders! Dean

I have a 1 RPM dryer that I've used for Devcon and E-tex for several years now--No problems at all, and also on which I place my just-brushed-with-DN baits--No problems with pooling etc, with the DN because I don't get the excess with brushing that is inherent in dipping--brushing DN isn't comparable to brushing Epoxies as it is much faster. & Hello baitmaker2!!! Dean

Iwata Eclipse HP-BS which is a gravity feed with whatever needle it comes with from Dixie. I used to know but I forgot. It happens at 56. But I really do like that brush for shooting Createx and Parma, no thinning any paint, and no problems. Forgetful

More than feasable Birdman; totally logical, especially for any schooling fish exhibiting typical slash and pillage feeding behavior. Whether they're highland reservoir smallies annihlating schools of threadfin shad, stripers tail-swatting schools of herring pinned beneath the beaks of diving gulls and the terror below, or sailfish tightly balling-up schools of bait with their sails in order to slice and dice with bills for their brethren waiting below, the erratic action of stunned or mutilated bait erratically drifting downward from that surface smashing mahem above are exactly what those fish are waiting for. That action says supper, served right now. Even the bend of the bait is a visual cue signifying an injured bait that's lost its ability to flee (yeah, pick on the one with the bad back!) So, while there are a lot of baits that may get an explosive response from surface slashing schoolies, there is no better bet for a solid hook-up than a lure which exhibits the kind of action that fish are waiting to eat. And it isn't just limited to schooling action either. This would be a great "come-back" lure for any fish that's just missed your topwater bait, or any fish in casting distance that has broken the surface. A lot of experienced fishermen keep an outfit rigged and ready for breaking fish at all times. As a striper guide on Lake Cumberland, not only did I catch many stripers by having a lure ready like that, but also a lot of big smallmouth. A trick long-used by fishermen jigging lead spoons is to bend the lure slightly in the middle so that it resembles a "curved twitch bait". It seems good ideas always hang around for a reason. Dean

I normally dry each color with a hair dryer as I go, although I'm not quite as thorough as I am when finished painting--it also depends on how much paint I apply in each coat, the more paint, then the more I dry. With my gravity feed Iwata, between colors I clean the cup, and the tip with a small nylon bristle brush, or a similar paintbrush, and then backflush with distilled water. I find that a trash can, and plastic bottles with squirt tops are real handy if you're not painting next to a sink.

What kind of paint are you using?

Lots of good info here which all applies to some degree to Jed's problem! jcheetam is 100% correct about heat-setting Createx, solving his problem. And Jed, you're correct about DN having gotten partially cured on you, which in retrospect, contributed to BJ's problem. Once opened and exposed to the atmosphere, curing in the container may commence to some degree. The more curing has takenplace, the harder DN is to apply. When DN is drying nearly as soon as you apply it, curing has happened to the extent that smooth application becomes very difficult, even for me, or anyone else with a lot of experience with DN. DN does not apply in this manner when it is from a freshly opened can. When DN is fresh and thin, one can actually get away with a bit of back & forth brushing that would make a total mess out of the stuff that has begun to cure. So the keys to simple, easy, and effective DN application are two-fold. 1. DN must be compatible with the paint over which it's applied. If it is Createx, then it means thoroughly heat set it!! 2. Keep DN fresh! If brushing, as I do, don't let it drip from the brush back into your container. Utilise a known method for preserving your DN. David Sullivan (Captsully) uses an upside-down can tapped with a thumbscrew. I decant into smaller containers and use a finish preserver (Bloxygen) that replaces any air in my containers with an inert gas, which prevents curing from taking place in a closed, sealed container. Another member uses a wine preservative the same way, while others minimze atmospheric contact by using wine or salad dressing bottles, or some combination of these methods. Whichever method you choose, fresh DN is the simplest product I've ever used to get an easily applied, durable, clear, bubble free, finish on every lure I build. I like to think that my baits show that getting a good durable clearcoat can't be that difficult, if I can do it! Dean

I will say, just because it will be there staring at you when you click on Vodkaman's link that I, and a friend who is an excellent painter both use 1/8 horsepower Harbor Freight airbrush compressors. I use mine in the house, it hums along without a bunch of noise, it has a handy regulator that I can quickly adjust, has plenty of power, an auto cut-off switch, can be easily moved & takes up little space, and if stolen, I'd buy another one exactly like it without a moment's hesitation. I never run it wide open, too much power for that, I usually regulate it where it sprays a constant 30, and turn it dow when I want to do fine detail with my Iwata Eclipse HP-BS (gravity fed). Dean

Have a good one Jamie, you're not just getting older, but more experienced! I hope you can celebrate with a big fish on a home-built bait! (Not a bad time for that either, what with spring equinox having been Friday, and today being 3 days before the new moon.) Dean

The only difference between a wood burner and a stencil burner is none, just different tips. You can also buy a "craft burner" or a "hobby burner" that has an assortment of tips for cutting stencils and burning wood. A burner is the only reasonable way I can cut stencils without smoke coming out of my ears . Dean

All good suggestions...Vodkaman very well could have nailed it with his thinking that the syringe could have a tad of silicone for lube, of which it takes the smallest amount to cause fish eyes! Those in the custom paint trade judiciously use special silicone removers to prep their work as a matter of course to remove any possible trace of silicone residue left from polishes, etc, to prevent fisheyes from ruining expensive paint work. The best guitar polishes are silicone-free for that very reason, should some repair work be needed someday. Dean

You're correct about it not being pretty!!! In fact it is the ugliest dryer I've seen yet! The crooked 2x4 support feet, the blue clothes pins---Ouch! Not only that, but it should inspire anyone who thinks that they can't build a lure dryer. It may even prove that anyone can build one!...and it should also prove that anyone who thinks they can't build a dryer, is simply not trying! But...it is a million times prettier than empty space in a lure building area!! And that is the bottom line! You deserve several sincere attaboys for getting it done! I'll suggest your first modification: Make a support for the other end of your threaded rod...it doesn't need bearings or anything, it could simply be a U shaped groove in a thin piece of metal attatched to a piece of wood for the rod to ride in---if you haven't done it already. And thanks for posting, for all the above reasons! In good fun, and serious lure building, Dean

I have a scroll saw which is fine for balsa, and a minor mistake does not cause a major hospital bill. But a guy with only a scroll saw, will need a band saw at some point, and as you see here, a guy with a bandsaw does not necessarily ever need a scroll saw. Dean

Birdman is right about there being very little contrast between pearl silver and pearl white, and it's especially true with Createx. I do shoot subtlely different shades over one another with Createx, and I don't expect to see hardly any contrast until I clearcoat the bait, and inspect it in good light for shifts in irridescence with movement. However, pearl silver is really just a slightly darker version of pearl white. You have to have more contrast than that! I haven't thinned any Createx or Parma since I began using an Iwata Eclipse HP-BS (gravity feed), and these are the only paints I currently use. I do shake each color thoroughly and strain the paint with a small piece of nylon hose placed between the top of the bottle and and the flip-up bottle cap---easy to do and easy to change periodically. I also keep a clean brush. This eliminates any and all spraying problems for me. Dean

Thank you guys!!!! Dave, I had a theory about it also...but I forgot it! Dino

...when you find yourself unable to throw away any kind of clear plastic packaging because of its potential as stencil material

"...guess its time I take it!!!" (The Rookie) I'm not touching that!! (but you owe me) Dean

Hey There Jim, also from Our Fished-to-death Commonwealth, I don't think Esox is having adhesion problems, which would happening if he had oil-contaminated baits. After I'd given the matter some longer thought, I realized that he is just experiencing a typical characteristic for Createx Flourescent Yellow: That it takes a lot more fl. yellow to equal the same coverage you'd get from a light coat of any other Createx color. Six coats of fl.yellow Createx sounded like he was having to use way too much paint to me, until I thought about how heavily I shoot flourescent yellow; I don't spray it in the thin coats I spray other colors. Dean

I think so John. I've sprayed a lot of flourescent yellow, and I'm probably used to spraying much heavier coats than you are--I may be spraying in 2 coats what you're spraying in half a dozen. In doing so, I keep the brush moving and the bait turning, and I never get runs. I believe what we're talking about here is getting a feel for a type of paint in a particular color, so when I think of painting six coats of fl. yellow Createx, it strikes me as an extaordinary amount of paint and painting, because of the way I'm used to applying it. Also, with fl. yellow over a white or pearl base, one can achieve more than one uniform shade, which is something I've learned to consciously choose. And unlike most colors, fl. yellow Createx simply requires a heavier touch, much heavier than darker or high contrast colors. So yes, it is the nature of the paint, and it is also the nature of the painter, in terms of how we get used to painting different colors of a certain kind of paint. And, it shows how something that can easily be expressed in a person-to-person two minute conversation with lures in hand, can often become a real head-scratcher on an internet forum! Dean