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BobP

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  4. IMG_Aug232017103618AM.jpg

    in Hard Baits

          3

    Posted · Edited by BobP

    Dale, I trace the crank and cut the foil tape and apply.  It will conform some to a round body but you can't cover the whole bait with foil or it will bunch up and develop seams - just down to the belly and up to the shoulders.  I paint those anyway, so no loss.  It's important to burnish the edges down so they don't show after texturing the foil.  Some guys like to coat the foil with clearcoat before painting.  I don't bother.  I texture them with the knurled knob from a Vise Grip.  Clean paint overspray after color basecoating with Qtips dipped in denatured alcohol, to keep the foil shiny.

  9. Blade Shad

    in Hard Baits

          6

    Posted

    Well, tried it and found the body was too light to sink even at 3/4 oz. it acts like a wake bait right now and am not sure the blade will be large enough to shake it if I add much more ballast. Think I need a narrower body with less buoyancy. Back to the drawing board!

  10. Blade Shad

    in Hard Baits

          6

    Posted

    Kayjay, the lip is the same as the blade on a Chatterbait, except it is Lexan instead of metal.  The line tie point is actually on the underside of the blade in the pic.  When retrieving, the blade pops up at a 45 degree angle to the bait and begins to 'chatter' back and forth, shaking the body of the bait.  I wanted a bait that would sink quickly and could be slowly retrieved along the bottom while chattering.  An actual Chatterbait does this and basically is a jig with the added vibration caused by its blade.

     

    Barry - I know it won't work in weeds like a Chatterbait due to the trebles - but I wanted a bait I could fish deep on ledges without grass, or for suspended bass.  What really prompted me to build it was having to buy expensive swimbaits to use as Chatterbait trailers.  Just thought I'd try building a permanent shad type body and save the expense.

  12. Little Peteys

    in Hard Baits

          10

    Posted

    Thanks guys!

     

    Zev, I used Venture Brite-Bak adhesive foil, which is thin but strong and has a very good adhesive backing.  It's designed for stained glass artists and the thinness makes it easy to burnish down the edges to disappear.  I understand they have stopped manufacturing it, unfortunately, but I still have part of one roll left!  I textured the foil after applying it, with the little knurled knob from a pair of vise-grips.  You can use any knurled wheel for texturing.  Some guys like the knurled shaft of an X-acto knife, for instance.

  14. First Attempts at Prop Baits

    in Hard Baits

          2

    Posted

    Nice looking topwater.  One enhancement you might want to try - if you dry fit the props onto a buzz bait rivet and sand down the rivet with a Dremel sander to make the rivet tube shorter, the props spin much easier because it eliminates any side-to-side flopping of the prop on the wire.  Not that it won't work great now - but it makes the bait easier to work.

  17. 1 IMG 0756

    in Hard Baits

          4

    Posted

    Thanks guys - I try to put the 'build formula' when I post a pic.  No secrets!  Forgot to add that the ballast is an integral weight/hanger .073 oz with 2 tungsten BB's behind the hanger, totaling .095oz.  The final lure weight with #4 trebles is .42 oz.

  23. Flat Shads

    in Hard Baits

          3

    Posted

    Thanks Ben.  The pic isn't very good - it was dark and cloudy yesterday.  The top bait has small scale, the bottom large.  This was an experiment building with basswood vs balsa/paulownia and making the baits thicker than the 1/4" width of a typical "D-bait" style crank.  I'm looking for more thump and better casting ability.  They baits weigh around .4 oz versus the .3 oz with balsa - but they float well and it will be interesting to see how they fish. 

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