David Reid

Ryan, Thanks. As I have to airfreight them I will probably bring several down. Will need to find an outfit that will pack them and send them to my freight agents Agents in Los Angeles so they can just be put on a plane. The basic air freight bill charges are pretty much the same for 6 as 1 and all I will have on top is the extra kg weight rate. Pete yeah I suppose the drill press is not a bad idea. You could probably use a fairly simple and cheap 12 v motor and run it off a plug in power pack if it will allow you to draw sufficient power. Advantages either way I imagine.

Thanks Pete, Yeah I think its Model 06003 or 06000. I dont think there is much difference between them as you dont normally use the lid although I may. I think the 06003 is the glass lid one and the 06000 is the metal one. Looking at getting some down and looking to see if someone who sells them in L A will deliver them to my freight peoples Agents there. I think they are actually made in China arnt they? The main thing is reasonably accurate temperature control. Anyone had any problems with them?

What is the correct model of Presto pot you are using? Is that the Kitchen Kettle Multi Cooker? Also has anyone used one of their bigger canner models? These certainly look like good solutions.

What is the correct model of Presto pot you are using? Is that the Kitchen Kettle Multi Cooker? Also has anyone used one of their bigger canner models? These certainly look like good solutions.

Mb, Posted something yesterday but it didnt come through for some reason. Try contacting Z-man by email: info@zmanfishing.com or phoning them: (843) 747-4366 or 1-800-822-3398 and they may be able to put you on to someone.

Yeah its a GY one if its a Gold Shiner or a Strike King skirt if its a Golden Shiner btloi. Available from a number of sources. Depends on where you are . Try LBF, Cabelas, or various others I imagine but first let your fingers doing the walking and ask Uncle Google the best teacher on the net he knows everything and can quickly sort it out for you and point you in the right direction. Without trying to be rude I never fail to be amazed at how many of you first time guys fail to exercise your intelligence do the preliminary search work and then be more specific. Its often hard to give an accurate answer when people havnt learnt to be more specific and only give you half the facts or generalities. eg. You could have said what it was attached to and included it if possible. eg a spinnerblade and type, or lure. PM me if you really get stuck and I will do what I can to help you a bit more. Good Luck.

Birdy and Roger, Final samples arrived Saturday so yours will be in the mail later today when I have sorted a few more things out. Please post pics at some stage as I am as curious as you to see how it performs outside NZ from the lures and spinnerblades you make. If anyone else wants some please PM me and I will eventually get round to it as I am interested in promoting the industry and will probably sell it from my site when I set one up although it is not top priority right at present.

Birdy, First samples arrived yesterday which was what I requested originally and nothing at all suitable in that. (just a number of small paua circles which take time to cut, and some small broken piece paua confetti). 2 more lots of samples coming up (from this and another supplier) and there will have to be something in that. One has to get it right. Rest assured Paua shell is a good solution and will repay any time expended. One supplier supplies to the Craft market and the other to the Commercial market so as I was a lot more specific in what I specified here we should get some of the right samples. I suspect the more appropriate stuff here might be the laminate Here is what the commercial guy said: In his first email he said:”We supply quite a few fishing lure makers both here in New Zealand and offshore in Australia, Hawaii and Florida. These guys are using our shell laminate”. And in his second he said: We will send you a brochure, laminate sample sheet and a few off-cuts of laminate for you to play around with. I think it best for us to supply you the basic 0.3mm thick laminate and you glue this to whatever is suitable for your production processes Further down the track if you require specific shapes laser cut from the laminate in reasonable numbers we can cost this for you later. Thanks for the Craft Warehouse details. Found them easy enough on the web and see they have 16 different sizes which is good. Will try to source them locally first as the need is likely to be ongoing but will get back to you if stuck. Again Thanks.

Where do you get the movable and fixed Teddy Bear style eyes btw? I have been looking for a source for them for a while.

Bb, You quickly demonstrate to me a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I take it a wake bait is towed on the surface or just below the surface. I also take it wake is influenced by size of lip too proportional to swimbait size, the bigger the lip the bigger the wake. I also imagine trolling speed has a bit to do with it. Interested in learning a bit more myself. Where does one find infomation? Thanks. David

Yeah I imagine it comes down to wether it swims or not and what action you get out of it. What Riverman is saying above strikes me as particularly good advice. As soon as you have made 2 or 3 you will also have a lot better idea too I imagine.

Mavrick, I cant really fairly comment as I have not made lipped swimbaits before but think your lip is a little too vertical and could possibly be inclined (slanted) forward a bit more. Others may be able to comment a bit more and agree or tell you & me I am talking through a hole in my hat.

Birdy,Yeah I live in Auckland. Lived in QLD a long time back when I was 20 and then again for 5 months on my way home after 5 years over in Europe. Came back with the idea of buying a particular piece of land at the southern end of Ellis Beach just north of Cairns and building a beautiful Mediterranean house there I had in mind. It would have been 20 years before its time and was a million dollar site. The social reporter for the Cairns newspaper at the time took me up there and lo and behold there was the exact house just being finished by a damn good European builder. Freaky. He had beaten me by 6 months. The odds on it being that piece of land, that particular style of house, getting around the 2 or 3 problems that site and design presented and a builder who could build it all coming together even today all these years later seem impossible. It taught me one thing and that is even when everthing is going your way and everything is stacked in your favour and life seems certain Life itself or Mother Nature will come along and kick the living crap out of you just for the hell of it. The other thing is to seize life by the horns which due to circumstances and virtually everything I own being stolen including all my tools of trade is what I seem to have been avoiding for the last year or so as I have fought to stop myself killing the ##### which is the real easy way out and am now changing. No probs re the paua. I have a nice guy down in the S I who is sending me up some samples and who sent me up an email last night saying he would be sorting it out today and puting it in the post so will ask him to include some samples for you as well. The measurements you have given will help. Later shipments we will have to pay for naturally as that is his business. Mainlanders here are damn good people once they have made up their minds you are a reasonable dude and in my case not a JAFA (Just Another F---ing Aucklander) ripping them off or freeloading. Will get back in touch with him this morning. Cheers

Birdy, Do a Google search under Surgical Tubing and I am sure you will find a local supplier of lots of small sizes. Let me know if you want some paua pieces along with some approx sizes. I have got someone down in the South Island sending me up some small pieces and some circles for something I am doing and he could probably include those as well so its just a matter of onforwarding them.

Birdy, Give up and quit while you are ahead. No seriously they look good and if that is your first proper attempt at making these lure heads I would say you are well on your way. Like I said originally there are lots of good people here who can comment and offer good advice. Cant comment fairly myself as I have not made heads but am interested and eventually will get round to it. Following are my comments for what they are worth: 1)Your masters probably still need a bit further polishing if there is any marks or blemishes being carried over. I dont know what grit you have polished those with but aluminium oxide instantly springs to mind. Also try some Autosol paste which is used for polishing metal and ss on cars. Available from good auto garages or someone like Super Cheap Auto. That Autosol is a good product and originally was developed for Rolls Royce. I have found with a little elbow grease and a good polishing cloth it works a treat. In your case spinning them on the lathe with some on a cloth will cut the time down dramatically. 2) I think this is probably better on the Hard Baits section rather than the Soft Baits. 3) 3mm ID tube seems pretty large to me and I would have thought was on the large size. (equates to just under 1/8"). I would have opted for something in the 1.6 to 2mm with a bit of a lead in through the nose maybe. Perhaps try teflon tube if you can source it. Wall thickness is not going to be that important cast in a solid head like this. 4) Have you thought of using some NZ Paua shell for inserts? Here they use it quite regularly and it makes some of the better and one of the best Marlin lure heads I have seen. Sure beats any other abalone shell around as the colours in those are too light and too white while the paua is a good blend of greens blues and turquoises. I will email you a picture. PM me your address and I will see wether I can obtain some samples from someone I know and post them over to you.

Yes it will increase your mileage slightly but nothing like that claimed. ie. more like in the range of 5 to 8% max not the 25 to 30% claimed. Often the improvement is something like 2.5% to 4%. It will give you increased combustion temperatures which often cleans the the piston crown and cylinder head and burns the carbon off which allows for better overall performance and combustion . It all comes down to cost. If you can buy your acetone cheap by all means do it occasionally to give your motor a good clean out but at the same time you need to be aware that acetone is a reasonably common additive used by some fuel companies in the States so often the improvement is absolutely minimal if anything. Also be aware that a number of these commercial fuel mileage additives often use acetone as the base. A better product in some ways although the combustion temperature is lower is butynol. Again like all these things it comes down to COST. Always remember there are plenty of good snake oil merchants out there and another waiting in line.

Savacs, I am still a little unclear as I dont make Hard Baits merely interested and just trying to help you. I am nevertheless interested as Urethane is generally a good product and is mostly biodegradable in the form of plastic as it largely breaks down into Urea. ie. it may fertilize the ocean and waterways and allow heavy plant growth and possibly even things like red tides but it mostly wont pollute and poison with plastic particles that wont break down. I would suggest you use Google and hunt around in Germany (.de) as undoubtedly they will certainly produce some very good product/s. I worked there many years ago and am well aware that while they like anyone make some real crap they produce some absolutely first class products and some of the best enviromentally friendly solutions available. (thanks to a lot of the young German people who are often a lot more enviromentally aware than some other Europeans and which has enacted some of the most progressive enviromental legislation regarding manufacture and use of this type of product/s) A name in the back of my mind from the Automotive Finish industry that springs to mind is Spies Hecker although they are mostly laquer orientated. They may be able to put you on to someone. Just Googled and came up with the following TX US company site: http://www.psiurethanes.com/polyurethane_products/polyurethane_water_clear_urethane.html?kc=LMeu9&src=google&gclid=CIHhjrDX_4wCFQmZbgodPzChDQ which you may be able to learn something from. I see Amazon also lists a book on Water-based finishes: http://www.amazon.com/Water-Based-Finishes-Taunton-Woodworking-Resource/dp/1561582360 which you may be able to source locally.

Savacs Urethane as a finish or what? You need to be more specific. Perhaps try BASF or a well known brand paint manufacturer and they may be able to help you or point you in the right direction.

Ultrabite was developed by CEFAS (the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Agricultural Science) in the UK which is a UK Govt research centre. It is based on pheromones and is such is an artificial pheromone product. We use it here but I have never used it myself. Some people swear by it and others dont. I think it comes down to: 1) how good the pheromones are and how closely they resemble the natural product. eg Artificial vanilla (vanillin) dosnt taste the same as natural vanilla no matter how much they push the product and get people to believe its virtually the same. 2) the species of fish you are targeting. For individual pheromones to work they need to target the specific fish they are aimed at. If using the product make sure you use the one most suitable for your fish. Dont just trust the retailer (they know stuff all and their interest is profit afterall) but contact the US Distributor of the product and get the appropriate info. I believe it is someone like Mustad. Take everything you are told with pinch of salt and give us your feedback.

Waterweasle, Looks like Crap, Give Up. No seriously I am only joking and there is nothing wrong with that. Never ever say "I'm just not that talented", that tends to show lack of self confidence and doubt, be Confident Believe in Yourself Practice Learn from others and your Mistakes and Never be afraid of Admiting them and the rest will follow automatically. Believe me that is the guts of learning most things in life and becoming proficient and skilled at them. I have used that philosophy and practical approach to learn all sorts of things in my life and the things I have learnt and done as a result already far exceed most things that most people could ever achieve in a full lifetime. The good thing about learning skills is often learning one thing makes something else further down the track so much easier. The thing to recognize is some things become easier the earlier you learn them while other things become easier the older you get and also vice versa as applies to things naturally harder. The trick is to learn them at the most appropriate time but in reality life is never logical and in progressive steps but in fits and starts so the earlier you can learn and accumulate a wide range of skills the more life in general will stand you in good stead. I agree with SS where he says "As long as the tail is very thin". More thinness will give you more flutter and movement in the water. So speaks a man who has yet to pour his first bait. My molds are on there way and I expect to be pouring in a fortnight and proficiently within a month although undoubtedly the learning curve will go on as long as I continue to pour baits. Its when we know it all we have stopped learning. That is true of virtually everything in life. Now I believe you could improve the thinness of the tail and the fluke edges themselves by: I believe looking at it this is from a 1 pce mold. 1) Having your plastic hotter than you are currently using or have used here. 2) Pouring from the tip of the tail back down the bait so the plastic tends to fall towards the body and fill the cavity rather than the other way round. 3) You can accentuate this by raising the tip of the tail end of the mold to allow natural fall and gravity to partially do the job for you. 4) Not overfilling the mold. 5) Allowing the tail to partially cool and then pouring the body or 6) Pouring the cavity and then topping up only the body section as it cools. Try all these things learn as you go and very soon you will be very proficient at it. Always remember Practice Makes Perfect and Rome wasnt Built in a day. (Its just as well Today they would bomb the crap out of it anyway). You are well on your way. Do several more attempts at pouring over the next few weeks and then compare your last baits with your first and I am sure you will see the difference. If you always strive each time to do better than your last pour and learn from every pour you do then the change/s will occur. Good luck and Good Fishing. (Remember thats where it counts). Above all have Fun.

Nothing wrong with Brissy shes a good city. Lived there and worked around Queensland when I was 20. Used to live in Clayfield which was nice and handy in those days. Probably wouldnt know the place these days. I am from over the ditch. Re your molds what grade of Alu are you using? That could be a bit of your problem if you havnt got the right grade. Most alu is hard to machine and get a top finish as I am sure you realise. I have a toolmaker I use here from time to time for making the odd thing who is pretty good and he always makes sure if I supply the material I get the right grade and from the right source. I always use to think if it was the right grade it would be pretty much the same regardless of the source and supplier but apparently not. Seems to know what he is talking about as he has a reasonable toolroom and equipment is always busy has some pretty important customers and does relatively sophisticated work. Also are you using good cutting tips if using a CNC? Or are you just using a manual lathe? Most interested in seeing the sort of thing you are doing.

Sock, Like I said do your costing and you should have a pretty good idea of what it cost either way. Retailers often dont have a clue and will often push you towards the most attractive and presentable packaging until you give them the real facts and costs but to some degree you have to listen to them as they will often give you info and details you would otherwise miss or overlook at times. Good luck with whatever way you go and remember its a learning curve that will open up other possibilities. David

Vm, Whats wrong with cricket its not our fault you know that these Aussies cheat to win, they cant be that good can they? (or maybe they can when it comes to cricket). Mind you we like kicking their butts and we do a reasonable job of it from time to time with other sports. Welcome Birdy. Where are you from mate? NSW or Queensland? There are some very good luremakers on this site and I am sure can help you. If you are looking for ideas a good book apparently is Fishing Hawaii Style, Volume 3 by Jim Rizzuto. see:http://www.hawaiifishingnews.com/books.cfm or below: That should get you started and if not some of these Southern California or East Coast guys should be able to help. FISHING Hawaii Style, Vol. 3 by Jim Rizzuto Fishermen continuously adapt, invent, innovate, improvise, modify, modernize, create, construct, contrive, devise, fabricate - the list is as endless as the results of their ingenuity. We've collected thousands of these ideas, selecting hundreds of the best to include in Volume 3 of this best-selling "FISHING Hawaii Style" series. Here, you will find tips, tricks, techniques and projects to make your fishing more enjoyable and successful. Regardless of whether you fish from a boat or shore, the surface or the depths, for big game or small, you'll find useful suggestions and helpful advice. These ideas spring from the experiences of many of Hawaii's most successful fishermen, and the staff of HAWAII FISHING NEWS is grateful for their help. As you look through this book, you'll see the names of great fishermen - and of others whose ingenuity shows they are well on the way to being great. Use the lore and wisdom in these pages as starting points for your own special fishing ideas and unforgettable fishing adventures. FISHING Hawaii Style, Vol. 3 U.S. $26 - FOREIGN $40 (Includes postage, handling and applicable taxes) Please Send Check or Money Order (in U.S. Dollars) to: HAWAII FISHING NEWS P.O. Box 25488 Honolulu, Hawaii 96825 Phone (808) 395-4499 FAX (808) 396-3474 E-mail fishnews@hawaii.rr.com

Sock, The sort of thing DP is talking about are definitely called clamshells. You can buy these with or without hang tabs. Google them or do an advanced search. The advantage of these is you can use a stick on label (front or back) or use a printed header card you staple to the clamshell. (the advantage here is these are mostly anti-tamper and theftproof. Clamshells also come in hinged 1 pce or 2 halves and are often made so they clip together. They also come in single compartment with a slide in back but I wouldnt advise these as the cardboard will probably get wet and messy and are probably not the best option. ( matter of cost really though). I once read the results of an American survey that said 70% of Fishermen automatically agreed they shouldnt litter but that 70 to 80% of them actually did which is probably true. (in that way they are like cigarette smokers who know its wrong but the vast majority of whom drop empty pkts, cellophane, butts etc everywhere). Also available and they use here are Hook envelopes complete with hang tab which you can only put a very limited number of hooks in but you can also slip a display card into often printed both sides. These are the best for retail packs but because you can only put a number of hooks in them are probably not suitable here. Heavy Plastic Bags with a header card are probably your cheapest and best bet though. In this case a Ziplock with a header card and backing is probably what I would use. 10,000 hooks while it seems a lot is not and only makes 400 x 25 pkts or 100 x 100 pkts. Do the costing and I think you will find it will cost you at least 20, 25 cents or maybe as much as 30c pkt for clamshells versus PBs. That amounts to an extra $120 for the 400 pkts or at least $30 and more like $60 for the 100 pkts. Before you make any decisions figure out how you are going to do your labels. Most inkjet printers will do labels (see Avery etc) and most will also do light card. You often need a guillotine as well (and thats not for your wife or girlfriend btw. You have to figure it out and learn yourself which all take time). In the first instance you probably wont make money but it will quickly teach and give you some necessary skills re merchandising. To get labels/ cards printed independently will tend to make you broke unless you are talking at least 2000 + which you aint here. I could give you heaps of advice as I have learnt most of these things the hard way over the years but dont have time at present. If you meet resistance from retailers listen to them and take in what they say but then give them the option of PBs or Clamshells with the proper extra prices added on and I suspect they will backpeddle virtually everytime. Good Luck.

You mean a)he pours the mold with the split ring in place and you then insert your hook, or you add your hook to the split ring and tie your line to the split ring as well? Done that way your split ring is not going to slip off the stick/worm. With a bit of thought there is a lot of potential and options there.