highwayman

Well we've hijacked this post pretty well(sorry about that) so I guess a little more won't hurt.In looking at a lot of how to make glide bait videos.I've noticed that most of them are flat sided Is there a reason for this shape?The wide glide isn't but most others are.I'm thinking that if moving hooks etc. doesn't work that maybe I'll flatten the sides and see how that works.And if that doesn't work I'll put a bill on it and make it a crank bait.

Wow Mark if you've given up on them maybe I should reconsider (just joking--I think)Like I said before,I got the level sink the way I want it it's the diving that's an issue.I thought I might move the back belly hook to the tail to aid in lift but that will probably screw up the level sink .Just have to experiment some more.

Wholy crap!9 oz.That's one BIG bait.Glad it's you and not me throwing it .My bait is only 6' and I put the weight between the two belly hooks.( no tail hook) I don't know how much weight was added-I told you I was a hack it's all by guess and by gander.I would say the whole bait weighs between 2.5 and 3 oz.I changed the line tie position today but will have to wait on mother nature before the next test swim.I think I'll bring a drill and pliers with me next time so I can change the hook location if I have to.

That's pretty much the way it went for me DoubleT.I thought I was going to be much closer than the result.Maybe that's what made it so disappointing.The other thing that I didn't mention was when it did glide a bit, it wanted to only go one way.The weather people are saying 5-8 " of snow tomorrow so it looks like I'll have some time to work on it.COME ON SPRING!!!!!!

I made a glide bait out of PVC using the make lure video as a guide and tested it today. It didn't go well.I got it to sink slowly evenly by using a rather big piece of sheet lead that is used for flashing.I had high hopes I was on the right track but it didn't happen.Level slow sink was okay but when snapped it nose dived toward the bottom and didn't glide much,I removed the line snap-not much change,Removed the front hooks-little change.Discouraged-quit.I intend to change the position of the line tie to below center which I noticed the River to Sea Wide Glide(what I'm trying to copy)has.The other thing I noticed is that the video lure has an evenly tapered head with a centered line tie- the production ones have a more bulbus head with a line tie below center.Such is life for an hack lure maker;I should be used to it by now.It's the good thing about having a lot of projects going.I can put it aside and go on to the next idea then come back to it when the disappointment wears off.

I also had trouble with airbrush painting so I solved it by giving it away.Firstly I sucked at it and secondly I do so few lures I was spending more time cleaning than it was worth.Airbrushing isn't for everyone-just the talented!What I have started doing is using Sharpies over foil with good results.They are transparent and detailing is easy.One issue that just happened to me is when adding denatured alcohol to thin the devcon it has a negative effect on the Sharpie ink.Dark green turned blue and orange disappeared.It's easy enough to fix;just re-Sharpie it when the epoxy dries and recoat it with unthinned Devcon.

www.realisticwraps.com has decal type diecut things that you apply then heat.The diecuts are designed for specific lures.They said that s-weavers are coming out soon.Guys on this site probably hate these type (Jigskinz too) finishes because it takes all the craftsmanship out of the equation but they look good and are easy to use.Right up my alley-no talent nessary to get a good looking bait.

All the bucktailed hooks that are manufactured are way overpriced in my opinion.There is probably a tutorial on this sight but all I do is cut off a length of bucktail;stick it through the eye of the hook;even it off on either side of the hook,slide a short length of surgical tubing (usually red) over the eye of the hook and the bucktail.Then I coat the tubing and some of the bucktail with epoxy.When the epoxy cures ,trim off the bucktail that goes through the hook eye and maybe put a second coat of epoxy on it.I've done a few with flashabou and flashabou accent that gives more color choices and more glam.Give it a try ;it beats paying $1 (or more) apiece and it's pretty easy.

My father-in law gave me an older (1950's) Shop Smith.I've turner out quite a few lures with it.Poppers\chuggers are a piece of cake.Through wire drilling is pretty easy with this unit.There are all kinds of things you can do with wood or PVC.Nice buy; you won't be sorry.

It's a work in progress and I haven't gotten quite that far.I'm thinking of using two #8 colorodos which have quite a bit of lift so I'm thinking maybe an ounce or more.Something I'm sure I'll have to fart around with.The other consideration is not to make it so heavy that it wears you out using it.After throwing a 1oz spinner bait (which isn't big in musky standards)all day;I'm spent.{I'm also old}.

It's pretty substantial-.031 I think.It's stainless steel filler rod that I use for through wiring hard body plugs.

I've looked on another site on how to construct a large in-line spinner and have questions about the design and hoped you musky guys might help me out.My biggest issue is the front hook was attached by putting a split ring on the treble hook and then just sliding it onto the wire through the split ring.It seems like this would put the bait out of balance.Having a single wire construction may cause the bait to get bent out of shape need frequent retuning.I was thinking about putting some weights, beads, blades etc.on a wire that is separate from the back half skirts,heavier weight,etc using a split ring to connect together making a hinge effect.Just a couple questions and thoughts any of yours would be appreciated.Thanks

I like to use jerkbaits so I've been building some.I recently bought some blanks with a fixed weight and 3 movable rattle/weights.The weights can travel from the nose to the tail with some interference from the belly hook hanger inside the blank.It seems to me that this style construction would cause the bait to act differently depending on where the weights come to rest inside the bait.When I float tested the baits they stayed level when the weights stayed toward the front which is what I want.I drilled a small hole near the belly hanger and inserted a wire to prevent the weights from going past the midway point.I was just wondering if I missed something with this style construction.

I recently bought some 5" minnow blanks from LurePartsOnLine for less than 1$ each:what a deal!They looked good,clear plastic,fixed balast,3 moving weights,scaled sides,gill plates,recessed eye sockets;I repeat what a deal!UNTIL I taped some lead to the belly to get the bait to suspend and float tested in the sink.They leaked ----like a seive.When I tried to get the water out it came out by the belly hook hanger.I'm still going to use them I'll just have to screw around with them more than I wanted to.I guess the old addage"If it seems too good to be true;it probably is" held true in this case.Or "You get what you pay for" may be more appropriate .Beware

Testors makes some transparent paints for model making.One color I like is lime gold matallic.

Netcraft has some that are rated for 35# test.If two bead chains are used per section I would think that would be plenty strong.I'm trying to make a Tru-Tungston four section clone.The flexibility of the bead chain is what is appealing.I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and buy some and give it a try.I've got a couple other projects on yhe bench that aren't as flexible as I would like ;maybe bead chain can rescue these too.

Has anyone tried bead-chain as a swimbait joint?

I agree with everything thats been said before.The other thing that is benifical is not having to deal with wood grains when through drilling.I don't have drill bits long enough to through drill long slender baits so I have to drill from both ends and meet at the belly hook opening.This is really hard to do with wood but pvc is much easier.

Mark you may have confirmed my biggest fear.I repainted an old out of production lure;Doll Top Secret I think;and have done pretty well with it.My fishing partner is impressed too so I thought I'de make him one.The rub is the original is hollow plastic and mine is solid pvc.All the while I was working on it the different base material was on the back of my mind.I haven't finished it yet;maybe I'll get lucky and it will work.

What do you think would happen if instead of putting the balast weight on the bottom(belly) of the bait,moving it up closer to the center of the bait.The thinking is that the bait will become more unstable and may give the bait more action.I've been toying with the idea but haven't tried it yet.

Lure shape has a big effect on balast.I made a slender minnow bait that I wanted to suspend.After tank testing to get a total balast weight,I divided the weight somewhat evenly along the belly of the bait but when retank tested it was terribly tail heavy.I then realized that the less bouyant mass needs less weight\ more mass more weight.I've made short fatter baits with not alot of difficulty with ballast .I guess this lure making thing is a live and learn lesson;sometimes learned the hard way.

Nice solution to a tricky job V-man.It sucks to get that far along in a process and have a failure.I've read on other sites that pretty compitent builders won't build jointed baits because of the failure rate.I can't help thinking that the hinge issue is the cause and your idea may be the cure.Well done.

Thanks guys.I'll probably have to make a couple different weighted baits (if it works at all) as our New England goes from liquid to solid and gin clear to pea soup during the course of the season.I use a smaller version for pike pretty sucessfully and thought a larger one would work.I've already drilled holes in the belly before and after the belly hook hanger.The plastic on those things is so thick I tapped the holes and used set screws so I guess I could add and subtract weight as needed.I see alot of old beat up Rebels at flea markets and figured if I can get them cheap enough it would be a home run.Thanks again

I;ve been working with an old saltwater Rebel and want to get it to suspend but have questions about the weight/sound thing.At first I was going to use bb's,then small lead sinkers,then because I never heard a stickbait sound like a v8 with a broken connecting rod maybe no sound and use sand or something that doesn't make noise.You guys never disappoint;any opinions?thanks

I've been having a hard time finding Devcon 2-T 30 min. epoxy here in Mass.Wall-mart used to have it but stopped carrying it as well as alot of other stores.Lord knows I'm not trying to start an arguement over Dick Nite or Envirotec;I want to know if another brand of epoxy has the some properties of Devcon.Mainly waterproof and non yellowing.I've had good results with Devcon and would continue to use it if I could find it.