crankpaint

Hello my and names John aka crankpainter started out with fly's for trout and bass at age 9 I'm now 54 and live in W.V. near New Martinsville i found this site a few years ago and now make and sell enough baits to keep my truck full of gas so i can fish anytime i want under the name Uncle John's Baits(muskie and bass). I'm retired from the coast guard so waters near and dear . I've learned a lot from the great people on this site and try to post helpful info when i can and to throw some ideas out there to get something that works better then when it started i also donate baits to the local V.A.hosp. as thay have a fishing outing a few times a year.for the vets stuck in the hosp. for illness's.or age so thats me in a nut shell

no i just sell from word of mouth if someone contacts me for a custom color or repaint another persons bait in some of my colors i do that but really dont avertise much as its still a hobby for me

I use the hobby paints sometimes to get a diff. look but I thin them a lot before using it about 50/50 with most work well using homemade reducer(the recipes on here for those who want to try it)as for the transparent paints i use them a lot on foiled baits as it lets the foil show thru the paint getting it to reflex the light and shine it also brightens up the opaque colors and lets some of the details show thru.

thanks mark the golden shiner works for big bass too its a 10 inch bait

you might want to try putting a sanding sealer on the bait after you make it then the sealer will help keep the stain from going under the tape,also try using less stain and do two or three coats letting it dry between coats to keep it from bleeding under the tape.The only other way i can think of is to try to inlay the diff. types of wood to get the diff. colors as there are a lot of colors to chose from that way

I just finished posting some baits i make and foil them then epoxy then paint as its makes the bait look a lot better that way becouse if you paint it first any slight flaw will show in the paint (like the edge of the foil or a small dent in the wood)with the epoxy over the foil and wood first it acts like a filler and smooths everything out so you get a better looking finished lure

you might try limited ed. baits i do some of them and do ok and you can sell them for a few dollars more

just thought of' a few ways to make a little $$$ with lures like putting them in frames and selling as artwork 'keychain maybe sell a few to the local taxidermist for his fish mounts used in the local store so your lures are in the public eye.i also made card holders and put them in the local eatery just thought this might help everyone in the T.U.fourms

look at the way solorfall makes his scales theres a video on utube that shows a 3d effect that he uses you can use that uses a stencle for the scales just hi-light the edge with whatever color you want and use a darker color for the scales main color so it will look like 1 scale is tucked under the one in front of it

heres a size diff. in the bass bait and a muskie bait a big bass bait is up to 10 inch.s long .where a big muskie bait can be 15 to 20 inchs long

try leaf green and golden yellow at about 6 to 1 and mix if its too light add a drop more green

you might try a few light coats of clear acrlic spray to seal your lures it drys fast and can be applyed about every 15 min what i do is spray a light coat and let it dry then a light sanding with a 3m sanding pad then reapply another coat when its dry i paint the lure and spray another coat over the painted bait then when its dry apply the d2 and havent had prob. with bubbles

where you from in pa? im down in w.v. about 1 hour south of wheeling