Jump to content

JD_mudbug

TU Member
  • Posts

    419
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    55

Everything posted by JD_mudbug

  1. Four different #3.5 willow blades. Left to right are: LPO fish scale, LPO economy painted, LPO fluted, and Aliexpress on the right. The Aliexpress blade is steel. The fish scale and the chart have the same length and width. The fluted and the Aliexpress blade are the same length, both of them being shorter than the 2 on the left. The fluted is the narrowest followed by the fishscale and the chart blade. The Aliexpress is the widest and is almost an 1/8” wider that than the fluted at the midpoint from top to bottom and has the most cup. The fishscale has a curve from the eye to the tip that when sitting flat on a surface there is a gap under the middle. It is the only blade not to sit flat around the edges. I have not tried the Aliexpress blade yet. I cannot tell the difference in vibration between the other 3 as those don’t produce any noticeable vibration. The fishscale does seem to spin the easiest. I expect that the Aliexpress blade might actually give off a vibration due to the width in the middle.
  2. Here is a pic of some different #5 French blades so you can see the shapes. From left to right are LPO regal black nickel, Aliexpress, Mepps Aglia, and Mepps Black Fury which has a ‘Comet’ blade. The Aliexpress blade is steel. A magnet sticks to it. The other 3 are brass. I have not tried fishing with the Aliexpress blade yet. The LPO blade is the shortest. The Comet blade is the narrowest. The Aliexpress, Aglia and Comet are the same length. The Aliexpress and the Aglia are close to the same size, the only difference being the Aliexpress gets wider quicker going away from the hole. They all have curved cupping except the Aliexpress blade which has sharp cupping at the edges and a flat spot in the center. I have fished with LPO regal, the Aglia, and the Black Fury/Comet. If I had to rate vibration, Aglia was first, LPO regal second, and Black Fury last. That is also the order of the running depth with Aglia being the shallowest and Black Fury being the deepest. The different shapes have lot to do with it. I also think the pointiness/bluntness of the blade by the hole has an effect too. The Black/Fury Comet is very blunt by hole and seems to spin close to the wire compared to the Aglia and LPO. The LPO regal has the nicest reflective finish, followed by the Aliexpress, Aglia and Black Fury. The Black Fury does more of a strobe as opposed to a flash with the fast spinning dots looking like perch-like stripes. I can’t attest to the durability of the Aliexpress blade. The other 3 have been durable. Those 3 blades I have fished with have all worked. I have caught fish on all of them. They give you different options. The Black Fury/Comet blade is the hardest to feel in the rod tip. I will be testing the Aliexpress blade as soon as the weather gets better. The lakes are frozen but the rivers and streams are still open.
  3. A 5 to 10 lb bass would be a nice battle on a ML rod. We don't really get any bass over 10 lb where I am (10-8 is the NH record, 10-4 is the VT record). The biggest bass I have caught have been 8s. We have many pike over 10, plenty in the teens, and some break 20 lb. I also fish some waters with Musky but they tend to be smaller and far less numerous than the pike. Some waters have walleye with plenty over 5 lb and occasionally some over 10. Longnose gar and bowfin can also hit double digits but I have not hooked into a big one of either of those species. I have caught smallies, largies, pike and walleye on #5 spinners. I can't use ML rods in those waters. Even a Medium rod usually doesn't cut it. Pike and bowfin can be crazy during the fight especially when they get close to the boat. Compare the weight range of the rod if listed to your #5 spinner's weight just to make sure it is not overtaxed.
  4. That medium light rod might not have enough backbone for that spinner with #5 blade and 3/8 oz body. I throw something like that on a medium rod, MH if pike are around. Are you using a fast action or moderate action rod? I find on the bigger spinners that spinnerbait/crankbait type rod with moderate action helps me feel the spinner more. Maybe switch up the rod action to see if it helps feel the vibration more. I usually throw inlines on mono unless I am using a weedless swimbait hook inline on braid. I am using 10-12# mono on #5 spinners in bass waters (20# lb braid on the weedless swimbait spinner) . I go up to 14# mono and 30#lb braid when pike are present. 14# mono and 30# braid in weeds will give me a decent chance if I run into a good pike. If I am in pike waters, I will make a leader out of AFW Surflon Micro Supreme 7x7 Camo which is very flexible stainless steel braided wire which you can tie knots with. I will sometimes use a 50 pound flouro leader if the water is clear. I have tried 30# flouro and had bite-offs. I try to base my spinner weights on what the Mepps weights are. #5 is 1/2 oz, #4 is 1/3 oz, #3 is 1/4 oz. These weights are also the same as in the Janns chart. Sometimes I am a bit heavier than theirs but it doesn't seem to affect the feel of the vibration. There is definitely a range of weight a given blade size will work with. Once you get some .035, you can play with the weights and find what you like best. https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/content/make_fishing_lures.htm
  5. Yes, I like to include everything when I weigh the components on the scale. Sometimes the hook can be a decent percentage of the total weight. When you get into bigger hooks and ones with big dressings, they can add to significant weight. It's all sort of a balancing act and you have a range that will work. If you look at what you did with your .030 wire spinner, not only was the body upsized to 3/8 oz, the blade was upsized and the presumably the hook was upsized too. The increase in body, blade and hook adds up to a big total weight increase. On a #3blade spinner, I go with a #4 treble if in bass waters and a #6 if I am going for trout. On a #5 blade, I usually go with a #2 treble. I like my #5 blade spinners to weigh between a 1/2 oz and 5/8 oz total. If I am looking to making them run deeper and cast farther, I will go heavier and that does cut down on the vibration felt in the rod. My #5 blade 1 oz body spinners keep a constant bend in a MH or H power rod due to the weight which cuts down on the feel in the rod. They still catch fish. They run deep and if they weren't vibrating they probably wouldn't catch much. Like azsouth said, you are talking about the feel in the rod. Just because you don't feel it doesn't mean there is no vibration. Rod length, rod action, rod power, blank and guide quality, line and leader all play a factor in what you feel. Once you try a .035 wire, I would try a lighter 5/16 body. That should put in the ball park for a #5 spinner. Can you post a pic of the spinners? There might be something someone can spot by seeing them. You might be looking at the spinner when you the rod set up could be the issue.
  6. Yep, the Deep Secret. Probably the deepest diving small body lure. Speed Trap body, trench digger lip. There's nothing wrong with casting it once you get past the lack of a weight transfer chamber, some helicoptering, and the lip causing the lure to sail off course in random directions on nearly every cast.
  7. The wire size will affect rotation if the hole in the clevis hole is too tight and doesn't spin freely. If the clevis is too big it also may not spin. The blade may not be able to spin a clevis that is too big or the wire just rattles around in the clevis holes. Another thing to watch out for are stirrup clevises that are spread apart at the ends. I have some like that. They look like more of an arch shape than a lowercase 'n'. The clevis ends were close to a 45 degree angle to the wire. I had to squeeze the ends together some with pliers to get them closer to 90 degrees to the wire in order for them to work. If the wire is too thin for the body weight, the wire can flex and dampen vibration. Initially, I made my 1 oz body spinners with .040. The blade spun but I felt almost nothing on the retrieve. When I held the bait by the line tie loop, I could see the wire was bending from the body weight. I switched those to .051 wire which did improve the feel of vibration. Your 3/8 oz body could be making the .030 wire flex. Hold the bait horizontally by the line tie in the side of the vice jaws, slide everything toward the hook like it would be on the the retrieve, and see if the wire sags down. If you have a digital scale, compare the total weight of your assembled spinners. Compare that #3 blade with the 1/4 oz body to the #5 blade with the 3/8 oz body. That is a big jump in total weight. Maybe try a 5/16 body instead of the 3/8. Look at the weight range for the rod too. It could be the larger spinners are overtaxing your rod.
  8. I would estimate I use 60% French blades when fishing inline spinners. The other 40% is a mix of inline Panther Martin type, Colorado, Indiana, swing, and willow. I have the most luck with the French blades, especially in multi-species waters. By 3/8 oz spinner, do you mean a spinner with a 3/8 oz weight for a body or the total weight of the spinner is 3/8? If just the spinner body is 3/8 oz, I usually use a #5 French, #3 or 4 clevis, and .035 or .040 wire, mostly .040 due to pike. If the total weight of the spinner is around 3/8 oz as in a 1/4 oz weight body, I usually use a #4 blade, #3 clevis, and .035 wire. A #3 French blade would be harder to feel on a spinner with a 3/8 oz weight body. The spinner would weigh near 1/2 oz in total. The bigger the total weight compared to blade, the harder it is to feel in the rod. I bet there is still vibration. It is probably just hard to feel in the rod tip. If the blade spins easily, I would still try fishing it even if you can't feel it. Let the fish tell you if it works. I have a few spinners with a 1 oz lead body and a number 5 French blade. They cast a mile and I only feel the vibration close to the boat. It could also be your rod or line choice. I like to throw my spinners on a 7' to 7'6" rods. The longer rod helps in feeling the vibration. I usually go with medium power rods on the bass size spinners (#3-5 blades). I mostly use mono. On #5 blade 1/2 oz spinners, I use 12 lb. which is usually my default on the bass size spinners. I use anywhere from 6 to 10 lb on trout spinners (#0-3 blades). I will use braid when throwing a spinner with a belly weight swimbait hook and plastic trailer in weeds for hook-setting and cutting through the weeds. Also, if you get your blades from different sources you can check your blade widths. The LPO catalog has a blade size chart in the back or you can check the blades against any Mepps spinners you have. A size 3 from one place could be narrower than another brand's size 3. I have found some French blades that were narrower than a traditional French Aglia-type blade. The narrower French blades act more like a willow or swing blade (less vibration, more rotation and flash). These narrower French blades are more like the Comet-type Mepps blades. https://www.mepps.com/mepps-tactics/article/why-different-blades/421
  9. Matt, If you buy them in person, hold the bait up to a light and look for fisheyes on the lip. I have only found 2 new ones with fisheyes. I never noticed the fisheyes until I compared the old vs new baits. The new baits with fisheyes on the lips also have a small fish eye or 2 on the body towards the tail which can be hard to spot on the busier paint jobs. I often forget to look over baits in a store before I buy them. I never bothered to touch up the clear coat on those lips, but I did on the body fisheyes to protect the paint. Most of the new ones are well made. The body dents, even the large dents on the old baits, don’t affect the action. Mark, I remember your Speed Traps. They are impressive. Your pumpkinseed paint job on one of those would be deadly. Did you use polycarbonate for the lip? For more authenticity, you could have carved in a molding dent. When I find a lure I really like, I tend to buy a lot of backups. So, I have not had the need to make one yet. Over the past 5 years, I have started doing more pike/musky fishing. So, I have been making mostly larger hardbaits, inlines, and spinnerbaits. At some point, I plan on attempting a bigger Speed Trap that keeps the same tight wiggle. Happy New Year, Jim
  10. This is an update to an older post. It is long so I made a new post. Luhr Jensen Speed Trap – old vs. new, and the new Norman Speed N. Pre-2006 Speed Traps were made in the USA. The new ones are made in China. I compared 4 old ones to 4 new ones. In my unscientific opinion, I think the new baits are made with the same butyrate plastic and in the same or similar molds. The plastic feels and looks the same. The clear coat on the new baits does appear to be different from the old baits. The clear coat on the new baits is thicker. This resulted in slightly different dimension between the old and new baits. The diving depth for all 8 models appeared to be around 7’ on 12 lb. Yozuri Hydrid Line. The actions of the new and old baits seem identical. I fished all baits on the same rod with the same reel. The vibration from bait to bait was the same. I was fishing in 7 feet and just ticking the bottom. The rattle sound seems similar across all 4 pre-2006 baits. Three of the new bait sounded like the pre-2006 baits. One of the new baits seemed a bit fainter than the old ones. The tone of the rattles in all baits is similar. Molding ‘dents’ All of the old baits and 2 of the new baits have what appear to be small ‘dents’ where the plastic sagged into the body during the manufacturing process. The dents on the older baits were far more numerous and far more pronounced. Two of the new baits had no dents. One new bait had one very slight dent. The other new bait had two very slight dents. (Older baits) Pre-2006 - Black - has two dents on the belly in front of the hook hanger, a dent on the starboard side of the nose, and the starboard side of the tail. Pre-2006 – Metallic Perch - has two dents on the belly in front of the hanger, dents on the starboard side and port side of the nose, a dent on the starboard side of the tail, and a slight dent on the back near the top on the starboard side. This is the oldest bait in the group which I believe was made in the late 90s. Pre-2006 – Crystal Mudcraw - has two dents on the belly in front of the hanger, a dent on the starboard side of the nose, and a slight dent on the starboard side of the tail. Pre-2006 – Bluegill Perch (with orange sharpie on belly) - has one large dent on the starboard side of belly in front of the hanger. This dent is the largest and deepest by far. It looks like and inverted water drop. It also has dents on the starboard side and port side of the nose, a dent on the starboard side of the tail, and a slight dent on the back near the top on the starboard side. (Newer baits) Post-2006 – Blue chrome - has no body dents. Post-2006- Gun Metal Shad – has a very slight dent on the starboard side of the belly in front of the hanger and another very slight dent on the starboard side of the nose. Post-2006 – Breeding Bluegill - has no body dents. Post-2006- Mossback Craw – has a very slight dent on the starboard side of the belly. Because the few dents on the new baits appear in similar spots to where they occurred in the old baits seems to me that they are still made the same. Luhr Jensen must have figured out a way to mold the bodies with far fewer dents/sags. Clear coat On the 4 older baits, the clear coat is thin and uniform with no fish eyes. The clear coat on the newer baits is thicker. There are ‘fish eyes’ in the clear coat on two of the new baits so you can see that it is thicker than the old clear coat. Measuring the length and width of the body and thickness of the lip also indicate the clear coat is thicker on the new baits. The thicker clear coat may increase the durability of the new baits compared to the old ones that would not likely survive an errant cast into an object. This is not a complaint about these baits. I really like the bait. There are usually at least 5 in my tackle bag in different colors. They are very thin walled and were difficult to manufacture. The quality on the new baits has definitely improved. I have fished these baits for 20 years and have caught multiple species on them. The new ones and the old ones both are great fish catchers. The have a very tight wiggle that draws some vicious strikes. They are very stable and don’t blow out even on fast retrieves. The only disappointment I have in the new baits is they discontinued the Metallic Perch color - gold chrome perch pattern with the green chrome on the shoulders and orange on the belly. It doesn’t show well in the pics. It is a deadly bait in the Northeast as it looks like several of the local baitfish. INCHES Lip **** Pre / Post OUNCE Body Body Port Starboard 2006 Color Weight* Length** Width*** Thickness Thickness pre Black 0.334 2.6135 0.7210 0.0845 0.0845 pre Metallic Perch 0.322 2.6040 0.7185 0.0845 0.0845 pre Crystal Mud Craw 0.328 2.6210 0.7220 0.0840 0.0840 pre Bluegill Perch 0.340 2.6000 0.7205 0.0850 0.0850 AVG 0.331 2.60963 0.72050 0.08450 0.08450 post Blue Chrome 0.330 2.6460 0.7440 0.0970 0.0970 post Gun Metal Shad 0.363 2.6395 0.7450 0.0950 0.0955 post Breeding Bream 0.341 2.6395 0.7465 0.0955 0.0950 post Mossback Craw 0.358 2.6390 0.7445 0.0960 0.0955 AVG 0.348 2.64100 0.74500 0.09588 0.09575 Norman Speed N New Evoo 0.463 2.69800 0.82400 0.07300 0.73000 * Weight with no hardware. ** Length of body of plastic measured from above tail loop to noise point *** Body width just behind belly hanger **** Lip thickness on both sides as close as possible to center hump on the bottom side of the lip Norman Speed N vs. Lurh Jensen Speed Trap The Speed N is a new lure very similar to the Speed Trap. The Speed N is close in size to the Speed Trap with a similar action. The Speed N is also made of butyrate. The Speed Trap is available in more colors. The Speed Trap also has some bluegill colors and chrome colors which the Speed N does not. Hopefully, Norman will add more colors in the future. The Speed N is made in Guatemala. The Speed Trap is made in China. The Speed N dove to around 5’ on the same setup that the Speed Trap reached 7’. The Speed N is heavier and casts further than the Speed Trap. The Speed N I purchased had no defects. The Speed N had a tight wiggle very similar to the Speed Trap. They both have a similar lip design. Like the Trap, the N also did not blow out on a fast retrieve. I could feel the action of the Speed Trap a bit more on my rod tip. I guess I would describe the vibration of the Trap as just a bit crisper compared to the N. The Speed N did have a different rattle from the Trap. The Speed N makes more of a thud knock rattle. The Speed N has 2 chambers that run horizontally across the bottom of the bait that each house 1 fairly large ball. The balls have a limited range of motion, they can move and knock side-to-side. The Speed Trap has one medium ball in a horizontal chamber on the belly with very limited moment that provides a very subtle knock and a smaller ball free roaming in the open body that gives off a fairly high pitch rattle. I have only fished with the Speed N one time and caught no fish in 40 degree water so I can’t attest to its ability to catch fish. I have had years of success with the Speed Trap. It would be great to have a successful Speed Trap like lure that can hit shallower water. It will be interesting to see how the Speed N does next year. Neither lure performs well being dragged across 6 inches of ice. Jim
  11. Bass Pro/Cabelas has the 1/8 oz Buck-shot for under $8 if you are just looking for a cheaper price. They have that size for 4.99 and 5.49 depending on color. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/northland-fishing-tackle-buck-shot-rattle-spoon The rattle on that spoon looks like the XPS metal worm rattle or Catmaster brass rig rattle. Catmaster is in the UK. I have not seen the Catmaster rattle in the U.S. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-xps-metal-worm-rattle I think it would be cheaper to make your own rattles rather than buying rattles even if you use craft brass tubing. You could check craft and hobby stores for brass tubing. Sometimes the big box hardware stores have it the pull out boxes in the hardware aisle. https://www.amazon.com/PRECISION-METALS-8127-RND-Tube/dp/B000BQOPWM/ref=sr_1_5?crid=15105WV7KJUGN&keywords=craft+hollow+brass+tubing+1%2F8"&qid=1640556603&sprefix=craft+hollow+brass+tubing+1%2F8+%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-5 I don't have the Buck-Shot spoon. If you have one, you can measure the rattle size and buy tubing of the same diameter.
  12. I would tape or rubber band some lead to the side of the bait to get it to sit right and try a careful cast or drag along the shore. This way you can test lead in different places before modifying the bait any further. If you are looking at the bait on the retrieve and the right bottom is trying to roll up (a counterclockwise rotation), tape some lead on the bottom half of the right side. I usually attach lead from a 1/8" coil and keep it below the midpoint vertically. My first place to try is usually in front of the front belly hook. I have even used scotch tape applied to a dry bait. It usually gives me a few casts/drags. https://www.amazon.com/Bullet-Weights-1-Pound-Fishing-8-Inch/dp/B00CMR7EX0/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=solid+lead+coil+1%2F8+inch&qid=1640349450&sr=8-9 If I can find a lead amount and placement that corrects the problem, I will drill a 1/8” hole in the location of the taped lead. I drill up from the bottom between the bottom centerline and outer edge avoiding any internal hardware. You can angle the hole slightly outward if the bait gets wider as you go up being careful not to get too close to the outside edge. Slide the lead into the hole, tape over the hole or use superglue and test again. Once you confirm it's fixed, you can fill, seal and paint the small hole. I have had a dozen or so baits through the years that could only be fixed this way. Something wasn't symmetrical in the carving, ballast, lip or any combination of the 3. I have taken some old dud baits and fixed them with this method. Unfortunately, that was after paint. I figure it's better to have a 1/8" blemish than a non-working bait. If you can't match the paint, paint that spot red for the wounded bait look. When testing a bait pre-paint, I will seal the bait and hot glue ballast to the bottom for testing. This way I can get the ballast right from the start. I change the lead as necessary and retest. On a large bait, I will use a 1/4" lead coil for ballast. https://www.amazon.com/Bullet-Weights-1-Pound-Fishing-4-Inch/dp/B003OCAFEC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=35XE1OEHPRNUC&keywords=solid+lead+coil+1%2F4+inch&qid=1640352102&sprefix=solid+lead+coil+1%2F4+inch%2Caps%2C224&sr=8-1 If you have a bait with too much ballast, you can drill out some lead and fill the hole with craft dowels matching the drill bit.
  13. Nice paint job. Is the joint is free moving and not binding up anywhere through the range of motion? You might need to make the slots in the rear section a bit bigger or make sure both loops coming out of the front section are at the proper location and angle to the slots. Does the back section float up or hang down at an angle from the front section when at rest in the water? You would need to adjust ballast in one or both sections. If you can you get the diving lip out easily, I would try different lip shapes as the bait is already painted. I like to test my baits with different lips after sealing and before painting. You can use hot glue or even tape on the back of the lip for testing if you are careful. I have a bag of assorted lips for testing. I sometimes get surprised by which diving lip works best with a given body. It greatly increases the chances of a good running bait before I put any effort into a paint job. I have made a few baits like yours and they have similar lips to yours except they angled slightly more forward around 75-80 degrees instead of 90. Some lips are shorter but wider at the end, the lip angles out more from the sides of the bait. One of my baits didn't work well, probably due to my inconsistent carving. It did work great with a lip that had straight non-angled sides and had a round curve on the end. You could also try using a heat gun on a lip to give it a slightly forward bend so you can use the same lip slot to test different lip angles.
  14. In addition to posting in the Wire Baits Forum, it would help with a picture or link to the jigs you are talking about. They come in a wide variety of shapes. It’s tough to envision what to try without a picture of the jig. If you are talking more of a flutter spoon, on the larger ½ oz. lures, you could use a ¾” plastic jig rattle. Brass rattles are pricey. You could make some out of spent .22 ammo for the larger lures. Glass rattles are fairly fragile and would not hold up well on a spoon. https://www.lurepartsonline.com/Jig-Skirt-Rattles On a typical flutter spoon, you would want to put the rattle on the side that is on top when the spoon drops in the water and down the centerline to keep the flutter action. Typically, flutter spoons are tail weighted so the rattle would sit a bit towards the tail end from the midpoint. This will require hot glue and testing in clear jug of water to make sure you didn’t affect the action. Once you find the right location, you could permanently attach it with epoxy/gorilla glue, then paint the rattle and clear coat to ensure it doesn’t fall off. On the smaller 1” lures, you may have to make your own rattles. The initial cost would be more than a couple of lures but you could make hundreds of rattles in any length you want. Find some small plastic tube, small coffee stirring straws, water balloon filling straws from the bunch packs that attach to a garden hose, check craft and party stores or Amazon for those. You can also make rattles out of small brass tubing but that adds cost. There are all sorts of ball bearings on Amazon including tiny ones (3/64”, chrome steel are $10 for 2,000) . Skip to 6:00 on the video for making the rattles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfabbOYSpxo https://www.amazon.com/Chrome-Steel-Bearings-G5-5000-Balls/dp/B01AX6VFZO/ref=sr_1_69?crid=3V1FYLBH6ZYPI&keywords=3%2F64%22%2Bprecision%2Bball%2Bbearings&qid=1640065841&sprefix=3%2F64%2Bprecision%2Bball%2Bbearings%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-69&th=1 If you are talking more of a jighead as opposed to a spoon, you could make small rattles and tie them to the underside of the hook shank with matching colored fly thread and use clear nail polish to seal.
  15. I mostly make hardbaits. I started making my own in-lines over the past 5 years for pike primarily. I have only used craft store stuff for a couple of years. I am not an expert but it seems to be the same stuff. So far on the stuff I have tied they have held up well and the color has not bled out yet. I have heard the dye can bleed out but I have not seen it yet. If I were making baits for sale, I would want to use it for a longer period to be sure. For my personal use, the savings are worth using it. I would recommend going to a craft store to pick the best packs and make sure the feathers aren't mangled in the package. Some of the packages I saw in the store looked pretty crumpled and beat up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHUrrhxgEUk
  16. Welcome to the site. Jann’s Netcraft and Barlows Tackle have marabou. I don’t know if they ship to Canada. Thorne Bros. also has some marabou. https://www.thornebros.com/collections/feathers There is some marabou on eBay and Amazon too. Have you check craft and hobby stores? They have a variety feathers and marabou. For large quantities on magnum hex blades, have you tried Worth Co. ? They do some custom blade finishes. You would have to call them for the copper and black nickel as those aren’t in their standard line-up for magnum hex blades. https://lurecomponents.worthco.com/products/spinner-blades/magnum/hex For smaller quantities on blades (and a big jump in price per blade), Leaders and Lures has some copper and black nickel hex. http://www.leadersandlures.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=151 The musky shop doesn’t have hex copper and black nickel, but they do have some hammered #10s. https://www.muskyshop.com/collections/blades/products/blades-monster-magnum-blades-025-10
  17. The Huddleston 8" Trout is a wedge tail and is very effective slow rolled. You can crawl the 8" and the 68 Special and get a seductive kick. It is not a hard thumping kick. It looks like a fish slowly cruising or one that is wounded and limping along. The weight inside each model determines the rate of fall and where it is in the water column when retrieved. They have weights from 4 oz. topwater (rate of fall 0) to 5.2 oz deep slow rollers (rate of fall 16). The 4.2 oz. rate of fall 5 is a good shallow slow roller. I have not tried the 10" as there is a big price jump between the 8" and 10" inch.
  18. I use everything above depending just how I feel. I cut the general angle on a table saw for repeatability. You can use a vice and hand saw too. Just use something like a piece of leather to protect the wood in the vice or make or get some vice soft jaws. I use a Dremel with the bullet, ball or drum shaped bits. Some are metal, some are stone, some are a hard rubber for attaching sand paper to. I also use carving knives and sandpaper glued or held onto dowels. Curved carving gouges will also work. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Carving-Tools-Mallet-Carving-Chisels-and-Gouges-Sharpening-Stone-for-Woodworking-Wood-Carving-Tools-Set-With-Toolbag-Starter-Set-of14-15pcs/610843418?athcpid=610843418&athpgid=AthenaItempage&athcgid=null&athznid=siext&athieid=v0&athstid=CS004&athguid=tcVZFDGl1uN0vmeaZKcpYJZQ-efcL4fzOSDb&athancid=null&athena=true I have some concave faces I started by using the largest drill bit that fit into a drill or drill press and just using the tip of the bit followed by sanding. If you are looking for the exact same curve time after time, I would build a jig out of wood to hold the lure at an angle and drill the cup with a drill press and a ball burr bit. I have made spitting type poppers this way which have a very similar face to those Jplug type lures. The popper body is carved and weighted differently so the the face sits upside down compared to the Jplug. The narrower curve is at the bottom and the wider curve at the top so it spits a lot of water forward.
  19. I don’t recall seeing pointer blanks that small. The wLure UPM 762 blank is close. 75 mm (3 inch) including the lip. The body is 67 mm (2-5/8 inch). https://www.wlure.com/collections/blank-minnow/products/fishing-lures-blank-minnow-upm762-br-3-inch-7-32-oz?variant=15715392946294 https://www.amazon.com/wLure-Unpainted-Crankbait-Topwater-UPM762P10/dp/B07FMFWRFP/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=unpainted+lure+minnow&qid=1639353931&sr=8-8 Janns has a 3-1/4” 78 mm pointer blank - Springer 78 https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/crankbait-bodies/341122.aspx
  20. There are a lot of things in dollar, party and craft stores that can be found for cheap money. Some cheap materials are costume and party wigs, yarn, craft fur, tinsel and holiday decorations, paint brushes (fibers), feathers, braided tubing (mylar tinsel tubing, deco flex tubing), closed cell foam sheets, mop heads and cleaning mop gloves, and squishy wiggly silicone toys. Dollar stores are great for cheap nail polish and clear top coat nail polish for coating thread. Some free stuff: Feathers – check around bird feeders and around the shore at bodies of water. Feathers can be found anywhere if you look for them. I have also made tail fins for large swimbait from them. Old clothing and costumes – before someone throws out old clothing or costumes cut off any fur/hair collars and cuffs and any other material that can be used. Nylon or plastic rope strands. German shepherd hair- It helps to have one or a friend who does. Brushing strange dogs can be risky.
  21. If the bait is ready to fish, has action but tracks slightly to one side, this is when I bend the line tie. Shaving the lip could cause too much of a change to a lure that is only slightly off. Usually, only a minor adjustment is needed to the line tie. I have a crankbait tuning tool to slightly adjust the line tie. I don’t like using needle nose for this as you can’t be as precise and are more likely to crack the clear coat by applying unnecessary force. Shaving the lip is a last resort as you can’t un-shave it. You can end up chasing adjustments to each side of the lip. If the bait is running to the right, shave a tiny amount off left side. Make sure you do this in real small amounts and check it how it’s running each time you shave it some. https://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/6344-shave-a-lip/ As Travis says, if you are building lures, starting from a square or rectangular block is best to get everything marked out to eliminate issues from the start. After sealing and installing the hardware, I like to test my lures before spending time on a paint job. I seal the lip slop, but don’t install the lip. I can try different lips by using hot glue or using tape on the back of the lip. This way you can be sure you have the right size and shape of the lip for the body. If the bait stays on its side on the retrieve, I look to see how it sits in water. If it is not straight up and down and is titled at an angle, I tape/hot glue some lead to get it to sit right and try a careful cast and retrieve. This usually means the ballast and /or hardware wasn’t centered. If the taped lead causes improvement, I will drill a 1/8” hole on the side where I had tape the lead, add lead from a 1/8” lead coil, and seal the hole. If you somehow botch this, you can always drill out the leads and fill hole with 1/8” craft dowel and superglue.
  22. When buying something, make sure you read the printed measurements in the product description. Don't rely on the pictures for size. The stores typically show a hand holding the product in a picture. I swear sometimes it has to be a child's hand or a small woman's hand to make the product look bigger than it is. Convert the printed metric measurements to standard if you are not familiar with metric. Compare the measurements to a ruler so you won't be surprised.
  23. I use 1/8" inside diameter tubing. I mostly use latex tubing as I can use it as tubing on spinner hooks and also for attaching trailer hooks to spinnerbaits and buzz baits. It is flexible enough to get over most hook eyes. For dressings, I sometimes use a few silicone strands from old skirts. Pass the strands through the hook eye, fold down, and secure it with a small piece of shrink tubing slid on over and past the eye. For a weedless spinner, you can also use swimbait hooks with corkscrews to rig any softplastic as a weedlees trailer. Attach the swimbait hook to the spinner with a split ring. I have used hooks like an Eagle CLaw 249W on spoons. You could try some hooks like those on spinners.
  24. I thought the same thing about the type of wood being a factor. I tried to make a lure out of a hickory hatchet handle and the hardener did not seem to penetrate it. I had one made from a poplar dowel. I cut the V joints after the soak in the hardener and it looked like it penetrated an 1/8 to 3/16th of an inch.
  25. Is that the maple you were using? I got penetration when submerging 1-1/8" poplar dowels in the Minwax hardener. I hand carved and sanded them to a rough finish with 60 grit before dunking. I am surprised the vacuum didn't get better results.
×
×
  • Create New...
Top