whittler

That is a very impressive pait job.

All three are great looking baits but the TN shad is a favorite of mine.

There are two that I use most, both have great service and quick delivery times. Jann's Netcraft and Barlow's

Neat bait, always good to see another baitmaking addict. One thing I will tell you is that when BigM talks baitmaking it's wise to listen.

Amen Stringjam, the bass will tell you what they want, the problem is we don't listen too well.

Great baits Marty. The color on that first bait should be killer in murky water.

Alright, there is one neat bait, nice work. A little trick when putting foil over netting, after you burnish the edges use a pencil eraser to push the foil into the net, it really makes it pop when the top-coat hits it.

Jeff H, since it's Sunday, I'll have to give a big Amen to your observation on Marty's baits.

Simple is always hard to beat, neat looking baits Marty.

Chugbug, there are several ways that this can be done. The two I use the most is put the netting in a needlepoint hoop, do not strech it tight, and hold the bait against the net while shooting one side then flip the bait over and shoot the other side. The other method I use is cut the netting in peices that will fit over your bait with about an inch to spare on each side then pull the netting tight over the bait and secure with spring clothespins on the bottom. Every maker has his own method but those are the two I use most. Pm me and I'll get you a picture of my setup.

Three things can happen here that will cause this problem. 1 Improper mix ratio, 2 did not mix well enough, 3. epoxy does have a shelf life, its rare but once in a while you get some bad stuff. Shelf life or maybe in shipment it was exposed to high heat, don't know which but it does happen. The good news is a carefully mixed second coat will solve the problem.

Your goint to have to hide behind a tree just to keep the bass away till you get them tied on. Great colors Marty.

Take a Break Marty, man you have been cranking them out latley. Especially like this group, great colors awsome work. How does the little square lip on the bottom run, looks like it should be a killer.

Start with a plan. The biggest mistake with new baitmakers is they want to have a finished bait in their hands in ten minutes. If you were building a house you would not start at the roof and build down and it is also true for baitmaking. Get you materials and tools together first then think your way through, seal and test before finishing and top-coating, then it is easy to make corrections. There are a lot of baitmakers on this site that will help you but if you are jumping back and forth in the process you will not get much response. Some of the information may be well meaning but like melting lead in aluminum foil is just plain dangerous, take some of the advice with a large spoon of salt not just a grain.

Making a spoon from foil and melting lead has got to be one of the most dangerous situations in pouring lead that I can imagine. Do not be in such a hurry to make a bait that you risk some really serious injury.

My personal choice, on crankbaits, is a Duolock snap, and I have never had an issue with them. Brian Huskins (Brian's Bee's), one of the nationally known bait makers reccomends a snap along with a split ring to get the most out of his baits and reccomends against the use of an oval split ring on any crankbait. His baits have won thousands in tournaments, plus thousands of hours testing an I'm thinking his advice carries a little more weight most. Anyone here believe a bass makes a scale count on a bait before he grabs it, just to make sure its the real thing?

Any fabric store or a Walmart will have wedding veil in several size of mesh, $2 will get you enough to do a couple thousand baits. You may however look a little weird sorting through the veil material but it is the price you pay for membership in baitmaking.

Beautiful paint job, excellent work. Welcome

Every bait maker has a version of firetiger on their color chart, clear water dirty water and anything in between it's a good choice. Firetiger has most of the basic attractant colors chartruse, yellow, orange, green and black and dependent on the maker they are painted in spots, stripes and to many other patterns to count. Old colors, like old baits that have been around for years, there is a reason. it works.

Love the paint on those Megabass, and I'll bet it will stay on for more than a couple casts, unlike the factory paint. For a $20 bait they have the most fragile paint jobs out there. Are you still using Flex-coat?

Those look great Marty. Flex-coat and E-tex are very similar in use and in the look of the finished bait but like you said two coats are usually required. I have no trouble with yellowing of either epoxy like with Devcon.

Nothing good happens when thinning D2T, or most any other epoxy, except it is easier to brush. If you want longer pot life Flex-coat, Envirotex lite or Nuluster55 are better choices. If your set up to shoot solvent based paints then automotive clear is a good choice but a quart is about the smallest amount you can buy, big bucks. You might try a coat of Createx clear, allow to dry 24 hours, then glass resin, it would be worth a try if you have a lot of resin on hand.

Ebby, certainly a much better bait than the last, plus you are beginning to become your own critic and thats where you will start to see some real progress. Looking forward to seeing your next project. Patience and pratice.

If you ever wonder why a bait is still around and almost unchanged for well over a half century the Jitterbug is a prime example, it catches fish.

The only problem with using automotive clear is that you will need an exhaust system or with any other solvent based paints or clears. With the water based system an exhaust system is not needed. If you sprayed with automotive paints then why not use the auto clear, it is tough stuff.