whittler

Excellent work.

Ben, what do I win if I get the answer?

Nate one of the things about PVC is there is very little variation in weight, unlike wood. Dave posted the link to various woods and their specific weights but I can tell you that most woods vary quite a bit from that normal weight. With basswood I cut and cure my own and I can keep it fairly close but if you go to a home center or lumber yard there will be quite a difference, balsa also has quit a range in weight. Some woods will vary fron the chart as much as 10%. Be patient with PVC, if you are used to wood there will be a learning curve, think this is especially true with finishing, but once you get the hang of it I think you will like it.

Measurments of a PVC block. 1"x2"x3/4" 1.5 sq.in. 25.4mm x 50.8mm x .0295mm 38.064mm 13.802 grams 213 grains .486oz.

These crankbaits are all made from PVC, 2 3/4" long and 5/8oz. Plus there is one mini bait, also from pvc.

Absolutely. But it is pointless prototyping in a material different to your production, they will never balance or swim the same. By using PVC I can change weighting, hooks, lip style, lip angle and hardware right on the water in a matter of seconds and it is all with the material the bait will be made from. I have weights, with hooks and hangers, in garduations in grams from .5 to 6 plus lips in various styles and angles, all these can be changed by simply sliding them in or pulling them out. I use twisted stainless hardware and by simply bending the wire slightly they can be pushed in and out for testing and still hold well enough to make casts. How can modifing a mold, molding another bait then go test can be faster?

I'm with Marty on this, do you have any prototypes? Computer design will only take you so far then you have to put something in the water. Weighting and balance on a lipless is critical to get the correct action. From my point of view making a few prototypes to get hardware placement, weighting and the basic shape correct and the action you want, then go to the computer to refine the whole package. On my bench I have a dozen foam baits which were sent to me from 2 different guys to see if I can make them work. A couple very pretty baits but both molded in the lip slot and did not use any ballast weight which it must be drilled and installed after molding, a waste of time. The lip slot could be filled in and recut correctly all these modifications sort of defeat the purpose of the molding process. PVC, is a great material to use for protypes. Unlike a wood bait you can cut the basic shapes, install hardware, ballast and lips without having to seal it which makes testing prototypes much faster.

Just does not get much better than that, beautiful work there Marty.

Very well done there Marty. The black bait and the chartruse/black are always at the top of my favorite colors.

Nice Marty, the smallmouth should love em.

Beautiful baits Ben, have to agree with Marty those first two are killer.

Like Bob testing by most of us home builders is far from scientific but over a period of time you can sort a few things out. For me action is key then size of the bait and lastly color. The baits I used in the color experiments were all the same and are very close, action wise, plus two them had a craw pattern in the colors used and I used the other six for the color changes. Most of my fishing is done for smallies, in rivers, so I think that fishing for largemouth might get some slightly different results. Color was the only thing I was interested in. I do enjoy the beautifully painted and highly detailed baits but I think they are for us fishermen, fish don't seem to be that picky. Most guys just "chuck and wind" with crankbaits and do not truly fish them. Talk to a plastics fishermen an they will tell you how each is fished but if you mention actualy fishing a crankbait its a different story. I think this is especially true when fishing heavy cover, just go look at the number of threads on getting hung up with cranks. It is usually because the cranker is using the same technique for cover as he is for open water, "chuck and wind". With good equipment you should feel everything the bait is doing or it encounters in the water. like you Bob you should be able to feel through your hands exactly what the bait is doing. Man its nice to hear something other than what is your favorite or what is the easiest. Thanks Guys.

Posted this on the General section a couple weeks ago and should have posted it here to find if there are any other builders/painters who have tried any experiments like this. Living in east central Indiana I do a lot of smallmouth fishing in the three main rivers in my area. Most of my fishing is done using crankbaits about 80% of the time, maybe not always the best choice but it is what I enjoy most. The subject of color, color patterns and the detail of crankbaits is always a main topic of discussion anytime fishermen get together so I thought I would do a little testing of my own to see if it really makes any difference. The testing was done with a 3 color bait, one of my personal favorite colors, but using several variations of the same colors. The baits used were the same, Mdl. A Bomber Square bill in the 2 size, ( Gander Mnt. Bargin bin) no alterations were made except for color. The colors used were dark brown, chartreuse and orange and no other details were added. All the colors were airbrushed and no topcoat was used, since I would be repainting them often and a little paint loss was no problem. Experimenting with these baits over the last couple of years and have found a few interesting things. 1. No matter which order that the paint was applied made any difference in the ability of the bait to catch fish. Brown back, chartreuse middle, orange belly or any combination to these colors on the bait. No eyes, gill or fin detail was painted on these baits just the color order. Also tried a couple with the colors painted from front to rear. 2. If I detailed any of these colors by adding scales, craw patterns or eyes it did not make any noticeable difference in catching fish. They sure did look better though. 3. Did the same thing a few years ago with FireTiger colors with the same results. My own conclusion is that certain colors will catch fish, more by the colors painted than the order they are painted. The key is visibility in most water conditions, not Match the Hatch. Bass do not do a scale count before eating a bait.

Great loking baits there Marty, always look forward to seeing your work. No need to apologize for "standard" colors, they get that way by catching fish.

My grandfather and father were fishermen and since I can remember I was with one of them. Have been seriously fishing for bass since I was 15 and that was 55 years ago, still love it.

Nate, I don't think we have seen anything yet, Ben has a lot of talent. Testing is the only way to decide on topcoats and you are doing it right. Nice work by the way.

Which is it? Color or detail Living in east central Indiana I do a lot of smallmouth fishing in the three main rivers in my area. Most of my fishing is done using crankbaits about 80% of the time, maybe not always the best choice but it is what I enjoy most. The subject of color, color patterns and the detail of crankbaits is always a main topic of discussion anytime fishermen get together so I thought I would do a little testing of my own to see if it really makes any difference. The testing was done with a 3 color bait, one of my personal favorite colors, but using several variations of the same colors. The baits used were the same, Mdl. A Bomber Square bill in the 2 size, no alterations were made except for color. The colors used were dark brown, chartreuse and orange and no other details were added. All the colors were airbrushed and no topcoat was used, since I would be repainting them often and a little paint loss was no problem. Experimenting with these baits over the last couple of years and have found a few interesting things. 1. No matter which order that the paint was applied made any difference in the ability of the bait to catch fish. Brown back, chartreuse middle, orange belly or any combination to these colors on the bait. No eyes, gill or fin detail was painted on these baits just the color order. Also tried a couple with the colors painted from front to rear. 2. If I detailed any of these colors by adding scales, craw patterns or eyes it did not make any noticeable difference in catching fish. They sure did look better though. 3. Did the same thing a few years ago with FireTiger colors with the same results. My own conclusion is that certain colors will catch fish, more by the colors painted than the order they are painted. The key is visibility in most water conditions, not Match the Hatch. I have never seen a bass swimming along side a bait doing a scale count before eating a bait.

Fantastic work as always, John.

Try not to encourage him too much there Marty, he might get all big headed on us. Ben with the kind of work your doing now I can't wait to see what you will be doing in 6 months from now.

Most bait companies will replace broken baits. Just box them up and send them back with a short mesage of how they were broken and I'll bet you will get replacments, just give them the chance.

No problem, send them back and get two new ones.

Ben, after having a couple of your crankbaits in my hands I would find it hard to believe you will find anything that will give you a better or more durable finish than what you are using. (Great baits by the way) I have used and experimented with about anything out there and I always come back to epoxy. A lot of the topcoats out there simply do not hold up on a bait. Dick Nite's is about the only non epoxy I would trust and the reason is a few very good makers use it with good results. Automotive clear is great stuff but without all the proper equipment it is a very seriuos health hazard.

If you were comfortable and had good sucess with the New Balance then why change? I hate to order anything online unless I have handled, worn or tried the product prior to ordering. I still recall my father telling me " do not skimp on shoes or a matress because you will spend a major portion of your life in one or the other".

I'll bet anyone who has tried powder paint has at least a couple of those laying around.

I think that is the "Pot Luck" mdl.#2, used strictly for fishing in toilets.