whittler

As a confirmed crankbait user for a lot of years it has always been my opinion that color is at the bottom of the list of things I look for in a crankbait. I personally make most of the crankbaits that I use and do a lot of repaints but if you were to look in my tackle you would be amazed to find 90% of my baits can be covered in a very few basic colors. If I have black, white and something either green or brown I'm good to go. Don't get me wrong I do have a lot of other custom makers/painter cranks and they are beautiful but the baits I use the most look more like they need paint. If you send the "Worlds Best Painter" a bait that you cannot buy a fish on I'll bet it will not catch any more with the most beautifully and highly detailed paint job. Select a crankbait by action, depth, size and type of cover your fishing, you will put more fish in the boat than any $15 paint combo.

Broncoboxer, the hooks on those are VMC 1 octopus.

Fantastic looking baits there Marty. I'm a big fan of wake baits, especially post spawn and those are some of the best I have seen.

British Prime Minister Chamberlin had the same idea with Hitler, just give in a little bit and he will be satisfied. You all know how that turned out. Thank God the men at the Alamo did not share that idea.

They are all great looking baits Marty, but I am partial to that wake bait.

Usually when I make lips make 4-8 at a time in any given pattern. The pattern is made by laying it out on 1/4" squared paper, marking a center hole from a centerline. Next I cut the pieces to rough size and fix them together with a very small amount of contact cement. This allows me to cut them to shape and drill the hole for the wire on all the lips at one time. I make the pattern from metal so I can always duplicate it again. Did not mean to sound like a wise guy, but wasn't sure what you meant.

Captain Obvious, you drill a hole.

Thanks guys, glad you like them. Florida strain, on these small baits the single hook works fine on the fish and comes through weeds and light cover great.

Here are a few mini cranks, 1 1/4" long. A few foils in the mix with some regular paint.

They all look like keepers to me, excellent work Mike.

I have an HP-C and an HP-CS, like them both. Have had the HP-C for about 8 years and the HP-C about 3 years and have had no trouble with either one. You can't go wrong with Iwata.

Just some beautiful work there Mike, can't pick a favorite.

It has been about 3 or 4 months since I last posted here, or anywhere else for that matter. I have checked the site and have been keeping up with all the new stuff and new members in the Tacklemaking section. Some great work guys. Finally able to get back in the shop and start building again, kind of missed the smell of sawdust, epoxy and paint fumes. Here are three 2 ¼ crankbaits made from PVC that were just finished.

At one time we had a ghost but fortunately for us he had a very serious altercation with the Tooth Fairy and has not been seen since.

How old are these baits and are they wood or plastic? Some of the old wodden baits are worth far more unaltered than with the best finish you can get, plus if you have the boxes the prices can more than double. Antique baits are like any other antique. If you could post some pictures or give some information on exactly what you need done it would help with your responses.

Super paint there Mike. Are you going to the Indian Fishing Expo, this weekend?

Nice work on those Marty. I know what you mean about those foil scales, if you charged by the hour it would triple the price of the bait. I still have a couple of those with complete scales somewhere that I dig out once in a while just to remind my self, what were you thinking.

They all look like bass killers to me Mike.

Thanks guys, gotta have a little fun whenever possible.

Sorry about the Richmond show. This will be the fifth year for the Indiana Fishing Expo and it gets better each year. The man who runs the show is very selective about the vendors and the seminar speakers. The show covers all types of freshwater fishing and there is something there for everyone.

Super fine looking baits Marty.

And the winner is.............................. buzzcatcher pm me your adress and I will send you a pair.

What do you think they will be when they grow up? To the first person to tell what these will be/look like, when the hardware is installed, I'll send one. One guess per person. Results at 10:00 tonight.

Man, what can I say, just some fantastic work and a lot of it. You have been busy. Always looking forward to what your gonna come up with next.

Joe, check the CTS (coolant temp sensor), easily checked with an ohmnmeter. The CTS preforms the same function as a choke on a carb system.