whittler

Thanks guys, your comments are appreciated. BLee, you might want to take the hooks off before palying with them in the tub. Yes swimbaits will catch fish, same size bait as the others just a different color.

These swimbaits are 7 1/2" long and about 2oz. and handmade from PVC. E-Tex is the topcoat.

Ben, at a tackle show you are dealing mostly with men but at a craft show you will be dealing with women and thats a good thing. Most are buying for family members, friends or fellow workers who fish so your baits and paint schemes will sell very well. Make an attractive display and I'll bet you do well. Size of a bait should have very little to do with price until you get into swimbaits. The small mini bait, thumbnail size, in my avatar takes just as time to make as a 3"crankbait. Good luck dude.

Wow, you nailed that one Marty, looks great. To the new builders on here take special notice of the bottom of that bait and how everything is in perfect alignment, thats the way its done.

Fantastic work there, Jon.

Really like your Golden Shiner pattern.

Dave, the stripes and all other details except the scales are sprayed freehand. My skills with a camera suck, it really does look better in the hand.

Thank you all gentlemen, your comments are appreciated. To be honest if I had the same skills with a video camera as a regular camera you still would not see a good picture.

This bass was caught 11/2, in 52 degree water and it was bright red.

Just finished this 5" Bluegill swimbait, its made from PVC and is 1 1/2oz. The bait swims really well, its a wake/surface bait, barely floats at rest. Sorry I do not have a video camera, think you would like the video.

One fine looking paintjob on that Bagley, always favor the light on dark colors. Barry do you have the dimensions of the Bagley or could you get a straight side view picture, can figure out the specs from there.

Man, now you've done it. Marty is gonna get all big-headed on us. Truth is just like you called it, he does make a quality bait that will catch fish.

Ok this only happened one one bait so I am not sure what happened! I use createx paint and have been clearing them with clear laquer or some sort of clear paint! What do you clear with before using epoxy? Since the problem only occured with one bait, (asumming here that you did more than one at the same time) the type of epoxy used should not make any difference. Using a solvent based clear over waterbased paint could be one of your problems. Have you done others using the same thing without problems? My question in the first post still remains, was the bait put in the water? Excess moisture in the wood itself will also crack epoxy when it is sealed in the bait. A trick to remove moisture from wood is to microwave your blanks, just enough that they are warm to the touch, leave them in the microwave until they cool a little and repeat the process a few more times. Keep your carving wood in a warm dry place.

Did the cracking take place before the bait was fished or after it got wet? If it cracked before use it is most likley an incompatability problem, if after it was wet it is usually a leakage problem around the lip or hook hangers. Once water gets to wood it will crack the epoxy.

Although I make baits I have no problems with buying another makers baits. As a maker you know what it takes to make a quality bait and I always enjoy having and fishing other makers baits, it makes your own work only get better. Talking wood handmade baits here, not the cookie cutter, stamped out like bottle cap plastic baits. I have also found that most builders are willing to trade with others and you can get a very good collection that way. I'll take the bait of a craftsman who is proud to put his signature on their product any day.

Your more likley to lose a bait before you wear it out. The biggest problem with balsa baits is caused by the fisherman trying to slap off weeds, usually causes the bait to break off at the lip and taking the front upper part of the bait with it. When you have a couple feet of line out and slap a bait into the water it hits at about 100mph. Like wickyman said, if water gets under your topcoat it will crack the paint.

Kind of a general question, carving things. Do you want to carve something like this? Or are you wanting to carve something like this? Have been carving wood and ivory for a lot of years and I think I can help with some of your decisions on what basic tools you might need and how to get started carving. PM me and I'll be happy to share anything I know.

Vince can build baits that will make your eyes water, one of the best.

Welcome, Mike. There are a lot of things that can be used for stencils from plactic bottles, paper, vinyl sheet and the list goes on. Have a friend who just uses Dixie cups as a stencil for craw patterns and gill detail. I personally like to use vinyl sheet for cutting stencils, just pencil on your pattern and cut it out with an exacto knife. The vinyl sheet is very flexible which will help you hold it on your bait, at least for me. You will get a lot of other advice on what others use and it is all correct for them, you just have to experiment and see what works for you.

Excellent work there Ben. Your baits get better with each batch, always look forward to seeing whats next. Also like the idea that you seem to be sticking with a few designs rather than building a lot of different styles, that will make drastic improvements in your baitmaking.

Absolutely beautiful work. I have said it before on an earlier post but it is worth repeating, "you do the kind of work that the rest of us wish we could do".

Now you have done it Marty, gone to the darkside. Neat little swimmer, looks killer to me. The bass around here have been going nuts over swimbaits the last couple of weeks in water no more than knee deep.

Great looking trio there Marty.

Chromedog, PVC is a very good bait making material for cranks or swimbaits, it does take a little getting use to working it however. PVC does not absorb water so no sealer is needed, it has no grain which makes carving and drilling much easier. Pvc does have a very thin skin on the material which must be removed to get an even finish and topcoat. I usually make a very light pass 1/64" through the tablesaw to remove it. It is about the same weight as basswood per square inch. Azeck is a much heavier product, deck material, but the stuff is tough. If you will search on this section for posts by jrhopkins you will see some swimbaits made from PVC, which he uses. He makes the kind of baits that most of us wish we could and from that crappy old PVC. John has also written a tutorial on TU on making a swimbait from PVC, good reading.

Looking good.