Fishwhittler

I don't use my rotary tool for initial shaping, but I do use it for rough-sanding after carving the lure. A rotary tool is also useful for a whole bunch of other things, such as bill shaping, grinding, and drilling.

Those look very good, especially the green/orange one.

Now it works fine. I didn't do anything, so I guess it was just a temporary glitch. Thanks! Ben

Very nice work! I really like the third prop bait.

Is anyone else not able to view the gallery right now? I can see my own pics, but when I try to go to the main gallery I keep getting the message below:

Thanks guys!

Very nice! I really like the two jerkbaits and the last prop bait.

Here's my latest batch of baits: Black/Chartreuse Light Bluegill Black Shad Bone White Black Shad

Very nice!

Vintage Woodworks is where I get PVC, but you may be able to find it locally. If you do order from Vintage Woodworks, make sure you request smooth PVC in the comments section of the order form. They carry both smooth and textured PVC, and while it's possible to use textured PVC, the smooth boards are easier to work with.

PVC baits are solid, like wooden baits. PVC comes in boards that you can carve just about the same as wood.

Both of those look very good, but the Spottail Shiner is just gorgeous.

Bigsby, PVC baits are made using the same basic techniques as wooden baits but using PVC board instead of wood. I like PVC because you don't have to seal it before painting, and it doesn't have any grain that can interfere with shaping the lure.

Building and/or painting your own baits is certainly worth it in my opinion. I've spent more on lure building and painting supplies than I would have just buying lures, but if I had to do it over I'd still build lures. Predator Bass Baits and Bustin Bass Baits both have a wide selection of lure blanks.

Thanks! Here are several more:

Thanks guys. lip ripson, it takes me several days to finish a single lure due to dry times. However, I practically always topcoat baits in batches, so the baits in one batch may have been built at different times but finished at the same time. For example, the foiled bait above was started quite a while back but I just now got around to finishing it. I waited until I had enough baits so I could epoxy them all at once in order to reduce the number of times I have to mix epoxy. Whittler, I couldn't have gotten to where I am now if it hadn't been for your help. Ben

I couldn't help myself after looking at and fishing his ultralight baits, so I've started making some myself. Here's my first ultralight crankbait. Roughly 1/8oz, and 1 3/4" overall. There's a quarter in the pic with the bait for size reference. It's not as small as Whittler's ultralights, but I'm getting there. Here's another small bait, although it's not as small as the ultralight above. 2" body length, 3/8oz. The rest of these are much larger than either of the two baits above. The next two baits are both 2 7/8" without the bills or tail hook hangers, and both weigh 3/4oz. 3", 1oz lipless bait. Let me know what you think! Ben

Very nice!

Here are some new PVC baits I just finished. I was asked to paint a color similar to Strike King's Red Craw Chartreuse color, and the first three are what I came up with. The last one is my own pattern.

Those are all gorgeous baits, but that white bait with the scaled black stripe is my favorite. What is the average size of those?

Very nice work! All of those patterns are gorgeous.

Those look good, especially that second bait.

I leave the needle in for splatter painting; the only parts I remove are the nozzle cap and the needle cap. I use the same PSI for splattering that I use for normal painting. Thanks Cliff! I can't take credit for the pics; my brother took those.

Thanks guys. Dave, I used my airbrush for the splatter on these baits. I remove both the needle cap and nozzle cap and just use the nozzle.

Here's what I've been working on lately. This is a very large jerkbait at 2 1/2 ounces, and it's 6 1/2" not counting the bill. Catfish The next two jerkbaits are more or less normal sized lures, although they're still 5" without the bills. Yellow-belly Bluegill Lava Tiger Chartreuse Pepper Here's another attempt at crackle. I still haven't quite got the crackle nailed down, but I'm very pleased with this one. Molting Blue Razor Craw Let me know what you think! Ben