Fishwhittler

I finished another Mama Cat KO recently. 3 1/4" long, 1 3/8" wide, weighs 1 ounce. This one is a shallower diver than the other one I did, and it doesn't pull nearly as hard.

Awesome baits! I really like the lipless in the first pic and the Big M crank in the second pic. 8-)

I've used all my Flex Coat topcoat before it had a chance to do anything like you said. On the package it gives instructions about what to do if that happens:

I get the 8oz. size, and I can do quite a few lures with 2-3 coats per lure. Also, most of my lures are pretty big as crankbaits go, so if you were coating smaller cranks you could coat more baits with the same amount of epoxy.

@ Gamec0cks5, Flex Coat Ultra V is available at Mudhole.com. I haven't used any other epoxies for topcoat so I don't know how it compares in terms of being user-friendly, but I don't find it hard to use.

I haven't tested it very much yet, but I'll report how it works when I do.

The second bait is a new popper proto I've been working on. It has a lexan popping lip and utilizes the same B5 body I used on most of my other baits in this batch. From the limited testing I've done so far, it doesn't look like it will "walk the dog" very well but it throws a huge splash when jerked.

The rest:

Lately I've been experimenting with photo-finishes on my baits. Also, I tried a new (for me) scaling technique on a suspending jerkbait I built. Actually the jerkbait is a slow sinker, but I'm pretty pleased with it. I also tried knocking off the Bomber Model 4A. I have no way of comparing it to the real thing, but I like how it turned out. I used printer paper on two of the photo-finished baits in this batch and tissue paper for the other one. The tissue-papered bait is much more reflective, but the details on the other two baits stand out a lot more. It was also easier to get a wrinkle-free finish with the printer paper. Let me know what you think. Ben

Your Tablerock shad looks great, but it's blind. Bass won't believe it if they see a fish without eyes swimming around. But, I have some very dumb bass where I fish; if you send those to me I'm sure they won't notice the difference. ;D Seriously, they are all just beautiful. 8-)

Awesome baits Big M! That bottom bait is real nice. 8-)

That looks great! How do you paint scales and do shading on your lures using a brush? Or do you use rattle cans for that?

A better way is to dip the head of a nail in paint and then touch it to the lure. Or you can just use stick-on eyes. They look better than painted-on eyes, and you can adjust them on the lure if you don't get them in the right place.

Those stripers are awesome! 8-)

It depends on the topcoat you use. I use Flex Coat Ultra V epoxy for topcoat, and as far as I know it's only available online. There are topcoats available locally such as Envirotex or automotive clears, but I've never used those. If you decide to use Flex Coat, it's available at Mudhole.com.

Just about any spray paint will work for lures. I've used Rust-Oleum, Krylon and a few other spray paint brands. The glossy finish on lures is not the paint; the topcoat provides the gloss. You can use flat paint under a glossy topcoat and you will still get a glossy finish. Krylon X-Metals works well, but it's transparent. You can use it over silver paint to get a metallic finish, or you can use it over foil to get a colored chrome finish. Below are some lures that I did a while back. I sprayed a black base-coat, silver scales and then sprayed X-Metals paint over the whole bait. The bottom one is X-Metals paint over foil.

Very nice! I really like the "clean" look it has. 8-)

That's a great fish! I'll bet those are fun to catch.

Amazing stuff Big M! The bluegill and the last bait are awesome. 8-)

The video was posted in a different thread. little bluegill swimbait video, finally!

That looks really cool! 8-) In the pic it doesn't look like you used any topcoat on it. Your bait looks very good, but the paint won't last very long without topcoat.

Those look great! That dying bluegill is cool. 8-)

;D First fish on the Banjo Minnow

I took my guitar bait out today for testing and here's what I caught:

Thanks guys. This fish was the first good one I caught on a jig and craw. I've used small craws, but I only caught one or two dinks. I also tried big plastic craws but I didn't catch anything so I stopped using them until now. I still haven't really learned how to fish them well, but I'm learning. Or maybe I just caught a dumb fish. ;D