Fishwhittler

I would think that clay would be to brittle for lures? :-?

I'm keeping my mouth shut for fear of drooling... ;D Incredible work! 8-)

New batch of cranks These are the biggest and smallest cranks I make. The big one is 3 1/2" long not counting the bill. Thanks for looking. Ben

Amazing work. That Poe's repaint is especially nice.

4" body length crank Thanks for looking. Ben

It still needs topcoat What do you think? Ben

Thanks! I changed the main tusks for longer ones that have round tips, so hopefully spearing fish with the tusks won't be an issue. Ben

Just trying it for fun.

That lime shad is sick!

Thanks guys. I never thought of that. I'll add another line tie below the nose and see which gives a better action.

Here's some articles that should get you started: http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/crankbait_making.html http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/crankbait_making_2.html http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/lure_making.html mudhole.com (Epoxy glue & finish) captainhookswarehouse.com (Hooks & split rings) usplastic.com (Lexan) barlowstackle.com and jannsnetcraft.com are also component retailers, or if you want to use plastic lure bodies try predatorbassbaits.com and crankbaitcomponents.com. I use rattle cans for most of my painting. They can be bought locally, but if you want to look into airbrushing you will need to talk to someone that uses one. I hope this helps. Ben

Both of those ideas should work, except that I have no way of controlling which side the lure lands on. I've got some ideas cooking though... Ben Thanks, but the only way that would work is if I put a bill on each side and to do that on this lure would be to much of a hassle. By no means am I giving up on the "sidewinder" concept though. I've got another prototype that's almost ready for testing. I'll post results when it's done. Ben

My latest Opinions? Ben

Those look real good. 8-)

Thanks idlov. It's not a complete write-off, as I can still use it as a jerkbait. Both of those ideas should work, except that I have no way of controlling which side the lure lands on. I've got some ideas cooking though... Ben

Its a flop! It has absolutely NO action when reeled straight in. Back to the drawing board...

My version of perch.

X2, that crank is sweet.

It looks good to me, but I know what you mean. Some lures that I paint I don't like no matter what I do to them but other people think they look great. : If you don't like it send it to me; I will fish it so hard that the fish will tear all the paint off and you won't dislike the paint anymore. j/k ;D Ben

Very nice! 8-)

I don't use DN, but I thought I would share this. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/18235-dick-nite-top-coat-availability-lack.html Ben

Thanks! I don't mind at all if you use "angry eyes" on your lures. I'm glad someone likes them enough to use them on their lures. As a sidenote, try tackleunderground.com. Thats where that I got the idea for the angry eyes from, and the lures that some of the bait makers over there turn out are just amazing. Interesting idea about the shark mouth. I will definitely give it a shot on one of my next lures. Ben

Thanks guys. Thanks! From the edge of the paint the bill is 1/4" long. I read on TU that if you put a lip that is to long on a wake bait it will roll to far and lay on its side or even spin, and with this bait being only 3/4" wide by 1 1/2" tall, I figured roll-out could be an issue so I made the bill as short as possible without eliminating the bill entirely. Edit: I have not been able to test it thoroughly yet, but it seems to have a very slow, shallow roll. Ben

Love the colors on those, especially the skeleton craw and the perch. 8-)

Thanks guys. Thanks, but I did the crackle on purpose. Sorry to have caused any confusion. Thanks! I didn't use any crackle medium though. What I did was spray the bait white with Rust-Oleum Stops Rust paint and while it was still wet I sprayed Rust-Oleum flo. orange on the sides and flo. yellow on the belly and applied a heat gun. Interestingly enough, I tried the same thing with Rust-Oleum flo. green and it refused to crackle. I guess the chemistry in the green is different. Ben