Chris

It depends on what I am trying to do and what kind of stuff I am fishing. If I am fishing zones like 10' or 15' areas because it is an edge of a break or end of a point. I would say a DT is a good option. If I was fishing down a laydown tree that dips into the 10'-15' range I wouldn't use a DT, I would use a fat free shad or something with the same nose down posture. If I was fishing the end of the tree I would fish the DT. If I was fishing a long tapering point I would fish a norman bait or something with the same posture.

I use a zipper paddle tail that I make myself I got the mold at lurecraft. I have been using it for years and still works well. The tail has a lot of material to it so it thumps, the bait is 4" and beefy.

Part of it is the wire bend, The wire used be it stainless steel, spring steel or piano depending and density of it and gage, the weight balance, the blades and shape thickness, kind of material, and weight and spacing of the blades, the umbrella skirt that helps with balance also Piano wire, or "music wire", is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano strings. It is made from tempered high-carbon steel, also known as spring steel, which replaced iron as the material starting in 1834.

I make all kinds of wood stuff whatcha wanna know

Custom colors in most cases it why some people buy from small manufacturers. Crazy cool looking colors not offered by large or growing companies is another reason. Then there is a shape that maybe someone wants that is out of date from what the masses make that can draw business. When I was heavy in tournament fishing I asked a company for a special run color and was told I had to buy 5 gal worth. I asked why so much and was told that they (not all companies) bought their plastic pre mixed with color. Other companies per thousand per style per color. Your niche is per 50-100 for a small company at a premium price for the service. You can also pilot test the color for your other customers and add it to your list of other colors if applicable. As said the problem is when everyone is selling the same baits it is a rush to bottom and low man wins. When these same kind of people are asking you to buy other molds it is because your price is lower than others for your other baits. They want a certain bait they have been buying from someone else cheap. If the mold plays into the direction you want to go I would buy or make it provided there was enough interest in it. Worse case you trade it on facebook, here or sell on ebay.

What i do is buy the small round and strip off the width i want and mix it with the pulled and cut stuff. Meet Mr. Fluffy

http://www.ozarktackle.com/clearance.html

Army 16T/14T 1993-1998

https://www.woodworkerssource.com/shop/category/limba.html you can click around this sight

Well, you loose depth because of stretch in the line, bow in the line or line drag. You loose depth because of drag slipping and sometimes you loose depth because your bait for whatever reason doesn't track the same path each cast. Most baits the depth printed on the package is based upon 10lb line. The problem with this from one manufacturer to another the diameter might differ. Something else to consider the entire line might be different diameters at different points in the total spool because of manufacturing process. How much the stuff floats or sinks or shape also change depth. Casting distance is a major factor in depth because it provides the running room needed to achieve depth. The pitch angle of the bill, width of the bill, shape of the bait, pull point, and how much it floats will effect at what point it will reach depth. When I wrote all this stuff I kinda left color alone if I recall correctly. I was putting more focus on vibration and what the bait was actually doing in the water. I find it to be more important for somebody new to learn cranking. For example most plastic crankbaits where the bill looks like it is sticking out flat from the nose of the bait stops swimming the more the bait lays flat. A well built wood bait doesn't stop swimming or vibrating. A bait where the front of the bill is turned down like a bill norman bait will continue to swim and vibrate the whole cast but will take longer to reach depth. I point this out because where you position your boat will or should differ depending on what kind of bait your throwing based on what point the lure reaches max depth and are effectively vibrating or swimming when you need them to be. What the bait is made of matters at times believe it or not but not in the way you might think. #1 you can pack more weight in wood than plastic and still have an effective bait. #2 when your crankbait bill strikes an object the body of your crankbait acts like a speaker to transmit sound. Balsa, poplar, pine, cedar, plastic, all make different noises when you strike an object. Some because of density will project a louder or sharper noise than others. By the same token some noises sound more natural than others and bill shape plays into it too. I say this because the more flat the front of the bill is the more area is striking an object. As far as loud colors that work right now in fall through winter is parrot color pattern. It is olive green back tan sides fluro orange nose orange belly stripe. Why? This time of the year shad are feeding heavy on algae rocks. Between the cold water and irritating their nose feeding it turns orange red color. I will also add your bluegill and warmouth tend to be dark this time of year almost black..just say'n. Early in the season spring and fall at times bass feed on crappie splatterback works because it kinda looks like a crappie. (bass also love bass) If you pay attention to your shad sometimes you will find an odd shad with the same splatter pattern. You might also find a few that are lighter color khaki is a great color to match for that. Early ice out the first to move up is bluegill in most areas. Your crawfish patterns and bluegill patterns tend to do well. All summer long this year I have been fishing shad colors mainly because the places I fish have them. The dirtier the water or how much light in the sky the more fluro I go. Most of my baits has fluorescents in the color scheme but the more chocolate mud the water is the more I gravitate towards more solid fluorescents. Size of the bait also goes up the more stained the water. I hope this helps

BTW wood lure builders _O_ <-this is the cure to blow outs

The idea is that the clear body will give off a ghost shad appearance with less detail to give away that it is fake. Much the same as a clear flash spinnerbait skirt would. A lot of guys use them in heavy pressured situations. Gear ratio depends on you. I know what works for me...If I am fishing a deep diving lure I like a slower reel because it forces me to slow down. The advantage to this is for me is that I get the most depth out of my cast per foot reeled in. So make my cast and crank it back 20 cranks with a lower gear reel compared to a higher geared reel at 20 cranks my bait has traveled less distance and gained more depth than the higher gear reel. Why because I put more force on the bait to travel to me then just enough force to make it dive and continue to dive. The idea of reel fast to get the bait down then slow down is meant for old lures that the diving bill is not pointed down to grab water in the first place. They had a belly weight with a straight bill and laid flat on the surface of the water. So to get the bait in position to dive you needed to put twerk on the bait to point the bill down for it to dive otherwise the bait would skip awhile before digging to dive. This isn't needed these days. As far as depth and speed when the bait reaches the area depth you wish to fish do whatever dance brought ya success but with a slower retrieve it is easier to work a lure through sticky cover. square bills it depends on what your trying to do to be honest and how the square bill is designed. If you like speed and deflection it is easier to do with high speed gear than a low gear trying to run fast. Bait design also plays a part in speed because some lures depending on design have a max speed...some more than others. When it gets to that speed it will blow out and travel to the surface. Wide action square bills will tighten up with speed also lure body "shape" comes more into play in how the lure reacts to the faster current flow over the bill and body. _O_ <-- this is the "O" if you understand the "O" your ninja if you can control the "O" you are worthy. The bottom line is the bottom of the lake your lure running at normal speed should be at the bottom of the "O". The top of the o is the surface of the water. With a square bill set at a 45 degree the faster the lure runs the more unstable it becomes and will travel up the O. Some baits are designed to do this others are more stable and stay at the bottom. The blow out happens when it reaches the top of the O the surface. Other lures travel left and right along the bottom line by design shape and how it is weighted. If you understand how to control the O then it is magic because the bait will travel anywhere within the O and never reach the top to blow out. Also each cast the bait never travels the same way twice it acts like a baitfish. This was one of the main reasons why people used wood square bill lures...like the BIG----O.

It depends some places fish could really care less some like you said haul booty. A lot depends on fishing pressure time of the year like early spring when the first come up as apposed to late summer. Also how clear the water is something to consider. If given a choice I like a lead deep tone rattle. I not a fan of loud rattles even in "rattletrap" style lures. Oddly I do like bb rattles in anything I use as a jerk bait style fishing...to include topwater lures fished the same way. Anything with a rhythm I like deep tone or none.

A round lip when it hits a fence post sitting vertical in the water will hit and travel close to the object when it swims around it and right itself close to the face side of the fence post. So when the fish are sitting on the face side close to the post and not active this is the lip style that will cause a reaction depending on where and how the fish is positioned. It is like poof here I am now watch me go! If this does not work 1 kick out point called a square bill will travel and hit the same fence post and the front flat part of the square will ram the post and work its way to the edge and kick out when it hits the point of the right or left side of the lip. (depending on which side of the fence you casting on) This bait will travel farther away from the fence post before it rights itself. A coffin lip will have 2 kick out points which work the same as a square but when the lip reaches the second kick out point it forces the bait to travel farther away from the fence post before it rights itself. <--these other two style lips can also be considered reaction style lips because they cause the bait to react violently to the fence post and forcing the bait to change directions before correcting itself because of speed. In other words the faster the bait travels when it hits the post the more they will react to the object. I hope that helps