Crankenstein Crony

Hey guys I just wanna say thanks for all the information! I really appreciate it! I'm just amazed at how many guys on this forum are willing to help and answer any questions people have. For me that is the best part about BR. Its great! I have been an avid fisherman for 22 years but there is still a lot I don't know and I love the fact that you guys are so willing to share! Thank you very much! Merry Christmas everyone!!

I think for right now Im just going to start out doing my own skirts and painting up some jigs. But I definitely want to start pouring my own. I feel like there are just endless possibilities if Im doing my own. What does a mold normally cost? Or do they differ based on what kind of jig you are going to make?

Ultimately I want to pour my own jigs. I think that would be awesome! It would be a great hobby for the winter. Ice fishing just doesn't do it for me anymore. Catching fish off of baits I made would be awesome! Plus I like the idea of being able to customize jigs for each individual lake or river I fish if I need to. What brand of hooks and styles do you guys prefer?

I want to start making my own jigs. Some of my favorite jigs are no longer being produced, and I didn't realize these several companies were no longer going to make them. So I wasn't even able to buy a couple extra before I found out they were discontinued. I haven't even been able to find these particular colors on ebay. So I want to start making my own jigs and I am looking for a little info about jig making. Here are my questions: 1. Is it cheaper to pour my own jig heads or buy jig heads in bulk 2. If I buy a melting pot, what is a good brand to go with 3. What is the best material to use for skirts 4. What tools will I need for putting skirts together If you can help I really appreciate it!

If you are looking for an inexpensive Fluoro line go with Vicious. Thats what I use on just about all my gear. You can get 250 yards of Vicious for under $10 most of the time. For a couple bucks more you can get the Vicious Pro Elite Fluoro and that stuff is even better. I love it. Most of my buddies also use it and they like it. Best bang for the buck!! The Seaguar line will run around $17-$30 for 200 yards, Berkley 100% will run $17-$25 for a 200 yard spool, Sunline will run you anywhere from $16-$35 for less than 200 yards. If you have a tight budget go Vicious!

I use 6:3:1 for the majority of my cranking applications. I use a 5:4:1 or a 5:3:1 ratio when I'm throwing my 5xd's and 6xd's. It relieves a ton of pressure on your arms, hands, and wrists if you are bombing those deep divers for long periods of time. But it can be an all around cranking reel. You can use that gear ratio for all cranking purposes and it will do a very good job.

I have a 7ft medium heavy Compre. It is a very nice rod! Especially for the price. They are light weight and sensitive. It was the first Shimano rod I ever bought and it hasn't disappointed! If you are looking for a cranking rod, check out the Quantum KVD rods. I have 4 of them and they are awesome! I have a 7ft and a 7'4 and I throw my smaller cranks on those rods and they have been great! I won't buy any other cranking rods ever again!

I have a 7'6 heavy action rod I use for my jig fishing. It is an awesome rod! It its very light weight and has plenty of back bone. It is super sensitive too. I have caught more fish on jigs this past season than I ever have before. I felt subtle bites that I didn't use to feel. They are great rods! You can't go wrong with the Micro Magic! Soon as I have some extra cash, Im going to get me another one!

Thank you for the info and the website. I will get on there and check it out.

Ok. Thanks for the info guys I really appreciate it! Is there a good website I can go to in order to price a lot of this stuff out?

So am I looking at like 3 or 4 hundred to get started up or is it going to be higher than that? If its to expensive I might have to put this off for a little longer than expected.

I use Skinny Dippers a lot in some of our local lakes that have some big shallow areas that are very weedy. I have caught a lot of good fish on the Houdini and Gold Digger colors. I have several bags of the California 420 as well. I don't catch as many fish on that color, but the fish I have caught on it have been larger fish. I fish these on a Owner weighted swimbait hook. These baits will go through just about anything with out getting snagged if you rig them right. I have also fished them on weed edges with a jig head and had good success. My buddy fishes them on a football jig head and has caught some hawgs! I've never fished them weightless like a fluke, but they do work very well as a swim bait trailer.

I have wanted to start custom painting crank baits for several years now. I love seeing all the awesome baits you guys post! I want to know for a beginner as I would be, what am I looking at for start up costs? What equipment will I absolutely need? I don't want to buy to much until I get to try it out. Where is the best place to order this equipment from?

My best 5 came spring 2011. I went on a trip to St. Clair and ended up with 5 smallies that went over 20 pounds. There were 4 of us in the boat and low weight for the trip was 18.5 pounds. My personal best aside from St. Clair was also this spring on a little lake near my house. I had 18.5 pounds and basically they all came off 1 bait. It was a great day!! Couldn't do anything wrong!!

Did you call Strike King or did you email them? I went the email route and didn't ever hear back.

See that is part of my problem as well. I emailed SK and explained the problem I was having and I never got a response. I've never had an issue with any other SK cranks before and I have quite a few myself. Maybe I will try and contact SK again and see if anything happens. The place I buy them from only accepts returns if I have the original package and I pretty much throw those away as soon as I get them home. I change the hooks and they go right into my plano boxes.

Those DT-6 cranks are good cranks. I used to use them all the time! They flat out catch em! You got a great deal if you got 17 of them for $20. Just don't smack em on the water to get weeds off them because you will rip the bill right off. I would put #6 Gamakatsu EWG's on them. Those hooks are awesome! I replace all my stock hooks with these EWG's.

Welcome back!

Welcome!!

Welcome to the crew!!

I have a question for anyone out there who throws Strike King cranks baits. I bought several SK 5xd's this spring to add them to my arsenal of SK cranks. I had 2 or 3 of these baits start filling up with water after being used for a little while. 1 of them filled up with water on the 1st cast I ever made with it. After they filled with water, they would not track straight anymore. I looked the baits over to see if I could find any cracks or little hole in them and could find nothing wrong with the baits. I am interested to know if anyone else out there has had this same issue. I haven't had this happen to any of my other Strike King cranks and I have 5 or 6 boxes full of Series 1's, 3's 5's 6xd's and 1.5's and 2.5's. I was just kinda dumb founded by this little problem. I am very curious to know if anyone else has had this happen, and if you did, did you find a way to correct the leak and get the baits to track straight again.

I don't get to fish much rip rap in the area I live. I fish a lot of wood, weed edges, and drop offs. We've got grass every where!!

Right after a cold start it will kinda spit and sputter for 30-45 seconds and then it takes right off. After that it runs great and starts up with 1 or 2 cranks of the key every time.

Yes, my choke is activated by pressing the key inward and I know that it does work.

Its a 2 stroke carburated motor.