LooksLikeSinbad

Thank you everyone for the compliments. It's actually a very simple process, but making them look good is not easy. This technique has been around for a while and is still evolving. I took a tutorial that someone wrote on the process, combined that with some things that I read elsewhere and added a few ideas of my own. That said, here is the process in a nutshell: - I traced the blank crankbait and scanned it into the compuer. - In photoshop I created a guide using the scanned image and tweaked the bluegill photo to "fit" the shape of the bait better. I added the orange belly and some details in photoshop. - I printed the image on my regular printer on to full sheets of sticker paper - I adhered the image to the plastic bait (this took some practice to get it smooth) - stick on eyes - I covered the bait with several clear protective coats - split rings and hooks

A couple months ago I decided to try my hand at photo finishing crankbaits. For those that don't know, it's a process of adhering a photographic image to a bait. I just completed a few and I am pretty happy with them. All of these baits have a bluegill image on a plastic crankbait body. These are now ready for some on-the-water testing. This is a small lipless crank: Here is a slightly larger lipless crank: This is a 2 1/2 inch crankbait: If all goes well, I hope to make a bunch of these over the winter and maybe experiment with some other images and baits as well.

Baitcaster. But I prefer that for almost everything.

That looks awesome! Thanks for sharing the photos.

I bought one of these over the summer but never tried it out. Here is a review & some info.

Great tips here folks. You should check out the Iaconelli jerkbait article on this site if you haven't already.

Thanks Paul. I bought plastic unpainted blanks for $1.40 each. As for the technique, I gathered information about photo finishing from several tutorials, message boards, etc. (primarily tackleundergound.com) I have been using photoshop for many years so that part was easy for me. But for most people that would probably be the biggest challenge - sizing the image to fit the blank properly and retouching and color-correcting the photo. Once I have my personal technique figured out I am more than happy to share it. From what I understand this will work on wooden lures too if you carve your own.

That is a photo-finish lipless crankbait I am making with a bluegill image. That is my 2nd attempt. I hope to have the kinks worked out in a couple weeks and make a bunch for next season.

I managed to hit the same spot today for about an hour. First cast, exact same thing - jerking the x-rap into my view I can see about 6 bass following it. This time fortunately 1 hit it and I landed him. Next cast same thing, 1 of them nipped it but no takers. Then they were gone. I tried throwing a soft plastic jerk and some other baits but no bites and I didn't see any more cruising. I hit a different spot down the shore and caught 1 more jerking with long pauses. I think that is the key now, painfully slow pauses. Not easy for an impatient guy like me. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions.

Paul - Thanks for that lengthy reply. It sounds like we are facing very similar conditions. If nothing else, it helps to know I'm not the only one. I have been watching both temps and clarity. It does seem clearer in the past week and that might be a contributing factor. The temperature has been steadily decreasing as you would expect in the fall, and as you suggested 50 degrees does seem to be the point that the bass have gotten much more finicky. Just a couple weeks ago at 52 degrees I was catching them one after another. Things have really slowed. I have not observed any change in vegetation but this is not one of those bodies of water with a lot of fishable weeds. I have been using that jerkbait a lot but this is a pretty unpressured body of water so I don't think that matters too much in this case. But in retrospect I wonder what would have happened if I had followed up with a floating jerkbait and/or a soft plastic jerkbait. Thanks for all your suggestions, I appreciate it. We are expecting a lot of rain here so by the time the rain stops and the water has cooled more I expect the conditions will be even slower. We'll see.

I have been fishing a small local lake all year and I have consistently figured out how to catch fish - spring, summer and fall until this past week. The water is 50 degrees now and I am assuming that most fish have moved deep, but I have seen schools of bass cruising the shallows. Two times this week I had the following scenario: a group of bass following my jerkbait in shallow water. They all follow it and watch it. Sometimes they even nip at the tail on the pause, but none of them would commit and bite it. I tried altering the retrieve - longer pause, harder jerk but I just couldn't get them to hit it even thought they were obviously interested in it. These bass are not sluggish or inactive, but are not biting. What would you do in that situation? Both times the school moved on quickly so I only had a small window of time to catch them. Help!

I think you mean an o-ring instead of a split ring. It's a good way to extend the life of your worm when wacky rigging.

Did you mean crappie or crappy? There is a big difference. ;D Both actually. They are much smaller than bass cranks, they are for panfish. And I was not very impressed with the quality to be honest. But whadaya expect for $5, right?

I ordered the 5 baits for $5 last year and they were all crappie crankbaits.

RW - How are you fishing the swim senko?

Exactly how I feel. Also, I have found the pacas to be a little more durable then the ragetails.

I am totally that 1 in 16 guy that doesn't catch the DD! LOL

Is that the shad rap shallow runner? My favorite lure is probably the horny toad, I can't get enough of fishing the top of the slop.

Probably a dumb question, but what is broken cover?

Don't worry, so are the bass.

What creature bait is that in the 4th photo?

Ditto, go with #2. The #1 option can impede the action of the spinnerbait if the trailer hook is off center and the tubing holds it in place (acting like a rudder)

x2 - I just placed another order with them. great hooks, great prices & friendly service. And they ship fast.

When first starting out I really liked using the Rapala DT series cranks because they have the diving depth printed on the bill. I found it very helpful to know the diving depth so that I could focus on the other aspects of learning how to fish a crankbait.

I've had success with bubblegum senkos for smallies.