BIG M

Ben, that is a sharp looking bait. You skills are getting better and better. The way you are using the same body style with different lip angles is the correct way to learn the crank bait craft. I love the trial and error style of building baits. Make sure you take good notes on each new bait.

Great looking bait Ben. Don't go to the PVC darkside, balsa wood is the way to go

I like the looks of that bait. I've done that trick with the belly hook many times for running a crank thru grass and it works good.

I would go with a #2 willow leaf on the tail. Take a #6 treb and cut 1 hook off so the other two hooks ride up on the sides of the bait. It might work. Your bait looks pretty good as is.

That's very good work with the brush, all of those baits look first class.

I've been in the cave for awhile now, thought I would show a few off.

The pic looks fine, the bait looks better. Great job

You tried to spary the yellow on too thick. Many thin coats are better than 1 thick coat of paint. Get a hair dryer and dry each coat of paint and you will not have that problem again.

JR, you are a sick man but by far the best ever at building anything dealing with swimbaits. That one is just cool. How long did it take to build that bait?

I don't build my own spinner baits, just like to change blades and modify store bought baits.

Round nose pliers is what I use. I bend the tag end past the shaft and use needle nose pliers to bend directly under the shaft. I've never had a blade come off doing that way. I don't think epoxy would hold well on spinner bait wire.

I only use water based airbrush paint. I have not heard of any other builders or painters using vinyle paint for painting plastic cranks.

Jann's, Barlow's, or Stamina, inc. good places to start.

Some places carry the semi white and some carry the yellow/green. There is no color code that I know of. You need to ask who ever you are buying from what color is the product.

Sexy Shad is just a name Strike King came up with. That color pattern has been painted on cranks for 30yrs. Blues over silver/foil, grey over silver/foil, blue over chart and blue/grey over white. All different forms of the sexy shad color. This color was around long before lucky craft. It's a good shad color for lakes with threadfin shad.

Thad, all the baits look great. Glad to see you are painting some baits. Too much talent to be sitting idle.

There use to be a step by step article on here by Whittler. It was very good. You need to figure what type of bait you want to build first. Do you want to use wood or something else? What kind of tools to you have on hand? Narrow it down a little and I can help.

As far as I know there is no such thing. All of the non epoxy clear coats that I've seen or read about are water thin. Devcon is about the thickest clear that I've used.

Both baits look good but I can't go the PVC route. Plastic just does not have the thump like balsa. I will admit it's pretty easy to carve and sand to finish.

You are really going to like the baits once the clear coat is done. The colors are going to pop. Both baits look great.

GMAN's custom jigs are hard to beat and he is great to deal with.

Not black, mudd green

that's a transparent blue sprayed over silver to get that look.

Finally have all the baits clear coated. This is the last baits from this past weekend. Next weekend should be just as much fun.

Here is another batch from this past weekend. Still have 6 more on the drying to rack to show later.