BIG M

A well made balsa crank that is taken care of will last for yrs of fishing service.

Looking good Jon.

Barry, good looking baits. The Mama Cat clone is coming along, very hard bait to carve >

Don't mix paints or you will have a mess. Once you have a system of paint and clear coat then you baits will be consistant.

Great looking bait Ben. A couple of small suggestions, I think the line tie is too far forward, if it does not swim, back the line tie up 1/4 inch and it should run good. Snug your wire up to the bottom of the lip and fold it over the back of the lip and trim the wire even with the top of the lip. That way there is no way for the line tie to come loose unless the lip comes loose. It's a cleaner look for your baits.

Brian, that's a nice fish and I'm glad you are enjoying success with your baits. That's a B2 clone, painted in Chart/shad.

Your best batch yet and I really like all those baits. I agree with John about sticking with a couple of body styles to perfect your skills. Tip: On baits with the line tie in the nose, don't put the line tie higher than 1/8" above the lip. The don't like to swim if the line tie is too high above the lip.

It's pretty and it's different, Pretty Different Shad. I think you could do the abalone inlay yourself. Rod builders are using that stuff now. Check out Mudhole and see if it's worth the money.

Send a Pm to GMAN he will get you fixed up.

Best looking craws I've seen Barry.

JR those are sweet. Guys this guy is the swim bait guru and another pvc expert.

Here is a little swim bait I've been working on for some time. I finally have a size and weight I like. It's 3.25 long and weighes a little of 3/4oz. Slow sinking and swims just perfect. Now the question is can I make another one exactly the same as the first.

idlov2fish has built more crank baits from PVC than any one I know. I have several of his baits and those run true with good balance and action. I'm not a fan of pvc but that because I'm in love with balsa. I did not give pvc a fair chance from the start. idlov2fish is a expert on this material, listen to him with both ears. Dude knows his stuff.

That is a sharp looking bait Jon, you skills are getting better by the bait. I want to see some of the old classic patterns (Homer, Parrot, Citrus Shad) some of the oldies but still goodies.

Ben, the new baits are looking good. I think on the baits that did not run good, line ties needs to be closer to the lip. Your line ties are extremely high above the lip and that may be a cause of your problems.

Do you mean Balsa B's made by Bagley? If you really want to fish those baits then I would suggest you send them to somebody that has experience at refinishing a wood bait. To do it properly the old finish needs to be removed( I do it with a propane torch) then the bait needs to be sealed, primed, painted, and clear coat. The quick way would be to scuff the old finish, prime, paint and then clear coat. But if those were my baits I would invest the cash to have it done correctly. If you decide to tackle the project yourself, keep asking questions right here, you will get all the answers you need.

Here are a couple of new body styles I've been working on and a Charlie O that I shrunk down to my fav size. All 3 baits are less than 2 inches long, weigh 1/4oz, semi round and run approx 4-5 feet deep.

Barry those are sweet.

Needs to be a water proof epoxy also and devcon 2ton will meet both needs (clear and water proof). Now 2ton only has a working time of approx 8 min once mixed, that 20min business is bs.

Great post John.

Here is a small batch and since the chocolate shad was so popular I painted a couple in that pattern.

Great looking baits. Basic colors cash checks.

A different looking bait for sure. I can see some potential problems with the nails. You will have to get the line tie lower on the nose, I don't think the bait will swim with the line tie up that high.

Fishingbuds, from the time I cut the body out until it's ready to fish can run for 3.5-5 hrs hands on time depending on the body style. There are several days of drying time for clear coats.

Sorry for the crazy pics, my photo shop is on crack.