BIG M

Might want to try a different rod, the baits may not be loading the rod enough to give you a good snap. sometimes I find if I stop trying to throw the bait and just make an easy cast I get better distance.

Here is one of the cranks I made for Triton21, this one will get down deeppppp

plug knockers won't work from the bank if the lure is far from the bank. You need a steep angle for the knocker to bang the bait and knock free.

if that is your first attempt to make your own baits, I would say your well on your way to being famous. great looking baits

Foiled baits a one giant pain in the rear, but it looks great. That is a very interesting scale pattern on that bait. Good work John.

www.mcmaster-carr.com

A crank that hunts can't really be tuned to run straight, you could spend a day trying to get that bait to run correctly. A truely hunting bait is hard to find and fish catching machine. The bait will run straight then kick right, back to center, kick left, back to center. The bait runs like it's hitting structure all the time. I have made 1 bait that hunts and it is a fluke, I'll never be able to reproduce that action.

I would suggest a few Bomber thin A's and Balsa B's, yellow or chart for dirty water and pearls for clean water. These are the best store bought baits for the price IMHO. Then buy a plug knocker to get you baits back, that shooting the bow works about 10% of the time. You don't have to bang the baits of cover, it does help but not mandatory. Bring only cranks to the lake and fish them until you figure out the right speed and color that the fish want.

Never used these for bass, but if you ever go after Redfish make sure you have a few gold colored spoons, they like them lots. I would fish them the same way as I do in the marsh grass, slow rollin along the tops of the weeds.

I've been using Duo-lock snaps on all my cranks for 4 years and I've never had one come unhooked. You get better action out of the bait with the snaps, but 99% of my customers want a spit-ring. To each his own.

thanks for putting the swap together

Get crazy and do 1 bait bubble gum pink with a purple back, I bet no body else on those lakes has a bait that color.

I use polycarbonate and g-11, cut both with a pair of textile shears (don't like the saw for this), just find a pattern you like and draw it on a piece of cardboard and you are in business. Narrow bills tend make a tighter wiggle, wide bill make a wobble (most of the time). Line tie in lip, don't insert past the midway point between the nose of the bait and end of the bill.

glass rattles are the loudest, but you will have to grid off the ends. a metal cutting wheel on a grinder works good, just tape the rattle tight with masking tape and take a little bit at a time. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES, glass shard in the eye will hurt like hell.

First off finding a crankbait that truely hunts is like finding a needle in a haystack. Those baits don't come around very often, it's a mistake that every custom builder in the country is trying to figure out and duplicate because it flat out catches fish. IMO all cranks should run straight and true, and then the user can play around with make them run in different directions. Sisson lures, Rapala, and Bagleys are bad about not being tuned out the box.

I have had to throw a many of them away myself, this is a hobby of trial and error. You can move that line tie with a lighter, cut the tie(leaving as much excess as possible) heat for about 1 min. and pull it out. I have done this on several baits. Good luck with yours.

Avid if you could post a pic of that bait that would be helpful. But more than likely you will destroy that lure trying to change the action.

My intention was not to bad mouth the big companies, all build fine baits and I own baits from all of them. just trying to show the difference between the mass production baits and the custom handmade baits.

I use two methods, thru wire harness and twist hangers. I cut a lenght of wire 2 inches long and bend it around a small nail to a u shape, grab the ends with pliers and twist that puppy up(while still on the nail), cut to desired lenght and epoxy into a pre-drilled hole. a thru wire harness is a bit more complicated.

Ben, custom handmade balsa baits don't come from the big companies. those guys don't have time to sit down and hand carve and hand sand a bait, it is not cost effective. Those guys build some nice baits but they build alot of duds too. To make money they have to cut corners and that hurts the quality. Custom guys are building your baits 1 at a time and are in control of each step. They can adjust weight, line tie location, lip lenght, etc, to get you the exact bait and action your looking for. But this don't come cheap and most people aren't will to pay for the work. Here is an ex. (not trying to push my baits) this bait took me a week to build to get the exact finsihed weight and diving depth that the customer wanted. The colors on the bait are what he asked for painted in the pattern he wanted. Totally custom hand built balsa crankbait. Whittle builds some fine looking baits and he has a web site www.jm-woodcraft.com

Basscatcher, I buy all my hardware from Mcmaster-carr, great selection and same day shipping 99% of the time.

Craig, the screw eye was just on the plate, I use those to hold certian baits while painting. I make my own hook hangers out of 20ga stainless steel or brass wire and that is in all my baits from small to large.

I would like to play, my trade will be a jerkbait or crankbait.

I would like to participate this time around.

here is a new batch of ul's