Stringjam

Get a telescoping pole. If you throw in a lot of woody areas, the sliding knockers are not always going to work well. I've literally ripped hooks off of baits before with the pole - but I get my bait back. There's no substitute for being able to physically manipulate the hung crank or even the object it's hung in.

Very nice, natural looking patterns. I'll bet they really look great in the water.

If you weight a crankbait so much that it sinks, you might as well use a lure better designed for such a presentation (like a heavy lipless crank). At least a lipless crank is versatile enough that it can be fished vertically, and not just pulled horizontally along the bottom. As far as modifying deep cranks to get deeper, I haven't found that it's really worth it. If I'm in a situation where I need to get some extra depth, I'll stick my rod in the lake and do the old kneel and reel......most effective method I know of to get a deep crank deeper, given you're already using the proper equipment to start with.

Action and crankbait design has a lot to do with whether or not you can burn a bait. A burnable bait usually needs to have a tight roll and wiggle, and it needs to be a bait with good alignment. And to answer another remark you've made - yes - sometimes the fastest, and I mean FASTEST retrieve you can attain will be what triggers strikes. This sometimes goes for deep divers, too. A DT-16 with it's tight roll really excels at this. Tapp-style baits also work great for this.....whether Tapp clones, or the broad-based generalization of mid-deep diving flatsided baits with a straight (or nearly) lip angle.

I would never use an erratic action with a crankbait. Just look at how unproductive Rogues and Pointers are.

Thanks! They're actually urethane based.

I got an Iwata Revolution CR for shooting the clear. It has a 1/3 oz. cup and a .5mm tip.....big enough to shoot the clear, and also works great for shooting basecoats and flaky stuff that doesn't want to go through my .2mm Iwata HP-SB. It's gravity feed, so cleanup is a breeze. BTW.....I got it at Chicago Airbrush Supply for about $70 with free shipping. Cheapest deal I've found.

There is so little rational objectivity when it comes to bass fishing. I dont' have anything against scents, and I'm not saying they don't possibly work in some regard, but I've done just as well with plain unscented plastic - whether hand-poured or old-school plastic that had nothing in it - - and I went through a phase where I used everything out there religiously. I would catch a fish on something and think "Yeah, it's all about scents....look how well I'm doing!" .....only to catch as many or more when I returned to fishing plastics without it. I've pulled bass all the way to the boat before they'll release an old Bobby Garland hula-grub, which is pure plastic without salt or any form of scent. Does that mean that bass love the taste of plastic, too? ;D

Since it is designed for very quick flash times (aka automotive use) it would be impossible to brush. I suppose it might be possible to dip, but it would be very expensive with all the waste. Once you mix the clear with the catalyst, whatever you mix is "done for." In order to dip, you would need to mix up enough to fill up a container suitable for dipping lures, and once you're done dipping, or the level gets too low, the rest would have too be thrown out. It also requires proper safety equipment (it's VERY toxic) which might not be worth it to a lot of folks. I spray lacquer for a living so I already have the expensive full-face respirators, gloves, etc... In the end, I don't believe it is any more durable than the typical clears (Dick Nites, eTex, Devcon, etc...) - - - but I'm a very impatient man, and being able to apply a clear quickly with minimal fuss, no rotating, and extremely quick cure time was appealing to me. ;D The real test will be durability.....if it doesn't make the cut, I'll just have to switch to something else. I'm hoping for the best.

I think the better question might be - why WOULD you use a swivel. Crankbaits don't spin in a circle.....using a swivel is just a bunch of unneeded weight and hardware.

I haven't tried them, but I assume they're the exact same bait as the Mimic flatside (Mimic makes them for Strike King). If so, you can save a bundle of money just buying the Mimics, which are selling for about $5 right now on ebay. I've done very well with them.

I use a SNAP ONLY on all crankbaits. I also take off the split-ring. I think the poll might be a little skewed - - as some of the "direct tie" people might be tying directly to a split-ring, which would not actually be DIRECT tying. Direct tying to a crankbait's line-tie is one of the best ways I know of to kill the action.

My bigger airbrush arrived today, so I was able to start shooting some clear. I can't believe the difference! Completely changes the appearance of the lure (all the sparkle and color intensity really come out). This is one light tack coat, followed by 3 heavy coats (Matrix MS-42). This lure is going to be my test bait for durability. It's going to see some rocks this weekend!

I'm really new at this whole thing, but here's my little contribution, anyway. All paints are House of Kolor urethane. 1. Solid black basecoat 2. Lemon Yellow (spray underbelly - also used for eye-shadow) 3. Black Sparkle Pearl (spray entire bait, fading into belly yellow) 4. Cover bait with scale mesh and bar stencil (I used a big hair comb) 5. Orion Silver Metallic (sprayed for bars and back).

I like the baby bass pattern....the black splatter is a nice touch.

I would like to start making them as well - but that's down the road a little bit. I thought I would start with painting and work my way into the building side of it.

Matrix MS-42 (automotive 2K urethane)

Finally got my paint in and my booth all set up......here's my first "practice" plug. Just some basic fades. The eye gave me some fits, though....I can see why guys use stick-ons instead of airbrushing them! (BTW....I haven't applied a real clear coat yet - still waiting on my bigger brush to show up before I can shoot it......I did spray some clear flake carrier on it to up the gloss, though)

I really like the Ultra-Lock worm/soft plastic hooks. The Triple-Grip trebles will flat keep a fish on, but they bend WAY too easily. Some people love Triple Grips and some people hate them.....I'm trying some Gamakatsu EWG's to see if I can remedy the whole hook bending thing, but still stay with that type of design.

No, you aren't wrong.....line-tie position has a pivotal role in determining crankbait action. On a bait like the B2, raising the tie up the nose tends to tighten up the bait.

Looking good Natty.....it would look even better on those hand-carved cranks you never finished! :)

Those are real Bagleys......that was a short lived gimmick I believe they came out with sometime in the 80s(?). They generally aren't regarded very highly among Bagley enthusiasts, so they tend not to sell very well.

It's possible that it could be tighter than I'm guessing....the line-tie is pretty far down the lip, and the farther you go, the more it works to tighten up the action, but that's still a lot of lip angle.

Killer! Something looks very special about the lower cranks in the last pic. Fantastic baits all around!

Finesse Cranking Honey B, Flat-Shad Little B, Norman's Crappie Crank, Zoom WEC Sweet Pea, little Rapala Shad Raps, etc.etc..