SkilletSizeBass.

Piatu, nice work, they all look cool

I went to Patola lake yesterday, 1'st time I've been there in quite some time, and we didn't do anything My brother caught one small bass, and I snagged a nice crappie on a crankbait. Fished from about 7am to 3pm, I think the water temp. was in the mid 60's, calm wind. We didn't do with a darn. I haven't been hearing too many good reports on Patoka lately, so I was curious if any of the forum guys have had any luck there? Thanks John

The before pics looks like they been run thru the wringer, they were tore all up. The after pics are real sweet, you made them look brand new. I like the finish on all of them, but the top one, your bait, I like the color the best Very nice work Fishwhittler

I think they came out looking good. nice work

I need to try some of the deep diving Rapalas, maybe the DT-16 and DT-20. build up my deeper diving cranks some

It is a good looking bait. I probably need to give swimbaits more effort :

Very nice work.They all look good, I think the bluegill in pic 2 is my favorite.

Bassmasters had an article recently on frogs, one kinda caught my eye, hand painted, until I looked it uo and seen the price, up to $60 floridakayakfishing.com... and then I checked out these by Deps http://optimumbaits.com/OB2/2009/04/rabbit-fur-series-2/ Just curious if anybody has tried these pictured by Deps, at $12?

Cool idea and nice job Keep us posted on any updates and how it works.

Yes, it's the RC series. Thanks, I'll watch for them to go on sale. We have a huge BPS close by that I visit regular.

I think RW had an excellent reply to roughly the same question asked previously. There may be an some good info under the fishing articles on that subject. I would either try a weightless worm, or whatever bait your using, or either try to " punch" thru the cover with a very heavy weight.

I don't have as much sucess with a buzzbait after the water temp. drops down, unless you have a couple sunny warmer days, but it wouldn't hurt to sling one around a bit and test the waters.

I'm sure the spook and the sammy both produce nicely, I just haven't used them. I mostly use either a topwater frog, a buzzbait, or the ole tried and true Jitterbug

It is still ugly and scary. So are you, but given the opportunity I'd hop on your boat and out fish you anyday... Its so odd looking its cool. It wouldn't be as weedless as a regular buzzbait with the treble hook hanging down, but its still cool. Heres a topwater that looked diferent.

Is the rc series the ones Bass pro puts on sale for like $10 a couple times a year? I'm going to watch for them and pick up a couple silent models.

I haven't tried this bait yet, but I'm curious to see how the Zoom Z-1's and Zoom Killer2 does.

My brother and his son fish it often in the spring. They do very good fishing rock ledges with a carolina rig. I don't think they go much in Nov., but it may be worth a try.

Very nice work. Realistic looking baits.

Very nice Marty, you make it difficult to decide, I've been reviewing your past post, and the saved pics of your work I had from last year trying to make up my mind, now you add more nice selections to pick from ;D

Very nice work...That sunfish is too cool

All of them are very nice. Great job

Yes - - those are actually my cranks, too - among the first of Big M's "Charlies." I'm a big fan of tight action....and not just tight, but "lively" action. Think high-frequency wiggles. When I'm fishing in cover (and in general), these characteristics give the bait a quick start-up.....in other words, more wiggles per distance pulled. It's the action I find most consistent, whether the water is clear or not. I was working on a few designs to try to nail the action I was looking for (just for personal fun) last year. I'm pretty happy with the results, but I never really got them totally past the prototype phase. Making your own cranks is fun, but really time consuming. I haven't messed around with it since I started going back to school, but I want to get back around to it again one day. Stringjam, Yea I think I saved these pics posted from one of your previous post. I liked it when you posted it last year, and even more now as you described the tight, lively action Big M's Charlie has. I've been talking to Marty, I just got to figure out what I want. Another one of your baits that Big M done that you have talked about is the Petey style cranks, how would you describe its action? The pics you posted, is that the prototype you were working on last year? They are awesome bad stringjam One of them sure would look good in my grandkids collection ;D

These are very good - - quality is a little questionable though, unfortunately. Have caught a lot of fish on that bait! Tight wiggle is a relative term....a lot of baits mentioned in this thread are not what I consider tight - certainly not RC 1.5's. Speed Traps are also great. I pay little attention to lip shape - - I fish square and round both in the heaviest cover I can find, and they'll both come through if you fish them correctly. If you want to go the custom balsa route, the suggestions are endless, but I will give a here to the Big M "Marty's Charlie." It's based on the old Charlie O design (one of the few rounded cranks that has a TRUE tight action). If you can find an original, they're equally as awesome, but they're very difficult to find. I sent an original to Marty, and his bait does a fantastic job at reproducing the action. Stringjam, is this the Charlie O that Big M makes your talking about? This crank is awesome looking. I'm going to talk to Marty about one of these soon.

Very nice work Marty. I really like pics # 2 & 3. very clean

I've heard some of the custom builders say they think the small round lip baits come thru timber better. I would check with some of them, Stringjam, Big M, or Jawjacker.