wickyman

They look too much like a piece of art. I would throw it, but would it produce?! I have to say, that there are some people with some different ideas out there... Let me tell you!

Marty makes some of the coolest cranks on these forums! I think, out of all of the people who make cranks, his are some of the best. Other people have their own styles, but Marty makes a bait that I would throw, any day!

I use auto air air brushing paint. I think it is made by createx. It's worth the cash. If you ask me, no one makes a better paint... It's thin, comes in all sorts of color combos, and makes life so much easier, even on clean up!

I could test it for you...

Very nice FW. I like the colors! That would be a killer winter bait out here on Clear Lake.

Same here. I personally only buy lures that I know are able to work. I only also buy balsa cranks. I prefer some rapalas, but then again, if I can get away with it, I will spend a little more and buy the custom baits. It all depends on what I want, and when I can get it. I get almost all of my soft plastics from my brother in law. He is great at pouring, and I wasn't really able to do it, flawlessly... I just make some lures, and if they don't work, I keep at it... Eventually I find the right concoction and keep on that line...

I actually did it a couple years ago. It actually worked our great! I think I used a couple of pieces of pine from a pallet, and it was the perfect width. I think they were like half an inch thick, maybe less than that. Anyhow, I glued them together, let them sit a while, then started the process of removing all the excess areas. If you can, make the slots for your line ties to go, usually connecting all of them with one wire, per piece is best, it makes it stronger. At this point, before you go about gluing it, cut your angles the way you want them. I skipped this process and ended up with a lure kind of like the one you did, with flat surfaces. It looks nice, but it swims even better. I wish I could figure out the weight situation... It also is a top swimmer at the moment. Way too buoyant!

My brother in law might. I don't remember what all he pours. I can check today and see what he says. If you want, he can even make them any color you desire.

I have an old abu maxx. Not the best reel I have ever owned, but I paid 25 bucks 2 years ago... So you got a deal there... I don't like the fact that I don't have instant anti reverse... But, for back then, abu was on the ball...

My line of choice would be the berkely 100%. I don't use a lot of fluorocarbon because I never found a need to have something that abrasion resistant. I use berkely trilene 10lb. It's strong enough, and pretty abrasion resistant. But for the purposes of the thread, I would get the 100%. Usually, the line twist is the error of not using a swivel... Next up is the baitcaster... I personally have never ran across that kind of issue with any line... Usually the easiest way to remove it, is to let the reel do the work, and use pressure of your thumb, and reeling a bit to allow it to remove it. Then you want to click the thumb bar, and try stripping it out of the reel, until its removed. It happens to everyone, but sometimes it can't be fixed that way. User error strikes us all!

Personally, I would get myself a Shimano clarus 7'0"-7'2", medium action. They are by far the best bang for the buck, and just at around 70 bucks, they are worth it. They also have a lifetime limited warranty. That is well worth it! But then again, my reply is biased, I throw pretty much only shimano rods... haha

You should make a swimbait from two blocks of wood glued together. That way you can cut the angles necessary to get that swimming action. It looks like it would be easier to do, and put lead in also?

You know what? Daiwa has a bait that swims on its side like that... I can't remember the name of it though... It has a bill on the side, and it's a wake bait. Kind of looks like a jointed dying bait fish. You might have something there...

I love that bluegill! Yeah, carving knifes work great. I prefer a smaller box cutter, with the blade out just slightly, maybe an inch or two. This gives you a nice long handle, for control. I spend a little bit of time on the dremel, but that is mostly shaping. A scrol saw is great for making the shape you want, quick. if you can get away with it, you could also use a table spindle sander...

Adding any layers to your baits might hinder performance, but only slightly. If you are a tournament angler, that slight change can be a win, or a loss... I just say, as other have also pointed out, keep them dry. I like to hang mine up in a cabinet, on some kind of styrene foam, like the kind you get your meat in, and really let them dry out. Then, when it's time, and they are dry, I stick them back into the plastic boxes, with silica gel packs. Like the ones you get in jerky packs. I have hundreds of them... They are great for keeping all sorts of moisture out!

I believe lurecraft sells them, also does janns netcraft.

Interesting. Try it out in the water, make sure it works. Maybe catch a fish!

A bait is only going to last, as long as it is well built. You can get a balsa crank to last years and years, you just have to check for any chips in the epoxy on the surface. I have had a couple of rapalas disintegrate because they had cracks in the paint, then got wet. It's not common, but it could happen. Yes, keep the hooks of other baits off the surface of the lures, and they will last longer!

Wow, that's a relatively short rod for flipping. You must be flipping in tight spaces. I only use a 7' rod for flipping/pitching, so I can't say much... My brother in law is using a 7'9" bionic blade, with the telescoping butt. Old school. Have you learned the technique yet? Make sure you learn to flip left handed, so you don't have to bring your hand back to the reel... It's much harder to have to switch the rod in your hand, and make an accurate cast... I'm a left handed fisherman, and I have learned the technique in reverse of what I just told you, so make sure you learn to do it correctly! And don't rule out pitching, either! There is sometimes a small advantage to being able to do both.

When you get your compressor, make sure you get a filter, so that you don't get moisture into what you spray. It will cause the paint to splatter, and mess up whatever you do. Inline filters work wonders! And just have fun, take your time, figure out what works best for you!

O.M.G... They look like real crappie. I can't believe how realistic those are! UNBELIEVABLE skills... I want to try my hand at PVC, but have yet to find a place that sells quality PVC, and I don't really know what I am looking for... haha

Wow, those are amazing.... I am amazed. I seriously didn't realize at first, that, that was a swimbait! It is incredible!

They are in excellent condition. In fact they still had the film over them... So they are basically brand new... They are pretty sensitive for being, "cheap rods"... I have to say, even with the bulky, ugly grips, they are more sensitive than some of my shimano rods... Even more so, than my shimano clarus... I don't understand that... But still, they are pretty decent, and I can fight fish well with them. I might modify the handle, and go from there just didn't want to destroy something, if they were worth money. You know?

I have had no problems with either of my reels... I mean for the fact that my array needs a good cleaning to remove the nasty oil that was used at the factory... Probably hot sauce, which imho isn't the most quality reel oil, or grease, on the market... But otherwise, the reels haven't failed me, on the countless trips I have had. Yeah, I know, I should grease, and oil my reels more often, and I have with the optix... But the array, is pretty bullet proof...

I have yet to find a company that offers more than one left hand reel... I mean, the market is dominated by right handed people... So of course, there is more demand...