So hows it look for a first timer?

1st time?! Looks pretty dang good, great work gman  

1st time?! Looks pretty dang good, great work gman

Yup first time.  I've got a good mentor though.  Thanks Big M.

I would think so after seeing the awesome cranks he puts out. All I can do is paint, I'm not sure if I could make the actual bait itself

GMAN, that bait looks good enough for me to fish, you must have a heck of a teacher.    Now get some paint on that bait, they don't like to be naked.

That looks great! Your first try is miles better than mine was. This one (the bottom one) wasn't my first, but it was made the same way. I took a stick, whittled the bark away, bored a hole through the stick, inserted a wire, and colored it with Sharpie pens.

G,

That looks awesome. How did you go about rounding the edges? Let me know if you need some feather tails.   8-)

sand paper and a carving knife.  I like making them.

Will do on the tails IB.

Thanks! for some reason, I was thinking it was going to be a bit more complicated than that. I cut out some shapes out of balsa and I will "round" them out per your instructions.

Any time on the tail feathers.