Here's my second bluegill swimmer in this pattern.  I did several things differently, including more realistic scales, additional head detailing, and a free-swinging tail instead of a fixed tail.

I used twisted-wire hinges instead of the hinges I used in my other bluegill, and I think I'll stick with these.  The action on this lure is much more fluid than my other bait even though it has one fewer joint, and it looks more life-like in the water.

I'd love to hear what you guys think of this one.

Ben

Real nice swimbait Ben. What I really like about it is the light pink coloring on the body. I started using a soft flesh color on mine like you did and it does gives it a more natural look.

Thanks!

The pinkish color you see is pearl satin gold under a light misting of pearl purple.  The sides of the bait were gold, and when I sprayed pearl purple on the flanks as a highlight the overspray gave a pinkish tint to the gold.

Looks awesome FW! Looks like it has a lot of action to it.

I think it looks really good! Great work !!!!!!!!!

Very nice Fishwhittler, love the new scales !!

dang, them look good enough to fillet!!

wow looks great! just like a bull bluegill in the spawn. big improvement over your previous bluegill swimmer. how did you do the scales on this one? same woodburner bit as the last one?

if i could make some suggestions, it would look better with less black on the face and much lighter stripes.

Thanks guys.

Dave, I made a tool that gives the round scale shape. I took a piece of 1/4" steel rod and cut off one end at a 45º angle, and then I filed a concave edge on the sharp end. I can post a pic if that would help.

I wanted this pattern to be darker than the first one I did, so I sprayed on the black heavier and did several other things that made this paint job darker than the original. I'm still messing with different shades to get a bluegill pattern I really like. I'm satisfied with this one as a dark bluegill pattern, so now I'm going to work on a lighter pattern that has the same basic coloring.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Those are sweet.