When I want to fish a balsa crankbait, I use (and collect) Bagley and Rapala baits, exclusively.  More and more I am seeing newer manufacturers get into making nice collectible and fishable cranks.  Lee Sisson (hardly a new name) has a line of baits out, Rick Clunn has the 'Awesome Thundershad', and there are no-balsa (cedar) baits like Poe's.  Do any of these baits hold a candle to Bagley's quality and collectibility, or Rapala's sturdiness and ease of fishing them?  Any other suggestions for balsa baits?

D-Baits

Jackall (some models)

H&T Balsa

BeeZee

Zoom WEC (I've gotten some crooked lips from them, but some models are killin!)

There's many, many more (Brian's Bees, BlackJack, On-The-Line, WooDream (haven't used...still trying to track one down somewhere), Carolina Chips, Catching Concepts, etc.etc.etc.)

I've actually been trying to get away from Balsa and wooden baits in general just because of the fragility.  You always have to keep Balsa sealed or they will absorb water.  

I personally think the most underutilized crankbait material is FOAM - - and I'm pretty sure the only reason more people don't use it is because it doesn't have the marketing mojo of "Balsa."  

Cool, thanks for the list!  Eventually I want to make my own, even with those I can't find certain color combos that I want.

You can always re-paint your baits to match the schemes you want.

I was thinking about trying it, but dunno if I am that artistic... I looked at a bunch of yours in the Tackle Making section, they are Grade A paint jobs.  How long did it take you to perfect your technique?

Gary Nesty (FLW fisherman and owner of Solar bat sunglasses) bought Wally G. Baits from Wally Lawrence a few years ago and is now producing these baits in a more or less mass production run, although they are still better than most CB's today. They arent real hard to come by and are only a few bucks more than LC's.

But of course, these are not as good as the original Wally G's that were handmade in his garage for many many years. It would be well worth whatever you have to spend to get a hold of an original, they are FANTASTIC.

Cool, thanks.  Nothing on Ebay for Wally G Baits.  The Wally G website picks are small on my computer, so I can't get a good look at them.  What makes them so good, and worth $20+?  Are they more durable than bagleys?  Some of my newer ones are taking a real beating lately...

Im not sure if you will find any of Wally's originals on ebay becuase the people that have them wont let go of them...

Also, Im not sure about the new process, but I have seen how Wally makes his (I have been fishin with him for a long time) and I know for a fact that his baits have an almost indestructable coating of Devcon 2-ton epoxy, two layers worth that are hand brushed on. Like I said, I am not sure of the finish of the new production models from Mr. Nesty, but I would hope that they are as good as what Wally uses to uphold the same quality and lasting effects of the originals.

As to it being worth the price, I guess thats in your own eyes, but I can say that these baits catch fish when others wont, and catch them when others will too...

If you are wanting to try one I would definately reccomend the Rat or any of the Wally family in whatever good looking shad pattern he offers, you wont be dissapointed.

Dad and I literally have hundreds of Wally's we have accumulated over the years and VERY, I mean VERY (like 1 out of every hundred) few baits have been damaged beyond a surface scratch. And I am by no means "careful" when fishing cranks, I smack them against the rocks on the shore, chunk them into underwater rocks and logs and dock posts...whatever cover I can hit, I try to because especially when the Wally family of baits deflects off something the action goes crazy...

Great baits at, to me, a great price for what you will get.

Also, dont quote me on this, but I woul bet that if you would buy one of the new ones and had a problem with the finish or anything a simple phone call to the company would probably make it right.

I doubt the new Wally G baits have devcon brushed on anymore.  That's the clear coat I use on my baits and it is too time consuming for a big production.

Avalon, I've been making baits now for 5 years and the painting gets better the more I practice.  I consider my painting to be a little better than avg.   You don't need to be artistic to operate an airbrush, the artistic part comes into play when your blending colors and shading.  

Let me know if you want to get into painting, I can put you on the right equip and paint to get started.

Yeah, I would doubt they have brushed on finishes as it would take too long. It is probably a sprayed on clear coat sealer of some sort, but I have a couple of them and it seems like a very sturdy finish, although they have not been put to the test like my real Wally's so I can say anything from experience.

It is a good idea to always keep some Devcon II handy.....with a little practice you can coat any fragile lure you have with it, and touch up wooden cranks that have finish cracks (or whatever).     BTW...you can get it at Wal-Mart.  

Carolina chip is a great custom crankbait artist.

He is Ish Monroe's preferred guy for custom baits and repaints of standards.

http://www.carolinachip.com/

Avalon, I've been making baits now for 5 years and the painting gets better the more I practice.  I consider my painting to be a little better than avg.   You don't need to be artistic to operate an airbrush, the artistic part comes into play when your blending colors and shading.  

Let me know if you want to get into painting, I can put you on the right equip and paint to get started.

I appreciate it, I am deciding designs and hardware right now, and once I have I will be picking everyone's brain for help.  Hopefully I won't bug the heck out of you too much.