I know this question is totally subjective, but I'm asking it anyway: Who makes the best Circuit Board Crank? That is to say, do you prefer a big name brand, or a handmade crank, and if so, whose?

I relly like Brian's Bees crankbaits. They are handmade in his shop in North Carolina.   Check out his website.

My favorite custom crank makers, with a few pics just to show some of their work.

Marty Burns (Big M)

Rob Cochran (JawJacker)

Richard Manley

Bobby Kelly

Nomad Lures (form. BlackJack)

John Mills

Flat-Shad

Zoom WEC

Brian's Bees

Here's some from Japan I really like...unfortunately it's a pain to get them over here... >

Flutter Baits

Nakamura

Kaihatsu

Woodream

T.H.

FD Custom

John Mills

What ever happened to him? He was a big help around here.

My favorite custom Circuit board cranks are made by "Bubba" Messer here in Georgia. If you are lucky enough to have some then you know that they are tournament winners. I'm not talking about a tournament here and there. I'm talking about back to back tournaments several times. The down side is that after you order them you are added to the list and you should expect them within the next year or so. But the wait is well worth it.

My favorite semi-production cranks are the Circuit Breaker cranks by Buckeye Lures. They are awesome. I call them semi-production because they are custom painted by the Buckeye pro-staff.

I go with Bandit's off the shelf as I throw them all over the place and when I lose one I am not that upset.

I also have some Lucky Craft's, too.

I have some from Japan but I dont' throw them too often for fear of losing them.

I do not use any hand-made baits other than Dave S's swimbait he sent me and I am extremely caeful when throwing it.

Those pics are beautiful.  Outsanding paint jobs.  

Great pics.  I checked Brian Bee's website, some absolutely beautiful cranks, but the prices? $65.00 for a crankbait? Uh, no.

John Mills

What ever happened to him? He was a big help around here.

I'm not sure why he doesn't post here anymore......I've seen him around a few other places.  

I love his little teardrop finesse cranks.....those things always seem to get bit - - way fun to fish!  

I'll second Big M's baits. Excellent craftmanship.

Stringjam, your pic skills are awesome.  You should be doing photography for some of these custom guys on the side.

Zoom WEC Sand Flea and Sweet Pea.

What's a circuit board crank?   :-?

What's a circuit board crank? :-?

It's a lip material...otherwise known by it's actual material or trade names (Garolite, Micarta, G10)  

It's very thin and strong, and thus popular for lip material.  

I personally don't really trip on whether my cranks have it or not - - - I think the actual design of the bait is more a determining factor of it's effectiveness......I like Lexan lips just as well.          

Hey Stringjam, do you ever fish your baits? Those all look so pretty, there's not a tooth or hook mark on them

< is jealous of stringjam and his array of killer baits. :-/

Of course I am.

My baits never look that good.  Hell, even the ones I haven't fished are marked just from being in tackle boxes.

Hey Stringjam, do you ever fish your baits? Those all look so pretty, there's not a tooth or hook mark on them

They look so pretty because I take these pics immediately after receiving them (kind of like a custom crank inventory ....... yup - I'm a crank nerd!)

You'd be surprised how long they keep that "pretty" look, though.......almost all of those baits have an epoxy coating of some sort (Devcon, Dick Nites, etc...) and can take a LOT of abuse from fish.

Surprisingly, some of the weakest finishes seem to come from the Japanese baits - - - with as much effort as they seem to put into bait design and precision, they seem to go a little weak on the clear.

I don't trip on it, though.....the more beat up the bait gets, the merrier. I have balsa cranks where entire chunks are knocked off the bait......still produce and I still throw em'.

Some more crank porn.....

The bait on the right is a DD22... ;D

String that is an unbelievably amazing lineup there. I'm jealous. What are the first two baits that you have pictured. Those are some unique and beautiful finishes.

John Mills

What ever happened to him? He was a big help around here.

I'm not sure why he doesn't post here anymore......I've seen him around a few other places.

I love his little teardrop finesse cranks.....those things always seem to get bit - - way fun to fish!

I know I'm not the only one wondering this...

Where can we order some????

String that is an unbelievably amazing lineup there. I'm jealous. What are the first two baits that you have pictured. Those are some unique and beautiful finishes.

The first 3 are all made by FD Custom (Masaru Oniyama). He builds a supurb crankbait - along with some really unique finish ideas. The black one is actually wrapped in carbon fiber, and the top one has a thin layer of abalone shell.

I dig the abalone shell - - it's beautiful when the sun hits it just right.....(like this earlier pic).

Unfortunately - - getting ahold of any of the Japanese cranks is a PITA.  I was just fortunate enough to have a contact visiting Japan who was willing to pick up and order these while he was over there.  

I know I'm not the only one wondering this...

Where can we order some????

jjmills@myjaycounty.com

He has a PhotoBucket account with pics of a bunch of his baits.

Yea I really dig the abalone finishes. I'm gonna have to work harder on my customs list now  

Hey Stringjam, How do you like those Brian's Bees cranks?

Stringjam

How do you like the WEC Mutt?  I have a few but have not had a chance to take them swimming yet.  Also what about the Dee Baits?  I have almost pulled the trigger a few times but for some reason have not.