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Fired up the airbrush...

538K views 4K replies 200 participants last post by  Halonsix 
#1 ·
...finally.

Been working on the paint shop (drywall, insulation, paint, light fixtures... yuck, all work, no fun) and have the room finished to a point where I can use the new paintbooth.

I'm a little rusty because I haven't painted for about 6 or 7 months, but I got the first one painted and applied one of three coats of clear. Its a chubby minnow-type bait and its built to run about 5 to 7 feet deep.

I was trying to achieve a metallic copper effect that would change color as the bait rolls and wiggle on the center axis when retrieved. It seems to have worked out fine. It turns from a dark rust color to a light copper color as the bait is turned in the light.





I started a couple more, but ran out of time.

I'll post a few more as the weeks go by and I sure hope some of you post yours too.
 
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#3,133 ·
Was just thinking of Bulldawg the other day as I was slipping into my rain suit that I got from him a while back. It's warm but thin material and really comes in handy on my boat for those days when it's raining, but too hot for heavier rubber rain gear. Ideal for days like last week out there.

And Pete- If you don't mind, I am curious as to what type of action you get with this profile and downward curved lip like this one. It looks like it would produce a nice wobble. Just a very cool looking bait overall.
Bait Fishing lure Spoon lure Fishing bait Red
action.
 
#3,134 · (Edited)
Atmospheric phenomenon Water Haze Fog Mist


This is a shot of the conditions Bulldawg and I fished through at West Branch last Sunday after the heavy rains. This shows the best conditions of the day actually.

This is not a black and white rendition of the shot. It's the actual color.

Really looking forward to better weather and more normal trolling conditions in the weeks to come.
 

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#3,135 ·
Recently I received some questions about how to build an effective jerk bait.

I'll add to this later, just for the purposes of trying to help others interested in casting jerk baits and gliders.

"
This was my response to his request to have a conversation about tips to build a jerk bait:

"We can try, but it is difficult to articulate all the properties that go into a good jerk bait. Additionally different styles of jerk baits require different weighting and properties.

One of the tough things about building jerk baits is getting JUST the right action. Many jerk baits will run but not all of them will get bit.

I like a jerk bait that can be worked very fast without blowing outl...this requires a thinner bodied bait.

For me at least, the strikes tend to come on a continuous RAPID retrieve. Then there is the question of depth. What portion of the water column do you wish to use? The top 18 inches? The area from two to four feet deep? Four to six feet? Weighting will vary and again, just because you can get a bait down deeper does not mean it will produce muskies.

Over the last 15 years or so, I have made shallow jerk baits that I was certain would be failures, but proved to be excellent producers . (They are usually the ones in the top 18 inches of the water column). Depsite that, the shallower running baits seem to be the ones that have the most latitude as to getting bit. Not sure why, but I am sure that is definitely the case. If I were just starting to experiment with jerk baits, this is where I would start. In my last two outings, I put three muskies in the boat with a bait that only goes down 12 to 18 inches. All three fish came out of or very close to about 8 feet of water. The bait I was using runs straight but just a little wonky, actually rolling up to one side on each sweep of the rod tip, but they were loving it anyway. I also had four other that followed it but I didn't see them in time to figure 8.

Also note that figure 8ing a jerk bait is not easy. They don't turn well. But...I get more fish to grab them at the boat then I do with fish that follow a crank bait.

I usually carry 8 to 12 different jerk baits. The variety of action, depth, and color is important to putting fish in the boat.

Color for jerk baits seems to be far more important than it is for casting cranks. If you have the right bait in the wrong color you'll get follows but not takers.

I could spend all my time building jerks. I love them and I love experimenting with them.
Show me what you've built already and maybe we could start from there."
 
#3,136 ·
Vince - Thanks and I agree with all the above--I am a real sucker for searching ' U-tube' to see how some of the 'masters' do it, mainly Japanese, from go to who they are so meticulous in anything they do, and the prices of their lures certainly reflect this.
An old French Polisher told me many years ago "What you put underneath, you see on top", so true, and if you have tried to cover a mistake, or just forgotten something, it usually takes twice as much time to repair it.
As with you Vince, 'jigs' are my saviour here, I have one (OR many) jigs for just about every step in the process, from basic profiles, lip slots, screw eyes, and ballast weight, to eye socket placement, and everything else in between o_O------without these every lure would become a frustrating and time consuming experiment.

As for posting finished work :eek::eek:;)Although retired now, I seem to have less time than when I was working for a living- I have spent the past month helping a brother renovate his house (for sale), I think this is the most frustrating month I have ever spent, mainly because I can't do what I want, when I want,, namely 'renovate' that duplicator.....
Pete
 
#3,137 ·
'Eyes'--- With the lip down this way ('Red' convex pictured above) the action is more subdued and narrower than if the lip was up the other way (concave) where it has a good wide sway- a few side benefits of this are, I can make a lure and put either lip in it, concave for depth (15') and a wide swaying action, OR with a convex lip ('Red' pictured) I get a narrower sway and reduced depth (8')- another plus is, the red pictured configuration seems to shed weed / grass off the upturned lip more readily than a conventional flat OR the concave version--also both lips are identical and can be fixed at the same depth into the lure slot, you just need to decide if you want to fish 'deep' of 'shallower'.
The picture below shows mixed 3.5" and 2.5" lures with both 'convex' and 'concave' lips.
Pete
Banana Yellow Banana family Amphibian Fishing lure
 
#3,139 ·
Larry and I spent the last two weekends doing some walleye fishing on Pymatuning. I had forgotten how much work it can be to do it effectively. We put some nice fish in the boat and since Larry doesn't eat them I now have some in the freezer even after eating a number of meals and sharing some of the fillets with family members.

I was surprised to see the number of boats out there this late in the season. Guys were using a variety of tactics...trolling, drifting, and vertical jigging. We trolled Hot-n-tots mostly.

I had to do some serious digging through my cache of tackle to find the rods and lures. In doing so, I came across a lot of tackle that I had pretty much forgotten. There were old spoons from fishing for muskies on the Mahoning River, tube jigs and drop shot gear from smallmouth fishing on Lake Erie, and even some larger spoons from my time ice fishing on the Bay Of Quinte in Canada. Catfish gear, bottom walkers, and three way rigs. Spinner baits for both bass and musky and an assortment of hard baits I carved and painted for northern pike on Lake Evans. A ton of plastics for bass and even a box of jig and pig rigs.

Digging through all that tackle was like looking at an old photo album of fishing adventures. It was almost as much fun as fishing itself.

I looked at each item carefully, and for a lot of it, I questioned myself as to why I was keeping it. The answer was interesting...it is incredibly hard to throw out old, but usable fishing tackle..."I don't drift fish for walleye much anymore, but you never know..." "The smallmouth don't respond to that color of tube jigs anymore, but maybe one day those will work again..." There is a rationalized reason for each item, no matter how small or how few. I just put them back and stowed them once again for that "one day" that is probably done forever, especially since all I really care about anymore is the mighty musky. But...you never know.

My gear grows older. My boat has grown older. And so have I.

I would do it all again. And you know what? I wouldn't change a thing.
 
#3,140 ·
Last night I spent a little time in the shop.

I first spent some time on the computer working on a few experimental diving lips and I also worked on some variations of length for the Flatshad.

It is interesting how a small change in total length changes the size of the bait when you constrain the proportions.

I also started a few Rocketshads and made templates for the new Flatshads.
 
#3,141 ·
Finished carving and sealing three baits tonight and started four more. I'm on my last can of Minwax sanding sealer. Not sure what I'll use to seal baits after that's gone. I've been using that stuff for a decade and as I'm sure most guys know, you can't get it anymore.

Would love to know what you guys are using that works for sealing wood baits.
 
#3,142 ·
I know what you mean. That 4 3/4" Flatshad seemed so much smaller than the standard ones. Caught fish too. I caught more on that one bait than any other from the time I got it until I moronically lost it earlier this year. I just get so upset when it is taking longer than usual to release fish I start to panic a little. lol Glad to hear you had some time for the Rocketshads!! I took one of my very few vacation days I have now to fish yesterday and get my sanity back. Haven't been out in almost a month except a couple hrs with Bobby W. last Friday night. Wouldn't you know, half hour in boat starts running badly and I have to leave. Can't complain too much, my daughter and grandson are doing better and better.
 
#3,143 ·
I know what you mean. That 4 3/4" Flatshad seemed so much smaller than the standard ones. Caught fish too. I caught more on that one bait than any other from the time I got it until I moronically lost it earlier this year. I just get so upset when it is taking longer than usual to release fish I start to panic a little. lol Glad to hear you had some time for the Rocketshads!! I took one of my very few vacation days I have now to fish yesterday and get my sanity back. Haven't been out in almost a month except a couple hrs with Bobby W. last Friday night. Wouldn't you know, half hour in boat starts running badly and I have to leave. Can't complain too much, my daughter and grandson are doing better and better.
The only guy getting enough fishing done this year is Syl. He has the whole lake to himself too!
 
#3,144 ·
Vince- I have a quart of Minwax sanding sealer you can have... Its virtually un-used. I've had it for at least 3-4 years. You will put it to good use much more then I will. PM me your address and I will UPS it to you- or better yet- lets meet at West Branch this sunday morning and I'll give it to you? Jim
 
#3,147 ·
Spoon are fairly easy to paint. There are many guys on this forum that paint their own for casting, or jigging, or for attaching to inline spinner baits.

Cranks are also pretty easy to paint but if you're considering reprinting your old baits, you have to prep them for paint first. This usually involves first removing all the hooks and split rings and sanding the bait for primer before masking off the diving lip.

It is something you normally do because you want control over the paint work (color, pattern, etc) and because you like the 'do it yourself' aspect of things.

If you'd like to start a thread, I'm sure all the guys who frequent this forum will be glad to help you with each stage of the process. We were all beginners once.

As to the cost, you'll need a few things to get started, most of which you can find used if you look around. It doesn't have to be that expensive if you do a little homework first.

Hope that helps you out.
 
#3,148 ·
Spoon are fairly easy to paint. There are many guys on this forum that paint their own for casting, or jigging, or for attaching to inline spinner baits.

Cranks are also pretty easy to paint but if you're considering reprinting your old baits, you have to prep them for paint first. This usually involves first removing all the hooks and split rings and sanding the bait for primer before masking off the diving lip.

It is something you normally do because you want control over the paint work (color, pattern, etc) and because you like the 'do it yourself' aspect of things.

If you'd like to start a thread, I'm sure all the guys who frequent this forum will be glad to help you with each stage of the process. We were all beginners once.

As to the cost, you'll need a few things to get started, most of which you can find used if you look around. It doesn't have to be that expensive if you do a little homework first.

Hope that helps you out.
Yes it does thanks. I have to do my honey clean the garage and make myself a work station first then I will be looking farther into it. I have most of this month on vacation so I should be able to knock it out.
 
#3,153 ·
Thanks, Steve.
I have something in the way of a new Flatshad design for you to try. I think you'll find it fits a particular slot in the profile spectrum. It's a five inch Flatshad and its an I between size as compared to the 4 3/4 and 5 1/2 inch range. You have to see the together to appreciate what I'm talking about and why I'm excited about the idea. I've also tweaked the weighting and the lip on it and the 6 inch version. (So far, Syl has the only 6 inch Flatshad with the new lip design.)

Hitting Milton later today with, Larry.
 
#3,155 ·
Milton was crowded yesterday, but it was, as Larry said, not as crazy as West Branch can get.

We tried a variety of baits, including a few of the newer ones I made for my box. I spent some time duplicating a bait that I had made way back in 2005. It was a bait that I built in a simple Tennessee shad pattern and I tried it a few times and put it away. Years later, I gave it to Larry and he scored multiple fish with it at Lake Milton one day. I decided to duplicate it, but I couldn't help but add a little more detail the color pattern. I let Larry try it out for its maiden run. About an hour later, he hooked a nice one but it came unbuttoned.

Later in the day, I snapped on a. 5 1/2 inch fire tiger Flatshad and took a nice fat musky as the sun was getting lower in the sky.



As the sun set, the temps dropped and you could feel Fall coming on. I've not been able to fish much this year and I'm afraid I'll almost certainly go into winter without having scratched the itch for muskies. But, I'll take what I can and enjoy the Ohio waters we have close by.

I'll put up some bait pics soon.
 
#3,158 ·
Here's a look at the new five inch size I'm now building. I always like to start a trial bait in firetiger because doing so eliminates one of the variables as I go about trying to judge the relative effectiveness and productivity of anything new. I actually painted this one and a few others rather quickly so I could do some testing before bow season kicks in.







Also made a few others in firetiger.



I've tested them all and they all run, which I expected. Now I'll go about trying different lip sizes and shapes on them. There can be a certain lip shape or size that produces the best in general, and there can be other lip configurations that are better suited to casting, for example.
 
#3,160 ·
Thanks, Steve. I'm going to build about a half dozen of the new five inch versions pretty soon. I want one for myself in Shattered Glass pattern. That pattern scored a 44 at Milton in the 5 1/2 size so I want to try it in the 5 inch size also.

Did you fish West Branch this weekend?
 
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