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.
Not yet, Steve. It's new for this year. I only made three and one is gone already. I have two more in the 51/2 Flatshad to finish in the next few days.
Here's a few more pics of that one and another Albino in the 8 1/2 inch version carved from cedar...
Vince, if you don't mind me asking, what are you using these days to seal your baits prior to painting? Are you still sitting on a stock pile of the old Minwax? I haven't found anything to write home about.
Yesterday, Larry and I started out fishing on Lake Milton. After an hour, I just had a feeling that things weren't going to go our way on that river system.
We bailed and headed for West Branch. It turned out to be a good decision. We started out casting my favorite spot and I raise the mid 40s fish on a ********* in fire tiger. Larry also raised one but neither of us was able to connect after that so we began to troll.
We managed to boat four muskies before the day was done. I took a 37, a 38, and a 44 and Larry caught a 38. It was an outstanding day of Muskie fishing
All of my fish came on a Fatfingers 5 1/2 inch Flatshad in West Branch Albino, which is a now proven color pattern that I devised a number of years ago after observing some of the more common characteristics of our local Shad population. Below is a shot of the only bait in my entire box that interested the beast.
I really tried in earned to sort of fine tune the presentation but no sir, they ONLY wanted that bait yesterday!
Of the four we boated yesterday, the 38 that I caught was the most remarkable because of his markings...he was an amazing bronze color with beautiful spotting along his sides. Here's a shot of him after I gently set him back in the water and then another shot of him the split second he realized he was free
to exit...
I have been using a 50/50 mix of mineral spirits and clear polyurethane and i get about a .005"-.010" penetration on the long grain on eastern red cedar ( aka aromatic juniper) , sorry to jump in on your thread but I have been lurking around on your forum for awhile and I have seen both of your work on TU awe inspiring both of you take it to the next level and give fellas. like me a high target to aim for, thank you both for posting your work. David J
Here is something I've stumbled onto recently that works great to fill in the slot on my thru wire baits. My friend has been giving me these thin sheets of cedar that are put into cigar boxes. Some boxes have 4 of these in them. They are about 1/16" thick and are perfect filler material that's easy to cut and can be stacked to fit wider gaps. Just thought I would share in the event that someone you guys know smokes cigars.
Here is something I've stumbled onto recently that works great to fill in the slot on my thru wire baits. My friend has been giving me these thin sheets of cedar that are put into cigar boxes. Some boxes have 4 of these in them. They are about 1/16" thick and are perfect filler material that's easy to cut and can be stacked to fit wider gaps. Just thought I would share in the event that someone you guys know smokes cigars. View attachment 211643
We have a place nearby that sells tobacco products and sell the empty cigar boxes. If I get over that way, I'll stop and see what they have. Send me a pm with you cell number. We need to plan a fishing trip too.
Im building a new series of baits in a pattern I'm naming Tempered Steel. These are the first attempts. Inspired by how All Eyes uses color on his stuff...
West Branch was tough at first Saturday, but she finally gave us three...a 38, 39, and a 40. All the fish came on Flatshads in 3 different colors, Firetiger (of course), Orange Leopard, and Crimson Shattered Glass, which is a new color pattern I started working on for the last two years.
We also had two other rips in open water, but didn't get properly hooked up while trolling, which is rare with VMC 8650 Cone Cut Trebles.
West Branch was good to us, but word is that Leesville was on fire, giving up a 47, a 49, and a 50 1/2 for my friend, Syl. Congratulations, Syl! Great job!
I think the next week is going to produce a few more fifties because of the moon phase. I could be wrong, but I hope I'm not!
I re-rea my last post...just wanted to clarify that Syl got the 50+ and others caught the rest. It reads like Syl caught all three....he's good but not that good!
David,
Actually, the message board format is great for stuff like this, compared to Facebook, etc., because it allows you to review and re-read older posts. It becomes a sort of permanent reference guide for everyone.
Picked up three muskies on West Branch from about 5:00 pm till dark. Two of them came on the new 5 inch Flatshad in a new color I'm going to call Cherry Soda, which is done in Shattered Glass.
The third musky was a 39 which creamed a 6 inch Firetiger Flatshad.
I'm going to post some pictures of the 5 inch and the 6 inch Flatshads side by side to show how much difference that one extra inch makes as far as the profile of the bait. It is incredible.
I think I'll also post a few pictures of the other Flatshad patterns that have produced muskies this year.
I'm also going to share a minor change I made one the 6 inch bait that seems to have made quite a difference so far.
Sweet! Some great fish Vince. I'd love to see how those nuances you are working into the bait are having positive results. I get such a big kick out of your baits and learning of the ways you tinker with them.
How have your ********** performed? Are you still getting them casting those or are you primarily in the mid summer troll pattern at this time?
Sweet! Some great fish Vince. I'd love to see how those nuances you are working into the bait are having positive results. I get such a big kick out of your baits and learning of the ways you tinker with them.
How have your ********** performed? Are you still getting them casting those or are you primarily in the mid summer troll pattern at this time?
The ********** are producers, Critter, but I missed a lot of the early season fishing so I didn't get a lot of casting in. The trolling has been producing numbers so it's been hard to stop doing it. Glad you like the baits. I was out of the shop for too long!
I'm curious, do any of the baits you make for musky have a "thruwire" design? The ********* you have above would probably make a wonderful tuna stickbait!
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