# my biggest and smallest baits thus far (not finished)



## pizza (Apr 4, 2008)

I just realized I'm sitting here working on the biggest and smallest baits I've made and figured I'd post pics. The large one is 4.75" - thanks for the inspiration all you muskie guys, not exactly a muskie bait, but....should work great in the fall when the smallies are fattening up.

Started from scratch with these, usually I use basswood pre-cut blanks. Its also my first experience with cedar and mohagony. I'll post pics of the finished product when complete.

And with the price of gas, I find myself enjoying making lures almost as much fun as fishing


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## pizza (Apr 4, 2008)

I'm also trying to see how thin I can make shad style baits and still get good action from them. (difn't bait than one in pic below)


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## vc1111 (Apr 13, 2004)

Thin can be the ticket to great action on a shad bait. It creates vibration which seems to trigger strikes.


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## TIGGER (Jan 17, 2006)

Those look great pizza. I love both shapes!
John


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## pizza (Apr 4, 2008)

thanks for the + comments guys. This site is extremely fortunate to have such great luremakers (among the best in the world) who are so willing to share info. When I see pics of the lures you both make I always seem to be at a loss for words (and frothing uncontrollably at the mouth). So although I don't always comment, your work as well as everyone's work on here is truly an inspiration. So many things I want to try, not enough hours in a day! 

(Yes my hook hangers are still held in place with superglue and superglue only   )

I just noticed that I probably should have mounted the front hanger a little more towards the front. I'll probably end up putting a little more weight (split shot) towards the front to compensate for the "front/rear balance". Gonna try to make it a suspender. But if it ends up a slow floater or slow sinker that's fine(since it inevitibly will). Originally I was trying to make something like a Lucky Craft Pointer 100 but I didn't measure the dimensions or refer to a Pointer 100 when shaping it (just made it)and it ended up closer in size to a Pointer 128.


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## pizza (Apr 4, 2008)

I am very pleased with how they turned out. I am now using a turner - huge improvement vs my old technique (hold next to light bulb and rotate as necessary) and a must when using etex. The ones that are blue and orange, I've named that color denver broncos as I hope they get SLAMMED!!!

Can't wait to throw the big one!!!!

And some more that are in the works.


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## pizza (Apr 4, 2008)

and note how the scales are backwards lol....


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## pizza (Apr 4, 2008)

new one. Heading down to the basement for a (very brief) rattle can session.


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## whittler (Feb 10, 2008)

Like them all but the little ones are what really draw my attention. The small baits are much more difficult to make, at least I think so and far less forgiving of even the lightest error. Great work.


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## pizza (Apr 4, 2008)

thanks whittler, it means a lot to hear that from you. You are a big reason why I got into making lures in the first place. I was the guy that traded you the basspro gift certificate for a couple of your amazing creations-shown in pic. In fact one of my first 3 lures (also shown) was an attempt to clone your middle 50. 

I've only recently started working with mohogany and haven't fished any of the little guys yet(3 total, all mohogany & all pictured in this thread), so we will see how they swim. The second smallest has no dedicated ballast. I'm hoping the hooks/split rings themselves combined with the higher density of mohogany (compared to basswood which is what I have been mostly working with) will do the trick. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Do you approve of my "whittler middle 50 clone"?

and one that is in the works alongside some ultralight cranks for comparison.


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## fugarwi7 (Sep 20, 2006)

Pizza...nice bunch of lues! Hard to believe you guys make such tiny baits...I don't know how you do it!! Nice Job.


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## whittler (Feb 10, 2008)

If those are some of your first lures I can only imagine what kind of work you will be doing in the future. The mdl. 50 has been a good bait for me and seems to work well with about any type lip that is put in it.

Those small baits are what really grab me, have been doing a few of those latley and know what a problem they can be, especially making those little lips.
Great work.


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## pizza (Apr 4, 2008)

thanks fugarwi7 and whittler!

For me the hardest and most time consuming part is sanding to shape. Your thread showing all your micro cranks inspired me and I busted this one out in the last 24 hours I think. I'll probably take a break from the really small ones for a while. Next I'm gonna try 3/16th-1/4 oz with a single treble.

I fished my 2nd smallest tonite at a pond and did quite well- about 7 fish, one gill the rest largemouth. I ended up cutting off about 2 mm from the bottom of the lip and it swims great. I even had a nice largemouth about 16-17" or so on for about 20 seconds-jumped twice before it spit the lure. That was on my original smallest that started this thread lol.

I love the shape and design of the middle 50. That bait has a great action and is the perfect depth for the rivers I fish. Thru wired lips are something I look forward to trying (feel free to share any tips ). 

Have you made any middle 50s in smaller or larger sizes? Those would also be awesome.

Cheers


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## pizza (Apr 4, 2008)

vc1111 said:


> Thin can be the ticket to great action on a shad bait. It creates vibration which seems to trigger strikes.



Well that slim shad that was first shown top view by a quarter and then with the backwards scales was the first bait I made where I didn't put any dedicated ballast. Normally, but not always, I use water gremlin round split shot 735-BB and put one in front and one behind the front hook hanger. Sometimes I'll just put one in front of the front hook hanger. But anyways, no dedicated ballast AND I also coated with D2T full strength followed up with a layer of etex.

Long story short, I am starting to see that too much clear coat deadens the action. It does swim straight but just doesn't wiggle much. I also have concluded this based on the original smallest crank in this thread. I ended up (wasn't planning to)putting 3 coats of clear on it and although it does wiggle, I wish it wiggled more. The clear on it is thick as I was also playing around adding clear while it was on drying wheel(which did yield a nice semi-rounded belly on the sides on an otherwise flatside). 

It also appears for cranks that ballast is usually necessary. For really small cranks, the hook weight may be enough. We shall see. I have two small cranks (smallest and 3rd smallest, both pictured here)where I didn't use ballast, but I have yet to fish them. And the choice of wood needs to be considered too.

Fun stuff!


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