# My first crankbait



## All Eyes

After looking at all the amazing work on here I finally decided to try my hand at carving my first crankbait. I decided to make a balsa shad rap style first. I figured balsa would be a good place to start. It's 2 1/2" long by 1/2" thick (basically a #5 shad rap) and will be wire through construction. I will take more pics when it's finished.


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## ShutUpNFish

Thats a good shape!


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## fisherman4life42

Looking good so far

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## MEISTERICS

I am loving it. I look forward to your progress. I


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## BigDaddy300

Good start bud! If you need a tester of your finished products just let me know. I will be glad to help.


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## Bulldawg

Looks great John , cant wait to see the finished product .


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## All Eyes

TY! I now have the wire in and ready for paint but I didn't put a belly weight in this one. Don't know if it's a necessity or not. Hopefully it won't roll and tracks somewhat true. I guess we'll see. Sure wish I had an airbrush right about now. I have all these paint schemes in my head that I want to make but am limited to spray bombs.


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## Bulldawg

If you have a few bucks laying around , Harbour Freight has a great airbrush . I believe its $15.00 , but its a two stage which is what you want . Then head over to Pat Catans and buy a few bottles of createx . It wouldnt take very much to get ya going . As far as weighting the bait goes , it really all depends on the bait itself . First I would try setting it in water and see how it floats with your screw eyes in it . Sometimes placement of your screw eyes makes all the difference in the world especially with a small bait such as that . Plus you hooks will help also , do a little experimenting and make the call from there John . If you have ANY questions at all give me a call and I will help ya out .


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## All Eyes

Thanks Bulldawg. I plan on picking up an airbrush soon but I spent my last $20 on a rainsuit.  I may be shooting you some questions as I go. I learned a ton already by reading posts from your friend Vince. I hope to be half that good one day.


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## JamesT

You will want to put some weight in there on the bottom. Split shots work well. Looking nice.


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## All Eyes

I plan on testing this one without weight first and adding it if needed.This is one of many more to come and I'm looking forward to the process of tweaking them as I go and playing with different actions. I appreciate any input and advice I get along the way. 

So far so good on this one. The wire is in place and centered and it just got a coat of primer. It doesn't show up but I also made eye sockets to sink some eyes into. not sure what paint scheme to go with yet.


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## muskyslayer96

All eyes,

Looks good so far, with a bait that small you may be able to get away with just adjusting the hook size to use as ballast.

Look forward to the finished product. I second the HF airbrush, $17 on sale thats where i started and just bought another for base coats, well worth the money...it's not an Iwata, but you can learn all the techniques and tweeks on that and then upgrade. Practice and learn to thin your paints correctly, it will save you a lot of headaches. Grab an old pair of nylons and stretch across all the createx paint bottles to filter the tiny chuncks that will make you want to stroke out.
Best of luck,

MS


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## Bulldawg

All Eyes said:


> I plan on testing this one without weight first and adding it if needed.This is one of many more to come and I'm looking forward to the process of tweaking them as I go and playing with different actions. I appreciate any input and advice I get along the way.
> 
> So far so good on this one. The wire is in place and centered and it just got a coat of primer. It doesn't show up but I also made eye sockets to sink some eyes into. not sure what paint scheme to go with yet.


You cant go wrong with a firetiger or natural shad color . Firetiger is pretty easy and it can be modified any which way you like it . As far as a shad color goes , put on a pearl base coat , then put black on the back of the bait . With a iridescent purple right over the black , but when you put the purple down lay some scale netting over it to get a scale effect . 

Certain colors have different thickness's , and thinning is a must . I use a pledge floor finish and water to thin the paint out . It makes a world of difference .


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## All Eyes

Thanks a million for the tips. Stretching nylons over the bottle is something I would have never thought of. It sure would help keep the boogers from ruining a good paint job. That's worth it's weight in gold. 
Also I was going to ask about thinning the paint but you guys beat me to the punch. It seems like I've read about Pledge on here before but forgot all about it. I still won't have an airbrush to use on my first one, but these tips will help me a ton when I get started. Thanks again for the great advice.


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## JamesT

I am glad you are experimenting for yourself, seeing what works and what doesn't. As long as you have a plan to add ballast. I will say with 99.5% certainty (not exagerating)you will need ballast. I probably made 70-80 baits out of basswood, mahogony, and cedar (all except one -not including my 2 double jounted- swam fine, perhaps not at my intended depth, but not off by much. The one that didnt swim well at all was the one where i did not add ballast)before trying balsa. Since i have tried balsa (perhaps 8-10 baits or so) most, if not all swim shallower than i had intended, and this was an iterative process where i kept adding more wt as i made more baits. Heck, i still have yet to make a single balsa bait that swims as deep as i would like. Some are close like swimming at 2 feet instead of 3, but some are way off. One i made that i intended to be a 5-8 foot diver ended up being either a topwater or subsurface depending on how fast hou reeled. At the same time these balsa lure aremostly bigger lures than i had been making, so my background experience of guestimating how much ballast to add may not have been effective. Due to its low density, balsa is the most "finicky" wood to work with when ot comes to amount of ballast to add (its more than youbwould think, especially the bigger-ie more volume- of balsa wood you have and the deep divers are the hardest baits to make.

Having said that, i can tell the bug has bitten. Pretty soon, you wnt want to fish anything unless you made it. Please dont take this the wrong way. I am always excited to see newbies and you are off to a great start!


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## JamesT

I just realized one imprtant variable that i dont have much experience with. The fact you thru wire and i dont, other than 3 or 4 baits. This will help(more weight down low=better, basically), and it sounds like it wont be a big deal to add ballast later on. I have never done that. Though i have a few i would like to. 

"keep on plugging away"


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## All Eyes

Thank you again for all the input James. It sure helps to have guys like yourself to save me time and frustration down the road. I figure I will probably be needing weight but can always add it later to this one if it needs it. Just have to learn some more about where exactly to place it/them.
My bait is basically finished now. I spray bombed a purple perch pattern that started off as firetiger that I stripped back down. The green paint that I had was old and spackled chunks everywhere.  So I went with some paint I had on hand and came up with this. The top is a deep purple (purple over black) but it's hard to tell from the pics. Check out my thumb! It's certainly not perfect but I wasn't expecting it on my first one. 
It looked better before I tried to get fancy and put the fins and bleeding gills on. My biggest mistake was that I put a coat of slightly hardening epoxy on the lip I made. It looks wavy but isn't as bad as it looks. I may be able to fix it? Anyways, here is my first crankbait, dust boogers and all.


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## "Big" mark the shark

All eyes looks like you ben at it a while even thou it's your first one.great job


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## BigDaddy300

That looks great bud! Excellent job for your first one.


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## All Eyes

Thanks a million guys! I never would have gotten into this fun hobby had it not been for all the help from you guys on OGF. Vince got my head reeling a couple of years ago with his amazing work and I finally got around to giving it a go. The baits that himself and others make on here have finally pushed me over the edge. I can already see where this is headed and it aint pretty.


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## All Eyes

Now it's official.


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## All Eyes

Here is a good view of the lip and what I was talking about. It looks lumpy and wavy but from the side is flat as a pancake. I got some epoxy on it while I was finishing it and decided to coat the whole thing instead of take it off. 
...note to self


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## muskyslayer96

Well done Alleyes!

Did you end up adding ballast? Let us know how it swims..

A little denatured alcohol on a paper towel will take care of any epoxy on the lip when its wet 

AWESOME work, look forward to your next post

MS


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## All Eyes

The back of this bait looks almost black under normal inside lighting and even outside this morning. But look how purple it is when the flashlight hits it. Kinda cool. It's a candy purple sprayed over black and I think it made for a nice effect.


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## ShutUpNFish

For your first bait...THAT is a Hell of a job! Well done...


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## All Eyes

muskyslayer96 said:


> Well done Alleyes!
> 
> Did you end up adding ballast? Let us know how it swims..
> 
> A little denatured alcohol on a paper towel will take care of any epoxy on the lip when its wet
> 
> AWESOME work, look forward to your next post
> 
> MS


Thanks man! "when it's wet" is where I went wrong.  
I do have a feeling as James T was saying that it will need a ballast. The fronk hook wire sure helps to balance it but I doubt it will be enough to keep it from rolling at faster speeds. I plan on cutting some split shot in half and using them as sticky weights before I go drilling any holes. It won't be the same as internal weighting but it should give me a better idea as to exactly where to put them for max action. 
That's a guess but it looks good on paper.


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## JamesT

First paint job? Are you kidding me?!? That is better than any of mine!!! 

Awesome!

For what its worth there is a scientific way to figure out (give a ballpark figure, of course it will depend on what you want the lure to do from a diving depth point of view, do you want a slow riser, fast riser, slow sinker, suspender, etc)how much ballast to add. If you are interested go to tackleunderground and search "archimedes". I have never done this with lures, but we did use the archimedes principle to figure out density of sapi plates back when i was in the body armor industry. 

Keep up the great work!


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## JamesT

My gut feeling on weighting, a couple slightly less than 1/4" diameter split shots (easier to use the ones that once they close they are closed and cant be reopened but I have used both types) bw front hook and bill(drill 2 separate holes, so they can be low- later and when working with shallower lures, try stacking a few in the same hole, this will lead to a higher center of gravity and a slightly more erratic action). Then try one about midway bw back of lure and front hook. Another idea to get an approximate idea of how much ballast to use (did I say ballasting balsa can be tricky?)is if you have a scale. Weigh your current bait. Weigh the amount of ballast you think you need. Find a commercially available balsa diver (like the shad rap) that is similar in shape and size to yours. Add your two weights together and see how it compares to the weight of the commercially available lure. If it is significantly less, then you probably need to add more weight. And if it is significantly more, then you probably need to add less. I have never done this, but the thought crossed my mind. I recently bought a digital scale to use for bait making but have only used it a few times. Ok maybe it wasn't so recent, I'm going on a year of not doing squat, need to get back into it.

They also sell hook hangers with built in ballast but i have never tried these.

I use smaller split shots, so weigh the split shots before.

Just a gut feeling, sounds like you have a plan. You are being more scientific than me. I have just always put and distributed ballast based on gut feeling.


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## All Eyes

Thanks for the kind words and helpful info! I probably won't make another one until I get my airbrush and some other supplies I need. I plan on doing some weighting and incorporating some rattles in the future. My next bait will even be smaller (#4 shad rap) and I'm going to experiment some more with ballast. I really like the small 2" cranks for shallow eye fishing in the spring.
May go with a hard wood on my next one also?


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## JamesT

I just edited my last post right as you posted. I added "slightly less than" and then also an idea to get a rough ballpark figure for amount of ballast to use based on commercially available lures, but you need a scale.

Personally, balsa has been tricky for me. But I didn't start with balsa. All the power to you as you are starting with what I think is the most difficult wood to work with as well as making deep divers, which are more difficult than subsurface-5' divers. You will be fine, take my words for what they are. I really enjoy reading about new builders because we were all once one. The early stages of luremaking are some of the funnest, just wait till you start catching!!!!


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## sonar

Near perfect,John,,,I would be damned proud of that as a first,you should be too!! ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


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## All Eyes

Thanks Vince! Overall I'm pretty happy with my first one. Sounds weird but I've made so many in my head that it was just a matter of going through the process and actually doing it. Thanks to tutorials, tips and pics from guys like VC111 and others that took the time to educate it really took the guess work out of it. The only thing that wasn't certain was the color pattern. I'm limited to rattle bombs for now so I can only get so much detail. I figured perch, shad and firetiger would be do-able but wasn't sure which one. The purple was an afterthought after I screwed up the firetiger paint job I did. 
I need more practice with wire bending and need to buy a bender or at least make one. And I have to get myself more aquainted with cutting lips and making ones with a line tie through them. Very soon I am going to add 3-d gill plates, foils, rattles etc but know I can't get too fancy too quick. Figure I'd make a few plain balsa Shad Raps first and move on from there. It's really hard to beat an original balsa Rapala. I split one in half a year or so ago and looked at the guts of it. Can't wait to start making walleye minnow baits like HJ's and Rouges also. Love them things in late fall.


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## All Eyes

ShutUpNFish said:


> For your first bait...THAT is a Hell of a job! Well done...


TY I appreciate the compliment


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## JamesT

Let me get this straight. You did that with rattle cans?!?!?! I was thinking you did it with an airbrush. All the more impressive. I can really appreciate that since all I use is rattle cans. Haven't even attempted something that fancy yet. One of the Montana spray paints (there are two montana spray paint brands I'm pretty sure) sells fine tip caps for rattle cans but they are always sold out at dick blicks.


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## All Eyes

I sprayed the whole bait with white primer and then shot it all yellow. Then I shot black on top and orange on bottom. Then I went back over the black with a purple clear that I had. For the stripes I cut slots in a piece of thin clear plastic and taped it to a piece of screen and sprayed the purple through it. With the stencil being clear you can make sure your alignment is good. Real easy to do as long as you keep a couple of feet minimum away while painting and sweep the can without pausing. Always push the trigger aimed away from what you're painting and move it through your project mid stream. Much more consistancy and no blobs that way.
The eyes on this bait were made by making little sockets with a Dremmel tool. Then I put a drop of gold leaf paint into the cavity so it stays put. After it dried I put the black pupils on. You can make cool 3-d bubble eyes like that if your paint is thick enough. It will dome up slightly without leaving the socket. I practiced on some scrap and liked how it came out.


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## ShutUpNFish

Thats how I first started out (with cans)...If the bait looks that nice done that way, your airbrushed ones will be beautiful...you're a natural. Just think layers!


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## vc1111

I was absolutely certain you'd be good at cranks after seeing your other work.

That one is a beauty and I can't wait to see more of what you'll come up with.


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## All Eyes

Thank you Shutupandfish. 
Vince- I hope you know that the blame for my new addiction lies squarely in your lap. You fat fingered SOB. Now I'll never get anything done.  Thanks for having faith in me and getting me started!


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## All Eyes

Decided to make another bait the same size and shape as my first one. I added some ballast weight this time so I can compare the two. These are a couple of split shot. One a bit closer to the hook wire than the other. I saw a similar bait with the ballast in this position so I went with it. I'll take more pics when it's done.


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## All Eyes

A couple questions regarding diving lips on my crankbaits. 
Some baits are made with the line tie on the nose of the bait (like mine) and others with the tie in the lip itself. What differences does it make between the two? I'm assuming that the further forward the tie is, the better controlled action and possibly depth you can achieve???
Also I was thinking about going with a metal lip on my next one instead of lexan. My thought was to use a chatter blade as a lip. They are very thin like a Hot n Tot and I was thinking it may help to get the bait to dive deeper. 
Any thoughts and opinions from experience would be greatly appreciated.


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## JamesT

I like the idea of using a chatter bait blade, but I don't think it would handle rocks or wood well from a durability point of view(may get bent, especially when trying to free snags). The angular edges may also be more prone to getting snagged. I think the flash could be very beneficial in certains situations(attract fish from distances, etc), I like original wiggle warts bc of this (one reason)and the lips aren't nearly as shiny as the CB blade. If you plan on trolling or casting in areas where there is low livelihood of snagging something, I think the CB blade could work great and be very effective! Heck the end of the blade may flex during retrieve and give it a unique action. I've used real thin lexan which noticeably flexes, for lips, no problems.

Typically, the closer the tie to the body, the deeper the lure swims, all other variable held constant. As far as action, this will depend on other factors like shape, size, material of body, ballas amount and distribution, and intent of original lure design prior to changing tie in placement. By "better controlled action" do you mean tighter wiggle, wobble, or both, or....? To answer your question, just try to imagine the lip, its angle, its shape and location, the shape, size and material of your body, the amount and distribution of ballast, and the rhythmic reactions the bait will have as the water hits the lip at the rate that you are reeling or trolling. Try to think/imagine like a lure will behave/react.  Have fun, liking your updates!

Or something like that.


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## st.slippy

I made some shad rap style baits, I think with lexan or whatever you are using it also helps reduce the flex in the lip putting the line tie through the lip. Think of how flexible the material is. If you have a long lip the flex at a higher speed would make the movement more erratic, and more likely to come out of the water. By decreasing that distance you would allow the lure to go deep (not quite as deep) while assuring a more consistent wiggle or wobble.

I had good results flattening out a colorado blade most the way and snipping the back angle out of it. I'm no pro, and my baits aren't that pretty, but most of them have worked. It is hard to match airbrush wourk with your kids paintbrushes and acrylic paints freehand.


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## All Eyes

Thanks for the help. I think I have a better understanding of it now.

Here is my second attempt at a balsa bait. On this one I went with bluegill. Found some glitter paint and thought I'd try it. Pretty cool stuff. The lip on this is a chatter blade that I coated with Envirotex to help strengthen it. Thought about modifying it but left it alone. The thin diameter may help it go a bit deeper I'm guessing. This one also has a couple of split shot in the belly so hopefully it will run decent and won't want to roll. Again done with spray cans but man did I do a lot of layering on this one. 
Went and priced airbrushes and compressors today. Won't be long and I can't wait.


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## All Eyes

Another view before it was finished


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## All Eyes

I really have no idea how well the action or depth of this may be but I'm very curious to find out. The hope is that the larger flat lip really gets it down there. Also I just bought some basswood today and am looking forward to messing with it.


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## muskyslayer96

All Eyes,

Outstanding job all around!!!!

Welcome to wood building madness..........looks like you got the fever 

Well done,

MS


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## All Eyes

TY MS! I got a bit carried away on the sparkle paint and it looks like a dune buggy from 1976. Plan on going with a bit more of a basic paint job on my next bait. Maybe firetiger or a simple 2 color scheme? This one looked awesome in chartruse and orange and then I just kept going. Imagine that.


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## All Eyes

Only my second bait and already I have 2 new pairs of painting shoes. 
They used to be my regular shoes.


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## JSykes3

Man, that is a kick arse color. I think you should let me test out this one.


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## JamesT

Love that you are trying stuff that i have not seen tried before......ON YOUR 2nd BAIT! Keep up the great work. I have a soft spot for glittter too, sometimes lots of it  Great paint job! And nice choice of hammered lip.


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## JamesT

Basswood is a great wood to use for lures and is what i started out with. I strongly recommend it, especially for someone new to the hobby. I didnt try balsa for 2-3 years, other than the one i made from a bobber lol. Keep on keepin on...


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## All Eyes

Thanks for the compliments. It's been a lot of fun so far. My next bait I'm working on is a smaller profile bait very similar to a Wally Diver. Another one of my favorite lures. Just got the primer coat on it and am thinking about what colors to go with.


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## All Eyes

Here's how my newest one is turning out so far. A bit smaller profile than my first 2. The plan was to make this one firetiger with black lines/spots but I think I'll just keep it the way it is. I am working on some different lips and am not sure which type to go with yet. The top is again done in that same sparkle green as my last one.


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## All Eyes

My latest one is almost finished. This one again has 2 lead plugs in the belly. 
I ended up re-shaping a chatter blade for a lip and painted it to match both top and bottom. Done with rattle cans again. One more coat of E-Tec and I can put the line tie on the blade. This is one of many smaller profile baits I want to make. Also just got some more colors to play with. Woo-Hoo!


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## Masterbasser88

Keep up the good work. Looking good 

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## All Eyes

Here is a 2 1/4" bait I made out of basswood. It's hard to tell from the pics but the top is sparkle deep purple and the sides are metalic copper. I call it posessed perch. Something a little different I guess.


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## trailbreaker

impressive


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## All Eyes

TY! 
This one kinda got away from me and I wish I would've stopped before I turned it into what it is. Now I've got to make another one. Dang!
I discovered a pretty cool way to give the effect of foil with these metalic colors. By pressing a wire mesh into the bait while the paint is still a tad bit soft made for a nice textured scale effect. It looked just like foil. I really liked it and then screwed it up with a paint run. AHHHH!!! Think I'm done painting with cans. 
Here is a pic of the bait wrapped in the wire mesh I'm talking about. You can see how I masked the gill plate which I eventually painted over afterwords. It looked so good when I unwrapped it and then Captain Overkill decided it needed more.  This stuff is much easier to use for me than screen due to it's ability to wrap tightly around a bait without clips or anything holding it.


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## All Eyes

A couple more pics of the last one. The top is green glitter over dark purple. 
The lip is made out of a little Daredevil spoon that I flattened out and trimmed down. I never intended to paint the lip on this one. It was a nice shiny brass after I polished it. Eventually I will learn to sit on ideas a bit before jumping into things. Just having too much fun I guess. 
The eyes are little jewlry gemstones I got at Pat Catans. Little bags of them in lots of colors for under $2. I made recesses for them to set in using a Dremmel tool.
This is a paint over paint screw up deal and it's hardly perfect but I still am learning a lot with each new one I make. My next baits will have lexan lips. Need to get some thin stuff so for now I'm McGuivering things around the house like spoons and chatter blades.


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## All Eyes

My newest one is an articulated musky bait. All hand laid abalone shell.

Ok, just kidding.  This is an old bottle opener that was a Mexican tourist piece many years ago. I think it's the grand daddy of swim baits.  I've had this for many years and really don't know how old it is but have been told 1920-30 area???. They aren't worth too awful much I don't believe. I've seen them on E-Bay before. Still pretty cool and some neat craftsmanship went into making this. Just had to post this to mess with you guys.


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## JamesT

Very nice. I just realized you are the person also making the spoon/vibe type lures. Love the macguivering! Those gemstones make nice eyes(ill use a sharpie for the pupil but it can run if you dillute your epoxy coating). I have never recessed them, however, and sometimes (not a lot) the epoxy will get worn off the eyes since they buldge out.

Captain Overkill?

Who's that?

Keep up the great work and trying new things.

And yes you got me on that last one, first saw it and was like, " the newbie decided to go school everyone lol....."


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## All Eyes

Thanks again for the kind words and interest in my hobby.
Here are a couple of pics of a new one I'm working on. The first pic shows the bait painted in metalic copper and the 2nd one shows the scaling effect I was talking about. By pressing it onto a screen mesh before the paint is completely cured leaves an imprint and looks like foil scale. The lexan lip I have stuck in this one is too fat so I have to get some 1/16" stuff. I shaved this one down to make it fit just for looks and the pic. Once this thing gets epoxied it should look pretty cool.


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## JSykes3

I'm surprised the crazy cat guy didn't jump on you for flattening out a daredevil, lol.


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## JamesT

Nice discovery, looks great! Added to list of things to try.


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## JamesT

JSykes3 said:


> I'm surprised the crazy cat guy didn't jump on you for flattening out a daredevil, lol.


Lol, when i saw he did that, the first thing that went thru my mind was...wt??? All the power to him if he can get it to work. Not sure which dardevil he used but the smaller sizes tend to be thicker.


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## All Eyes

In my defense it was a Daredevil knockoff anyways.


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## JamesT

I will forgive you for destroying a spoon, any spoon, but only because it was transformed into the lip of a homemade crankbait.


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## JamesT

that is not a genuine dardevle lip.

I sooooo want to open this and fish it(I probably will this year, I've waited long enough lol). It is a dardevlet in the discontinued 3/5 oz size (and hammered nickel to boot). Collect or fish? I like the size and thickness for our local flows. The current dardevlet is 3/4 oz (too thick for our shallow rivers unless they are MOVING). And the next size above that is the 1 oz dardevle, more suited for Canadian pike than for our local flows...

Right now the 2/5 oz imp is a great spoon for the local flows, but I need to start weeding out the dinks....I fish cranks I make and spoons, that's basically about it...lol...

sorry for the hijack, but the dardevle gods had to speak.


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## All Eyes

From my pictures and previous posts, you should know that I'm pretty big on spoons myself. I've made over 400 of them in the last few years. 
My weapons of choice are flat jigging types like the Hopkins/Sratas but they all have their time and place. I don't really target bass anymore so I don't do much in the way of casting flutter spoons. I know they catch about everything else but I more associate them with bass fishing. I grew up throwing the Johson spoons with pork trailer. Them things were killer around lilly pads and tight cover. Now I only fish for walleye saugeye crappie and perch. In other words...dinner.


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## JamesT

I happen to be hungry right now and you are not helping matters....:S


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## All Eyes

This latest one is also basswood and my first attempt at a 2 piece bait. Here I am getting the wire set and before any sanding was done. You can also see the holes for the ballast. Thought I'd try cutting my lip slot after this step and it came out pretty square to the bait so I may have got lucky?


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## JamesT

You are making deeper diving lures than my deepest divers. What do you want that bait to do? How big is it in the pic?


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## All Eyes

I'm a walleye guy. Whadaya think I want it to do? 

This is a smaller 2" body. The lip in the picture makes it look odd. I just trimmed one I had down and stuck it on there. It will eventually have the same diameter/shape as a deep shad rap. I'm waiting to get some thinner stuff to make the right lip for it. Unless you are referring to the angle?


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## All Eyes

Added green eyes and cut a new bill.


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## All Eyes

Another shot to show how small this one is.


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## All Eyes

My latest creation. Also made with basswood and 2" long. Shallow walleye time isn't far away.


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## All Eyes

Another pic of the firetiger one. This is my favorite one yet as far as overall body shape.


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## theyounggun

That firetiger looks sweet. Looks like you got it down. Keep it up! Is that a thru-wire too?


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## ShutUpNFish

Looks Sweet All Eyes....nice work!


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## All Eyes

TY and yes, the bait is wire through. All of them I have made so far are done the same way. Here is a new one that I have painted with a gold base. Something is telling me to just leave it gold. It now has a redish orange belly and I may just put some eyes on it and call it a day? Not sure yet


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## TIGGER

Those look great!!!!!!!!!! The fish are going to gobble those up! Gold with orange belly for sure!
Put those on leadcore line out at mosquito you will have to beat the walleyes off of them.


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## All Eyes

Thanks John! You probably have made bigger baits for your key chain. 
Love casting these little cranks in the weeds at Skeeter and Berlin. Lead core is something I need to get in to. It's obviously a very productive method for the eyes. Just don't do a lot of trollling in the inland lakes. 
I plan on making some HJ type baits soon. Your night bite walleye bait post are some of the best looking lures I have ever seen. Very inspiring for a newbie like myself. When I get an airbrush I'll probably start making batches of baits instead of one at a time. There's only so much I can do with spray cans.


----------



## All Eyes

Went with another press on scale job. All gold with orange belly. The eyes are holo sparkle tape with a black pupil.


----------



## trailbreaker

all eyes i'd buy one


----------



## theyounggun

I really like the press-on scale technique. It looks as good as foiling. It takes some skill to make thru-wire in lures that small. KEEP IT UP! :B


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## All Eyes

Well, I am up to 9 baits now and still painting with cans. I keep telling myself to leave them alone until I get an airbrush. Then they just stare at me like my dog at the dinner table. 
This is a 3" bait made from basswood. Wire thru with slightly larger balast. If any of these baits are going to swim right, it'll be this one. I'm very happy with how true and weight/wire centered this turned out.


----------



## All Eyes

A couple still a work in progress. I remembered a trick I use to use on my spoons using a perm. marker and a q-tip dampened with alcohol. It takes some practice but you can get some nice subtle fades. By applying the colors over a thin coat of epoxy you can gently rub off what you don't want.


----------



## JamesT

All Eyes said:


> Well, I am up to 9 baits now and still painting with cans. I keep telling myself to leave them alone until I get an airbrush. Then they just stare at me like my dog at the dinner table.
> This is a 3" bait made from basswood. Wire thru with slightly larger balast. If any of these baits are going to swim right, it'll be this one. I'm very happy with how true and weight/wire centered this turned out.


Have you taken any casts with them yet? If not, now would be a good time to start slinging em. Ive got confidence in them, but you will learn a lot and can start fine tuning details in your build procedure to get the action/depth you want.

You guys would laugh if you saw all my rattle cans. Maybe tonite ill gather them up and post a pic for shiggles....if i wouldnt have bought so many id probably have gotten an air brush by now, but i went a little overboard on the rattle cans lol.

Great looking bait, and i hear you on the perm marker. Another tool/trick in the toolbox. The only perch ive done was with sharpie for the bars and i was very pleased with results. I liked the fact the shapie "ran" a little bit due to my dilluted epoxy.


----------



## All Eyes

Thanks again James and yes, the sharpies can run with alcohol too which can make for a nice soft effect. You are absolutely right that I need to go test these out now. I don't want to make a bunch of baits that I will want to modify or wish I'd done something different. For the most part I'm very happy with the majority of these being balanced. (at least on paper anyhow) 
I've been able to get the line/hook ties and the weighting perfectly centered on most of them. Which is amazing considering the tools I have to work with. I'm using a skill saw that vibrates like a frieght train on a gravel road. For my center line I'm still blocking them up and cutting them sloooowly by hand with a hack saw blade. I can crawl right down the line that way. I start cutting at the top and the blade comes out the bottom in the dead center of my hook tie and balast holes. I'm very anal when I drill the holes and cut. I def work best in slo-mo.


----------



## All Eyes

Painting with cans is nothing new to me. But no matter how good you get at it, you can't get a real pro looking job. Making these baits is only one reason I want and need an airbrush. I have been drawing/painting since I was very young. I studied under Bill Kufhal at Westlake. My artwork is generally portraits done in pastel and or charcoal. This is one example of my work. A much younger Jack Nicholson that I drew in black and white pencil. It is over 3 1/2 ft. tall and currently hangs in my office.
Airbrush is a medium I have only dabbled in a few times in my life and it's going to be a lot of fun for me when I get set up. Painting baits is only the beginning of what I have plans for. Can you just see me doing portraits on muskie baits?


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## JamesT

Holy Nicholson Batman!!! That is amazing! I can only imagine what you will do with an airbrush both on baits and other mediums...

Heres some airbrush portraits a friend did. The Jerrry Garcia isn't pictured, but its my fave. http://www.mantlecarvers.com/airbrush.htm

Happy Friday Night!


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## All Eyes

That is excellent work. I could look at that stuff all day.


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## All Eyes

My latest is another 3" basswood bait done in gold with a light scale pattern and the top is midnight blue (black with candy blue over top) The belly is orange. Pretty cool how the scales look under the blue. Almost like carbon fiber.


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## sonar

Alleyes,the multifaceted jewel!!! your talent hasn't been idle! THAT'S a good thing......... Keep on evolving,I need inspiration!! ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


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## donkey

Alleyes,What kind of action do you get on that lure with the eye mounted that far back on the lip?


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## All Eyes

donkey said:


> Alleyes,What kind of action do you get on that lure with the eye mounted that far back on the lip?


I have no idea!  The plan is to test these before I make any more. My intent is to make them dive fairly deep and still maintain control without them rolling or acting too erratic. We'll see soon enough. I will be making some soon with the line tie in the lip itself but haven't attempted it yet.


----------



## JamesT

JamesT said:


> Have you taken any casts with them yet? If not, now would be a good time to start slinging em. Ive got confidence in them, but you will learn a lot and can start fine tuning details in your build procedure to get the action/depth you want.


I wanted to clarify as i just realized in rereading this thread that i didnt write what i meant. Your build procedure is fine. Weighting amount/distribution, lip angle, length, shape, tie in location, shape of bait, type of wood, etc is what i meant to say.

Also in another post i could tell it was a deep diver from the thru wire pic. My deepest divers go maybe 8 feet but that is a guess as i fish rivers most of the time and they arent very deep where i fish. When i get back into it, i will resume where i lest off. Large balsa shiners. I will keeep building them bigger and bigger while gaining confidence in them until i get my first f.o.smallie...(at least double the volume of the ac shiner 450 while maintaining the same basic shape, then get it to fish at various depths including "the perfect horizontal suspender" (as well as very buoyant to fast sinker....i am a big fan of rapala sinkers...). 

....wakes up from dream....


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## All Eyes

I have only seen a couple of deep divers where the line tie is on the nose instead of the lip. One was a knock off chartruse Wally Diver shape lure I bought at Odd Lots many years ago. It is long since gone but I caught a nice amount of walleye on that plug on Berlin long lining it behind in the no wake zones. I'm not a big trolling guy but do a fair share of it from time to time.
There is obviously a good reason why most of the deep divers tie into the lip as apposed to the nose but I don't know if it's crucial to the action or what. The back up plan I have for my baits so far is that these lips aren't sealed into them yet. If I need to I will shorten them or replace them with lips with line ties installed. Once I see what works best I will seal the lip in place with a few coats of E-Tex. 
Any input on this would be appreciated.


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## donkey

What I have found thru the school of Hard Knocks.Too far forward on the lip gets a lot of wobble but very little dive.The closer to the nose a lot less wobble and maxi dive.But I am no expert on this and merely offer my observations on my successes and failures in my short lure building time.Would love to hear from others on line tie placement because there has to be a science to this and I would love to hear it.


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## All Eyes

Thanks for the input Donkey. I'm hoping to create a tight wobble on a deeper bait but don't want a deep diving dart with no action at all. Nothing will answer my questions better than some good old field testing, but I am still layed up with a disc problem in my neck and can't get out quite yet. 

James T Kirk- I highly appreciate any suggestions and info I can get from experienced builders like yourself. Being brand new to making hard baits my eyes and ears are wide open. As I grow into this I will not be offended if someone tells me that what I'm doing will not work or knows a better method. Some people won't speak up in fear of sounding like a know-it-all, but constructive criticism is the only way I can learn. I probably would've waisted my time and made several baits without any ballast if you hadn't stressed their importance. I was thinking that the front hook wire would be enough in these small floating bodies but after thinking about what you said I think they still need at least some kind of weight for a low center of gravity and balance. Info such as that is gold and exactly what I'm after... I couldn't care less about a bait that looks good and yet couldn't catch fish in a barrel. Any help based on experience is a huge help and saves me time and frustration. TY!


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## All Eyes

sonar said:


> Alleyes,the multifaceted jewel!!! your talent hasn't been idle! THAT'S a good thing......... Keep on evolving,I need inspiration!! ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


Multifaceted jewel. BAHAHA!!! Thanks Vince! If you need inspiration go back and take a look at some of your blades. Not everyone can create stuff like that. A live well full of fish is awful inspiring and maybe you just need to go fishing with your wall-eye candy. It's getting to be blade time! OH-YEAH!!!


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## All Eyes

A good article I just found regarding making lips.
http://www.angelfire.com/tn/treetotreasure/lips.html


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## sonar

Thanks John,, I'm going to Wingfoot,tomorrow,and try some older/smaller(blades) on the perch, see if I can scrounge out a mess for this weekend dinner?? You might try those new lures on 'em there too.... water is pretty good clarity... ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


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## donkey

Hey!Thanks for the link on lip making.Good stuff.


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## All Eyes

Dang Vince, wish I could go with you. Please let me know how you did when you get back. Throw everything you got at them, I'm sure at least one of them colors will work. Good Luck!


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## All Eyes

Hooray for me! I made my first bait with the line tie in the lip. This is gold w/blue back and white/orange belly. I will take better pics when it's dry


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## All Eyes

Some more pics


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## vc1111

To test the different lips, try cutting the lip slot narrow enough that the lips fit snugly.

If you do not glue them in, the bait can be tested and the lip removed and replaced with another if necessary.

When you find a winner, glue it in and you're good to go.


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## ShutUpNFish

Your photos are very hard to see the detail, but I believe that last one is a foil and looks pretty darn nice.


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## All Eyes

No foil work here. At least till I get an airbrush. These are all done by pressing them into wire mesh while the paint is still slightly pliable. My camera takes decent pictures at distances but close ups are terrible. Def need to get a new camera.
Vince- All of my baits so far have a removeable lip with the exception of my first bait and this latest one. I will seal them in once I see what works for me. Right now I'm making some lips with line ties built into them. I'm using U-shaped wire and epoxying the bottom side. Thru-wire lips are a bit tricky for me on these small baits.


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## All Eyes

Some better pics taken outside.


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## JSykes3

Does the epoxy fill in the grooves from the mesh?
Or can you feel the grooves over the epoxy? Just wondering.


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## All Eyes

JSykes3 said:


> Does the epoxy fill in the grooves from the mesh?
> Or can you feel the grooves over the epoxy? Just wondering.


They are very smooth after two coats. Usually smooth with the first coat depending on how deep the scales are pressed into the paint. Def more of a visual effect than any significant texture.


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## All Eyes

My newest bait with one of the lips that I'm making. The length of the line tie wire is about 5/8" long and the end tabs sit flush in little grooves I melted on the bottom side of the lip. Then I epoxied over it.
This one is 2 1/2" again in basswood and a plain spray can bomb job with no scales or anything fancy. It's passion pink, saftey yellow and the belly is ballerina slipper. (light pink) The names they give these paint colors.


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## JamesT

See if your camera has "close up mode". Im using an old 4 mp olympus and it takes good close up (at 4mp, if i blew them up big they would be grainy though). The symbol on my camera for close up pics is a flower, ymmv.


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## JamesT

All Eyes said:


> Right now I'm making some lips with line ties built into them. I'm using U-shaped wire and epoxying the bottom side. Thru-wire lips are a bit tricky for me on these small baits.


Unless you want to thru wire for the sake of thru wiring, there really is no need on a bait this small(almost certain shad raps lip line ties arent, and look at the dt series and many other lip tie ins lol...ever try tuning a poes?). You are using at least two coats of epoxy and it is unlikely you will be catching skies on a small bait like this. No doubt youll have a triple jointed 1" lip tie thru wired posted here tomorrow at the rate you're going, just sayin'


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## All Eyes

HAHA James! You're right about the wire thru lips on these 2-3" baits. I just wanted to make one for the sake of making one. Now I'm designing all my lips with just a piece of wire embedded for the line tie. I guess I've been looking at too many muskie baits on here. 
As far as close-up mode on the camera, mine does have the "flower" mode for that but it doesn't want to work right. I just need a new camera. This one is old and has been bounced around on my boat for years.


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## All Eyes

I will probably swap these hooks out for shorter shank versions but my latest one is ready for action


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## JamesT

All Eyes said:


> HAHA James! You're right about the wire thru lips on these 2-3" baits. I just wanted to make one for the sake of making one. *Now I'm designing all my lips with just a piece of wire embedded for the line tie*. I guess I've been looking at too many muskie baits on here.
> As far as close-up mode on the camera, mine does have the "flower" mode for that but it doesn't want to work right. I just need a new camera. This one is old and has been bounced around on my boat for years.


Not sure what you mean(maybe the following?), but when I do lip line ties, I drill a hole for the wire under the lip slot (right under or a little bit more under, whatever works) and have it go into the bait a little, maybe 6-8 mm or so(though 1 mm deep would work as far as I'm concerned, just tuck in in enough so it looks purty). Epoxy in. All these were done that way. Also the bait on the upper right is the one I intended to dive a little deeper but it ended up being topwater/subsurface. Now where the heck is my sharpie barred perch?!?!


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## JamesT

Also I make sure that there is some epoxy on the bottom side of the lip where the wire is as well as in the hole where the wire runs thru the lip and on the top side of the lip in the hole. 

You are inspiring me to get back into it, going on a year of not doing squat.


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## All Eyes

For my new line ties, I am drilling 2 holes 1/8" apart through the lip and then inserting a U shaped wire through them. I then bend it at 90 degree angles and snip the tabs off on the bottom side and epoxy them flush into little slots that I've melted.


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## JamesT

Gotcha. You went from one extreme to the other lol. I like the melted slots and simple design. Keep on keepin on.:B:B:B


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## All Eyes

Thanks once more James. This design is much easier and just makes more sense overall with these smaller baits. May on Berlin will tell me everything about them I need to know. Them shallow eyes lay in the bushes waiting for a meal and this year I got something for them. My goal is to make a lot of colors and actions they don't see every day.


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## All Eyes

Here is a better pic of the scale pattern that I'm doing. I accidentally put a dent in a paint job with my fingernail before it had a chance to fully dry. 
It gave me the idea to sandwich the bait between a fold of wire mesh and apply a bit of pressure and wha-lah! Instant scales. They look deeper than they actually are. You can't see or feel any texture through one coat of epoxy. I want to get some smaller guage mesh and try it out. These aren't perfect but with a bit more care and experience, I should have it down. At a minimum it's a nice alternative to foil. Some of my best ideas come from screwing up and believe me I've had a lot of ideas!
I may have put the line tie a bit too far forward on this one also. Still working the bugs out of my new hobby! I'm bound and determined to get this crankbait making thing down. It's been a lot of fun so far.


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## JSykes3

MAN! That's so beautiful. 
I REALLY want to start making my own lures but I have to invest some money in the equipment to get started, ha. I have an idea you may want to try. You know that "hammered" paint? It comes in rattle can form. I think it might be pretty cool on a crank, might give it a scale type pattern. May want to give it a try.


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## donkey

Really like the way you did that scale pattern.


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## All Eyes

TY I appreciate the compliments.
This new one I'm working on is a 3 1/2" bait. Same old plain bomb job and red eyes.


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## All Eyes

After epoxy


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## All Eyes

My latest little crankbait. This one is 2 1/4". I made the lip more horizontal on this one and I'm hoping for a bit more depth. I like these little guys for casting flats and shallow points on the lakes I fish.


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## All Eyes

A couple more shots of my latest bait taken outside on my antique digital camera. I should probably throw this thing in the trash and start using my phone camera.


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## All Eyes

You know you've got the tackle making bug bad when half the things you look at turn into a new lure. 
I'm kinda new at this and my question is, would it be considered cheating to turn this knife handle into a wire thru crankbait? I mean...I haven't even touched it and it's almost done already.


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## All Eyes

My newest bait is my first made from cedar. It's also my largest one yet at 4 1/2" and 6" overall. This looks like a bad foil job but is actually a painting technique that shrinks the paint using alcohol. I went with standard painted Rapala looking eyes on this one. I will take better pics after E-Tex and hooks


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## All Eyes

A couple more shots of my newest bait. The gold paint is blistered and looks like wrinkled foil but is actually done by painting over alcohol before it has a chance to completely evaporate.


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## All Eyes

Here are some of my new baits and my first experiments with the circuit board lips. As you can see I'm playing with some different angles with the lip slots and placements of the line ties. I am waiting to airbrush these as well as some other baits and will take more pics with a better camera later.


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## All Eyes

This perch bait will mark my very last spray can paint job as I'm finally getting an airbrush this week. :Banane10:
The purple striped bait was painted by my friend Shawn (aka Many Eyes) last week at his house. This iridescent paint is so cool how it changes colors and will make for some great shad patterns I think.


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## vc1111

You have the touch with this building stuff, Eyes. I can't wait to watch your progress with an airbrush. Keep 'em coming.


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## All Eyes

Thank you Vince! I feel I'm slowly getting better and a bit faster with the overall process. It's been a lot of fun so far and with no end in sight. The plan is to get an Iwata Eclipse for my first gun. If you or anyone else has any input or recommendations I'm all eyes.  Actually I will just re-read previous posts. I remember that there are a couple of recent threads on the subject. If you feel like adding anything I would appreciate it. John


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## sonar

John,you said,If anyone has anything to add,,,,,,, just one,,,,,NICE WORK!!! ,Put the stuff down,,and go fishing,,try that new stuff out& tell us how it works.... Great job,keep it up!! ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<----- p.s. you ever receive my cellphone pics yet???tried again today........


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## All Eyes

Sent you a pm Sonar


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## All Eyes

I kinda like the way these little pink ones turned out even with bomb cans. They may work well in low light conditions???


----------



## All Eyes

I got out and thoroughly tested my baits today. My outboard wouldn't start so I putted around the dock with my electric for a bit and got a good feel for what these will do. That is until my battery died and I barely made it back against the wind. And I do mean BARELY!
For the most part I am very satisfied and kinda surprised by how good the action is on the majority of them. Especially my newest ones. I had to do some tuning here and there but they tracked nice and swam great. There are a few real turds as well but it's mostly due to improper line tie placement. At least I know how to correct it. Also I believe my lip slot isn't square on a couple others that wanted to wander and roll. The bluegill one with the chatter blade lip (my 2nd one) was a nice surprise with a very slow suspended sink rate and action like a Hot-N-Tot. A real rod thumper. I also liked the action of my 6" gold/black cedar bait. I thought for sure I made the lip angle too horizontal but that thing looks awesome in the water. I didn't catch anything but wasn't really fishing. Just out in deep open water dragging these around for an hour or so. Still I feel like I made some progress and got some good feedback to work with


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## sonar

A job well-done is in its self a reward,John..... The results are the pay-off!! & You have to know they will catch the fish,if they work well, you will have confidence in them,,& they will make you happy,,every time you snap one on your line........ Nice stuff! ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


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## Many Eyes

Well finally got this one finished!! Couple weeks ago john came up to the garage to paint an work on some lures... Well i pulled out some mahogany an we started working!! He told me that i picked the hardest lure pattern an wood, to start my first bait!! I think it came out pretty good... Thanks John!!! It was fun!!!


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## ShutUpNFish

Wait until you start bangin' fish on your own builds...THATS when the true gratification begins...nice work.


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## Many Eyes

Yeah, John got me started when he started making jigging spoons... It is a great feeling to pull fish in on your custom baits!!


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## JSykes3

You should make me a few square bills or jerk baits for bass.


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## All Eyes

Lookin good Shawn. I still haven't played around with any of the mahogany you gave me. And I haven't got my airbrush that I'm waiting on.  So until then I'm making some more baits to paint. I have 10 or more ready to go.


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## All Eyes

FINALLY got my Iwata Eclipse HP-CS. Off to look at compressors tomorrow. The one I wanted at Harbor Freight was sold out and I'm tired of the ordering waiting game so hopefully I'll find one I like locally and begin painting Monday.
I also bought some Createx. Not a whole lot but a kit of floro colors, some black and white and a few pearls and chameleons. I'm sure that will keep me busy for a while.


----------



## All Eyes

Here are a couple of new baits I made from pine. This is a repost from the "Fired up the Airbrush" thread but thought I might add them to my original thread when I made my first one. It's been a lot of fun learning new things as I go.


----------



## All Eyes

Another one


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## sonar

NYIEEEECE-John!%,,, & Many Eyes,,,Those are Classic,"eye"baits"!%,,,and "eye-color-correct",,the way I see it,WAY Well done!! Get 'em wet!! let us know,, Also,,I didn't get to the lake Fri,p.m.,like I planned,,,"The Cable Guy" was here,,'til 5:30,,& STILL NOT RIGHT!!!!!! So I got trimmed out of hitting the water,,I've got a couple of new stainless,,I am itching to try-out!!!! ,Maybe Sat.,or Sun., p.m.??? What about you??? ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


----------



## All Eyes

Thanks Vince! My immediate fishing forcast is on hold but am looking forward to getting these wet. Good luck out there with your blades and as always let me know how ya do. John


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## All Eyes

Another floating diver.


----------



## All Eyes

A pair of small fat free shad baits in progress. Hard to see the colors real well from this pic but they are purple clear over blue clear over pearlized aluminum silver. The bellies are pearl white. They have a nice flash in the light


----------



## Silent Mike

i havent read through the whole thing, but looking at the pictures and reading about the first one you did, you are doing an amazing job...almost inspires me to give it a try....just curious, whats the start up cost per bait?


----------



## All Eyes

Silent Mike said:


> i havent read through the whole thing, but looking at the pictures and reading about the first one you did, you are doing an amazing job...almost inspires me to give it a try....just curious, whats the start up cost per bait?


That's a hard question for me to answer. I made my first one using what I had laying around the house so it didn't cost me anything. I have since bought an airbrush and compressor with paint, some diving lip material, stainless wire, and 2 part epoxy. I guess it just depends on what you already have on hand and how far you want to go with it. 
It all starts with a piece of wood and kinda evolves from there.


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## vc1111

That greenish floater diver is truly first class work.

Don't worry about having a few that don't work out for you as you mentioned on an earlier post on this thread. Those are just stepping stones in the process of creating your own special style. 

Please keep postings your work. I really enjoy it.


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## All Eyes

Thanks Vince! This has been a great hobby so far. I keep learning and tweaking and having a lot of fun in the process. Thanks for all your help and encouragement! I really appreciate it. John


----------



## Silent Mike

All Eyes said:


> That's a hard question for me to answer. I made my first one using what I had laying around the house so it didn't cost me anything. I have since bought an airbrush and compressor with paint, some diving lip material, stainless wire, and 2 part epoxy. I guess it just depends on what you already have on hand and how far you want to go with it.
> It all starts with a piece of wood and kinda evolves from there.


thanks! i already have a compressor...maybe ill head to hobby lobby some time here


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## Many Eyes

Building your own tackle. Is so addictive, john got me started. Now I can't stop. We started with jigging spoons, an then vibes, now I'm painting spoons, spinner baits, crank baits . My mind never stops thinking about it. New colors. Everything!! I think its a game to see. What each other comes up with next. Thanks john for the sickness!!!! It is fun!!!


----------



## All Eyes

Hey Shag! Your latest scale baits look awesome! 
Here are a few pics of a pine bait getting ready for paint and my first attempt at a stick bait. It's made from cedar and is 4". Sorry for the bad picture of the finished product. I'll take better ones later


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## Many Eyes

Thanks john. I'm happy with them. Being my first ones. I like the stick bait color scheme. I thought about them colors for my next batch of lures. Both look good!!


----------



## All Eyes

Here are a few of my latest ones. These are cedar and mahogany.


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## All Eyes

On my latest circuit board lips, I've decided to make a few longer than normal and trim them back to expirement with different actions. Anyone done that? The material is so easy to cut and shape I figured why not. I may trim one or two down to a narrow coffin bill more like the Flicker Shads also. Always tweaking


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## vc1111

That last batch was gorgeous. 

I'm still messing with lips,Eyes. It's an addiction of sorts.


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## sonar

More fine work John!! Great colors,,& schemes!! I just got done with another stainless, & I hope the eyes like it?? 'cause,,Weds. eve at Mil. the whitebass actually ate it up!! Yep,,12"er actually hit it just right & had the sonar ,,in his mouth,,and somehow unsnapped the terminal snap,, and as I reached to unhook the white rat,,I noticed the snap was open,,and at the same time,,,it flipped,,,& it,,& my lure,,,,GONE ,,,back in the lake.............Damn!! So I made another one,, just like it.....It must be field tested,,,,I must do some MORE fishing ....  Keep up the Great work,,John,,But take some time to test 'em!! The "EYES",are running,,They are just about full-on!! ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


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## All Eyes

Thanks for the compliments! I am trying my hand at foiling now. 
Sonar- you know it's a nice bait when fish are trying to steal it. Better put a spot of JB Weld on the next one.


----------



## sonar

OR...... Replace/re-tie a new a new clip??? I use a ,,what I call,, a wire,,"figure-8" type clip,,a scaled down,salt water type clip..... They almost have never FAILED,me before........ But Go figure,,,, Testing a new bait,,,and BAM,,,, there it is!! GONE.... I'll just chalk it up to "metal fatigue",,,I've retied it to the line a couple a times,,And when I do so,,I'm using "micro braid",, and then,,,I use Super-Glue",,to assure,, no,," knot slippage",,+,, I run a bit of the glue up the line,from the knot,,(about 3" up from the knot),,to give the line some stiffness,,to assure that the line doesn't curl into the hooks,,& that really does help,,with slack line fouling,,(which =down time,,cranking up,,untangling the foul).... But,,the SNAP-CLIP,,must be changed out routinely!!! I guess,,that one,, was on ME??? !!(dumb-bass) ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


----------



## All Eyes

Here is my first attempt using foil. So glad to finally get my feet wet and try this. Looking forward to making more and getting better at it.


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## sonar

Put a Check mark next to that ,,on your-"Things to do"list,, John,,You got it!! That looks really good,,Bud!! I'll bet you got some glue on your fingers?? ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


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## All Eyes

Foiled again.


----------



## All Eyes

Still practicing with foil on a few of my screwed up baits I had laying around. This is just another shot of some of my new ones after epoxy


----------



## TIGGER

Man those look nice!!!!!!!!!!! You have come along way. Smaller cranks are hard to do. Keep up the good work.

John


----------



## All Eyes

Thanks for the compliment John. It's been a lot of fun so far


----------



## donkey

Nice work!I knew you would do well once you got your hands on an airbrush.Where do u get your eyes?They compliment your work.


----------



## All Eyes

TY Donkey! The snake eyes I got on E-Bay from a seller known as "frogfishin". The others from Janns Netcraft. 
Here is a new bait that I made using some old clear iridescent Christmas wrap. This thing looks awesome out in the sun. Probably will add a bleeding gill but not sure yet.


----------



## All Eyes

The quality of my pics aren't the best but you get the idea of how the light reflects off this one.


----------



## TIGGER

Eyes that stuff is great to use. It shifts color like crazy! Some of my best catching baits have that stuff on it.


----------



## All Eyes

TIGGER said:


> Eyes that stuff is great to use. It shifts color like crazy! Some of my best catching baits have that stuff on it.


Good to know! I have used it on a few spoons and love the colors it gives off. Always thought it would be great over a realistic or photo image of a shad. There are paints that give a similar effect but not quite as good imo.


----------



## silver shad

Eyes were did you find that stuff?


----------



## All Eyes

I have had the stuff for years left over from Christmas and don't remember where I got it. Sorry. Tigger may know where to get some


----------



## TIGGER

Eyes, I get it at the party supply stores in the wrapping paper area. It is one of my favorite finishes on a lure. I had a very very nice walleye hooked up on that pattern Friday night out of edgewater but it came unbuttoned. 

Try painting different colors under the wrapping paper. Just enough of the color shines thru.


----------



## All Eyes

TY for the info John! I sure do miss the eye night bite on Erie. We used to hit Huron pretty hard back in the day and haven't been up there in several years now.


----------



## muskyslayer96

All eyes
Beautiful baits, love the iridescent look. I've had some for awhile, never got around to using it yet.
What was the base color you used? Maybe Tigger could weigh in on his favorite base color as well.
Eyes you've been a Building machine......your painting has improved rapidly. I look forward to reading your posts.
MS


----------



## All Eyes

Thank you MS! Seems like lately I have at least one bait in process all the time. Always looking forward to my next one and trying to get better at it. The plan is to build some different body styles eventually. These Shad Rap or slender shad style baits is mostly what I use these days, as I primarily fish inland waters for walleye/saugeye. Thought with enough of them that one or two might have that something special that can be duplicated. 
As for the base color of the bait in the last pic, it's Createx pearl over white. The purple back was done before I applied the material and then gone over again in purple and purple clear to somewhat hide the edge line. 
I have stretched this wrapping material over every color I have and it looks good on about everything. So you know what that means...


----------



## muskyslayer96

All eyes
How do you like the circuit board for lips? I've used lexan, SS, and aluminum. I should give it a try, what size bait would be the limit before switching to lexan/metal?
Where did you get yours?
Loving the plugs eyes....well done
MS


----------



## All Eyes

On these smaller baits, the curcuit board lips work well. I am still learning with it myself and have only used them in baits 3" and less with 1 1/2" long lips (tops) so I have no idea of how they might do with something larger. I haven't yet tested these latest ones with the extended lip but am looking forward to it. The material does flex some where other lips don't so I would imagine that it would make a somewhat significant change in action the larger/longer the lip. Curcuit board makes for nice smaller bills on bass cranks such as Big-O style square bill baits and these moderate diving types that I've made. One advantage for me was that I could cut the lip slot in my blanks with my skill saw in one cut making it harder to screw up. They were bought from Jann's Netcraft. I have never seen them made any longer than maybe 2" so there is probably a good reason for that. 
Here's a link. http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/crankbait-bills-lure-lips/340210.aspx


----------



## All Eyes

Another bait using the iridescent wrapping paper. This time in hot pink. It's made of mahogany and the same profile as a #5 Shad Rap. 
I mocked one up using this material over top of gold foil and it looked great! The combo of foil and this stuff looks amazing out in the sun. That will be my next project.


----------



## muskyslayer96

Eyes

Super cool........hot is correct!

MS


----------



## All Eyes

My camera doesn't capture it too well but I love the rainbow effect of this wrapping material. It changes colors like crazy.


----------



## sonar

Nice one,,John!! It seems to "SIZZLE" the light!! ........ I bet it'll be "Catchy"!! ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


----------



## All Eyes

TY again! This is another pic of it all finished. Hopefully I can get it wet soon and see how it performs.


----------



## st.slippy

A lot of guys on here have some super purty baits, but man these look like some serious fish catchers!!!! I love the color combinations and the little touches, that make these perfect. You need to stop making lures and catch some fish. Really great work, though I would kill to have any of those in my tackle box!!


----------



## All Eyes

Thanks for the kind words Slippy! I haven't been able to get out lately due to some health issues but am chomping at the bit to catch some fall eyes. I'm making some HJ style stick baits now and hope to be able to test them out before the snow starts flying.


----------



## fishing_marshall

Nice job. Looks like a fish catcher for sure


----------



## All Eyes

My daughter got me the perfect shirt for Christmas considering my interest in walleye lure making. Love this shirt


----------



## All Eyes

Thanks to my awesome daughter I got some new tools for Christmas that will be great for making baits (and other things of course)


----------



## TIGGER

Eyes those are great tools. You'll be busy this winter. I love that shirt!


----------



## All Eyes

My latest creation


----------



## All Eyes

A couple pics in better lighting.


----------



## chatterbox

nice job ready for willow bushes


----------



## All Eyes

chatterbox said:


> nice job ready for willow bushes


No doubt! U read my mind  Hopefully there will be some to be found this spring at Berlin. Last year was terrible for the willow fishing.


----------



## chatterbox

got too hot too early. maybe colder longer winter this year. sure is right color for dingy water thow. l.0.l.


----------



## All Eyes

Sure was a short and screwed up spawn as well. We had summer at the end of March. At least it felt like it.


----------



## chatterbox

i read you just started making crankbaits. you'r work is really good. some have natural talent. for you it's no matter if company stops making bait or color, you will have. gives a good independent feeling.


----------



## All Eyes

Thank you! It's a satisfying hobby when you start catching fish on them.


----------



## chatterbox

with your attention to detail, i know they will catch fish! the head and gills are great on your latest one. just balance and tune, good to go. will have crosseyes.


----------



## ShutUpNFish

You've come a long way in a short time...thats talent...Your lures look great.

BTW - Love that shirt!! And those tools will get the job done!


----------



## All Eyes

Thank you for the interest and nice compliments! LOVE your work SUAF! I keep thinking about making a jointed bait but never attempted one yet. Yours look fantastic!!! I'm still plugging away trying to get better at it. This hobby is very addicting and knowing I can only improve keeps me going.


----------



## All Eyes

Knowing that some of you appreciate the art of carving, I thought I would share a couple of pics of one of my late Grandfathers bird carvings. He made hundreds of these throughout his life, along with hundreds of oil paintings. 90% of his artwork was of birds. And most of those were whatever was in his back yard in Tenn.


----------



## donkey

Nice carvings.I can see where u got your knack for lure building.


----------



## sonar

That's QUITE NICE!! I'll bet there's Much energy of your Gramps,,in those little birds..... Very special!! Thanks for showing them to us John... ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


----------



## All Eyes

Just came across this bait on E-Bay and had to share.


----------



## sonar

That's pretty funny John,I'll bet ya' a buck,,the builder must have been doing a"lil sumem- sumpem,,while he was "finishing" that bait... OR,,, Do you think it might give fish the "Munchies" too?? Hmmmmm?? He might be on to something....Made in Seattle ,W. ?? ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


----------



## claytonhaske

All Eyes said:


> Just came across this bait on E-Bay and had to share.


Now that's my type of lure!!!!


----------



## All Eyes

A new one for the box


----------



## All Eyes

A couple more pics


----------



## silver shad

Real nice All eyes


----------



## muskyslayer96

All Eyes,

You got it down!
That is some top notch clean work...well done!!!

MS


----------



## All Eyes

Thanks guys. The body stripes didn't turn out as well as I had hoped and I was going to repaint it but didn't. As long as the fish like it I don't care.  Working on a few more now. Will post when they are done.


----------



## donkey

All Eyes said:


> Thanks guys. The body stripes didn't turn out as well as I had hoped and I was going to repaint it but didn't. As long as the fish like it I don't care.  Working on a few more now. Will post when they are done.


Yeah but you nailed the gills.Beauty!


----------



## All Eyes

Thank You Donkey! I ended up fading out the sides a bit below the lateral line and hit it with another coat of epoxy. Looks a little better I guess.  3 more in the works now.


----------



## vc1111

Beautiful, Eyes. That is one clean job!


----------



## Fishfinaddict

Man I love these forums you guys have some real talent keep em coming and let me know if you wanna get rid of any of those beaut's


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## All Eyes

Thanks again for the nice comments! Here is my latest creation.


----------



## sonar

DANG!! John,,That's a GREAT bait!! You amaze me,,with your progress!! & that I think is to your dedication to your craft.... It has paid off,,from what you are producing,,bait after bait,,You get better & better!! Nice work!! ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


----------



## All Eyes

Thanks Vince! Still plugging away with these smaller shad style baits and trying to get better with each one.


----------



## COUSTOMBAITMAKER

All Eyes said:


> Thanks again for the nice comments! Here is my latest creation.


I'll bet the next time anybody sees that lure it will be in the mouth of a hog walleye. Nice work!!!


----------



## vc1111

Whoa! That last one is your best yet! You're not playing around!


----------



## All Eyes

Thanks a bunch! There's not a whole lot I'd rather be doing anymore than making baits.


----------



## All Eyes

Another one.


----------



## Mr. A

Great looking bait! Newer style to? Looks like your getting the hang of things to me! Keep up the good work.

Mr. A

(2013)
SMB: 0 LMB: 0 
Catfish: 0 Bluegill: 0 
Other: 0


----------



## All Eyes

Thank you Mr. A- This is another shot taken outside. It's 2 1/2" long.


----------



## sonar

OK JOHN,,I'M VERY CURIOUS AS TO WHAT BASE,,type PAINTS YOU'RE USING?? & where I can get them....That is another Great bait!! I LOVE the iridescent metallics,,you are using...----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


----------



## Mr. A

I was impressed before, but after seeing the shot taken outside I'm also a little jealous too! The gill area really looks like it's bleeding! 

Mr. A

(2013)
SMB: 0 LMB: 0 
Catfish: 0 Bluegill: 0 
Other: 0


----------



## All Eyes

TY Vince. These are all water based paints. On this one- After the white base coat I hit the top and half the sides with Createx black. Then I wrapped the screen around it and sprayed the entire bait (minus the head and belly) with aluminum base coat paint by Auto-Air. The blueish/green top and yellow sides are then put on using Aqua and Yellow transparent Createx. The transparent paints over this aluminum silver looks pretty cool out in the sun.


----------



## sonar

That's SO COOL!! I love the color over,,tinting effects that have happened,, when the tinted clears,,were applied!! just too cool!! Thanks John,,I will store this info for when I get to "Brushing".. 'Til then keep 'em coming!! ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


----------



## All Eyes

Mr. A said:


> I was impressed before, but after seeing the shot taken outside I'm also a little jealous too! The gill area really looks like it's bleeding!
> 
> Thanks again! This bait looks more green inside and turns more yellow in the sun. You can really see the difference with the two pics side by side in different lighting.


----------



## All Eyes

This is one I'm working on now. A first for me as far as the chubby bass type of plug. I will probably add a bleeding gill and caller done. Not the best pics per usual.


----------



## Mr. A

After seeing all your stuff I made up my mind to get it done myself. As I post this I'm waiting on my first pour to set up. It's not going to be a lure (maybe a key chain) but I want to check the mold and see if it'll work. Wish me luck LOL.

Mr. A

(2013)
SMB: 0 LMB: 0 
Catfish: 0 Bluegill: 0 
Other: 0


----------



## Mr. A

Well, hhere's my first one, not bad I guess, still need to sand and work it a little but overall I'm satisfied. Will post more on a thread as I get it done. Thanks for the motivation!

Mr. A

(2013)
SMB: 0 LMB: 0 
Catfish: 0 Bluegill: 0 
Other: 0


----------



## All Eyes

AWESOME!!! Looks great! Welcome to the madness! The molding and resin lure making is something I will one day venture into. Post pics of your work as you go.


----------



## Mr. A

I will. Was going to start a thread just so I don't step on toes though! Thanks again!

Mr. A

(2013)
SMB: 0 LMB: 0 
Catfish: 0 Bluegill: 0 
Other: 0


----------



## All Eyes

Another one I'm working on in that same color scheme. A #5 Shad Rap wannabe in white pine.


----------



## All Eyes

Mr. A said:


> I will. Was going to start a thread just so I don't step on toes though! Thanks again!
> 
> Mr. A
> 
> I will be looking forward to it. Thanks again for the interest and kind words.


----------



## JSykes3

Sweet! I've been waiting for you to make a squarebill type crank for bass. Looks awesome. Looks like something I would definitely buy!


----------



## vc1111

Very delicate fades on that one, Eyes. Nice.


----------



## All Eyes

Thanks Vince and Rooster! Nothing real fancy on these last ones but I love the way these metalics pop in sunlight. I had gill plates and fins painted on these baits originally but ended up re-painting them because they looked too cluttered to me. It's also hard to do subtle fades with the metalics. I learned that by thinning the paint a bit more and turning up the pressure really helps.


----------



## All Eyes

Another little bait made from pine.


----------



## chatterbox

Eyes, You're giving me the itch real bad! I want soft water on berlin, milton, or somewhere!  Real nice professional job. Hey did You hear about Tiggers complications?


----------



## All Eyes

TY and no, I hadn't heard anything about John. What's going on???


----------



## "Big" mark the shark

All Eyes You have some very impressive work.Them bait's look like they could entice any Walleye in to the boat.


----------



## chatterbox

Eyes, Tigger had emergency surgery four weeks ago. A week later he got pneumonia. He has lost 27lbs. and returns to doctor for xray monday. He posted on his fish model thread today.


----------



## All Eyes

Thank you Big Mark!
And Chatterbox, I just read that thread today and must have missed that somehow. Let's hope he's okay.


----------



## chatterbox

All Eyes, The baits You are making are very impressive. Do they seem to be balanced by design? I have an old Bagley Balsa Bee that due to it's light nature is a good fast wiggle bass bait but not good for walleye. What is the action like from baits made from pine? One of the complaints from some guys about plastic crankbaits is the action is too heavy and slow. To me this sounds like a walleye bait!


----------



## All Eyes

chatterbox said:


> All Eyes, The baits You are making are very impressive. Do they seem to be balanced by design? I have an old Bagley Balsa Bee that due to it's light nature is a good fast wiggle bass bait but not good for walleye. What is the action like from baits made from pine? One of the complaints from some guys about plastic crankbaits is the action is too heavy and slow. To me this sounds like a walleye bait!


Thanks again! Original Shad Raps are made from balsa but due to their thinner profile are less boyant and have a different action than a wider bass bait. Most of the baits that I have made are either balanced with one or two small split shot in the belly, or are wire through construction or both. Pine is not my fav wood to use by any means but I wanted to make a few to try out. The woods that I have used so far are balsa, basswood, cedar, mahogany, and pine. I am still in experimental mode with bait building. It's also why I haven't gone crazy with fancy carving, foiling or paint jobs that take forever until I establish exactly what I want. My time on the water was very limited last year due to health issues so I have not been able to do much "field research". Hopefully that will change this season.


----------



## chatterbox

You know eyes, cedar and mahogany are heavy wood. I may be wrong, but if the pine baits are sealed and primed they should work just as well. Think of these two baits for comparison. #5 shad rap vs. #5 berckley flicker shad. Both are good walleye and smallmouth baits. One light balsa, one heavier plastic. I DON'T KNOW? Just let me know. I can relate to the health issues. I just want to retire.


----------



## All Eyes

Chatterbox- As you probably know, the original balsa Shad Raps and newer plastic ones have slightly different actions and both work real well. I wanted to make some light and some heavier ones to experiment with and attempt to make a suspending bait. Being relatively new to making them I have those same questions myself. 
Here is another bait getting ready for paint I just took a pic of. It is a slightly different profile with more of a humpback. This one has a lip with the line tie built in I got from Jannsnetcraft.
As you can see, I like the Flicker Shads also, and since this pic I probably have added a dozen more or so. Love the glass raps as well.


----------



## chatterbox

I sure hope You get alot of chances to use those baits. There is no doubt in MY mind they will work just fine! Eyes, I work 2cd shift, and live only 10mi. from berlin ramp. This spring You can show me their action.


----------



## All Eyes

Here is a 3" shad bait I'm working on. Still needs epoxy and cleaned up a bit.


----------



## vc1111

Nice bait, amazing progress!


----------



## chatterbox

WOW! perfect shape for walleye or smallmouth. That bait will match shad or shiners. My master box is a small suit case. So I plan to use more dual purpose baits this year. I know where YOU fish.  For that dingy water we fish, have you thought to paint an all orange or all chartruse bait? Not pretty, but effective. H.A.G.O.


----------



## sonar

HOLY CRAP!! John,,You actually have a tackle shop stocked up there !! NICE work Bud!! Where do you find the time?? I've been looking around here at home,,& ALL I find,,is things that need painted-fixed-or repairedI can't find a MINUTE for that kind a stuff???? I have REALLY got to retire!! Looking at all these different Guys& You,, here,,making ALL these INCREDIBLE BAITS,,THEY are so stimulating to me & I want to do my baits,,& I feel kinda frustrated,, Not,, that I think I compare with the quality,,BUT for,,the gratification,,of building them,,,,I LOVE to make things!! &,,I hope Y'all remember why you do these wonderfully productive/fulfilling craft/obsessions?? 'Cause you LOVE the end product!! "I made that,,& it catches fish"!!That is a real thing to be proud of... Keep on doing it men!! Soon I will be able(God willing!!!) to also pursue my passion,,as you all are,,That is what I call Happiness... & My first greatest passion of pass time,,Field Testing/Fishing!! ----->>>>>sonar<<<<-----


----------



## All Eyes

Thank you VC Vince. So glad to see your amazing work again also. You are the primary reason I started doing this in the first place.

Chatterbox- One of my old favorite baits of all time (trolling wise) for where we fish was a solid chartreuse Wallee Diver. And you are right. It's the ugliest plug in the box sitting next to all the sparkly colors and paint schemes, ...and it produced for me year after year. So to answer your question, Yes, I do have some of those ugly baits but no solid orange. Another bait you rarely see is solid black. Always worked well for us mainly on Skeeter, especially Hot N Tots. I was thinking about making some black baits. Wind swept shallow points can get pretty muddy, and nothing shows up better in muddy water than black. 

Sonar Vince- Believe me, as my house falls apart around me, I continue to do what's really important in life at this moment. And that's making baits when I can. A newly hung gutter or toilet repair doesn't offer me the same gratification so my lazy a** makes baits instead.


----------



## All Eyes

It's hard to see how silver this bait is with these pics. I will have to take some outside when it's finished.


----------



## muskyslayer96

Eyes
MAN you are cranking out some amazing baits...awesome work. I absolutely love the last post, could you elaborate a little on the paint scheme. Is that the auto air aluminum base again? Gotta get my hands on some of that. Are you using the coarse or fine?

Keep 'em coming eyes

MS


----------



## All Eyes

Thank you and yes, the silver base is Auto Air aluminum. Not sure if it's course or fine as I didn't know they had both. The silver really shines in the sun.


----------



## JSykes3

WOW! That is an awesome shad color there. Probably one of the most spot on shad patterns I've seen, atleast for this part of Ohio. Really imitates our shad.


----------



## chatterbox

AS usual eyes, a real nice bait. I like chrome lures. Hey, I came up Rt. 225 today. The south end is almost all open.


----------



## TIGGER

Man those are really nice! Fantastic!


----------



## All Eyes

Thank you for the compliments everyone! 
Here is a peek at one I'm working on now with a slightly longer lip. This is Auto Air aluminum silver on pearl. Every time I get to this step I'm tempted to put a shad spot and eyes on them and be done. One of these times I will but just got some new transparent colors so haven't decided what I want yet.


----------



## All Eyes

This is what my latest bait looked like before I repainted it white again. It just didn't turn out as well as expected. Plus I like all the practice I can get with my airbrush.
Today I was able to get out to the spillway with Many Eyes and swim test some of my latest ones. I was very pleasantly surprised at how good the action was and how straight they ran.


----------



## muskyslayer96

Beautiful Eyes.......well done ......I ordered myself up some aluminum base 
Best
MS


----------



## All Eyes

Musky- Post some pics of what you come up with. Here is a bad pic of a simple shad bait I'm working on now using the aluminum base and transparent colors.


----------



## chatterbox

Hey Eyes, How You doing? Glad to hear You got out to try those new baits. I am happy they worked as expected too. Did You try any of the pine baits? If so did they do good also?


----------



## All Eyes

chatterbox said:


> Hey Eyes, How You doing? Glad to hear You got out to try those new baits. I am happy they worked as expected too. Did You try any of the pine baits? If so did they do good also?


Thank you and yes, I am very happy with the pine baits I tested in both action and bouyancy. 3 with circuitboard lips and 2 with the thicker lips from Janns. Slightly different action and rise rate between the two.


----------



## All Eyes

Some more shots of a new shad bait that I left pretty basic. The E-Tex resin that I have is becoming crystalized and thicker than normal for some reason. You can see the tiny little clumps in the finish of this bait so I have to get some more. The bottle has been sealed and stored indoors and is less than a year old. Is this normal for older E-Tex resin?


----------



## Catproinnovations

Are your bodies handmade out of wood?


Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## All Eyes

Catproinnovations said:


> Are your bodies handmade out of wood?
> 
> 
> Yes, all of my baits are hand made from different types of wood.


----------



## Catproinnovations

They look great very professional 


Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## All Eyes

My latest work in progress is this little 2 1/2" bait. Done with metallic silver base and transparent aqua, chartreuse, and orange. Colors that are time tested, walleye approved.  I took 2 weeks off in May to do some field testing and am looking forward to it.


----------



## chatterbox

Hi eyes. Now that is my kind of finish! I can picture it with a purple back or black back with squiggly vertical lines like a crappie too. Real nice work. FLASH....---- The lake is 3' below summer pool on the dingy side, but not total mud. All ice is gone. Two small tubes open at the spillway. Nobody fishing today. NOW HOWS THAT?


----------



## All Eyes

All good news Chatterbox! Thanks for the update. I have been wondering about it. As far as this bait goes...the plan was/is to make this a firetiger pattern and I probably still will or at least do some final touches before my next coat of epoxy. At a minimum the eyes need some darker outlines to appear larger. I have learned the hard way to add the details after the initial coat of epoxy. Once it's cured, any paint that's applied on top of it can be easily removed without having to repaint the whole thing over again. 
Good luck out there and Thank You again for the compliments and latest info!!!


----------



## chatterbox

Eyes, anytime You want a report on Berlin, Milton, the river, W.B. or La Due, just let me know. I live with-in 10miles of each or cross La Due everyday going to work. I work 2cd shift so I will Start when the water temp. reaches 50'to55' casting rubble at night, after work. You are now painting as a professional as far as I think. You'r baits will work on walleye or smallies, no questions asked.


----------



## redheaded

My first shot at a little painting this year. I picked up a couple of blanks this winter to practice on. I didnt want to spend all the time in making a lure from scratch only to ruin it when I went to paint it. My painting skill are not the greatest. Ive learned a lot from reading the post and seeing the lures that everyone makes here on this site. Everyone does a great job on their building and painting I just hope I can do the same. Thank you all for you wonderful work.


----------



## sonar

That is how it happens to a Guy,,Red!! Good JOB !! NOW you have been bitten & the infectious germs are flowing through your veins!! Show 'em to us when you are done..Thanks for sharing!! ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


----------



## All Eyes

Looks great Brian! The shaping and sanding isn't as hard as it looks. Just start with a rectangular block of wood with your side profile outline drawn on both sides. Use a compass to draw a true center line all the way around the ends and top and bottom. If your lip slot is square to the bait and your ballast weight and hook/line ties are centered, you will be surprised what it looks like swimming thru the water. If you are like me you will probably make some bad ones before you get the hang of it. I am light years away from some of the best on this site but am slowly getting my feet wet and starting to make some with great action and having a lot of fun learning along the way. Every mistake you make is another lesson learned. My latest ones have that tight "Shad Rap" wiggle and I can't wait to give them their due time on the water.
Again, nice job on the painting and I will be looking forward to seeing more of your work! John


----------



## All Eyes

Chatterbox-
I liked the idea of a purple back firetiger sort of thing so I made this one. It needs cleaned up around the masking areas and some epoxy yet but the purple clear over the silver base looks awesome in sunlight.


----------



## chatterbox

Now that is a good looker! Eyes, that color should match the water clarity and bait fish size and colors during your favorite fishing time of year don't you think? You will not find anything like it in stores. The fish haven't seen it a cazzillion times in there life time either. Real nice.


----------



## All Eyes

Thanks Chatterbox! It's just okay with me. Not my best paint job but hopefully the eyes will like it. Have you been down to the spillway or know of anyone who has been fishing it lately? Was kinda thinking about heading over there this weekend. I haven't fished it in a few years now and am getting the itch pretty bad.
I took the first 2 weeks of May off on vacation and hope the weather and conditions are favorable.


----------



## "Big" mark the shark

All Eyes that purple back firetiger Is sharp.


----------



## All Eyes

Thanks guys!
A bait in the works that I had messed up the finish on so decided to foil over it. I find it very difficult to lay it down smooth without flattening out the scales. Plus, if there is so much as a flea booger under the foil it shows up like a boulder. I will take a better pic once it's painted.


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## sonar

Real Nice John!! I wonder though,,on the foiled bait you just made,,did you put the scale pattern in the foil yourself?? I'm thinking you did,, as I look at the gill/head area,,it seems to me as it may be.... LOTS of skill & time well applied!! I'm going fishing in my boat Sat.!! I aint a wait'n no more!!  I DON'T even care if I catch anything,, either.... ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


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## All Eyes

Vince, 
I cut a piece of plastic out in the shape of a gill plate and layed it over top of wire mesh. Then just rubbed the pattern on. 3 seconds and done. This is a bait that I am trying to salvage with foil over top of it. The finish is lumpy which doesn't matter to me as much with foil because it looks cool even wrinkled. 
Good luck on Sat. and please let me know how you do. The eyes are stacked up and getting ready or already spawning. If they haven't yet, the ODNR nets will be set up along the causeway at Berlin any day now.


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## All Eyes

Another quick shot outside of this purple tiger. Love the color combo but kinda wish I made the stripes a bit longer. Now I gotta make another one.


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## chatterbox

Those colors are sharp together. I like the mottled appearance the shorter lines give. Then on the other hand, Your right. Got to make another one to compare. Bonner road ramp up to 224 had 3/8" of ice this morning. The water had pretty good clarity at 2 1/2 to 3'. State nets are on both sides of cause way and both sides of the channel. The water level is still 3' low. The spillway still only have two tubes open. If You didn't know, the private property below the spillway is posted now.


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## All Eyes

TY for the update Chatterbox. Looking forward to post spawn


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## All Eyes

A random pic of a few that I'm looking forward to getting wet


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## Dman

Really like the purple finish! Very nice work.


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## vc1111

Nice work, Eyes. Love the purple and blues woven into a fire tiger pattern. I might just tempt the muskies with that pattern!


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## MoreBass

Nice! Really like em.


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## Arob

This is something I want to do!


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## All Eyes

Thanks a lot! I will post some more pics of new stuff soon.


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## sonar

No DOUBT John,,it will be just fine!! I want to see the finished product ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


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## All Eyes

A couple pics of one of my new purple tiger baits.


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## All Eyes

Some more shots of the finished bait to give a better idea of it's size.


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## silver shad

Very nice eyes


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## All Eyes

I've been on a purple kick lately. Here is a purple shad in the works along with my last couple of tiger patterns or whatever you call them.


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## chatterbox

Eyes, those look real good! When does Your vacation start? I bet not soon enough. Back in the mid 70's we used the original Thin Fins and did good on the ones with purple backs. Not to help out, I had fresh walleye for supper tonight.


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## All Eyes

My vacation starts on Monday and now my truck is in the shop! I may not get it back for a few days. My neighbor showed up tonight with a bunch of black crappie he just caught on Portage. He got into some real slabs. One was 13 1/2" and another right at 13". The smallest one was well over 10"


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## chatterbox

Eyes, I am sorry to hear about Your break down. Murphy,s Law sucks! On the good side, the weather is to be stable for at least a week. The longer the better the bite. It has been below freezing for the past four nights here. Yes sir, Your neighbor got some real nice crappie. Meal fit for a king.


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