# New finished baits- PLEASE HELP ME



## muskyslayer96 (Feb 28, 2009)

Here are the finished baits, I'm very new at adding lips to my baits, and I think I have a couple of issues. The blue chrome bait, it appears to roll/pull a little too much to the left. Can or should I shave a little of the lip on the right side?? Is there a better fix? The Black twitch bait also wobbles/rolls to one side as well, it's weighted but the photo looks like the lip might not be square. I'm not worried if I have to sacrafice these, it's all good practice for painting/weighting, i just would like some advice on how to approach the lip issues as I continue to hone my skills. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Please critique the baits as I am just a newbe and anxious to learn and get better. 

Thank you in advance for your help, 

MS


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## rjbass (Aug 1, 2007)

`Muskyslayer,

How are you cutting your lip slots? Issues start with a lip slot that is not square. 

Rod


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## muskyslayer96 (Feb 28, 2009)

Rodd,

I cut my lipslots with a table saw. I cut them the way Vince showed in one of his posts by clamping the bait to a board and ripping it through the saw. I think the slots look OK, i'm pretty new at this. 
I did shave a little off the right side of the black twitch bait and squared up the leading edge of both with sandpaper (they look a little better now). Will adding a split ring to the line tie help?
I'm going to go test them out again today.

MS


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## rjbass (Aug 1, 2007)

muskyslayer,

That is the way you should cut your lipslots so that part should be fine. I can see from the pictures however that they are not straight. You can bend the line tie even if it is .092 ss. Get a Bucher lure tuner and it will make it easier. You can get one at Rollie and Helen's. Which ever way the bay leans, bend the line tie in the opposite direction, small increments at a time. You can try a split ring may or may not help??? You can also remove the lip and set it straight. Little things make a big difference, go through each step of your building accurately and don't cut corners and you should be fine...otherwise, your baits look good.

Rod


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## muskyslayer96 (Feb 28, 2009)

Rod,

Thanks for the helpful tips! I was able to tune the blue and chrome bait to run well, I'm not sure it will troll well, but it twitchs nice and stays in the water when I burn it with the reel. 
I bent the line tie on the black twitch bait and I also shaved the lip a little to help square it a bit, and I added 3/4 oz to the tail and it helped a great deal. I wanted it to sink/suspend and it has good action.

I agree, I got in trouble by trying to rush the process. I didn't add the line ties and cut the lips while the bait was still square. I'm definitely realizing with some of my first lipped baits that the process gets a lot more sophisticated and it is touchy, from the lip tie angle, the weighting and the screw eyes. A lot to pay attention to and I did learn a great deal about how lipped baits behave in the process.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the tricks and tips, this is a great site.

MS


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