# OK, my topwater lures sunk



## WillyB2 (Dec 28, 2008)

Well guys, I made my first 3 lures and took them back to our pond to try them out. There first test run. 2 of the 3 would not float. I tried to copy the 1/8 ounce Phillips crippled killer. I made them 1-3/4" long, out of pine with propellers front and back and #8 treble hooks in the middle and end of the bait. I used D2T - 3 coats. Would the glue be the culprit?


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## staffman (Mar 18, 2011)

I would guess that the weight of the hooks and propellers was too much.


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## "Big" mark the shark (Jan 21, 2010)

I would try balsa for one that small with a threw wire construction.are you sealing the wood ? you may be Abel to use cedar it's tougher than balsa and has a good buoyancy at least that's what I do. I am sure others more experience will be able to help a lot more.


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## WillyB2 (Dec 28, 2008)

Staffman, its not the hardware. I took a new blank that hadn't even been sealed yet and put all the same hardware on it and dropped in a bucket of water. Floated perfectly!!


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## TIGGER (Jan 17, 2006)

Willy the top coat / D2 probably did you in. I have had many lures that in the "raw" float with the hardware and then after 2 coats of epoxy it crossed over to sinking. The epoxy can add alot of weight to the lure in a good or bad way. That is the hardest problem with the smaller baits. Like Mark said you may want to try a more corky wood at the start. Cedar or balsa my be the ticket. The other option is change the screw eyes to a small wire you can twist and epoxy into the bait. 
John


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## WillyB2 (Dec 28, 2008)

Thanks Tigger. After testing a "raw" lure and seeing how well it floated with all the hardware on it I pretty much figured it was the epoxy. Could I get by with doing the initial seal with the D2T and then using a clear spray finish after painting? Would the bait hold up? I really don't want to down size on the hardware. I will look into the balsa and cedar wood also. Appreciate all the help guys.


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## st.slippy (Oct 3, 2008)

I paint the bare wood then epoxy mine. One coat on the small ones


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## JamesT (Jul 22, 2005)

underwater prop lure? hmmmmmm....

Sometimes my lures unexpectedly turn out to be slow sinkers or sinkers. They come in handy sometimes and fill a niche in the tackle box. Sometimes you get really lucky and get the perfect horizontal suspender too!

I would try thinning the D2T with acetone or epoxy thinner. For a small lure like that, I would say 3 coats of non-thinned D2T (and props, hardware) is adding too much weight. If you don't have thinner, use a torch (or bic lighter) and heat up each layer and let a bunch drip off before you start turning. This will also create thinner coats. In addition, Etex goes on thinner than D2T so you may also try etex.

Another option is basswood which I'm pretty sure is less dense than pine. Or balsa (AC shiner makes a nice small 2 prop balsa topwater). I've been on a balsa kick lately.


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## JamesT (Jul 22, 2005)

st.slippy said:


> I paint the bare wood then epoxy mine. One coat on the small ones


I tend to agree. On small painted (NOT foiled) lures, ONE coat of non-thinned D2T does the job. You can control the thickness of ONE coat of D2T with a lighter by heating and letting some drip off, or just apply a thinner layer to begin with.


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## JamesT (Jul 22, 2005)

BTW, don't forget to seal the wood, especially if you are only using one coat of epoxy over the paint. This way if a toothy critter gets through the coat of epoxy, paint, and into the wood, the wood is sealed and it won't take on water, expand. and crack. I usually seal with thinned epoxy but sometimes superglue. When I seal, I usually put on 2-3 very thin coats with my fingers and sand between putting on the coats.


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## WillyB2 (Dec 28, 2008)

st.slippy, so you paint your lure completely then seal it with one coat of epoxy? I will give it a try. I took the ones that were sinking and changed out the propellers and screw eyes for smaller ones and they now float nicely. JamesT, I didn't know that A C Shiner made a prop bait. I do have some basswood that I bought at a local craft store but haven't found any decent looking balsa wood yet. Thanks for the tips guy!!


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## JamesT (Jul 22, 2005)

AC shiner (my favorite commercially available lure) makes 4 topwater prop bait models (cedar). 2 have dual props while the other 2 only have the tail prop. http://www.acshiners.info/index.php?cPath=22&osCsid=gqsnumtmd0sknd0na9gi34o1n0. I had a few until last Friday.

The balsa I use is just the stuff that comes from Hobby Lobby or even JoAnns fabrics. I get it in packages of 4-6 blocks for 10 bucks. I think the company is called "Midwest Products". I've noticed a significant difference in density between pieces, but even with the least dense pieces I have yet to have a problem (it has been said only to use the high density balsa for fishing lures). 

Also basswood is great, I typicaly use it or balsa, and occasionally mahogany.

And as far as sealing wood, I have plenty of lures where I did not seal the wood that have given no problems, even with just a single layer of D2T (unthinned). Now though, I usually seal. With balsa I always seal, but this is more to add strength since I coat with 3-4 thinned layers of epoxy now in my topcoats. Of course for toothy critters, you better be using multiple epoxy coats if you want them to last.

Best of luck WillyB2! Would love to see pics. I've yet to order props, but plan to for topwaters. And you've got me thinking about shallow/mid diving crankbaits with a tail prop now(and weedless "dual" tail hook to minimize interference with prop). Thanks for the idea!


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

dont let em go to waste>>>drill a hole in them and shoot them up with expanding foam!! Gotta pick just the right spot though! ;-)


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## st.slippy (Oct 3, 2008)

I say leave he lures as is. Let them drop a second or two and rip them up to the top. It would be the opposite motion of most top waters, but might work well. Who knows you may come up with the next successful hybrid lures. You could call them sub marines or sub props or something


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