BIG M

GMAN, I'll post a pic tonight of your traps, I want to leave the craw marks off the spring craw. I don't think it can look any better than it does right now. Yes the two baits on the side do look like some you will fish

Here is a mix of small flat sides, 1 smaller B3 copy, and 2 hugh shallow runners.

95% of the baits I have posted over the last 3 months have been sold.

Not really, if you placed the balast weight in the lowest part of the belly and made your lip angle at least 25 degrees those baits will swim. The first rule of crankbaits is to make sure all of you hangers and weight are perfectly centered. Second rule and to make sure the lip slot is perfectly cut so that it's perpendicular to the body. If the slot is not straight you can fix it with a metal finger nail file.

bmadd, I would not clear those baits with devcon. It adds weight and bulk to the bait and can cause plastic baits to loose the action or even sink. Get a can of high gloss polyurathane and give the baits about 5 coats and let dry 48 hrs after the 5th coat.

www.nationalbalsa.com Make sure you ask for balsa that is 12-14 lb/cuft in weight. Lighter wood isn't worth a flip.

I never counted, but I would guess about 10 flatsides in a week.

That 1 is out of 1 inch stock

Hookem, that is 1/16 thick polycarbonate. I don't use it much anymore, kind of a pain to cut and shape.

Here are a few more, all are 1 3/4-2 inches long with weights running 3/16-1/4 oz.

Which bait did you copy? I may some more info for you to help your bait to run like you want it to.

very, very nice. The camera never does justice to your painted baits.

Same way ernel does it, takes a little practice to get the hang of it.

I mix my epoxy on a paper plate and scoop some up with the end of the hanger and twist into the hole.

dark colors (solid black, brown, dark blue) put off the best silouet in muddy water. Firetiger is another good color for off colored water. Here is a color that I just kill the fish with in early spring when we have muddy water. Pearl grey, black scales, hunter green with an orange throat, it's da bomb.

I cannot pull a hanger out, no way no how. I use devcon 5min epoxy to glue in all my hardware and devcon 2 ton for my clearcoat.

I do appreciate the kind words but I'm far from the best when it comes to painting. I know some guys that blow my baits out of the water. the airbrush is the way to go for painting your baits. It just takes a little practice to get the hang of it. I'll help any way I can.

Hog, I twist my hangers out of 20ga stainless steel wire. Drill a 1/16" hole and epoxy the hangers in. I don't do the thru wire method, takes too long and in my opinion is pointless.

Hog, the bills are epoxied in with devcon 5min. I drill anchor point in the back of the bills and you can't pull 1 out unless you tear the bait apart.

use the curve of an existing bait and add it to your design. That will get you in the ball park. I will take an idea and draw it using only straight lines first and start adding the curves second. I'll take a pic of 1 tomorrow to show you.

ernel, I carve at night and sand at lunch. I can have 6 baits ready for hardware and sealing a day, I get a long lunch. I paint in the evening after work when my 2yr old lets me. thanks for the kind words.

Here are some Hedd Hunter copies, a Big O style, and a little light flat sides bait.

Those are sweet, are those 2 deep divers made from 3/8 stock. You need to post more pics, I enjoy your work. Thanks for sharing.

A picture or the actual bait to start with. I put the bait on a copy machine and get a profile shot. The pictures I mess with in powerpoint or ms pics to resize and make changes. I put all my templates on thin heavy cardboard, if it's a bait I really like I cut the pattern out in 1/4 poplar.

I still can't figure out why people think there is a visibility issue with braid lines. I fish small Ouachita Mtn. streams in the summer and catch the same # of fish on braid vs mono. Loose line on the reel causes the loops to come flying off on the cast. About every 10 casts just reel the worm back in with a little speed and that will all but eliminate that problem.