5" swimbait

[Fishwhittler]

It's not finished, but here's something I put together today. I patterned it after the JSJ Snack Size Swimbait. I don't actually have a Snack Size Swimbait, so I used the pic on *** as my starting point. Mine is 2" smaller; I figured that I should start small and work my way up to larger baits. After building this one, I think that the big ones will be easier, simply because there's much more room in them for ballast and hardware.

Anyway, this one is 5" long and made of PVC. Hopefully tomorrow I can test it, and if it works I'll epoxy in the ballast and hook hangers. I did the joints differently in this bait than I have in the past; I usually use the hinges from Dave's twisted wire hinge tutorial, but there wasn't enough room in this bait to use them. I think the next swimbait I make will be a bluegill shape; the deeper body will leave more room for hardware.

I'm thinking of painting this bait in either a shad or baby bass pattern, but maybe a trout pattern would look better. The pond where I'll be fishing it has bass, catfish, carp and bluegill (and a few white crappie). I don't use swimbaits hardly at all, so any suggestions are appreciated.

So what do you think of it?

Ben

Note: The pins you see sticking out the top of the lure are just finish nails stuck in so I can test the action. I put them in until I can get some heavy-gauge stainless steel wire for the hinge pins.

[.dsaavedra.]

looks great, i like the scale work. i'd like to hear more about how you did this.

as for color, i think you can't go wrong with a generic olive/brown/silverish minnow pattern here. or baby bass. i wouldn't paint this in trout or shad because of the scales and general shape.

[Steven Ladner]

I too really like the scales. Please post an update once it has been painted. It's looking great Ben 

[Vodkaman]

Here is a hinge design that works well for small baits, were space is a premium:

I call it the double pin hinge. Hope the vid works, my computer will not play it.

Dave

[Captain Obvious]

wicked looking bait. How did you get that sweet scale pattern?

[GTrombly]

the video worked for me but not from the link. i had to go into the album to open it.

[NateFollmer]

Nice looking bait. I'll be watching this one.

Dave, vid worked for me too, but it won't play in the thread (like GTrombly said). You have to go to photobucket to watch.

[Vodkaman]

Thanks for the feedback GT. It's mainly the pic in the post that tells the hinge story.

Dave

[Fishwhittler]

Thanks guys.

V-man, thanks for the hinge video!  I'll give that a shot on the next swimbait I make.  I can see how they'll fit better in small baits. 

BTW that swimbait in the video swims very nicely. 8-)

For the scales:  I took a wood-burning tool and pressed the tip into the PVC to get the scales.  DO NOT PLUG IN THE WOOD-BURNER.  I tried using it plugged in, and it's far too hot for PVC.  Pressure is all you need for PVC.

This scaling technique would also work on wooden lures, but you'd need to plug in the wood-burner. 

Below is a pic of the tip I used. 

[Fishwhittler]

I just got back from testing it, and it swims very well.  It sinks slowly, although I couldn't tell just how fast it sinks because of the wind.  I'm going to add a joint at the tail on the next one I do in order to make the action more snake-like.  The action on this one is good, but I think it will swim better with the extra joint. 

Next step:  Epoxy in the hardware, and then paint.

[MattyIce]

Those scales are pretty cool. Good job FW!

[NateFollmer]

Looks awesome! I may have asked you this before, but where are you getting your PVC from?

[Fishwhittler]

Looks awesome! I may have asked you this before, but where are you getting your PVC from?

I usually get mine from Menards.  I recently ordered some online, but I don't think they've shipped it yet.

[MattyIce]

You can get PVC at lows or home depot if u have one near... What I get is PVC trim board u have to cut a flange off but it's still almost an inch wide and two high... Perfect imho

[NateFollmer]

You can get PVC at lows or home depot if u have one near... What I get is PVC trim board u have to cut a flange off but it's still almost an inch wide and two high... Perfect imho

I heard some of that stuff has some pretty large cells and isn't good for lures. Any brand you suggest or doesn't it really have a brand? I know AZEK is big, but I haven't really heard of any others.

[MattyIce]

The trim board I buy has very small ones and works great. It's a little less buoyant than balsa but more than like poplar. I recommend it!

[Fishwhittler]

I don't know what brand I got at Menards; I just bought what they had.  I've come across some air holes in the PVC, but not very many. 

The stuff I ordered online is AZEK, but I don't have it yet so I don't know anything about it.

[NateFollmer]

I don't know what brand I got at Menards; I just bought what they had. I've come across some air holes in the PVC, but not very many.

The stuff I ordered online is AZEK, but I don't have it yet so I don't know anything about it.

Cool. I'll have to take a trip to lowes and see what's up there. AZEK looks like the main PVC of choice over on TU. I was going to go to a lumber yard that sells it around here and see if they had any scrap. Doubt it, but worth a shot

[Big Bass Man]

Very nicely done, looks great !

[SkilletSizeBass.]

Looks cool Fishwhittler. Its going to look tough when painted up.

[jbass]

You can get PVC at lows or home depot if u have one near... What I get is PVC trim board u have to cut a flange off but it's still almost an inch wide and two high... Perfect imho

I heard some of that stuff has some pretty large cells and isn't good for lures. Any brand you suggest or doesn't it really have a brand? I know AZEK is big, but I haven't really heard of any others.

The PVC I picked up from H.D. is dense, meaning there are no voids at all. Minimal air bubbles, almost non existent, but very messy. There is a layer of micro fine white dust on just about everything in my shop.

[Nibbles]

You can get PVC at lows or home depot if u have one near... What I get is PVC trim board u have to cut a flange off but it's still almost an inch wide and two high... Perfect imho

I heard some of that stuff has some pretty large cells and isn't good for lures. Any brand you suggest or doesn't it really have a brand? I know AZEK is big, but I haven't really heard of any others.

The PVC I picked up from H.D. is dense, meaning there are no voids at all. Minimal air bubbles, almost non existent, but very messy. There is a layer of micro fine white dust on just about everything in my shop.

Hope you're wearing some sort of mask to avoid inhaling that stuff! Could lead to some lung problems later in life if you're not careful.

[jbass]

You can get PVC at lows or home depot if u have one near... What I get is PVC trim board u have to cut a flange off but it's still almost an inch wide and two high... Perfect imho

I heard some of that stuff has some pretty large cells and isn't good for lures. Any brand you suggest or doesn't it really have a brand? I know AZEK is big, but I haven't really heard of any others.

The PVC I picked up from H.D. is dense, meaning there are no voids at all. Minimal air bubbles, almost non existent, but very messy. There is a layer of micro fine white dust on just about everything in my shop.

Hope you're wearing some sort of mask to avoid inhaling that stuff! Could lead to some lung problems later in life if you're not careful.

10-4 Nibbles, a particle mask. Similar to the ones you use when doing demolition.

[Fishwhittler]

I don't generally wear a mask when I'm working PVC, but I don't spend very much time sanding.  I do most of the shaping with a knife, and then rough-sand with a dremel.  I'll wear a mask sometimes when I'm using the dremel, but for hand sanding I don't bother. 

Wet-sanding cuts down on the dust drastically, but I prefer to do this only with finer grits of sandpaper (anything finer than #100).  Wet-sanding with rougher sandpaper seems to cut too fast and leave deeper scratches.

I've nearly got this bait ready for paint: all I need to do is shape the epoxy on the belly, and then it's ready to paint.  I've reconsidered, and I think I'll do the paint pattern with a light blue theme.  Baits with some blue on the sides seem to work well where I fish.

[Vooden]

Very cool trick on the scale pattern.