Why this lure?

[DanielG]

I made a handful of lures since I started making baits for the first time this winter. My first was a disaster because of a poor mixing of the finish epoxy so it was never usable. I made this lure second. I consider it my first lure because it was the first that actually worked out.

 

I've been fishing the few that I think look and move right in the water and have caught a few fish on a variety of them. But every time I put this lure in the water the fish hit is a ratio of about 3-1 compared to any of my other ones. I didn't use it right away because I have some others that just look right in the water to me. This one looks good in the water too but it's different. It's wide (my sort of naivety at the time, I've since narrowed them down a bit) and as a result it wobbles so strongly it thumps the end of my pole when trolling or reeling it in. It has a ton of drag in the water. It dives about 3-4 feet down.

I'm writing this now because I just went down to the dock to take a couple of casts at dusk. I hit three pickerel in a row casting in the same place. Do these very predatory fish run in schools???  The other day it was three bass while casting from the boat three times in a fan pattern towards the shore. I know some of you catch a dozen fish in an outing, but getting 3-4 in a few hours on the lake I live on is pretty good.

It seems... right now anyway, that if I want a fish I put this lure on. Another weird thing... I've got Mustad hooks on it. They're a pretty good hook. I also lose fish more when they surface or flip, when out of the water, with this lure more than others.

All this is a sort of mystery to me.... I have notes and videos of the build of this lure. I'm tempted to duplicate it exactly a number of times with different paint jobs.

Strange question but anyone have any idea what gives here from your experiences?

 

[looking45]

No two lures are going to perform exactly alike, even the store bought ones. Lots of people have more  than one of the same lure and only one of them catches fish. Just keep using the one that catches fish. 

[WRB]

Try the lures out before painting them, just a sealer coat. If they catch bass without a specific coloration the action is right.

Tom

[Smells like fish]

That is neat! Can you post us a pic of the producing lure along with the others it outfishes 3-1? Thanks 

[DanielG]

3 hours ago, Smells like fish said:

That is neat! Can you post us a pic of the producing lure along with the others it outfishes 3-1? Thanks 

The original is in my first post. These are four of them I've been using kinda regularly. All getting some bites. The orange one has been better than the others. I've been trying to use just the baits I've made to painfully find out if they actually will catch fish.

 

[Armtx77]

I have had the opportunity to sit with one of the sons of the J. Hildebrandt Lure company. He talked fondly of how is father would hand tune lures and said that no two lures are the same, but some slight adjustments, especially on spinnerbaits and in line spinners made a huge difference.

 

I asked him if he remembered what specifically his father was looking for in those adjustments and his answer was "A very heavy thump" from the blades. Not so much how the lure looked, but rather how it sounded.

 

I dont know if that helps, but it makes a whole bunch of sense to me.

[Black Hawk Basser]

The paint jobs certainly look great.  I like a good thump from a bait.  It gives me confidence that the bait is doing it's thing.

[wdp]

I think you’ve already answered your own question. All the pics of the baits you posted seem to have different body styles and will have different actions. I can see why the 1st bait would have a wider, more pronounced wobble and action. The fish seem to be preferring that more aggressive action at the moment. A week or two from now, or even a day from now, that might change and they’ll be more tempted to bite a lure with more subtle action. Sounds like you need to make some more of that 1st bait if it’s working so well. ?

 

Great looking cranks by the way. Nice work. 

[Paul Roberts]

Man... I've always wondered about this too. I've had some such favorites, but with all the possible variables at play -only some we have any sort of bead on- I was never able to convince myself that it was THAT lure. One would have to have an awful lot of catches on a lure, fished alternated with an exact replica.

 

The first thing I'd do, would be to test it's basic controls: depth/speed and action/speed -preferably in a swimming pool. In other words, keep reel wind rate consistent and see what depth is achieved with each replica. Then, using a GoPro, review footage of each for action diffs. Many lures run best at a certain speed. Often the "best" manage to obtain good, often lively, action at a wider range of speeds.

 

Yeah, it becomes work. And likely, what you'll discover is... more work. If you do it -with good control- let us know. We all want to answer this question.

[DanielG]

2 hours ago, Paul Roberts said:

Man... I've always wondered about this too. I've had some such favorites, but with all the possible variables at play -only some we have any sort of bead on- I was never able to convince myself that it was THAT lure. One would have to have an awful lot of catches on a lure, fished alternated with an exact replica.

 

The first thing I'd do, would be to test it's basic controls: depth/speed and action/speed -preferably in a swimming pool. In other words, keep reel wind rate consistent and see what depth is achieved with each replica. Then, using a GoPro, review footage of each for action diffs. Many lures run best at a certain speed. Often the "best" manage to obtain good, often lively, action at a wider range of speeds.

 

Yeah, it becomes work. And likely, what you'll discover is... more work. If you do it -with good control- let us know. We all want to answer this question.

Ha. I don't know if I'm qualified to answer that question. I will make a few more in different color schemes that should behave the same though.

[Paul Roberts]

18 hours ago, DanielG said:

It's wide and as a result it wobbles so strongly it thumps the end of my pole when trolling or reeling it in. It has a ton of drag in the water.

...

I also lose fish more when they surface or flip, when out of the water, with this lure more than others.

...

Strange question but anyone have any idea what gives here from your experiences?

 

 

Best guesses:

Wide with thumping action that displaces water -a final trigger when fish are closing in.

Bulky, possibly heavy, lures are easiest to throw on slack, like when fish jump.

 

[DanielG]

1 hour ago, Paul Roberts said:

Best guesses:

Wide with thumping action that displaces water -a final trigger when fish are closing in.

Bulky, possibly heavy, lures are easiest to throw on slack, like when fish jump.

 

Ya, I think you're right on here....