jigginpig

Got it's own little shaddy thing going on.

Looking good. You can do some real pretty stuff with molds like that. Make sure your ventilation is up to the task. The fumes are insidious, they don't seem too bad at first, then the sensitivity begins. Love seeing the progress! SS

A lot of people make the homemade stuff that they make at home.

One of the better links I have come across for this sort of thing. http://www.tnfish.org/PhotoGalleryFish_TWRA/FishPhotoGallery_TWRA/TWRAFishPhotoGallery.htm

Nice looking bait.

Green sunfish

Some progress pics. This is the first kokanee l have done, pretty pleased overall. One or two things l might do different next time, but l am happy with it. Needs a couple more coats of clear. Also, need to take final pix in sunlight. It is not as blue as it looks. There is a light red glow to the sides that refuses to come out in the photos, and the back is a little bit more black than it looks in the pictures.

I don't know if I will be going that way with this one. I might, but I have a few little things I want to do to it, and TBH make a better mold of the original. I made my mold when the master had a flat finish, and it makes de-molding the resin a little tricky, as well as having to fill pinholes in the cast bait. Not a structural issue per se, but it does add to the amount of time I have to spend dicking around with an individual lure. I did add just under 2 grams of weight to the bait yesterday and re-swam it, and it looks super, super good with a stop and start type retrieve. It still looks a little snakey/unnatural on a steady wind, but in my opinion ALL of the baits look a little strange when you just crank them in. The Triple Trout is the worst, and yet it gets bit quite well. My bait has about 50% of the curve the TT has, and responds to subtle imputs so much better. Not knocking the TT, I like them and use them and think they are a great product. I was just going for something different with this. I am about to start another carving, I will keep people up to speed on tat if the interest is there. Cheers all. SS

Looks nice. Good job on the fins, tail looks great.

Honestly, I prefer not to think about it. A lot.

Sweet. Azek is a great material.

Looks great. Dig it.

I like them too. Now l gotta get the rest of the bait to that level. Sigh.

Thanks! I got tired of the real shiny eyes you can buy, just started making them. I think the ones l make look better, but l am probably biased. I make them for cranks too, saves a little money per bait and has a different look.

I have a couple little digi scales that are accurate to 100th of a gram. (For geology experiments in school, shut up!) I plan to use Suspend-Dots to find location of ballast, weigh them after removal, and use "pencil lead" like side drifters use for weight. Good idea though, that would totally work.

Yeah, supposed to look like where the battery would go. I got paid good to make the thing, and sorta felt like including something extra, so l made this too. Just a piece of basswood, honest. I didn't have a lathe when l made it, it would have been so much easier if l did. Since then, I got a lathe, and actually might keep making these. The bait is a walker, but the "battery" part has a cup to it, so they chug too. Sorta like a Chug Bug, l guess. Moves a lot more water though, and pretty much guaranteed to dust up a ruckus with your fishing partner or anyone at the ramp. lol

Dig the carp.

Stole a tail off an old bait l made a few years back. I think if l upsize the hooks one size, and add a gram or two to the last section, we are done. Swam it yeaterday, and the behavior with little pops of the line is uncanny. The tail wants to rise a little, which l don't think looks especially natural. But overall l am quite pleased. SS

Stole a tail off an old bait l made a few years back. I think if l upsize the hooks one size, and add a gram or two to the last section, we are done. Swam it yeaterday, and the behavior with little pops of the line is uncanny. The tail wants to rise a little, which l don't think looks especially natural. But overall l am quite pleased. SS

Well, you know. Practice.

I got a special request for a bait a while back. I didn't want to take the job, but money talks. So... anyway. Here you go.

I made it.

Thanks! I always figured that end was mostly what predators would key in on.

About six years ago, I decided to carve myself a three section wake style bait out of basswood. It was the first bait of the type I made, and it turned out a little better than I was expecting it to. I was working on making soft baits at the time, and made a mold of the wooden bait because I didn't want to tear it up using it. I made one resin bait, swam it, and it worked great, pretty much exactly what I was aiming for. I figured I would get around to it eventually. It sat unpainted in a drawer since that time. I finally got around to painting it, and it looks pretty good. About 80% of what I was after. I need to figure out a good method for painting trout, like the correct sequence of color application and whatnot. The spots are too strong, for example, so I think they would look better under a coat of pearl, etc etc. Overall pretty happy with it, not thinking I am going to make any more of these, as honestly I have had some practice carving since I made this bait and I expect I would do a better job these days. I just want to go get a few fish with it. I still have not made up my mind about how I am going to do the tail. I might take the path of least resistance and just use Lexan.