PRZ93

Been throwing this guy around a bit, learning the right retrieves and such. Only been swimming to get her unstuck once (lol). Never caught a fish on a glide before so it has been quite the learning curve using a homemade with its odd tendencies here and there. But have I got a story for you... Hooked and lost right at shore easily the biggest bass of my life this afternoon. I will now always carry a net, and use my damn GoPro as often as possible, but anyhow. Smaller urban pond (no boats) that is stocked with trout/catfish, but holds some solid bass you can see swimming around. Very clear water, rocky shores, typically little vegetation. Anyhow, I've fished this lake a bit but never caught more than a dink or two... The big ones are too wary. Today, I get there and see the water is clear but a huge portion of the lake is covered in spotty pads of moss. See a few smaller bass, so I figure I'll test the RM clone a bit as I can watch the action and look for followers. Had to deal with pulling moss off often, but start pitching into the clear spots and working it next to and under these moss pads. After a few smaller followers, I spot a big bass (easily 21"+, 5lb+) and partner (2-3lb) swimming around. The smaller one chases the glide, kinda knocking it around but not trying to eat it. See the larger one about 15 yards out... First pitch she swipes at it but no commitment, I can tell she is agitated. Heart rate going up... Second pitch is perfect, minimal splash, kinda scoots right under a pad she is near... Quick handle turn... quick handle turn... WHAM!!!!! SHE SMOKES IT! I reel her in as fast as possible, then suddenly she is at shore and I'm looking at the biggest fish I've ever hooked into. Crap, no way am I gonna be able to bank flip her (rocky 2ft drop to water)... Gotta bend down and lip her......... The slightest slack in the line and a quick head shake and she's off. One moment of hesitation was all it took. Sits there for a few seconds getting her bearings then swims off. While it would have been better to post my first update with a picture or video of a new PB/first glide bait fish, I now have some confidence in this bait. Good lesson in "if you're going to throw big baits to target big bass, be ready and able to land them" lol. Will definitely carry a net in the future (I'm not used to "giant" fish like this haha). Probably the most exciting moment of my freshwater fishing... I'll definitely be back there tomorrow!

Those look fantastic to fish, the innovation is inspiring. And wow... absolutely stunning paint jobs! Any tips on your paint process?

I think that is the way to go. Finished 7 casts, with 5 of them at the prime level of buoyancy. Took detailed notes this time, no more eyeballing lol! I sure did haha! Part of the joy of this is in sharing my work with others and hopefully inspiring more people to give lure making a shot. Can't wait to fish it!

Thanks Dan! Following along with other builds made the process a bit easier, but I'm sure I'll tweak things as I go in the future. With your Keeper, have you found a method to get your resin casts to have a consistent buoyancy?

From a block of wood to finished product, I have a working, handmade glide bait cast out of resin. The design isn't original or a perfect recreation, but I'm very proud of how it turned out and creating it has been a great learning experience. With the tail included, the total length is about 6.75 inches. My goal with this project was to see if I could make a large, gliding 2-piece lure out of resin. I chose a popular and simple design to emulate to increase my odds of a working finished product, and opted for a slightly downsized RM Negotiator. I carved the master out of basswood, and made a silicone mold using Legos and Smooth-On OOMOO 30 (plus modeling clay & Vaseline). I made multiple casts using Smooth-Cast 300 with varying levels of microspheres to get the buoyancy right. Still need to work out a proper way to consistently ballast the lure while maintaining buoyancy for future casts. Only the body section was able to be further weighted to maintain a slow sink and optimal balancing for the glide action - next cast will have more microspheres so I can better tune the ROF. I initially carved a tail out of acrylic, but ended up using it as a template for cutting and shaping a Plano box divider. I like the flexibility/shatter-resistance and being able to maintain some of the transparency. I'm still working on my airbrushing skills, and intend to do some more detailed work in the future. This whole project took many hours and I was ready for it to be done and fishable! The hardware used to transform two blocks of plastic into a fishing lure was SS cotter pins - these made life much easier than twisting SS wire like I've done in the past. It is equipped with size #4 Owner Hyperwire split rings and size #2 VMC inline trebles. The hardware and paint are cemented in place with BSI-205 clear waterproof epoxy. Total weight comes in around 2.4 ounces. The function is definitely good enough to be fished which is what matters most! Not RM glide/swim quality, but I am very impressed with it and can improve upon #1 with future baits. I can certainly see why a fine-tuned, handcarved RM costs what it does. Now to go stick some giants with it! Excited to see what original designs I can come up with in the future.

Only tried P-Line CXX in 20lb so far for big baits... It has produced with my smallest "big bait" (3:16 Mission Fish) so I am a believer in it. Love the P-Line Flouroclear in 12lb on my reg casting rig, so I gave the CXX a shot and so far am happy! Copoly seems to provide a great balance between flouro & mono properties.

After a few rounds of boiling, they have a bit more action at low speeds but nothing extraordinary. Still have faith in these guys, just need the right conditions for them to shine. I'd agree that the wedge/vortex style tail is definitely what gives larger swimbaits that slow-roll kick.

A thread a few weeks ago informed me about the low price TackleWarehouse has the larger Jenko Booty Shaker soft plastics at currently. The 4" and 5" have produced for me and have a nice action and build quality, so I figured I'd give the largest sizes a shot at their current prices (2pk/7" for $4.97, 1pk/8" for $3.97). I picked up two packs of the 7" and a single one of the 8" and wanted to share my initial thoughts as well as the raw weight of each bait as not a lot of information was available here or elsewhere. 7" raw weight: 67g / 2.36oz Good build quality, durable, nothing too exciting Very similar in size and profile to the Rising Son 6.75". 10/0 weighted 1/2oz Beast: these guys look and swim killer; lifelike kick and swimming action, slightly preferred to jig head 3/4oz 9/0 long shank jighead by Jenko: tricky to rig, needs a bit more speed vs Beast to get action started, but great body wobble & nice tracking up to full burn Plastic is very soft, TONS of action on a slow to fast retrieve (head, mid, tail wobble); little to no action on a crawl with either rigging method, no action on slack line 8" raw weight: 105g / 3.7oz Fine build quality, durable, nothing too exciting Huge amount of plastic, this thing is massive 3/4oz 9/0 jighead: this bait is enormous & a pain in the ass to rig, took more than a few tries to get it right; massive tail swing & body roll/wobble, solid tracking Similar quality plastic & slightly bigger action vs the 7", needs a bit more speed to get it going; little to no action on a crawl, no action on slack line Final thoughts: To call back to the inspiration thread, these ain't Battle Shad alternatives. However, I think these are definitely worth a shot at the price I paid ($13.91). Very soft plastic, at least as soft as a Hudd... they have some serious action when you get them going. They honestly look enticing and I'll be spending some time on the water throwing the 7" rigged both ways. The 8" will be thrown when the time is right; might figure out a way to rig it line-through top hook. I'd give the 12/0 Beast a shot with them. Will see if boiling the tail end on one of them gives some better action on a slow rolling bottom retrieve. Now to see if they catch fish... Size Comparions (6.5" RS for scale)

The 4" & 5" have produced for me and a buddy. Was considering the larger versions but haven't found much feedback on them until now, thanks for sharing. Great info on the preferred rigging, would love to hear how you like to fish the 6". Fishing the 8" weighted or weightless? Does anyone have the weights for the 6, 7, and 8 inch?

Seriously great work on that lure - I had just read through your build thread a few days ago and now you have a video of it catching a very nice fish... awesome! Inspiring me to start GoPro'ing my prototype lure tests! Can't wait to see where you go with the Keeper from here.

Jaw dropping... I need to learn how to get this kind of detailed shading/transition with my airbrush!

Big fan of Buffs - hard to go wrong with the original. Significantly higher quality and comfort in comparison to the SA. The Huks are nice, but the Buff takes the win for me.

Thanks for the feedback guys - I'm going to stick with the Tranx. Love my Lew's, was going to pull the trigger on the SD Wide Spool until I realized I could pick up the Shimano at such a great price. I'm sure it'll huck the smaller baits just fine after reading up a bit more. Can't wait!