smawjaw

That thing looks incredible! Awesome job man

Thanks! Not sure what you mean... You wanna send me baits to paint/wrap?

Thanks alot! Sounds like you'll already be far beyond what I have, as far as tools. I'm only working with a bandsaw and belt sander for the blanks. Then it's knives, sandpaper, vinyl and spray paint. Wish I had an airbrush... Definitely a great way to get thru the winter but be careful, it's an addictive hobby. Have fun and good luck!

Thanks man! I will say, once ya start making them for yourself it's easy to see why they cost so much. Dedinitely a lot of work but ultimately more satisfying catching fish on something you made yourself

Working on a big 4 piece multi joint swimmer for the spring run Stripers. Shaping up to be about 13" with the tail. Should be a fun one

Thanks! Yea, big ol longnose gar... had to been 5-6 feet long. I was filming this w a selfie stick so he was right under my feet!

YouCut_20191026_165634440.mp4 YouCut_20191026_165634440.mp4

Just finished this 9", 7.4 oz gizzard shad glide. Haven't had a chance to really test/tune yet but made a couple quick test casts and it glides nice and wide on a steady retrieve and isn't hard to 180 with a jerk/pause. Probably shoulda made fins too but it'll just be a reason for me to make another. Probably try to thin down the next one to cut weight a bit. With such a big, heavy bait I figured I'd try swivel hangers to reduce leverage. Wound up using 300lb test saltwater swivels, drilled, screwed and epoxied into a body cavity. Still need to play with this method a bit more but feel it's a good start. Will try to do a swim video soon

Thanks alot you guys, really appreciate it!

These look sick, love the woodburned scales

Y'all are too kind!!! I forgot to mention how many awesome, supportive people I've met in the last 10 months! Truly a great community here.

First post here and it's gonna be a long one... so buckle up. I started making my own baits this year because I wanted to try throwing big swimbaits but was/am too damn broke to buy any. I ballsed up & put $50 away for an MS Slammer only to find them sold out on TW. Finally, out of frustration, I chopped up a broom handle and spray painted it in the back yard last January. That's where this story begins...It took me so long to dial the paint on the first lures that I wound up building 2 more in different styles in the meantime. The photo below is the lot hanging to dry on my lawnmower after getting spray painted in the yard... The 2nd was a low float swimmer, sort of a subtle wake bait... then a slow sink Triple Trout style. Messed with basic detail carving and tried a thru-pin joint... Tried a 3 & 4 pc Pat's type... then a glide... I've been a wrap installer by trade for years so I printed some fish and wrapped a few...wrapped the glide in color shift... 2nd multi joint TT style... next was a 3 pc wake & crank gill with a bill. This is where I finally admitted to myself that spray paint just wasn't gonna cut it for some patterns... Then I started seeing winged crawler baits blowing up all over Instagram. They looked stupid as hell but we get big cicadas here in Virginia, so I thought I'd give it a shot... I really wanted to try a black crappie and also revisit the glide bait. Found a good photo online, printed it on paper and used it as a template for the body shape, so that I knew the wrap would fit. Had to make fins. I used to design and make custom jewelry back in the day so I'm familiar with making molds (and casting liquid hot gold & silver) Below shows the fins and tail I carved from wax, another jewelry makers trick... Sourced some material and printed the wraps on the commercial printer at my shop and was super stoked with the result. Colors shift in the light and really made the bait pop. Not to mention it beat the hell out Krylon in the yard... At this point I knew I had to do a better bluegill. Repeated the process and made a wake... Now it's been about 10 months and I have learned a TON. Having never even seen a big bait in person, let alone fished one, I wasn't sure where to start. That's why I started by copying existing baits and trying a variety of different styles. They were all strictly made for my own personal use and education. This has really shown me how to impart different actions and giving me more of a palette to work with my own baits moving forward. It has also taught me a ton about fish behavior in general. Which baits will excel where and so on... Last year I was spending at least $100 a month on tackle. Now all I fish are my own baits and only spend a fraction of that on parts for an exponentially more satisfying experienece. I'm pumped and I'm just getting started. Working on a shad glide now and might make some stuff for sale soon. Swim videos and fish catches on Instagram...