BassYakin

Really nice looking baits. Those paint jobs are impressive. Curious to see what the action is like on them, especially the bluegills.

Do you know why 1-piece crawlers are generally considered better than 2-piece?

What style of swimbaits are you planning on fishing?

I can’t speak too much to sunny daytime, but they definitely work mornings and evenings when the sun is still low and in overcast conditions. Just caught one this morning on a crawler right after sunrise.

Fair enough. Me to. Part of it is I need to build some confidence on subsurface baits. I fish topwater so much it’s about all I have confidence on.

Awesome! I like your username, topwater or bust in my opinion. If I could catch a double digit on a crank down, or a pile of vegetation on a topwater, I would choose the topwater. Jk.

I agree with @Born 2 fish Throw some standard tackle that reliably catches smaller fish to try to locate them and find a pattern, and then go from there. I would suggest starting with dragging the bottom with a 6 inch Keitech and then if you don’t get snagged a bunch, and get some smaller bites, try upgrading to the bigger swimbaits on bottom.

Looks like a great start! Some of the text on your post got cut off just so you know (unless something is wrong with my phone…)

Definitely looks to me like the weighting is not right, probably not centered. It might be though that there is a bit too much weight near the joint making the joint want to sink and causing it to lean and bend. Maybe try putting some suspend strips on the nose and tail and see if that changes anything. If you can see the weights under the paint on the bottom of the lure you could carefully drill out a little lead with a narrow bit. on the heavy side and then fill in back in with something else. I have done this with homemade lures before. Do very small bits at a time and then test though Also, maybe you could try to bend the hook hangers so they hold the hooks slightly off to one side to rebalance the lure. It wouldn’t fix the lean when the hooks are sitting on the bottom but it might fix the lean as it falls in open water. Just some ideas. I’m not an expert by any means though.

If you fish mornings/evenings then casting parallel to the shore with topwaters would be where I would start. What time of day do you fish? What is the water clarity like normally?

Looks great! I like using poplar too. What did you use for the tail? What is the action like? Any swim videos?

Awesome catch! That paint job on the s-waver is sweet.

In my very limited experience, that is what I have caught them on too, but I haven’t really given much time to try other retrieve speeds. That’s kind of what sparked this thread, I’m always trying to break out of the feedback loop of fishing only what I have had success on, and having success on it because it’s the only way I fish…

Are there any patterns you have seen of what retrieve speed tends to work better in those different conditions you mentioned? Especially curious about warm water conditions since we are heading into August and most bodies of water are at their warmest. I know it is very case by case, but just trying to figure out a good starting point. What time of day do you usually fish wakebaits? Just curious since it sounds like you have had a lot of success on them.

I tried searching through the forums and couldn’t find any threads on this question exactly. When fishing wakebaits/rats on the surface, what speed retrieve is the most productive overall in your experience? And what situations do you find other speed retrieves are best? (I know a lot of wakebaits won’t stay on the surface when you speed up, but I’m asking about those that do stay on top. Just curious about speed of retrieve itself, not depth.)

If your trying to paint a more natural color scheme, pick colors that are more similar than you think you should. For example, two greens might seem to similar to use both, but when you paint a lure with both of them they will stand out from one another more than you expect. Also, don’t get too stuck on replicating a paint job you like from a photo. In my experience this is a lot harder than it seems and probably won’t turn out quite the way you want. Use something for inspiration to start from, but don’t be afraid to deviate from it to settle on what looks best.

If your trying to paint a more natural color scheme, pick colors that are more similar than you think you should. For example, two greens might seem to similar to use both, but when you paint a lure with both of them they will stand out from one another more than you expect. Also, don’t get too stuck on replicating a paint job you like from a photo. In my experience this is a lot harder than it seems and probably won’t turn out quite the way you want. Use something for inspiration to start from, but don’t be afraid to deviate from it to settle on what looks best.

What’s the brand of those swimbaits again? I have seen them before but I’m spacing it now.

Awesome! Catching one with you son makes it that much better. A week ago I caught a 4-10 with my daughter which was a highlight for both of us. Crawlers are awesome!

Awesome catch. Really cool to catch your PB on a homemade lure. Nice placement on the cast too, risking a snag definitely paid off. One of my favorite things about fishing homemade lures is if you snag it you are not out $150+ bucks, and you can make an improved replacement that is probably better than the original!

Does it crank down when you speed up the retrieve or does it stay on the surface?

Looks really good! Looking forward to seeing a swim video.

Action looks great! Nice work!

Nevermind then about using regular tackle to help locate fish and learn the water…you got more experience than I do!

Has anyone tried the Lew’s Laser SG1 7’4” Heavy rod? It says it has a moderate fast taper. Any input on whether it would be a good rod for fishing smaller treble hook swimbaits? I’m not as concerned about casting distance as keeping fish pinned while reeling them in. Thanks for the help!