striper 11” First attempt Trout Catches PB striper

[AsaProch]

Hey SU fam. Just wanted to start off by saying that although I’m not new to swimbaiting, I am new to swimbait underground and have been continually surprised by the amazing community and supporting nature of this team. I wanted to just tell bait making story to not only encourage new bait makers like myself, but also get some advice on the bait making process it self. I started my first hand carved bait about five weeks ago, the process for me was printing off pictures of trout from safari and trying to carve an exact replica. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as I had thought it might be, and so I went through about five blanks of bass wood before I had a carving that I felt could be perfected. After carving the bait I cut the joint and added my weight. After I felt good about the sink rate (slow float) I started the painting process which was quite an ordeal considering I do not have an airbrush and was using a combination of stencils and spray paint. After two coats of epoxy, added brush fins and tail, I thought my bait was ready to test. I decided to take it to a place that I have continually seem large striper and big bass, after loading my kayak and rigging my bait I was ready. I started my kayak trip at around 4:45 in the morning paddling around 4 miles to where I had a suspicion I could connect with a fish. The fist cast with the bait consisted of an awkward one sided swim but after retuning the bait I got a wide constant glide. I was encouraged by the action and decided to sling my bait for the rest of the day. At exactly 8:46 I made a cast to an undercut bank that looked like it could be holding a fish. The bait splashed down a little off from the target but I figured I’d give it a try anyway. Halfway back to my kayak, my bait was engulfed by the largest striped bass that I have yet to see. Instead of slapping at my bait, he just swallowed it. After a long fight (light drag because who knows if my skew eyes would pull) I finally reached my hand into the fishes mouth and heaved him into my kayak. I parked on a dock, quickly snapped some pictures and got a weight (31lbs) and slid the fish back into the water. After a healthy release I paddled back to my car and decided that the river had been good enough to me for one day. 
I wanted to tell this story to not only encourage beginners like myself that even though it is a long process of mastering the build, it is possible to catch a trophy on your first try. As well as ask the veterans what I did wrong. My bait after being viscously attacked split on the hinge and will no longer glide fluidly, I’m not sure what the solution is for soft wood baits, any help there? Also , I struggled with my clear coat of epoxy and wondered if there was anything better on the market for you guys? 
hope this encouraging, also sorry for the long windedness. Prolly the most significant catch of my life and I wanted to document it properly. 
blessings,

Asa

[danthefisherman]

That’s a great looking bait, and congrats on that beast of a striper! Both are worthy of recognition…keep it up

[Jim137a]

Incredible story and outstanding Striper.  
 

the only question I have for you is when are you going to drop those baits.  

[Brendan2468]

cool story and amazing bait!!! That is a really big striper! Congrats

[Ipleadthefish2]

Wow!!! Way 2 go, dude! That smile says it all.  Stoked!

[AsaProch]

On 11/4/2022 at 5:56 PM, danthefisherman said:

That’s a great looking bait, and congrats on that beast of a striper! Both are worthy of recognition…keep it up

Thanks man! I was pretty stoked on it

[AsaProch]

On 11/4/2022 at 5:58 PM, Jim137a said:

Incredible story and outstanding Striper.  
 

the only question I have for you is when are you going to drop those baits.  

Hahaha thanks man! Wish I was good enough to build some baits for other people, but not quite there hopefully soon

[Jim137a]

13 minutes ago, AsaProch said:

Hahaha thanks man! Wish I was good enough to build some baits for other people, but not quite there hopefully soon

You’re ready to sell - your first attempt a big glide catches a GIANT Striper - you’re doing better than 99% of bait makers. 

[AsaProch]

6 hours ago, Jim137a said:

You’re ready to sell - your first attempt a big glide catches a GIANT Striper - you’re doing better than 99% of bait makers. 

Hahaha thanks man! Im learning a lot and trying to get as good at this process as possible. It would be pretty awesome to see other people catch fish on the baits though.

[porkmeatballs]

Nice job!

[HookerWoody]

That’s absolutely awesome dude! Congratulations on the build and the catch. I’ve been playing around with the idea of making a glide. Another thing is I think most guys use a wood master to make the mold for resin because it holds up better than the soft wood on a big fish would be my guess, I’m not a bait maker. And I play with an air brush and you didn’t a great job painting that! Keep it up, hope to see more big catches to come! 

[AsaProch]

1 hour ago, HookerWoody said:

That’s absolutely awesome dude! Congratulations on the build and the catch. I’ve been playing around with the idea of making a glide. Another thing is I think most guys use a wood master to make the mold for resin because it holds up better than the soft wood on a big fish would be my guess, I’m not a bait maker. And I play with an air brush and you didn’t a great job painting that! Keep it up, hope to see more big catches to come! 

Thanks man! I really appreciate the time. That’s an interesting idea, definitely something to consider. Thanks for the advice.

[daniel.brown674]

I know that spot on the Guad

best regards,

@dartfishdan on insta

[Big Epp]

Very nice fish!  And great paint work. You got some really nice detail and fading without an airbrush.  A PB on your first bait...that's a great start!

[ATA]

Awesome bait and awesome bite