Rogervang Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 No one knows or very few people know, that's the secret pattern. VolunteerSwimbaits and danthefisherman 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted March 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2019 (edited) Whipped up two more in crappie pattern over the past few days and am just waiting for the rain to stop so that I can start clear coating. One will be contributed to the BABC Swimbait Shootout 3 tournament winnings and the other I get to keep...FINALLY. I'm experimenting with rotating hook hangers on these and really like the green sides combined with the black. Coloring those crappie patterns with a toothpick sure was a pain though, so these might be the last I ever make unless I find a way to make a stencil. Edit: here's a link to the tourney posting - http://swimbaitunderground.com/forums/index.php?/topic/54585-babc-shootout-3/&tab=comments#comment-403549 Edited March 2, 2019 by danthefisherman fishnchips35, VolunteerSwimbaits, morgantm16 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogervang Posted March 2, 2019 Report Share Posted March 2, 2019 Looking good! Stencil is definitely the way to go. A couple of cheap tricks around the web that helps out a lot. danthefisherman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted March 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2019 4 hours ago, Rogervang said: Looking good! Stencil is definitely the way to go. A couple of cheap tricks around the web that helps out a lot. Thanks! I tried making my own stencil with layers of packaging tape formed around the lure body, but when I cut the patterns into the stencil it wouldn't lay flush to the sides. The patterns didn't come out as clean as I was hoping for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogervang Posted March 3, 2019 Report Share Posted March 3, 2019 Have you tired the laminated paper method? That's what I use and it works really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted March 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2019 58 minutes ago, Rogervang said: Have you tired the laminated paper method? That's what I use and it works really well. Something very similar with the tape...I was using spray paint too so that might've been the problem. It's pretty difficult to get clean lines on anything using rattle cans haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aoy08 Posted March 4, 2019 Report Share Posted March 4, 2019 On 3/2/2019 at 2:40 PM, danthefisherman said: Whipped up two more in crappie pattern over the past few days and am just waiting for the rain to stop so that I can start clear coating. One will be contributed to the BABC Swimbait Shootout 3 tournament winnings and the other I get to keep...FINALLY. I'm experimenting with rotating hook hangers on these and really like the green sides combined with the black. Coloring those crappie patterns with a toothpick sure was a pain though, so these might be the last I ever make unless I find a way to make a stencil. Edit: here's a link to the tourney posting - http://swimbaitunderground.com/forums/index.php?/topic/54585-babc-shootout-3/&tab=comments#comment-403549 That looks bad ass Dan! Hopefully it's not the last couple you make, WE need one! Lol danthefisherman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted March 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 (edited) Finished up what will probably be my last two toothpick-painted black crappie patterns. I took a vote on pattern preference and the bait in front won, so that one's going to the BABC Swimbait Shootout 3 winnings. Hopefully it goes to a SU member who makes it out to the event...that would be awesome! The one in the back I finally get to keep and fish with. I took a pair of scissors to the fins to create a chewed up crappie look and it's really grown on me. Can't wait to get a chance to throw this at some giant Clear Lake crappie eaters! The swiveling hook hangers turned out very well and spin freely to prevent fish from throwing the bait. Both baits are equipped with quality size 5, 60lb Owner Hyper Wire rings matched with size 1 Owner st-41 trebles. I'll be ready when these things get munched! Edited March 9, 2019 by danthefisherman ScottyM'Sfishing, Rogervang and azsouth 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted April 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2019 My brother Dave @porkmeatballs took the liberty to paint up two of my gills and by golly do they look good! I definitely need to up my airbrush game. The darker spawn gill is heading off to @Low&Slow in San Diego and the lighter gill I gave to Dave for his birthday. Also had the chance to finally obtain a snippet of swim footage in the bathtub haha. Thanks for looking! azsouth, DoomDiver and azfisher 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinxd12 Posted April 22, 2019 Report Share Posted April 22, 2019 37 minutes ago, danthefisherman said: My brother Dave @porkmeatballs took the liberty to paint up two of my gills and by golly do they look good! I definitely need to up my airbrush game. The darker spawn gill is heading off to @Low&Slow in San Diego and the lighter gill I gave to Dave for his birthday. Also had the chance to finally obtain a snippet of swim footage in the bathtub haha. Thanks for looking! Detail is amazing man, even if i was artistic all all I would never have the patience to sit and carve out all the gills!!!! Badass bait! danthefisherman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azsouth Posted April 23, 2019 Report Share Posted April 23, 2019 MAD SKILLS! danthefisherman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted May 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 Sooo...with a bit of time on my hands this summer I have decided to remake my gill from scratch. I know I'm probably crazy for doing this after putting so much time and energy into the last model, but I really wanted to make this bait into a glide as well as a multijoint swimmer. The bait already has an amazing profile and swim as a multijoint (and I even have a revamped master with improved cosmetics ready to mold), but I ran into issues with my glide version not wanting to travel nearly as far as I would like. My Theory: The bait just doesn't have enough mass or ballast to maintain the proper ballance and "momentum" in the water. It's hard to tell from the photos, but the body tapers down a lot towards the belly and towards the tail. Consequently, I can only get about a little over a half ounce of lead into the bait to make it a slow sinker. Also with most of the resin mass concentrated near the head, my ballast needs to be shifted forward to prevent the bait from nosing up. In all my experiences trying to make glides, I have learned that generally the more ballast you can add and the closer to the joint the can place it the better. With my bait only being able to accommodate half an ounce of lead and most of this weight being in the head section, I concluded that the shape of my bait was just not optimal for what I was trying to achieve. Testing my glide version at a local pond, I couldn't really find a better word to describe the action other than "fluttery". The bait is pretty thin and although it did swim decently on a steady retrieve and twitch retrieve, I just felt it had no momentum to cut very far or react well to twitches. Interestingly enough, the bait wouldn't cut to the side at all when I tried it with the urethane fins removed. I figured maybe the fins were maybe adding too much drag to the bait, but the swim was far superior with them than without them. I have tried many other tweaks with the joint play and weight distribution and resin ratios with mixed results. Perhaps I just need to start afresh. I feel the only thing left to try is changing the shape of my master, so that's what I'm going to do. The plan is to beef up the body quite a bit so that I will have more freedom to mess around with the ballast and weight placement. I really wanted to keep the same look as my previous version since I liked it so much, so I will attempt to replicate it and maybe add a bit more mass to the shoulders for a mature bluegill look. Long rant over and about a year and a half after the beginning, thanks to all of you who have spurred me forward through this project! I'm no expert, but I hope to share my findings and failures in order that others in the same boat as me can learn from them. I also cannot bring myself to settle for a bait that doesn't 100% meet my vision for it (hence my long delays in finishing one). If anyone has any tips on making a gill glide do its thing I'm all ears! Maybe you can save me from spending another 1.5 years chasing my own tail Tight lines and happy building! Dan El_Weruso and CaliBassin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted May 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2020 Master is looking much more like a mature gill now which is fitting for the size. Opted for larger eyes, broadened shoulders, and a slightly different gill plate design. Getting really excited for this new model! "I'm lovin' it!" BrierBob, azsouth, El_Weruso and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogervang Posted June 2, 2020 Report Share Posted June 2, 2020 (edited) Your work never seem to disappoint. Like always, your killing it. wake also? Edited June 2, 2020 by Rogervang danthefisherman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted June 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2020 27 minutes ago, Rogervang said: Your work never seem to disappoint. Like always, your killing it. wake also? Thanks Roger! I have many plans for this bait (like always), and a wake or crankdown is definitely one of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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