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8.5" Trout Glide/Swimmer Project


danthefisherman
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 5 weeks later...

Took a bunch of baits out to prototype on the river today. This trout glide is being stubborn and still not consistently gliding out as far as I'd like. I tried adjusting joint play, fin size, resin ratio, ballast distribution, and tail and head shape all with mixed results. It's hard to come to any sort of conclusion at this point, but at least the bait is catching fish haha.

My brother Dave @porkmeatballs landed a nice striper while I was off tuning a different crankdown bait. He was hollering for me to get over there, so I rushed over and threw my trout in. A few glides in and I felt that telltale tick on the pause.

Unfortunately, Dave's fish flopped out of the boat while I was fighting mine. Then my fish got tangled up in the net, did a few spins, and pop...she bent the hook and earned a quick release. Still a fun bite that gives much-needed motivation to keep persevering through this build.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've been working on a little two piece wake myself, not nearly as fancy as yours but she'll swim. I've been undecided on a color scheme, going back and forth between something natural or a bone type of paint, and I think that you've swayed me! You executed it perfectly, and I might have to even steal that 'dead' eye! looks sweet, bummer about the fish tho

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3 hours ago, carsonp860 said:

I've been working on a little two piece wake myself, not nearly as fancy as yours but she'll swim. I've been undecided on a color scheme, going back and forth between something natural or a bone type of paint, and I think that you've swayed me! You executed it perfectly, and I might have to even steal that 'dead' eye! looks sweet, bummer about the fish tho

Bone and red craw have become my top murky water colors recently...which is ironic because I used to be a die-hard natural pattern guy. Good luck with your build!

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  • 1 year later...

Many prototypes later with a good amount of on-the-water use under my belt and I think I’ve settled on a few changes that I want to make to this bait. Thus far I have been working with only  one mold which ripped about a year ago, so my next mold will be a prime candidate to implement any tweaks.

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A few of the modifications I plan to make:

1. Lower the size/profile of the dorsal fin.

2. Switch the pin entry to the top of the bait to allow for better ballast placement.

3. Move the rear hook hanger back to catch more short-striking fish.

4. Adjust the joint play (going to experiment with some rubber bumpers that I have on order).

5. Change my mold orientation to reduce air entrapment and unintentional shifting of hardware.

Hopefully I’ll get this bait to where I want it to be soon…I’ve burned through a lot of materials and time on this project, but I’ve learned a lot as well. Of course it’s all part of the game though and will make that first giant landed that much more special. I’m sure looking forward to it!

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Good sportsmanship right there brother. Laugh it off is always great! Bait is coming out better and better each time. I didn't think it can get better than it already was but you continue to prove me wrong. Keep it up brother! I'm still waiting for you guy to stick a dirty 30 with them baits!

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Took the old prototype out fishing yesterday and had quite a few bites with only one hook up. It’s unfortunate that I missed so many fish, but I might be able to learn something from the teeth marks that they left in my bait.

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First off, I’m glad that I brought the dorsal fin profile down on my new master. It’s just one less thing to get in the way when fish T-bone this thing.

Second, I’m also glad that I moved the rear hook hanger back on my new master. I have a sneaky suspicion that I was getting a lot of short strikes. That trailing treble should hopefully pick up some of those half-committal fish.

Third, I may need to move the front hook hanger back. I kept the hook closer to the head because I would assume that more fish would head shot the bait, but all these bite marks are actually in the middle section. Is this an isolated behavior pattern? It’s hard to say. The one fish that I did hook ate the front of the bait, but the majority of my bites were aimed farther back. Perhaps a feather treble hook or different paint color pattern around the hook hangers will help fish hone in on those treble hooks.

Edited by danthefisherman
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On 3/6/2022 at 5:32 PM, Luke h said:

I would assume them not eating the head of the bait is an isolated behavior but I think moving the back hook hanger back was a good idea.

Yeah it almost makes me want to try three hooks, but that’ll look silly on a sub 10” bait I think haha.

2 hours ago, FLsharkman said:

Try double split rings so the trebles hang lower and have a better shot at catching if it gets slapped at.

I just might try that next time, thanks for the suggestion!

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