Bite-Sized Gill

[Hmoob]

Beautiful BAIT!!!!!

[danthefisherman]

1 hour ago, Rogervang said:

A striper will be fun. Hopfually it's a monster striper, that'll be insane!

I caught two 8 inchers on a shad rap during one outing so I know there's potential...just need to upsize the scale now 

[Socalswimbait]

Great looking bait. Would you ever make it without a bill? Sinking version? Mmmm mmmm deep points with current. Striper heaven! 

[danthefisherman]

On 8/19/2020 at 4:27 PM, Socalswimbait said:

Great looking bait. Would you ever make it without a bill? Sinking version? Mmmm mmmm deep points with current. Striper heaven! 

Unsure at the moment...trying to take it one step at a time and get the crankdown dialed first.

Still can't figure the striper out or time the runs and tides for the life of me. It's all new for one coming from fishing small lakes and ponds.

[danthefisherman]

Build update: I said I had the crankdown dialed in but think I jinxed myself haha. Spent the whole week fighting problems with resin expansion, mold issues, inconsistencies with the ballast and ratios, etc etc. Builder tip: WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN! I had so much going on I was starting to forget what worked and what didn't and may have reproduced some faulty prototypes. Many pours later and I think I have everything resolved and can finally pour consistently. I wanted a stronger resin to see if I could reinforce the fins, but I had to sacrifice some ballast in the process. All in all I'm pretty happy with the results having the same swim and thump as the original and only slightly less ballanced when twitched or ripped...but I even like the extra roll as it should make the bait more versatile. Onward to the paint booth!

[Rogervang]

That's a good builders tip. Always record your formulas. I lost mine a whole back and it wasnt fun. Now I write them in a piece of scotch tape and tape it on my cabinet hahaha your on a good progress. These nad boys are going to be badass!

Edited August 23, 2020 by Rogervang

[danthefisherman]

Testers needed! Now accepting applications 

https://swimbaitunderground.com/forums/index.php?/topic/73141-testers-needed-bite-sized-gill-crankdown/

[TootsMalone]

Man those gills look incredible. I would add to the note taking idea, CLEARLY mark the tests that don't work as well as the ones that do. Don't know how many times i have poured late at night following a recipe that was a failure but wasn't marked as such very clearly. 

[azsouth]

If you come out with a wake version, sign me up for a tester please!

[Rogervang]

1 hour ago, azsouth said:

If you come out with a wake version, sign me up for a tester please!

SAME.

[danthefisherman]

Braved the smoke to finally get out on the water by kayak today, and I'm glad I did!

It was a tough bite. I hooked into a nice bass on the straight resin prototype but it went airborne and shook off. Then I spent half an hour trying to unsnag the bait from a buoy in strong current. Even the conventional baits I was throwing occasionally weren't getting bit. Towards the end of the day (about 9-10 hours later), my arms were aching from throwing the crankdown so much. I tied my yak to a post at a new spot and brought out the finesse baits to catch crappie. I caught one nice slab and put it in the net to take home for dinner.

The sun was going down so I started to clean up my yak and put baits away. I grabbed my swimbait setup and thought to myself, "Might as well take one more cast." First cast with the red craw crankdown and I get railed by a twelve incher. What a way to end the day! Love those last-cast bass. Took a few more casts to calm down...and my bait stops dead ten feet from the boat. I set the hook into a solid bass and somehow manage to dump my crappie and get her in the net. She only weighed 4.5lbs but is my biggest swimbait fish weighed and my heaviest bass for this year. My day sure turned around quick. I may have lost my dinner but it was worth it. Also I need a bigger net 

Edited September 4, 2020 by danthefisherman

[danthefisherman]

Build update: working on my final, finalized mold master (hopefully) for my crankdown. Have already had good success with the prototypes and some good fish caught by my field testers.

Just from personal use, I can see the tails being prone to fall out due to a short tail slot. I made the slot short so the back hook wouldn't be able to lodge into it, but I think I'd rather have a more secure tail instead. Also I want to play around with a softer plastic to see if I can achieve a bit more side to side tail kick. A longer slot will give more bonding surface either way, so my updated models will have said feature.

Can't wait to experiment with other diving depths. Really want to make that shallow crank or wake version to fish over shallow grass.

[chefchris]

23 hours ago, danthefisherman said:

Build update: working on my final, finalized mold master (hopefully) for my crankdown. Have already had good success with the prototypes and some good fish caught by my field testers.

Just from personal use, I can see the tails being prone to fall out due to a short tail slot. I made the slot short so the back hook wouldn't be able to lodge into it, but I think I'd rather have a more secure tail instead. Also I want to play around with a softer plastic to see if I can achieve a bit more side to side tail kick. A longer slot will give more bonding surface either way, so my updated models will have said feature.

Can't wait to experiment with other diving depths. Really want to make that shallow crank or wake version to fish over shallow grass.

why not also utilize the toothpick/nail method? 

my only issue with that method is the tails tend to fly off if you back lash if they are softer material, the harder material that @azfisher uses is almost industructible 

[danthefisherman]

4 hours ago, chefchris said:

why not also utilize the toothpick/nail method? 

my only issue with that method is the tails tend to fly off if you back lash if they are softer material, the harder material that @azfisher uses is almost industructible 

I don't like tails tearing as mentioned. A harder urethane or a silicone tail might help but I also just don't like the look of a pin haha. Can always add later for double security.

Edited September 12, 2020 by danthefisherman

[danthefisherman]

I've been asked for an update on the testing status on my crankdown version by a few members, so I'll share what I can:

My three field testers have had their prototypes for about two weeks now and had pretty good success during the times they've had on the water fishing them. A variety of species have already been caught including largemouth, smallmouth, pike, and even a halibut out of California, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. I haven't requested an in depth report or asked many questions yet because I want to give them time to fish and familiarize themselves more with the baits, but from my own experience fishing my prototypes and hearing the initial thoughts of my testers I think I've about hit the target of what I wanted this bait to accomplish.

The bait is confirmed to dive quickly and easily to the target depth of about 5 feet (I've received approximations of 4-6 feet) and functions more or less as a magnum squarebill crankbait. The joint design gives it a tighter swim than some other baits of similar style (i.e. Toxic Whippersnapper) and allows the resin to clack subtly on the retrieve. The lip allows the bait to come through and deflect off of hard cover very well and produces a thumping swim that can be felt all the way up through the rod. On the pause the bait stalls/suspends for a bit before floating up again, allowing it to be twitched in place.

This is just some of what I've gathered so far from my testers and through personal use. As mentioned in my previous post, I've since lengthened the depth of the tail slot and will see if that helps keep the tail in place. Also in the process of lengthening the tail to accommodate the longer slot and playing around with a slightly softer plastic for it. The only problem now is that I seem to have misplaced my tail mold and can't proceed down that avenue until I find it haha.

Thanks again to all who have followed along and encouraged me onward...I sense the end is near! (Fingers crossed )

Dan