wooden crankbait build along

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by HuyFishin

Maybe a golden shiner for lakers

I will keep both your options in mind even the ugly sucker lol

You definitely have a different choice in patterns then I do out fishing.

[Smoky buck]

Next important step is to check the balance of the lure. I have done this once or twice so I designed the lure in away it does not need any weight beyond the hardware. Majority of lures will need to be weighted and most of my designs do have a ballast/weight to controlled the sit in the water. Weight does effect action as well

I will post how to balance a bait just for learning purposes


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[58thecat]

the turd that floats needs some funky color scheme now.....cant wait to see the final outcome....great thread.

[Smoky buck]

So here is how you weight a crankbait bait. For demonstration I am using a reject body and scrap lexan so yes it’s ugly lol

To balance a larger lure I use coiled lead. To test the amount of lead I need I use an elastic band or a wrap of tape.

As you see in the one pic this demo lure is riding with its noes high and tail down. With the lip riding this high and tail down this lure would corkscrew likely right on the surface. With crankbaits you want the bait to ride level or slightly nose down. You also want the lip a little ways under the surface. If the lip sits too high it will break the surface once it starts to wiggle. If the nose is on too much of a downward angle it can cause the lure to blow out corkscrewing user the water or run on its side.

To cause this demo lure to run correctly it needs to be weighted right behind the front hook. To find the correct balance I used an electric band to hold the weight for testing. You see in the pic with the weight the demo lure now rides slightly nose dow. This would create a good angle

I then drill a hole the diameter of my lead and slightly deeper then the lead is long. Normally after doing this you would let the wood dry out before going ahead. The next day normally I would stuff the weight in like you see in the pic where I am holding the demo lure. You want the weight roughly 1/8 under the surface. I would normally fill the rest of the hole with a mix of epoxy and sawdust



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[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

the turd that floats needs some funky color scheme now.....cant wait to see the final outcome....great thread.

It may look like a turd but I bet it would catch a fish as is . Most of my prototypes never get painted and I have caught lots of fish just testing the action in a lake or river. I could probably carve and paint a turd crankbait and consistently catch fish on it

I will hit it with primer once it’s dry. So far suggested paint screams are golden shiner, and ugly bottom feeding sucker lol

Still taking paint suggestions till I break out the air brush. So far Huyfishin has given the only input

[Smoky buck]

As some have probably see me preach about paying attention to weight when swapping hooks on crankbaits it is because of the balancing process I just went through. If you take a design like I am making in this build hook weight is vital put too light on hooks on this lure it will blow out

As you have likely noticed in this thread there is a ton of factors that dictate how a crankbait moves. Change one factor it may only make a un noticeable impact in action or it can mess the action up completely. If you understand how everything works you can also customize and change the action on a lure too

[Smoky buck]

The shape of this bait does not lend it self well to a sucker pattern because it’s mostly belly and back the transition on the sides may not look as good as I would like. But since I only have one person speaking up giving suggestions so I will be a sport and give it a go

So the lure was lightly sanded and primed kind of self explanatory so no pics

Ugly sucker pattern is going to be attempted

[58thecat]

dark green back faded into the sides of yellow with streaks of orange in the tail area....silver bottom ever so slight.....

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

dark green back faded into the sides of yellow with streaks of orange in the tail area....silver bottom ever so slight.....

Sorry too late but I have done well on Lakers and pike with that colour combo but I use a pearl belly and a do a blaze orange tip for the tail not streaks

Base coat for a sucker has already been laid so stuck now

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

Sorry too late but I have done well on Lakers and pike with that colour combo but I use a pearl belly and a do a blaze orange tip for the tail not streaks

Base coat for a sucker has already been laid so stuck now

hmmm next time and I will buy it f you....if you art with your creations that is.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

hmmm next time and I will buy it f you....if you art with your creations that is.

Next batch of baits will be poured next month. Had to switch to a more cost effective supplier for my resin so ran out well shopping. I will PM you when my order arrives and we can see what works for your style of fishing.

I have some very effective patterns I have come up with over the years for both pike and Lakers. Green yellow combos are definitely good for both because of their habits of eating their own, the colours hold decent at depth, and the contrast. There is other colours combos that I really like for theses species

[Smoky buck]

So we have one ugly bottom feeding sucker as required by Huyfishin

Started by laying down a creamy yellow and black base coat. I intentionally lay the black on patchy

Let it dry a bit and then wrap the lure in mess to give a scaled look. Spray the sides and back with metallic gold. Let that coat dry

Remove the mesh nicely so I don’t mess anything up. Spray the head gold and let that set for a few min. After that mist in some copper. Mist in a black mask and some patching on the body. Finally spray the belly white

There you have it a variation of a sucker pattern

Tomorrow I will add eyes and clear coat


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[Smoky buck]

Those pics suck but it will give you an idea till tomorrow

[Smoky buck]

Ok those pics sucked too bad had to take another


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[Smoky buck]

Getting down to the final steps now hooks will be installed tomorrow

It’s clear coat time and this is where you can easily make a pretty lure ugly with a patchy clear coat. First things first keep your grubby dirty hands off the new paint job lol. Oils and dirt from your hands can cause your clear coat to have voids. So do your best to limit handling

First I mix up a batch of envirotex epoxy. I will not be thinning it this time. Make sure you mix it well because this is your final finish. Set it aside for 5-10 minutes a little longer does not hurt. You are letting bubbles have a chance to work out and it is nice if it is a little stiffer

Well that sits I stick on my eyes. Going with 3D red eyes on this lure. You can also get some paper towel and a cup of water.

Now we brush on the envirotex. It is a self leveling epoxy but you still want a nice thin coat. Brush it in nicely around the lip and be sure not to miss any spots. Once you finish brushing take a wet piece of paper towel and wipe the epoxy of the masking on the lure lip. If you don’t clean it of you will have chunks of masking tape you can’t get of the lip in the end.

Then put the lure on a turner. In the pic you will see my redneck lure turner made from a BBQ rotisserie lol. She may not be classy but still my favourite turner for small batches of big lures

Let the lure spin for 10min and run a foam brush over the lure again. This helps prevent possible air bubbles and voids

I will put up to 3-4 coats on for species with big teeth like pike and musky. I wait 6-8hrs between coats. I have my lures on the turner for the whole drying period but honestly once the epoxy is mostly cured you don’t need to turn them

And we wait


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[Smoky buck]

So some bad news tap and talk sucks. I guess I have reached my limit of pics for the month . This is the only way I know how to post pics from my phone on this forum. Normal uploading is not working

So pics of finished product and line tie can’t be posted. So unless I can email or text the last 2 pics I can’t add them till next month

I will explain the last step of the line tie the best I can without pics. The line tie system we are using is called an omega clip. I use this system on prototype lures because I can remove it without wrecking the lure. On my poured lures I anchor my line tie into the lure body and lip. The omega clip system is still really strong but my customers that buy my big baits don’t like it

So to make an omega clip you need some stiff tempered stainless steel wire. For a lure this size it is best to use.062 wire about 3 inches long. You will also need a split ring

Now if you go back to when I made the lip I drilled 2 holes in it. Bend your wire into a horse shoe shape the same spacing as the holes drilled in the lip. Feed the ends of the wire through the holes from the top. Pull the wire tight to the top of the lip. Pinch the the wire ends on the underside fairly tight to the lip with needle nose pliers. Bend the tag ends 90 degrees one towards the lure the other towards the end of the lip. Trim the tag ends so they don’t touch the lure or stick out past the lip. Lift the omega clip on the top of the lip and feed on a split ring

It should look like the Greek omega symbol with a split ring hooked to the top. If I could post a pic it would be less confusing

After that clean out the clear coat in the hook hanger eyes and install your hooks. Because I am using a clear coat that protects against pike/musky teeth it is tough. I clean out the eyes with a cordless drill and a small drill bit because of this

Now we are at the point where I would post a good pic so you could see the finished product and Huyfishin could drool over the ugly bottom feeder sucker pattern he wanted to see

But Tap and talk sucks so sorry guys it’s imagination time

[Smoky buck]

After some cropping I got this pic to load it is the finished lure and you can see the omega clip. So all done but a test swim. Unfortunately open water is hard to come by and I am too poor for an indoor pool

[58thecat]

Looks good, well done.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

Looks good, well done.

Thanks I think this ugly sucker pattern is even growing on me now that it’s done lol

If I find some open water I can test swim it I will try to post video if I can figure out how. It’s the action of my lures that I focus on most. If all went as planned this model should be really good for Lakers and deep water pike for starters.

Right now it’s just a pretty chunk of wood till I see how it swims

[HuyFishin]

wow that sucker looks awesome! Its definitely gonna catch fish.

[AndrewM]

Awesome work. Thanks for sharing!

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by HuyFishin

wow that sucker looks awesome! Its definitely gonna catch fish.

Good to hear you like the ugly bottom feeder

Patterns like this one work but are the ones I say are designed to catch fishermen

I paint a other realistic patterns and outside of clear shallow water my more abstract patterns out produce them most days. A few years back I started paying attention to how water depth/colour effects the different colours and how important contrast is in most conditions. It completely changed how I choose lure colours.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by AndrewM

Awesome work. Thanks for sharing!

Glad you enjoy it I don’t normally do these kind of build along posts so kinda winged it

[Smoky buck]

It got its test swim today and I like the results

You know that ****ty girl that walks by with that wiggle with that little tip in her hip that you can’t help but stare at even though you’re wife is right beside you? That is the action of this crankbait

I did take a iPhone clip of it but no clue how to post it

And Huyfishin even though I did so with some hesitation and a lot of smart mouth comments I have to say Thanks for suggesting the sucker pattern. It actually looks way better in the water and has grown on me enough I will add it to the line up. It has made a some other fishermen drool as well

[AndrewM]

How long start to finish would this take you?

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

It got its test swim today and I like the results

You know that ****ty girl that walks by with that wiggle with that little tip in her hip that you can’t help but stare at even though you’re wife is right beside you? That is the action of this crankbait

I did take a iPhone clip of it but no clue how to post it

And Huyfishin even though I did so with some hesitation and a lot of smart mouth comments I have to say Thanks for suggesting the sucker pattern. It actually looks way better in the water and has grown on me enough I will add it to the line up. It has made a some other fishermen drool as well

If it moves like thatI would call it the "Badonkadonk" kinda after Trace Adkin's tune...

Honky tonk badonkadonk
Keepin' perfect rhythm make you want to swing along
Got it goin' on like Donkey Kong
And ooh well shut my mouth, slap your grandma
There ought to be a law, get the sheriff on the phone
Lord have mercy how'd she even get them britches on
With that honky tonk badonkadonk,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNVguvNE7qc

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by AndrewM

How long start to finish would this take you?

With this method 3 days but most of that is waiting for things to dry. I can actually turn out a good number of crankbaits over that 3 days. I built 5 other prototypes and a few rejects well doing the one in this build but no paint. I could have done more but I am never in a rush when making my prototypes

I only build my prototypes with this method because it’s cost effective to test new designs. There is builders who do all there lures this way though. There is faster ways To build crankbaits

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

If it moves like thatI would call it the "Badonkadonk" kinda after Trace Adkin's tune...

Honky tonk badonkadonk
Keepin' perfect rhythm make you want to swing along
Got it goin' on like Donkey Kong
And ooh well shut my mouth, slap your grandma
There ought to be a law, get the sheriff on the phone
Lord have mercy how'd she even get them britches on
With that honky tonk badonkadonk,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNVguvNE7qc

Probably fitting it’s got a action that flows lol

I have a tradition with my designs the first person to catch a fish on them gets to name it

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

Probably fitting it’s got a action that flows lol

I have a tradition with my designs the first person to catch a fish on them gets to name it

Is it for sale?

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

Is it for sale?

I always keep the original because it becomes my master for making molds. I will be molding this lure and selling the replicas of it though