Category: Lure Making

May 5, 2011

The “IT” Factor

After years of fishing we all have our favorite lures that we gravitate towards. These are lures that we may enjoy because they just happen to fit our fishing style. These may be baits that are known to catch quality fish day in and day out. Generally these baits have years under their belts. Every once in a while a new bait will hit the market and prove itself. Above and beyond that sometimes one out of ten lures of the same type just have "IT".

I first heard this phrase a few days after a met a good friend of mine Matt Allen. I was up at Clear Lake for one of the HBC (heavyweight Bass Classic) Tournaments. I had sold Matt one of my Snack Size Trout Floaters in chartreuse shad. Matt went out and threw the bait and thought it was a piece of shit. I saw Matt later that day on the water. We were fishing right next to each other, I caught a few fish right in front of his boat using that same piece of shit bait. Matt did not say anything at the time but apparently had put the Snack Size away about 10 minutes into fishing it. I talked to Matt a day later.He told me the next morning he went out and absolutely destroyed the bass on it. After watching me fish the bait he said had been going about it all wrong. This is when I first heard the phrase, that bait has "IT". Since then the phrase has been a regular part of my regular vocabulary. Better yet the Snack Size has become a regular part of Matt's arsenal.

As a bait designer and builder I realized even if they had no word for it before."IT" is what every bait builder is looking for. It does not matter if your a guy in the garage with a box full of jig parts or a multi million dollar company. Ultimately the goal is to build a lure that has "IT"

There are many lures in history that have proved to have "IT". Take the spinner bait for example. Ive been throwing these since I was a kid and ill probably will die with a box of them in my boat. The jig is one of these baits.You would be hard pressed not to find a box or two full of them in just about every bass boat. Every once in a while a new bait will come out and just have "IT". Some examples of this, the Senko, the Sweet Beaver, 6" Basstrix, just to name a few. Why is it that every once in a while we get a bait that out performs the other ten we own just like it? What gives that one bait "IT"? Could it be the thickness of the paint, the density of the plastic? Could it be the way we worked it back to the boat that particular day? Or could that ten pounder just not resist the factor of "IT"?

There are no magic bullets in bass fishing. I do believe there is a scientific approach to the factor of "IT. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this factor. I have worked it into my bait design and prototyping and really feel there is something to "IT"

How can we use the Factor of "IT" to make ourselves better anglers? I will do some follow ups on the Factor of "IT" and hopefully help you do just that. Till then tight lines and don't forget to think about "IT".

Does the bait you have tied on have "IT"?

December 10, 2010

How To Make Soft Plastic Eyes For Swimbaits – Part Two

This is Part 2 of this post – Click here to read Part 1

Silicon Molds:

I left off the last post after pouring the silicon mold. Pulling the mold apart is super easy and will leave you with this.

Now for the tricky part: pouring them. Heat up some clear soft plastic in a Pyrex container. These are availible at most grocery stores. Using a microwave is the easiest cleanest way to work with this small of an amount of material. Make sure and heat it up slow so you don't burn it.

Pouring them is a very delicate process and I guarantee you will mess up a lot. However, it does not take too long to get the hang of it. Remember: you are pouring the eyes lens up, so the top of your pour is the finish. A good pour will end up looking like this with a good covex edge across it.

It only takes a minute before they are ready to pull out of the mold and paint. Soft plastic paint is availible at Lure Craft on-line and is super easy to use. First paint the pupil of the eye with a small detail brush. I used black here.

Let the paint set for a few minutes then paint over the whole back side of the eye with the color of your choice, I used a silver pearl mix for these.

After letting them sit for 10 minutes or so they are ready to glue into your favorite bait.

Here is an eye before glue in the socket of a 3:16 Rising Sun. You will need to glue them in with Mend It Soft Bait Glue available at most fishing stores.

Cover the whole eye with Mend it and it will seap in beween the eye and the bait creating a very real look.

That wraps it up! The eyes are now permanently part of your soft plastic bait. They also have a soft, more natural feel to them.

FInd more great bait tips and tricks in the Wired Angler How-To Category

December 7, 2010

How To Make Soft Plastic Eyes For Your Soft Plastic Swimbaits – Part One

Ever wonder how some of your favorite swimbaits are made? Or maybe just small parts of them?

I am going to start a new series of articles on in depth how-tos for some of these techniques. The first is one that involves a lot of processes, but I'm sure a lot you have pondered. Ever wonder how those eyes on a Hudd are made? It took about a minute of thinking for me to figure out, but wouldn't that be cool if you could put them on any swimbait? The answer is Hell yeah it would, I thought about manufacturing them, but screw it – here you go:

I devised an easy way to make soft plastic eyes that can be permanently glued on your favorite soft baits. The bait I will be modifying is one of my favorites: the Rising Sun by 3:16 Bait co.

You're gonna need a set of quality glass taxidermy eyes from a supplier such as Van Dyke's. Most baits take 8mm or 10mm. You are going to be casting them upside down to capture the paint pockets on the back. Here is a set of 8mm taxidermy eyes:

Notice the inset on the back of the eyes.

You're gonna need a bit of modeling clay from a hobby or craft store. Flatten it on a work surface – I just use my bench but it can be done on a piece of cardboard or plexi. You can flatten it out with just about anything, really. I used a small piece of acrylic I had sitting on my workbench. After flattening the clay, carefully push the eyes face down. Push the eyes to the tip of the convex of the lens. Put them at least a inch apart.

Next, with a razor blade, cut a clean rectangular edge around the clay.

After the cut is complete you will need to build a fence around the clay to be filled with silicon. I made one really quickly out of some foam core and some more clay to hold it in place.

Now you are ready to pour the silicon in the mold. There are endless suppliers of silicon out there. Most hobby stores will have it in stock or you can get it on-line from suppliers such as Smooth On. Smooth On's OOMOO 30 is about the easiest to use silicone on the market. This is a consumer grade silicone that does not need to be vacuumed to release the trapped air. Most of the silicones I use in my shop are are a pain in the ass and very time consuming to use.

Mix up a small amount and fill the mold. Pour into one spot on the mold and let the silicon settle itself around the eyes. Some bubbles will rise, but should settle out. This is a really small mold – just be sure to follow the manufacturers directions very carefully.

Now the waiting begins. Most silicones will have to set for at least 12 hours to cure. In other words don't wait for it: go fishing or something. I will cover the rest in part two

Continue to Part 2

June 22, 2010

Custom Jigs Made Easy

I have tied my own jigs since I was a kid and have always enjoyed sitting down and refilling my jig box every year. I recently did just that and took a bunch of photos of the process.

Years ago, jig tying was a pretty basic thing. You had your choice between a handful of different heads in various weights and sizes. Now there is a plethora of head designs, skirt colors and materials; different hook set ups, different weed guards – the list is a mile long. There are also a million different jig companies out there, with some standing far above the rest. However, I still prefer to make my own.

Here's my process:

First off you have to sit down and order everything.

There are a two suppliers that I prefer: Stamina, now "Lure parts online", and Netcraft. I have been using both suppliers for years now and both are easy companies to deal with that have a lot of products for tying your own jigs.

I first pick my heads and weights and I recommend you buy in bulk to save money. Think ahead for next year – the investment may cost you a little more up front but when it comes time to replenish your jig box you'll be glad you have more supplies on hand.

At this point you should choose whether or not you are going to buy pre-painted jig heads or custom paint them yourself. If you finish them yourself there are a few options: you can powder coat them, dip them in vinyl or other finish, or spray with a number of different paints. I have switched to painting them with vinyl paint I feel it holds up the best on the lead. Powder coating eventually chips off as the lead dents, where the vinyl is a softer finish and seems to stay on longer as the jig head gets beat up.

Note: Most vinyl finishes are really thick and will need to be thinned to spray out of an airbrush.

Now for the skirt material and colors:

I used to use all rubber, but I switched to round rubber when that came out, and I recently made the switch to silicone skirts. The color selection is endless and I really think color is one of the most important things in a jig. As far as colors go, I have my favorites that I have used for years but I am always trying to match crawdads and forage from lakes whenever I get the opportunity.

Above: Here's a color model from a local lake. Below: As I paint my jig heads I prefer to first coat them in white vinyl paint.

I use straws to keep the paint off of my weed guards.

I will just hang the jigs upside down by the hooks as I paint them.Once the primer coat is on the skies the limit as to what you can do.

This is a 1/2 ounce shad colored swim jig head.

After the heads are all painted it's time to start laying out your colors. I try to use a lot of colors and material on my jig for a full-bodied bait. This is, of course, all personal opinion and the main reason I tie my own jigs to begin with.

I like to lay everything out before starting in batches.

I use the very simple method of tying my jig skirts with a pointy jig skirt tool and a silicone band.

Once the skirt is tied up its ready to slide on your jig.

After its done you can see how all the colors melt together into a perfect harmony of fish-catching goodness.

One of my swim jigs also shown with a Little Creeper swimbait trailer I matched it to.

Tying your own jigs can be a fun and rewarding thing, it can also save you hundreds of dollars at the register of your local tackle store. Have fun!

April 11, 2010

Walk Through a Bluegill Paint Job At JSJ Baits

So the pictures turned out kinda blurry on this one, my normal camera is having a "moment" right now, but was doing some painting today for some orders and figured I would do a walk through on a basic blue gill paint job.

I always start with a white super secret squirrel primer that is a trade secret and the reason the paint holds up so well on my baits. So I won't give you that one. After a good white base coat you want lay down a good coat of sparkly silver. I spray from the back down avoiding the belly. Make sure to hit inside the joints. Next spray a white translucent pearl on the belly. Be sure to spray up the sides of the bait slightly over lapping the silver. You also want to hit the gill area and mouth. This will blend everything together nicely.

Next is a bit of orange on the belly and anal fin area. This is followed by a light base of black on the rear of the gill area and lightly towards the eye. I use a cutout to prevent over-spray onto the body of the bait.

Next is a heavy coating of translucent blue pearl on the gill, eye area, belly and side of the bait. This will give the base for your blue gills (blue gill).

Next is the first layer of light green on the back and bars on the side of the bait. I use a single action airbrush for this step for more control. I also start to blend out the eyes and gill area at this point. This step is followed by a slightly darker green for a layered effect.

At this point details can be added. scale tipping for example,shading,gill flare color etc. My stock colors are fairly simple, my customs will usually have more texture added using different methods.
I like to add some light blue gill stripes on my light bluegill patterns, these really give off good flash in the water.

For the final steps I will add some color shift paint lightly over the back and gills. I will also mist the bait with some silver and gold fine flake to add flash. After all that I like to glue my eyes in before the clear coat. I use epoxy to glue the eyes in. epoxy is super strong and leaves a natural looking membrane around the eye.

The bait is now ready for numbering and a few coats of polyurethane clear coat. This is a very basic process without to many steps for a great realistic result. This is also one of my favorite crank bait colors on the Delta and Clear Lake.

March 1, 2010

Bass West Interview with Josh St. John

Bass West Magazine (westernbass.com) has just put online Andy Parson's article from last summer about getting the Snack Size swimbaits launched. We went out for a day of fishing on Clear Lake and talked about the process of getting into lure making, and what went into creating the first JSJ baits.

I've just re-read it and I think it's really well done:

Swimbait Start Up – JSJ Baits

October 13, 2009

Pimp Your Punker

After a couple years of fishing the Lunker Punker there are days when I flat out can not put that bait down. Talk about a fish catching machine.

The other thing about the Punker is that I flat out can not leave the things alone. It is one of the the funnest baits to fuck around with and change up in as many ways as you can. I have had conversations with Jeremy Anderson from Black Dog Baits where we are practically rolling on the ground laughing about some of the ways we have modified these baits. I'm not just talking about custom paint jobs here, I like to do off the wall shit.

I fish Delta and Clear Lake a lot and it is amazing what will intrigue a giant largemouth to come up and eat. The way I look at it is the more off the wall a bait is sometimes, the more response you will get from big fish. Anything that lives on, in, or around the water could potentially fall victim, so why not have that victim on the end of your line. Here is a closer look at some pimped out Punkers

The red wing black bird Punker

The furry critter Punker

The Evil Rat Punker

Have you pimped out your Punker lately?

June 30, 2009

“Spring Fling” JSJ Custom Trout Bluegill

I just painted this up the other day and figured I would share it with you guys just for fun.
I have been prototyping and working on a couple new baits, I am hoping to have a least a sneak peek soon.

One will be a soft plastic bait available in floating and sinking if everything works out well. A good friend has been sharing in the effort on this one and I will be able to disclose some more info soon.

January 28, 2009

Online Exhibit of Sweet Crankbait Art

Finkbuilt asked:

"What would happen if you shipped 20 unassembled old-timey wooden fishing lure kits off to be finished by a bunch of artists?"

The answer has turned out to be a collection of pretty distinctive lures, including a tiki theme and my personal favorite, the VW bus. The lures were also featured in Outdoor Life Magazine. Finkbuilt is a blog written by one of Disney's UI designers, and actually has a lot of interesting posts, like this one on how to repair a vintage BMW dashboard, or this one about building a coffee table from plans out of a 1953 Mechanix Illustrated Magazine.

The masthead also features a pretty nice retro outboard motor.

Here's the Crankbait gallery – click through to see details from the artists. Here's a link to the Finkbuilt blog.