Anyone painting Crank Baits?

[dsitka]

I paint hard baits for freshwater, and I would like to paint crank baits for the bay tidal regions. I started out years ago, tying bucktails. I was was wondering what kind of hard baits people have had success with. I know,,, most of the platitudes are for soft plastics. I use them too. I like the Ghost baits,,, and the match the hatch mentality. but water conditions are often cloudy at best. Anyone have patterns that work for them?

[dsitka]

Some paint. No chartreuse or attractor colors really. So "ghost" patterns are for clearer water... I need to make some for the real conditions we see in Bay water.

[dsaavedra]

Your paint jobs look really nice. I used to paint lures, even built some too, years ago. I probably haven't touched an airbrush in 10 years at this point. I couldn't bring myself to get rid of all the gear, thinking one day I might want to pick the hobby back up. I have my airbrush and all my supplies tucked away in a cardboard box in the back of the closet.

[Mark]

I've never painted hard baits but I do modify those I buy by removing their treble hooks and replacing them with in-line hooks:

Trebles2A.jpg

The Rat-L-Trap above is 1/2 oz. That's typically the size I use for stripers. However, ambitious white perch have it hit it on occasion.

I do the same hook process for topwater hardbody baits:

Trebles1A.jpg

I do not replace the middle hook on poppers. One hook in the back has been sufficient for me. Also, the top popper body is one I bought pre-painted from Barlow's Tackle in TX. I merely added the hook and bucktail. It's essentially a Pop-R knockoff. It works great for stripers or bass. Each lure above has caught many fish. And since I rarely lose a topwater bait, I have had them for years.

I've seen airbrushing painting techniques online for hardbody baits. It looks interesting and maybe one day I'll try it. Barlow's and other tackle suppliers sell lure unpainted bodies.

I do pour and paint jigs. I use powder paints. Some I use for paddletails and twister tails. Others I tie bucktails on:

B.jpg

For smaller I/8 oz. jigs, I add bucktail and spinner arms and blades to make spinner baits:

Pick Flies (3).jpg

I've lost track of the species I've caught with the above spinners. Sometimes I use rubber skirt material intended for bass jigs for the tail:

Rubber spinners.jpg

They have worked well also,

It's rare that I use a fly I haven't tied, a jig I haven't poured and painted, or a hardbody bait I have not modified in some way. To me, catching fish on something I created or augmented is part of the fun of fishing.

I will add that there is no color combination of lures and flies I have made that has not worked for the warmwater fish we commonly target in our kayaks. Although I think sometimes fish do exhibit a color preference on a given outing, I believe the shape and action you supply to a lure is more important than its color. So, I make colors that I find attractive. Most fish seem to like the same colors I do. So, for those of you make your own lures, get creative with your paints. I bet the fish will favor your color selections.

[dsitka]

I've never painted hard baits but I do modify those I buy by removing their treble hooks and replacing them with in-line hooks:

Trebles2A.jpg

The Rat-L-Trap above is 1/2 oz. That's typically the size I use for stripers. However, ambitious white perch have it hit it on occasion.

I do the same hook process for topwater hardbody baits:

Trebles1A.jpg

I do not replace the middle hook on poppers. One hook in the back has been sufficient for me. Also, the top popper body is one I bought pre-painted from Barlow's Tackle in TX. I merely added the hook and bucktail. It's essentially a Pop-R knockoff. It works great for stripers or bass. Each lure above has caught many fish. And since I rarely lose a topwater bait, I have had them for years.

I've seen airbrushing painting techniques online for hardbody baits. It looks interesting and maybe one day I'll try it. Barlow's and other tackle suppliers sell lure unpainted bodies.

I do pour and paint jigs. I use powder paints. Some I use for paddletails and twister tails. Others I tie bucktails on:

B.jpg

For smaller I/8 oz. jigs, I add bucktail and spinner arms and blades to make spinner baits:

Pick Flies (3).jpg

I've lost track of the species I've caught with the above spinners. Sometimes I use rubber skirt material intended for bass jigs for the tail:

Rubber spinners.jpg

They have worked well also,

It's rare that I use a fly I haven't tied, a jig I haven't poured and painted, or a hardbody bait I have not modified in some way. To me, catching fish on something I created or augmented is part of the fun of fishing.

I will add that there is no color combination of lures and flies I have made that has not worked for the warmwater fish we commonly target in our kayaks. Although I think sometimes fish do exhibit a color preference on a given outing, I believe the shape and action you supply to a lure is more important than its color. So, I make colors that I find attractive. Most fish seem to like the same colors I do. So, for those of you make your own lures, get creative with your paints. I bet the fish will favor your color selections.

Mark,,, I started to replace trebles with single hooks too. Hook up stats are supposed to be no problem and the gaggle of hook points around a thrashing fish are always a handful. I like the simplicity of handling single hooks too. I started out tying flies for trout fishing and smallmouths. I remember how hard it was to get supplies for fly tying. This was before the internet! I agree that what we think a fish can see is questionable. No doubt lure action is critical. Size is important,,, color is more complicated. Best guess I have, it has to do with the water conditions. Still trout water fishing is sensitive, where as slashing bucktails can be really productive on Stripers. I didn't fish bait for years! it was always a lure or fly. I got back to bait 5 years ago, because of some charters I went on. I enjoy all the handwork, so it is an extension of the fishing.

[dsitka]

One of the obstacles to painting lure bodies is finding quality blanks. There are plenty of sources, but anything you spend time painting and rigging has to swim right or it's a waste, The major brands don't sell blanks. Some painters go the distance, by stripping brand new brand name bodies and repainting. It is expensive and time consuming. There are lure bodies on Amazon. I have painted many of these for freshwater and never had a bad experience. They average price is about $1 to $2 per body. You can find jerkbaits, swimbaits, surface poppers, and crankbaits. Anyone can get a lure that is not tracking true. Tuning the lure is simple, use pliers to bend the lead eye. One company that gets decent grades on Amazon is Shelt . All the lure bodies are Chinese knock offs. I used Dinger Baits in the USA but he is out of business. Dinger was a bit more expensive. Barlow's , Tackle Warehouse, Jann's Netcraft sell components too. You tube is loaded with how to videos. This hobby can get expensive, but there are simpler techniques that work.

[dsaavedra]

I've heard good things about https://www.sugartitcustomlures.com. Seeing some of the styles they sell and the prices they offer has sure tempted me to pick up the aribrush again.

[Mark]

...Still trout water fishing is sensitive, where as slashing bucktails can be really productive on Stripers...

Indeed, freshwater trout can be finicky. Matching the hatch and presenting an appropriately sized fly with a natural drift via gossamer-like tippets are the keys to trout success. I believe that fooling warmwater tidal and pond fish is much less demanding.

I refer to my kayak flyfishing efforts as "industrial strength" flyfishing. There is very little subtlety. Your term "slashing bucktails" aptly describes it. I chug flyrod poppers hard for stripers and I cannot pull a streamer fast enough to deter them or most other species. My flies are gaudy and colorful and look like nothing that swims as natural food for the fish I catch with them. I use the same streamers for bass and pickerels that I use for stripers and I tie them on heavy mono tippets ranging from 10 to 40-pound test. If those fish see the tippet, it doesn't bother them. I'm convinced they'd hit the flies if I tied them to a clothesline.

And really, my flyfishing is no different than lure fishing. Spinners, crankbaits and bucktails by themselves don't look like something a fish should eat. But as we retrieve them, they move erratically and make noise below the surface or a disturbance on top and fish instinctively chase after them. At least, I think it's predatory instinct. I have no other explanation for why fish hit artificial baits. Our lures or flies come within striking distance of predators, and they (the predators) are driven to kill them.

With live or cut bait, there is scent to attract the fish we target and then hunger, I assume, for our prey finish the deal with what they perceive to be an easy stationary meal.

I find it interesting that fish succumb to our varied efforts to catch them. It's actually quite generous of them to please us so often and in so many ways regardless of how we choose to pursue them.

[DanMarino]

I have caught all sorts of fish using a Lucky Craft Pointer 78 in Chartreuse Shad.

You guys build some great looking lures!

[Mark]

You guys build some great looking lures!

Tom,

Attractive lures please us anglers. For fish, a lure is something trespassing quickly through their strike zone. They don't have time to admire it. Our artistry means little to them. That's why well-chewed, off colored lures and flies, some with sparse materials left on the hook continue to catch fish. But indeed, it bolsters our confidence to offer them our best work.

[dsitka]

Indeed, freshwater trout can be finicky. Matching the hatch and presenting an appropriately sized fly with a natural drift via gossamer-like tippets are the keys to trout success. I believe that fooling warmwater tidal and pond fish is much less demanding.

I refer to my kayak flyfishing efforts as "industrial strength" flyfishing. There is very little subtlety. Your term "slashing bucktails" aptly describes it. I chug flyrod poppers hard for stripers and I cannot pull a streamer fast enough to deter them or most other species. My flies are gaudy and colorful and look like nothing that swims as natural food for the fish I catch with them. I use the same streamers for bass and pickerels that I use for stripers and I tie them on heavy mono tippets ranging from 10 to 40-pound test. If those fish see the tippet, it doesn't bother them. I'm convinced they'd hit the flies if I tied them to a clothesline.

And really, my flyfishing is no different than lure fishing. Spinners, crankbaits and bucktails by themselves don't look like something a fish should eat. But as we retrieve them, they move erratically and make noise below the surface or a disturbance on top and fish instinctively chase after them. At least, I think it's predatory instinct. I have no other explanation for why fish hit artificial baits. Our lures or flies come within striking distance of predators, and they (the predators) are driven to kill them.

With live or cut bait, there is scent to attract the fish we target and then hunger, I assume, for our prey finish the deal with what they perceive to be an easy stationary meal.

I find it interesting that fish succumb to our varied efforts to catch them. It's actually quite generous of them to please us so often and in so many ways regardless of how we choose to pursue them.

You are experienced with Trout fishing and about the drift, save for those streamers. I have the same opinion you shared. Triggering a strike is about imparting that action that entices the bite. So ,,, I look for an array of lures with different actions, colors, and patterns. In my last 5 years I was on several charters, using Chunk (bunker) and live lining Spot. As we hooked Striper after Stripe,,, I would try a bucktail just for the fun of it, but bait won the day. Never the less I am still crazy about artificials! This winter I am painting some deep running jerk and swim baits. I use pics of Menhaden to color key, but I am lost at patterns for attractor patterns. For me white and yellow with some flashabou, and red or black wraps are my go to patterns. Your last sentence is the bottom line. Anomalies like using minnows lip hooked to a colorful jig, what?,,, but it works!

[dsitka]

I have caught all sorts of fish using a Lucky Craft Pointer 78 in Chartreuse Shad.

You guys build some great looking lures!

Thanks ,,,Checked them out! Suspend and dive 2-5 feet. I have been fishing in 12-20 feet, oyster beds. Mostly open water with limited bottom structure. I have bodies very similar, so I will paint a few.

[dsitka]

I've heard good things about https://www.sugartitcustomlures.com. Seeing some of the styles they sell and the prices they offer has sure tempted me to pick up the aribrush again.

dsaavedra,,, Thanks for the link! Check out Jeckyll productions. They have a video on bodies they use, and tons of pattern paint sessions. Thanks!

[dsitka]

"Yellow and chartreuse are fish-catchers because, simply put, they get seen. A study performed at the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences showed that striped bass see yellow and chartreuse better than other colors as they are smack dab in the middle of the striped bass’s visual range. This research effectively proved what some fishermen have known for years – night or day, yellow is a dynamite color for striped bass." OnTheWater.com,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Good article on color and stripers
https://www.onthewater.com/color-str...g-striped-bass