Been flat chat since getting back from the barra trip. Lures tested well during the trip, however, got me thinking they could still be better. Have spent the last couple months thinking about and dabbling with molded lures, decided it was time to have a real run at them. Been busy busy testing and destroying.
Have tried multiple types of urethane, multiple molding techniques and destroyed many lures. Below is example of some of the testing, this is the result of about 70Kg hanging from the lure,
Was interesting to see the difference between a couple types urethane, both had the same weight applied but clearly a different result.
Finally settled on a system I am happy with, two piece mold, thru wired to be sure, no microballoons to improve the overall strength of the lure and weighted to be similar to what the equivalent in wood. Hopefully the action is maintained, hence the next step,
Made these for paint and swim testing. Also going to try a "clear" type lure which would be good to have available. Will be interesting to see how they go.
In the meantime have been working on a couple wood lures for a "swap" on a local forum. Same as normal but this time tried a different sealing method, I normally vacuum seal with prop but this time tried sealing with e-tex. Happy with the result in the end,
These are thru wired, weighted for slow float and will dive to about 1m.
Came across this video while surfing around, a fantastic insight into Bass fishing some of the areas local to me. Not the biggest bass known to man but that doesn't really matter when the location is as beautiful as this. Never met the guys that have made this video but they have done a super job. Enjoy,
Was trolling around this afternoon and came across this vid. Very interesting, no idea what is being said but certainly gives some insight in what goes into daiwa stuff. Worth the hour,
Well the end of a massive lure run (for me at least). Never completed a run this big, all told 22 lures completed for the upcoming trip. Glad to see them done, however, pissed that I stuffed a few of them. The fish wont mind but I do. Unfortunately don't have the time to go back and fix them. I guess that is just lure building. Sometimes, things just don't go according to plans.
The group shot,
The surprise package, really happy with how this one came out. This is the blue foil previously posted about
Another happy result. Lure slightly bigger than expected but other than that should be sweet,
Another Mullet pattern, foiled. Tried using a stencil this time for the dots, think I prefer free hand,
A silver "whatever" pattern. Just mucking about with this one, a good result but stuffed it in the end,
Brown trout pattern. Yes that's right, there are brown trout in the NT... NOT. Anyway not too matter, I just wanted to try one. All dots freehand.
Not much to say about this one, blue foil with purple highlights.
Another gold pattern, favorite of mine, this time I used a gold glitter glue instead of putting glitter in the topcoat. Came up a treat, just got to find a silver one so don't have to worry about glitter in the topcoat.
Finally, I couldn't do all these lures without adding what I will call a clown color (no idea actually what it is called). Came up sweet, but like some of the others, stuffed it.
Anyway, like I said, stuffed a few of them which was a bummer. The fish wont mind but lures don't just catch fish so was disapointed from that perspective. Specs are, all floaters at a rate about 1ft per 3s, either PVC or wood and some foiled for some extra bling. Weight 26g for the bigger lures, 20g for the smaller lures.
Finished a few more barra lures this afternoon, finally the wheel is slowly starting to turn. Will have some more over the coming days as they are finished.
Lures are a combination of 100 and 120mm lures. Each is thru wired, some are foiled with either PVC or wood bodies. Weighted to be slow floaters and what I will call a medium wobble. Pretty happy with how they came up, few minor perfections if you know where to look but other than that should be all roses. Fingers crossed the barra agree,
The completed set,
An old favorite in gold,
Some black and red for contrast, scales are metallic silver for some extra flash,
Another slant on gold theme,
A version of mullet pattern, similar to plastic lures posted previously,
Not sure what to call this color, but been a good color for me in the past,
and finally another black lure. Went a bit overboard with the glitter but in the end turned out pretty good.
All have d.i.y eye's aswell either raised or inset into the lure. The raised eyes were given to me by another aussie lure maker, they are fantastic and really pop out of the lure, literally.
Been trying a couple things lately while the Barra lures dry. I have tried casting lures in the past, however, this was only for some smaller Bream lures and I ran out of time to finish it. Given barra lures are on the radar at the moment, made a new mold to see how it goes. Not sure about how well the wood will handle all the teeth, time will tell, but at least molded lures will not have water ingress issues.
Mold makes 100mm barra lures, is two piece to allow thru wire for additional strength and contains multiple holes for both reduced weight and ballast options. Pic shows two lures, standard poly resin and a clear (not the best cast first try) lure. Going to try some "ghost" lures with it.
Well seemed like it took forever but the foiled plastic lures are finally done. Slipped a couple other plastic ones into the paint aswell. Wood lures are currently on the turner so should have them finished by the end of the week.
The four plastic lures, two foiled, two just paint,
The two foiled ones,
Pretty happy with how they came out, hopefully the barra like them too. Not sure whether the foil is worth the issues given how good the non foil ones look but will reserve judgement until they are fished. Anyway, some singles below, Foiled in gold scheme. Gold color schemes are one of my fav's,
Not foiled, a tilt on a mullet pattern. Painted with a "Diamond" metallic, gives a good shine.
Foiled, another mullet pattern. Similar to above only different back color and more pronounced foil on the sides than paint.
