Something wicked in the works

[Smoky buck]

The master for the mold of the front of the bait is finished. I will start the silicone mold tonight so I can start pouring bodies out of resin. Then it will creating a recipe out of resin, micro balloons, and bird shot to achieve the correct fall/angle of decent. Create a corkscrew system to make it easy to replace tails

Trying to locate a good supply of screw in weights to create the interchangeable weight system. This will make it so sink rate/depth can be adjusted by simply screwing in a different weight or running no weight at all.

Some pics of the final profile. The tail is just resting in the index point so it’s not held right in the pics







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[Smoky buck]

First prototype ready for a test swim. Had to order screw in weight system from the US today so I will be waiting for that to arrive as well. Till then it will be perfecting the balance of the lure on the basic shallow setting




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[WayneChristie]

looking good. silly question for ya, does it make any difference if the tails are horizontal or vertical? just curious Ive never used tails that size

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

looking good. silly question for ya, does it make any difference if the tails are horizontal or vertical? just curious Ive never used tails that size

Horizontal slows the fall and they kick more on the fall. There is a few tricks at play with this tail design too. I design it for max length, movement with minimal effort and retaining strength so it doesn’t tear too easily

There is a ton of design time just in that tail alone. It’s a little different than your standard curly tail.

There is a lot at play that goes unseen in this lure and some tricks I won’t give up too easily lol

Still need to tweak the weight placement and buoyancy of the body to get it where I want it. When I am happy with it I will take a clip of the action

[Smoky buck]

Well it’s back to the drawing board on the body design for the twin tail. Once I achieved the correct fall rate it gave the body too much travel on the twitch/jerk causing it to fowl too often. The twin tail just cut through the water too easily for this body design

So I will rethink the body design keeping this in mind

On a positive note my prototype testing has lead to a unplanned development I do like. Realizing I needed to increase the drag to control this body I made a tail switch. I took a large 10inch Kalins grub that is a wide single curly style and cut it down. This tail tamed the prototype body just enough that it now twitches slightly side to side with a light jerk and dives/shoots slightly to the side on a harder jerk. No fowling and a nice slightly nose down slow fall.

I was not planning on it but it appears I did end up with an otus style lure that has the fall angle/rate I prefer and more action on the twitch. It acts more like the savage gear hybrid pike on a straight retrieve

I am going to think it over but I may get another custom CNC mold injection mold similar to the twin tail but with a wide single tail or a wide flame style single tail

I may just test this lure with the cut down grub for the season first.

Pic of the body with the wide single tail



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[Smoky buck]

Oh need to test one more thing I overlooked first

[WayneChristie]

I didnt realize they made tails that big! Fish are going to see/feel that from a long ways off. Looks good, I think it needs a 30 pound pike hanging off the back

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

I didnt realize they made tails that big! Fish are going to see/feel that from a long ways off. Looks good, I think it needs a 30 pound pike hanging off the back

Unfortunately what’s available locally is limited for good size pike gear

I ordered in a few these big kalins grubs from one of the places I by lure parts. They work pretty good rigged with a nail and two trebles even. I will test the large single tail on this body over this open water season and if I like the result I will design my own large vertical single tail similar to the twin tail to fit properly. I know it will work but I want to decide if it’s worth the cost of the custom mold first

Bigger options do exist even but local availability is basically non existent. In North America you basically need to look out east where they are sold for the musky market. The funny thing is in Europe the pike market is bigger baits similar to what is available here for musky.

I don’t know why the North American pike market focuses on smaller baits and many extremely effective lures are overlooked by North American pike fishermen

I did make an adjustment of the tie point location yesterday and it now works with the twin tail. Now I just need the weight system to arrive to see if I am happy or if I need to make some adjustments before making the first finished lure

After the wife tagged along for testing she wants a slightly smaller twin tail so I will be sending an email out to have a mold 2/3’s the size of the twin I am using in this build made

And I still need to get the final tweaks into an 8inch dive & rise jerk bait with an internal rattle. Debating on try to accomplish a new glider design around 7inch before spring too.

2 new hybrid designs, 1 new jerk bait, and 1 new glider are all I am taking on this year. I may tinker a little on a paddle tail for the hybrid baits but not planning on completing that till next year

[Smoky buck]

Hopefully I can get something over 30lbs hanging off this design

Right now I am waiting to see if the wife can get approved for holidays for a musky trip. Unfortunately Covid, work, and deaths in the family have delayed this trip for the past 3 years

[Smoky buck]

Screw it passing on the smaller twin tail and starting the process of getting a wide single curly tail made instead. Email already sent no turning back now lol

[WayneChristie]

its an addiction! I keep thinking of new projects too at least my brain is getting some exercise I wonder how one that big would work in the river, my best river pike was 25 pounds I cant see why it wouldnt work

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

its an addiction! I keep thinking of new projects too at least my brain is getting some exercise I wonder how one that big would work in the river, my best river pike was 25 pounds I cant see why it wouldnt work

Oh I am horrible I have a whole room dedicated to lure building. You find half built prototypes at random in my house. I have prototypes sitting around that are likely perfect but I just lost interest but I often revisit them even if it’s years later. I could not even guess how many different designs I have created and I have sketches of potential future projects

As for the I have caught 20inch pike on lures the size of the one I am building. I actually use big soft plastic like bullydawgs and Medusa’s with great results in Alberta rivers. The 10inch kalins grub works well but I don’t rig them on a jig. I get lots of pike under 30inches using these baits

The big baits don’t stop your average size pike but I do find the bigger pike are will to put in a little more effort for bigger meals.

[Smoky buck]

The final piece (except for the big single tail mold I ordered to be made today) has arrived

This is the external weight kit I ordered to add to this hybrid lure. This will give the ability to screw in different weights into the belly to adjust the sink rate and action. Once I decide what weights are best I will only order those weight sizes for future lures




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[Smoky buck]

So it’s going to be sometime before this is updated as I have now added a custom paddle tail mold to this project as of today. It’s going to be awhile before I have the new molds. I have decided I am not finalizing this until I have all parts of this project

On a positive note this is going to be very versatile by the time all the pieces come together

So this will be set aside for now and I will start/finish less complicated designs

[WayneChristie]

never ends eh? its great to combine interests, especially for me I really enjoy catching fish on things Ive made. I prefer paddletails to split myself, at least after dark I find the fish can find them even quicker.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

never ends eh? its great to combine interests, especially for me I really enjoy catching fish on things Ive made. I prefer paddletails to split myself, at least after dark I find the fish can find them even quicker.

Oh I have other less complicated projects on the go too lol. I actually did a clean up of my lure room and I filled a big box of silicone molds of different lure designs that proved effective but I have decided to move on from. The amount of time and money I invest in lure making is far more than most would think. The cost of the 3 custom CNC injection molds is not cheap.

I find all styles of tail have conditions they out shine the others and are better suited for different ways of working the lure.

The paddle is best for straight retrieve covering water and has max vibration, the wide single is best for a slow twitch with lots of hang time, and that twin tail was designed for ripping/faster fall with lots of movement especially in current

The paddle tail was planed to be added in the future but decided screw it let’s just complete all aspects of this project now. The one designed for this project should put out a lot of thump with being 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 at the widest points. The paddle will be braced to prevent it folding back and force the pressure into increasing the side to side action. In theory is should have a wide swing

The twin tail is not your conventional twin like you find in conventional grubs. The tail is thicker diameter with a thinner width with a reverse curl compared to say a mister twister twin. The tails are designed to stretch right out with ease creating a long profile. They slowly curl back in if paused on the bottom(the bait will sit on its nose on the bottom with the tail floating at a 45). This is different than the normal look of two frog legs kicking you get out of your normal twin tail. It’s likely not what people are envisioning. Should be a great option for deeper water

The wide single is conventional just a over sized compared to most but it will be great for working slow and shallow so I had too lol

Once I add the screw in weight option in two different points of the body thing will get even more interesting. The changing of weight changing the angle and rate of fall will have different benefits for each tail

Everything has a purpose and depending on the condition one will out fish the other if applied correctly.