Imitate this - Sphyraena borealis Northern Sennet

[Raven]

the man of the future isn't up to the tiny barracuda challenge

hey did ya see that florida guy who got bitten by the huge barracuda...? he caught a small fish and prolly didnt know it...
so he was live lining and when he lifted it ...the cuda jumped in the boat....he had hundreds of stitches

[Backbeach Jake]

The man of the future takes a ride in his "Way Back" machine on weekends. Keeps the appreciation level up some. Baracuda ina boat. Bet things got real loud and REAL busy then!!

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by Backbeach Jake

Bet things got real loud and REAL busy then!!

Ya Fred, like my Dad used to say,

"the air musta been blue blue".

[PASurfer]

Saw your post this morning, while drinkin' that first cup of java, and thought I'd give it a try. I mean, what the heck, it's just me-n-the-dog home today...

Used a template for a 9 inch needle; turned it offset 1/8 inch; chopped the nose back; weighted it to slow sink level. Body is a hair over 7 inches... with the tail, about 9.25" and 1.7 ounces. Rush job, so it's a little sloppy on the lateral line and the pearl overshot the gray side scales a bit more than I wanted... but it might work if we ever get some sennet swimming through Jersey.

[ThrowingTimber]

Ahhh beautiful!!!!!! Thats awesome RON!!!

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by PASurfer

Saw your post this morning, while drinkin' that first cup of java, and thought I'd give it a try. I mean, what the heck, it's just me-n-the-dog home today...

I'm IMPRESSED, really impressed. I was thinking along the same lines, an offset turned/or handcarved glider, but it would have taken me a day to build and weight it, 24 hours to seal, 24 to prime and test, 24 to paint, and 12 to epoxy. What did you seal, prime, paint and clear with to get a finished plug in 8 hours? WOW, you've just rocked my world bigtime.

[Backbeach Jake]

Yeah, PAS, you got my mouth hanging open, too. Blown away!!

[Karl F]

What George (ns) said.. u must have space age technology

Nice Plug..


I'm out of build mode for a while, buried with other stuff... but.. this one I did, might work in a pinch.. if bait like that was around..

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripert...9&d=1171937501

[PASurfer]

Originally Posted by numbskull

<<snip>> WOW, you've just rocked my world bigtime.

Well, in essence, that's what I was up to. I'll expound briefly on what I did later, but I have something else in mind first. Please don't take what I'm going to say for anything more than my humble opinion, because that's all it is.

Maybe it was the caffine jolt, who knows, but TT's statement about getting skunked for weeks was the trigger. Some of us have been building for a long time, others are relatively new to the game. But we're all constantly sharing, honing and improving (hopefully) our skills and techniques. We all have this quest for the "Holy Grail" of lure making: the perfect paint job and bullet-proof finish on our lure offerings. And that's great... really. Learn how to make eye candy, by all means; they're great for lots of things: to barter, trade and sell, and even your ego. But, in the case of fishing to catch fish, I have seen enough to know the finned bastages aren't really impressed. ((Winch will be proud, that I said that.))

Our common quarry, stripers and most assuredly bluefish, could care less, it seems, about most of what we invest our efforts in. When they're hungry, they're looking to eat something familar. Sure, sometimes they get finicky, but they're not custom-wood connoisseurs bound and determined to hold out for the prettiest plug in your bag, although some days/nights they'll make you wonder. Nah, the right profile or wiggle or color-de-jour is enough to fool them into a taste-test. Then, if you're quick enough to set the hook, you're in.

So, to conclude my first rant of 2007, I just wanted to show that once you figure what's got their eye today -- even if you don't have it handy -- it can be made in one tide cycle. Will it last forever? Nope. All season? Possibily, but that's not the objective either. I want to catch now, and maybe you do, too. So, what's stopping you from trying?

About the sennet needle... to make it (actually, it took 5 hours, not 8; I got up late today, simply because I could, and didn't start until 10 AM) I abandoned a lot of the good things we do to our "usual high standards". But it still looks presentable. Again, this was just an experiment. Hopefully the fish (and regretably, the rocks) are going to beat it up anyway. I took a similar profile plug template, that I'm familar with (so, I wasn't starting from scratch, "designing") and tweaked it to look more like the sennet that the bass were chasing. Rather than tail load it -- I'm assuming that if Vic could see "spilled yahoo" in the water, then he wouldn't have had to cast very far -- I spread the weight across the belly, so the lure will slowly sink level if I stop the retrieve... in case I need to get down in the water column a bit. That took an hour, waiting for the hole filler to harden. Then I turned and sanded it, but didn't do the usual seal job... you know why; time for that later... I just primed it with rattle cans, hair-dried for several minutes, then airbrushed the 3-4 colors paint and blow-dried some more to remove the tackiness. Then I baked it in my mancave-dedicated toaster oven -- don't use your wife's (or mom's) if you value your life -- at 200 degrees for 15 minutes, took it out and immediately dipped in a water-based clear acrylic topcoat. It hung for 10-15 minutes or so while I had a smoke, then I re-dipped and flipped the lure end-to-end twice more, so that it's triple coated and -- at least temporarily -- sealed inside and out. I didn't even waste time signing it, or I'd miss the tide.

[ThrowingTimber]

The professor of plugology strikes again!!!

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by PASurfer

?

About the sennet needle... to make it (actually, it took 5 hours, not 8; I got up late today, simply because I could, and didn't start until 10 AM) I abandoned a lot of the good things we do to our "usual high standards". But it still looks presentable. Again, this was just an experiment. Hopefully the fish (and regretably, the rocks) are going to beat it up anyway. I took a similar profile plug template, that I'm familar with (so, I wasn't starting from scratch, "designing") and tweaked it to look more like the sennet that the bass were chasing. Rather than tail load it -- I'm assuming that if Vic could see "spilled yahoo" in the water, then he wouldn't have had to cast very far -- I spread the weight across the belly, so the lure will slowly sink level if I stop the retrieve... in case I need to get down in the water column a bit. That took an hour, waiting for the hole filler to harden. Then I turned and sanded it, but didn't do the usual seal job... you know why; time for that later... I just primed it with rattle cans, hair-dried for several minutes, then airbrushed the 3-4 colors paint and blow-dried some more to remove the tackiness. Then I baked it in my mancave-dedicated toaster oven -- don't use your wife's (or mom's) if you value your life -- at 200 degrees for 15 minutes, took it out and immediately dipped in a water-based clear acrylic topcoat. It hung for 10-15 minutes or so while I had a smoke, then I re-dipped and flipped the lure end-to-end twice more, so that it's triple coated and -- at least temporarily -- sealed inside and out. I didn't even waste time signing it, or I'd miss the tide.

Thanks, this is very helpful. I've considered (but not tried) heating createx to "set" it. I've also been interested in a water based clear coat, but the tough ones I've located seem to be commerical finishes with/without various crosslinking additives. What product do you use (if you're willing to share) and how has it held up for you?