adding rattles to crankbaits

[Trimmer308]

I did a search but didn't find anything about adding rattles to crankbaits, I know I could chanber the baits and then glue the two halfs together but I was wondering if any of you had added the pill type rattles to crankbaits, if so what were your results, while I'm still working mostly with large Bass crankbaits I will move on up to my musky baits once I feel I have mastered ( at lease to some extent) the casting process since the musky lures will take a lot more plastic... so far I have had great success I tested 20 baits over the weekend, only three types but multi casting of each and with only a little tuning they ran as they should.. I have modifide a few molds to pour them from the lip leaving the orginal pour hole as air hole...this seems to cure the problem of trapped air in the lip area.

anyway I been thinking I would like to add rattles to some of them and was wondering if any of you has been down that road

Trimmer

[aka anglinarcher]

Personally, my fish are so pressured I prefer to not have rattles. A study that I remember, but cannot quote anymore, took bass in an enclosed pond, like a fish hatchery, and fished them with both rattle crank baits and non-rattle crank baits, same color, type and size. Remember that joints make noise, hooks and rings make noise, etc., so it is almost impossible to have a noise free lure.

The first several days the rattle bait out fished the non-rattle bait by a huge margin. After about a week the non-rattle baits were the only ones still catching fish.

But, because rattles are the rage, I do pour with rattles when requested. I have found that the best way for me is to pour my shell as always, adding my ballast weight and then slip in a rattle. I then pour the remainder. The two types of rattles I have tried are the glass with BB inside or the brass with BB(s) inside. The brass is much louder to me but I don't seem to see the fish preferring one over the other.

I have also poured my bait as always, then drilled a hole straight through from side to side. I then inserted the rattle and filled both sides with some plastic wood (wood filler). It seems to stick well and is easy to sand down to a smooth finish before painting.

I don't know if this helps, but at least it is a start for you. The glass and brass rattles I am talking about are often used by guys inserting rattles into soft plastic baits and are found in several different lure supply sources.

[Trimmer308]

Thanks for the reply, I personally agree with you about the rattles but lures are made for fisherman as much as for the fish these days and I want to be able to add them..
so.. I have done so.. on one model I am making a deep diving crankbait about a 4 inch bait.. on this model I am using a lexan lip 2" X1 1/8 the front eye is cast in the lip and the lip is notched as I am casting it in the mold.. I super glued two glass rattles some I had for jigs on to the back of the lip this help the rattle from touching the sides.. I then made my wire harness I drilled a small hole in the back edge right in front of the rattle I bent the harness so it formed the two hook eyes and then dropped through the lip hole this held the harness flat so it wouldn't fall into the mold and gave me time to close the mold and place rubber bands around it.. I got to figure out the best way to display some pictures.. but it turn out great, sounds good two glass rattles glued together and then glued to the back of the lips seem to give me the most noise..

Trimmer

[Watchhiller]

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[Trimmer308]

I will try to see if I can post some pictures, so you can see what I did... I did cast the baits in one step using a two piece mold... I didn't just push in the rattles while casting the baits.. I super glued them to the back of the precasted bills as I inserted the bills into the mold to cast the lure bodies I glued the rattles to the center of the back of the bills.. this placed the rattles toward the front of the bait and in the center of the bait so far I've had no balance problems.. however, I haven't tried to put rattles in a bait where I was trying to cast the bills at the same time that will require some way to hold them in place unless you just want to guess where they end up.. that doesn't seem like a good idea since I want to be able to replacate each cast...

as far as weight and how the float, I have worked that out, I want these baits to have the same action as their wood counter parts... so each cast was weighted and when I got the action I liked I just took note of that... I do plan to make a bait that suppends but I haven't got that far...

I've went through two kits one of alumi white and the regular... once I use the little I have left I plan on ordering the 2gal kit.. in both.. the white seem a little easier to cast but its a little weaker than the regular.. and the microblooms mix is a little different to get the same results, a few of the baits I've been working on cast better in the white... but baits with casted bills are stronger with the regular..kepping in mind I am still working on baits that are under 5 inches, once I move up the larger musky baits, I may stick with the white... I will have to make some test cast to see.
[url]http://kentuckyanglingforum.yuku.com/topic/11653/New-Crankbaits-we-have-been-working-on-New#.UQhHn_JISSo[/url]
that is a link to the very first one I made
trimmer

[aka anglinarcher]

Excellent work!

[Trimmer308]

I have added some pictures to that same link that shows the clear bill bait with a picture of how I added the rattles... I poured about 20 of these as soon as I get to the paint stage I'll show another picture of the finish lure..

Trimmer
PS I think the BB code has to be turn on by Larry sorry for the attemp to post the link but you can get there with a little cutting and pasting

[aka anglinarcher]

http://kentuckyanglingforum.yuku.com/to ... QhHn_JISSo

Just copy and paste without the [url] at the front and [/url] back.

I like what you have/are doing. I might have glued the rattle so the rattle would set left and right instead of front and back, but that is just my.

Love what you are doing.

[dahlberg]

Hey T
Good stuff! You are on it!
L

[Watchhiller]

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[Trimmer308]

Thanks for the comments,
To answer a few questions.. no I didn't use alumidust to do any of the painting on the other lure that was partly painted (no clear coat) the alumidust you see was from a test cast to see how the stuff works... while I see some application where I will use it.. I will most likely stick to air brushing most of the baits I do... I have been testing some new clear coats, I have been using two part epoxy but I really don't like the heavy look or the need for keeping the bait moving while it dries, however so far I haven't found something I like better but the hunt continues..

BTW: I have made shooting screens to add scalling.. I don't wrap baits... these screens are made so that I can just push the baits up into the screens shoot them and drop them out the bottom, I get a lot less smears that way and its fast.. I have two screens of each size so I can shoot 8-10 baits just switching from one screen to another give each a little time to flash and dry.. no clips,clamps or anything to hold the bait to the screen..

I have an air brush station, I'm using three air brushes, two base coat guns and a finish gun and a small air brush compressor, our shop has a 10hp compressor but I don't use for my stuff.

I have really enjoyed reading and watching all the stuff that Larry and others have put in the how to section, while I have been making baits longer than most people have been alive this rapid molding plastic has been completely new to me and I'm still very much learning, and this site has a world of great stuff to help tame the learning curve.

thanks guys for all the help and suggestions
The Trimmer

[aka anglinarcher]

Trimmer308 wrote:
> ... I have been testing some new clear coats, I have been using two part epoxy but I really don't like the heavy look or the need for keeping the bait moving while it dries, however so far I haven't found something I like better but the hunt continues..
> The Trimmer

You are finding out that the hunt for a clear coat is as old as lure making and as new as technology. Many are using Devcon 2 Ton, or other two part epoxy, but like you mention, it requires a lure turner and a lot of time.

Some have started to use the Alumilite Amazing Clear Cast as a paint on top coat. It actually works really well, and it cures faster then many options, but it still requires a lure turner.

I have been using the Envirotec Lite coating for some time now and it gives a stronger, less brittle, deep gloss finish, but talk about the need for a lure turner. OUCH! And let's not even get into the discussion about fish eyes (any oil on the lure causes the finish to thin and dimple), sags, etc.

There are some that use an Automotive Clear Coat, but it requires extreme care, an air mask, etc. It is dangerous without the proper care. Note that this is a very fast cure at least.

Larry Dahlberg kind of opened the door when he mentioned on one post that he was testing a UV cure. On TV's "How it's Made", I saw an episode where they used a UV cure for making Surf Boards. Apparently some are using Polyester Gloss Resin by Solarez. It cures with UV and it cures in seconds to minutes. I have some coming, so I will tell you if/how it works. Apparently, according to users, if you get the right UV source, the right material, .......... you can cure a bait in 3 minutes.

I will almost bet that Mike and Larry are cooking up something in the UV line. When they do, I expect that it will be just what we were asking for. But for now, good luck with your search.

[Trimmer308]

anglinarcher,
Great post, I'm looking forward to the results you have..I have seen this stuff they sell in Jann's called UV Blast I have not tried it but had plans to give it a try...as someone that likes the full experence of fishing..making lures, and building fishing rods, I have also been toying around with some the rod finishes...
there again rod turnners are used just as much as they are in lure building...for many years I have used the 2ton Devcon but I was in hopes that maybe something else has been developed... I toyed with this whole plastic bait thing some 12 or so years ago and much of it was not marketed in a way that made it a good fit for fishing lures so much has changed...

I will report any thing I find to be useful and thanks again for added to the subject

The Trimmer

[Watchhiller]

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[Trimmer308]

I have posted a few pictures of the baits painted
http://kentuckyanglingforum.yuku.com/to ... Qr1T_JISSo

Trimmer

[Watchhiller]

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[Trimmer308]

just a little up date...

I got the UV Blast top coat in...I tried in on 5 baits.. it would not spray though my air brush.(.03).and ended up causing me to do a complete break down of my Iwata air brush... I didn't try to shoot it through my base coat guns... so I had to brush it on.. run easy.. drys slow requires a turner... you must use thin coats... this stuff is just like rod finish...

in a nut shell, this is not much different than anything else I tried... I will use this bottle and I'm back to epoxy...

Trimmer

[aka anglinarcher]

I was afraid of that. Note that UV Blast is not the same as a UV cure. UV Blast is designed to make lures reflect UV light better, and for the life of me I don't kow why.

In another forum I asked the question if UV mattered to us. It did not take long before the thread died, and for a good reason.

Science had demonstrated that Minnows see infared through UV, and carp is a minnow. If that is your target, then go for it.
Science had demonstrated that trout see near UV, but the jury is out on how well.
Bass, Pike, Muskie, sunfish do not see UV.
Walleye are limited to green through red only.
Catfish see black and white only, or in other words, they do not see colors.

UV light can trigger fluorscent colors to show (take a black light and shine it on fluorscent colors at night, or white that has UV enhancement to it), so UV at depths does make a difference, but only the UV light available, not some coating.

On the other hand, I do not know about the Salt Water fish or a thousand of other species not mentioned above, so ................................

[luccio]

On the web I have found this :

http://123kunstaas.weebly.com/een-ratel-inbouwen.html

you have to traslate it from dutch... : ) : ) : )


luccio

[Trimmer308]

UV was never anything I was going for, I was just looking for a top coat that may give a good finish and be something I could spray on with an air brush.. so this was no real help for me...
I'm stepping up to muskie lures this next week, so its more rubber and more plastic...I have used both the reg. and the White I'm trying to deside which is the best.. reg seems a little stronger maybe a little heaver... you guys may advise me here because I'm only guessing...both were easy to pour and I have good results with both.. using the same amount of Microballoons it seems that the white is a little lighter in the water...again I'm sure someone on here can pin this down to a number I'm only reporting my best guess

Trimmer

[ClaytonHaske]

i use them from time to time....i find it all depends on what the fish want that day. i recomend making an equal amount of lures with, and without rattles. so you have both just incase the fish want something different.

[rippinlips]

Just curious if anyone has tried Clear Cure Goo Hydro to finish your crankbaits. This stuff is fairly pricey, but I use it on all my musky flies and it is quick, easy and the finished product is amazing. The brush on applicator for the Hydro would take seconds to apply to a decent sized crankbait. You then just use the curing light (basic UV light) and the product is cured instantly. There is no tackiness with the hydro, you can get a nice even coat without placing it on a spinning wheel and best of all it is super easy to use. I will be trying this on my first run. Just a heads up though, the thin and think Clear CUre do have a tacky finish, if you end up using these to build up a little bulk or to attach the eyes try putting a small layer of hydro or Sally Hansens Hard as Nails over it to give it a nice glossy, tack free finish.

Just a few thoughts. I have not actually done this myself, but though it may be worth noting.

[aka anglinarcher]

rippinlips wrote:
> Just curious if anyone has tried Clear Cure Goo Hydro to finish your crankbaits.
> This stuff is fairly pricey, but I use it on all my musky flies and it is quick,
> easy and the finished product is amazing. The brush on applicator for the Hydro
> would take seconds to apply to a decent sized crankbait. You then just use the curing
> light (basic UV light) and the product is cured instantly. There is no tackiness
> with the hydro, you can get a nice even coat without placing it on a spinning wheel
> and best of all it is super easy to use. I will be trying this on my first run.
> Just a heads up though, the thin and think Clear CUre do have a tacky finish, if
> you end up using these to build up a little bulk or to attach the eyes try putting
> a small layer of hydro or Sally Hansens Hard as Nails over it to give it a nice
> glossy, tack free finish.
>
> Just a few thoughts. I have not actually done this myself, but though it may be worth
> noting.


I think, for the sake of my own sanity, I will start another thread on this. May the goo experts forgive me.