The Hunt For Big Fish with Larry Dahlberg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj23 ... d56224.jpg

Made a 6" whiggley. Burns, swims, and looks awesome on a burn and twitch retrieve. Can't wait to catch some slabbers on it.

also, this is a comment for larry. I'm really seeing why you did a line through design on the R2S whiggleys. Rigging your home made whiggleys correctly (hook positioning) can really make or break the action of the lure. Thanks for all of the videos and tips over the years.

That one's a killer! For sure on the rigging, but when it's right, if there's a fish around it gets bit!
Glad I could help you out in regards to tips etc!
best

Larry,
I was showing a friend of mine the action on the six inch looked away to talk to him then looked back just in time to watch about a 45" tiger inhale it and promptly cut my line and swim away haha! Next time I'm using some leader even if I'm just action testing.

Funny! but, that is how it works!
best
L

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj23 ... 6c1c81.jpg

getting ready for some more fishing. I like to take my time w/ the whiggleys and get some killer patterns. I like to think its appealing to both me and the fish.

Hey Rhett!
Nice job as always! I like to think the fish are saying to each other: "the dude obvi did his homework, look at the details in the gill plate. Yeah, you gotta hand it to him, I know it's not real but he likes us enough to add those little details. You know what, this is a piece of work, I'm going to do it... Are you sure, you know what happens next? Yeah, but this dude is an artist, I'm going to hook up and let him hold me for a second..." My head is like a cartoon.

For reall though, I agree with you on adding the extra deets. Catching a fish on your own lure offers a great sense of pride and accomplishment. It furthers those senses when it looks nice too!

Hope everyone is well!!!

Thanks warps!

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj23 ... 4a7dde.jpg

Working on making some lures for an upcoming trip. Just having fun making some whiggleys.

RhettWheeler wrote:
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> http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj23 ... 4a7dde.jpg
>
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> Working on making some lures for an upcoming trip. Just having fun making
> some whiggleys.

Whigg's look great, nicely done. Do you add thickness to the tail? or is it the same width/thickness as the body? Im trying to troubleshoot my lack of swimming action in my lure.

Took me almost 2 years to get fully dialed in. lots of mistakes. tried complex crap that didn't work, made the body too thick then the tail not long enough, then the taper too short, etc. Made every mistake you can think of. Keep the whole thing relatively thin. You want the first about 60% of the lure to be consistent in thickness and the last 40% to come to a thin taper. The main body can't be too thick either and be sure you add some gill slits. I think the gill slits make a big difference in transferring movement to the rest of the body. Seems like the movement starts there to get the desired action.

Well I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one that didn't get it right the first time. My second prototype does have a better swim than my first but only when I twitch it, I think the tails to thick. Going to make adjustments to this one, I.E. thin the tail, slits at the gills, weight, then make a new master out of wood so I can make it perfect. Still having fun trying to get it right, thanks for the advice. Tight lines!

I too am still having problems dialing mine in. I think I am entering year 2 of the wiggley experiment. I have made 6 master copies, five of which have made it to final production and all have their own specific tendencies that I just can't overcome. Since you guys are letting out the specifics of your own design success, I have a ? All of my wiggley lures no matter how long or short, thick or tapered, all of mine are exact mirror images top to bottom and side to side. If you draw a line from the tip of the nose to the inner fork of the tail the thickness and weight are exactly the same top to bottom and side to side. Should there naturally be a little more (fat) or material on the belly side to help achieve a lure that swims upright? The best lure I have is 8" it is symmetrically near perfect, it has 4 / 7 gram lead balls in the belly and it still wants to list (ride at a 20degree angle) when retieved.

Hey Larry can you comment on "Rhetwheeler" and his 60/40, he has obviously had success with that formula, do your home made lures follow that design principal, thanks Rhett for posting that it really helps us that are struggling.

Shane, that sounds like a hook placement issue. Can you post pictures of your design? Also post one with it rigged up, try to get shots of where the weight placement is. I usually drop 2 shot in the vent hole i have near the head so they'll sit a little closer to the chin, then a couple behind where I'd rig the hook. Also may just need to tune the nose loop slightly. Photos will help me clarify.

as far as bulk goes, top and bottom are consistent in thickness, avoid having any one area fatter than the other. Once you get the design down you'll be amazed at how simple it really is.

Also, what softness is the plastic you're pouring? What ratio?

Ok Rhett I posted 2 pics in the "lure photo" page I don't know how but the two pics of my lure are titled "Capt Joseph C" they are two head shots. Some specifics; it is 8" long, 1/2" thick at the head and tapering to 1/8" at the fork in the tail. The mix is 4/1 as larry recommends. I thought the hook was traveling on the lure during the cast so I buried the hook, made a u shaped wire to pin the shaft of the hook, and rigged the wire so it is a direct pull on the eye. All of that over engineering and still the lure wants to run on its side. You can see the four lead pellets in the belly, each pellet is 7g. That's a lot of weight. I can't put them any further back as the pellet is as thick as the lure. Any ideas you can share would help, thanks

Got it, I'll check out the photos when they're posted and will let you know if I have any advice. The other thing is to be sure your lure isn't too tall. Will it run on its side at any speed or only when you burn?

No it lays on its side at any speed, I forgot to give you that dimension so here are all of the measurements again 8"L / 1 1/4" tall, 1/2" thick at the head tapering to 1/8" at the fork of the tail. Thanks