Wednesday, August 14, 2013

A bit of fun -- a crankbait plug from a paint brush handle (or any similar bit of wood, perhaps carved)

Just to relax a bit, let us observe as Paul Adams shows how a crankbait plug type fishing lure can be made from a paint brush handle -- yes, that is just what I said -- or any similarly carved or shaped block of wood:



Notice the careful tricks to keep things nicely aligned and symmetrical.

Screw eyes can of course be made by looping a stainless steel wire around a nail then twisting. 

A stronger hook attachment would be by through wiring a hook harness. 

So, thanks to Ginei, here is one way to do that (and to carve a plug):





A shad-type crankbait with a deep|
diving lip (HT: Bass Pro Shops)

If you want a bill, which helps create the wiggle, carefully align and cut a slot, and epoxy in the bill. 

 The size, shape and angle of the bill on the body affects behaviour. A bill that is shallow as in the diagram will tend to pull the bait deep as a diving vane. One that is at a steeper angle (these tend to be smaller) will trigger a sharper wobble -- thanks to creating a von Karman vortex street of whorls of distrubed water from first one side then the next, and will not be such a deep diver. 

Bills can be made out of various types of plastic, taking note that unfortunately transparent materials tend to be brittle. (Lexan is probably best. Metal, especially stainless steel, can also be used. Metal lips are typically screwed in.)

Of course, plugs should not be pulled too fast, or they will become unstable and will spin similar to an out of control aircraft.

Plugs with a joint in the body wiggle more violently, and are less stable.

A special class of plugs, hard body swimbaits, has three or four or more segments. Such a plug tends to swim in an amazingly lifelike S-shaped wiggle. Indeed, if you look at a video of such a plug, it can be hard to realise this is not a real fish:


Have fun. END

PS: How to make a simple "survival" lure from a bit of paracord.