First Crank Bait

As always....looking to try different things and just see. This my first attempt at making crank baits and painting them. Not professional but I think it will catch fish. I became interested in doing this as I figured if I could learn it and I could produce crank baits that I felt would work well on Milford that I can not find retail....plus its fun.

I trolled a few plain bodies to see how they would troll and see if I liked the actions. Then afterward began airbrushing different color patterns I felt would produce. Anyway......something interesting for me to do and already learning a lot more about crank shapes and actions.

Attachment 129066

Nice!! Really looks good!

Good looking bait and should catch fish. Make you some with Green chartreuse and some pink behind that black.

Are they balsa or plastic? If they are plastic, you did a great job of casting them, and if balsa, then a great job of carving... Looks good, and I agree with Cray that pink baits always seem to catch fish...

I made some swimbaits a few years ago. They were not "store quality", but they did catch fish and it was fun to make them. I'm going to say it was a net-loss on the $$, but I'm a DIY kinda guy... Plus, now I can save my old crappie tubes when they get too chewed up to stay on the hook, melt 'em down and make another bait. So that's fun.

that's a beauty some days have as of a relaxing day tryin jigs as I do fishin then make some that fill the stringer real bonus

Thanks

Its plastic, just going to take time learning how to airbrush and working out refinements. I agree it is relaxing and its something you can not rush or it will get sideways on you quick.

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Originally Posted by KAG

Thanks

Its plastic, just going to take time learning how to airbrush and working out refinements. I agree it is relaxing and its something you can not rush or it will get sideways on you quick.

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If I can suggest something fun... I would lay down a base of some kind of chrome pearl, silver pearl, or anything with fine glitter in it, and then go over the top with a candy color. I don't know if it will catch any more fish, but it will look like a hotrod, and should draw a lot of compliments and questions.

I have airbrushed the head of my driver (golf club) this way a few times, and people always ask me about it at the golf course. When I get tired of the color, I strip it off and repaint it a different color...

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Originally Posted by Fish Taxi

If I can suggest something fun... I would lay down a base of some kind of chrome pearl, silver pearl, or anything with fine glitter in it, and then go over the top with a candy color. I don't know if it will catch any more fish, but it will look like a hotrod, and should draw a lot of compliments and questions.

I have airbrushed the head of my driver (golf club) this way a few times, and people always ask me about it at the golf course. When I get tired of the color, I strip it off and repaint it a different color...

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I can visualize a Candied teal or bluegrass colored crank bait done that way. Good idea....

Do you know of a type of paint that has the glitter ground fine enough to shoot through a .3mm tip?

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Originally Posted by KAG

I can visualize a Candied teal or bluegrass colored crank bait done that way. Good idea....

Do you know of a type of paint that has the glitter ground fine enough to shoot through a .3mm tip?

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You should be able to shoot any kind of silver or chrome laquer through your airbrush, as long as it is thinned down like an airbrush paint should be. I have a renegade with a .21 tip, and it works fine if it is thinned and retarded properly. I have a big airbrush project to do next week. I'll paint a few samples just for kicks and take a pic of them in the sunlight. I have some pretty wild candy and iridescent paints.

If you want bigger flakes, you could just dry dust them on and then seal them down, or make a "paste" with some kind of solvent and paint them on with a brush. Then just let the solvent evaporate and then seal or paint candy over them.

It would be easy to put glitter on top of the paint also, by just sprinkling it on your first clearcoat before it dries. Then clear over the top again just to make it smooth.

Either way, you will be making a very unique and cool bait... One with details that manufacturers will not put in the time or expense to mass produce.