Trying my hand at balsa baits.

[basscatcher89]

Always been facinated by the guys who could take a block of balsa and turn it into a fish catching machine. Well I finally decided I wanted to learn. Been playing around for months and not really getting anything to turn out. But I sat down last week and built a pattern on my pc for the side and top profile and cut it out on my vinyl cutter to use as a guide. Burned through a few and finally got a couple to turn out. Sealed em and took em to the pool to see if they were worth painting. One tracked nice and straight and had a good wiggle. The other had a hunting action going on. Even though they were the same pattern I did build both a bit differently. Going to compare them closely and keep on building. They don’t look pretty cause I’m an airbrush rookie. But it will come with time. My first fishing rod was ugly and now i can do pretty good lol.

[21XDC]

That is one tackle making technique I have not done.... Yet.

[basscatcher89]

I tell ya the more I get into it the more interesting it is. I need to play with some more shapes to see how they affect action. Taking these to my next tournament see if I can't get one to go for it.

[edgewood2]

They look good.

[Whitaker201]

Looks good for just getting started! I started making a few cb's last year. It can be addicting! I would suggest making notes for each lure so you can compare the differences between them.

[basscatcher89]

Looks good for just getting started! I started making a few cb's last year. It can be addicting! I would suggest making notes for each lure so you can compare the differences between them.

I was working on two more yesterday that were the same side pattern as this but a quarter inch wider. Had the first one done on the belt sander and ready for fine sanding was working on the second and the dang thing sucked it right out of my fingers and down into the belt and ruined it. But the surviving one sanded out nice. So guess it will be my tester and I'll build the others off it lol.

[keysd13]

Pay close attention to the density of your balsa. I've been building balsa baits for 9 years and this aspect of the bait is super important to the action.

[basscatcher89]

Pay close attention to the density of your balsa. I've been building balsa baits for 9 years and this aspect of the bait is super important to the action.

Biggest problem I’ve been working on is getting a good oval profile when looking from the front. Trying different methods. Ill find a good one eventually.

[just Bob]

Very nice

[keysd13]

Basscatcher89, I've seen guys use PVC to get a consistent shape/profie. They cut the pipe in half and use spray adhesive to attach sand paper to the inside of he pipe. They then slide the pipe down the back of the bait to get nice rounded edges.

[basscatcher89]

Basscatcher89, I've seen guys use PVC to get a consistent shape/profie. They cut the pipe in half and use spray adhesive to attach sand paper to the inside of he pipe. They then slide the pipe down the back of the bait to get nice rounded edges.

Yep I did that with these two. It worked ok. I'm working on a couple that use the same side pattern as these two but they are a bit wider across the top. And I think maybe its just harder to do that with those lol. I made a couple sanding blocks last night using different sized spindles on my sander and they came out nice. I'm going to try making a couple different patterns and seeing what I come up with.