Handlebarz Posted October 9, 2011 Report Posted October 9, 2011 I have always messed around with different lures for what ever I fished for flies for the trout, Harnesses for eyes, Poppers for bass, so when I got into musky fishing it was just a given that I would start at some point making something. I first started with the store bought spinner bait heads I got them painted by Outlaw he also did the blades for me they were done with Bucktail here are a couple of them from the winter of 2005 into 2006. I then thought I would makes some in lines from bucktail well naturally any musky hunter needs some marabou and feathers so I did them for a bit Well from there flashabou was the next step for me and it was the big craze in the musky world so I started with them and I can tell you it was not easy at first I would have much rather tied bucktail or marabou back then. here are some of my first flashabou tie jobs and ideas. This one has a 6oz weight in front of the flashabou with two very heavy magnum Indiana blades but the weight was to heavy for these blades to pull it to my liking. This was my second ever flashabou tied and fished it looked OK in the water but I need to improve a lot. Not sure where in the learning curve this was but I was getting happier with them The second ever copper walleye I made I was not cutting the flashabou to my lining yet but it worked out great I still had some unpainted spinner bait heads left so I brought them to outlaw for a paint job and I added flashabou to them (I still have some left I will be adding flashabou to and selling later) I relay liked how this one turned out other then the blades they were done with powder paint by me and were not to my liking I then had a idea of using my inline sinker mold to make my own style spinner baits (the first Egg Head) it worked out great but I knew it needed some tweaking and put it off until 2011 I had another version of the inline weights this was much better but I needed bigger blades In 2009 I was very happy with the way my flashabou was so I started to concentrate on it and made a bunch of different sizes here are some of the first ones of the soon to be Handlebarz line double 8's first of the double 10's I was still messing around with blades like this double 8 Indiana but it did not give me the flair that the baits needed well here comes the 2010 musky season and I am getting bugged (in a good way) by a couple friends about me selling my lures to some stores I did not think it would go but I gave it a try in a couple with just the double 8's and sure enough they were selling I was so happy but the stores started to ask for double 10's I had only been making them for my self and a couple friends at that point but knew they were ready for the market so this year I released them here on OFC and was very excited with the response that everyone gave me they have been a great hit and been putting alot of musky in the boats for many musky hunters (I still need pictures from you guys who are using them) here are the finished double 8's and 10's double 8 lemon lime double 10 fire tiger with outlaw painted blades Here is the end of my journey its the night before 2011 opener I have Ron (Djeep) stops over at 10pm to get some used lures I have for sale and notices my first home made spinner bait and asked if I was still making them ???? I get thinking about redoing them (I had been thinking of them for a few years) well I get to work again and am finnaly happy with the Egg Heads to start to sell them if it were not for Ron asking me I dont know If I would have gotten to them this year or not but thanks Ron Thanks for this thread Roy I had wanted to post how my business has evolved but did not know how to start a thread about it. Thanks for all the support from the OFC family it has been alot of fun turning this hobby into what it is today.
Roy Posted October 9, 2011 Author Report Posted October 9, 2011 Lew, good stuff. I was noticing...do you 'TEE' all of your forward trebles? Also, is that a Weagle I see there? George, your Woodies need no introduction. They're well known, in fact just last week I was looking at them on Stacey's site. Very nice stuff. Larry, I've seen your baits before somewhere but I can't for the life of me remember where. At that time I didn't know you made baits and was blown away when I saw them. Mike, what can I say...very nice history and product progression. I have some of your baits but have yet to use them.(I haven't gotten out this season hardly at all.) I certainly will soon and report to you. One of my sayings is, and it specifically applies to baits: "You can never say a bait is bad until it has worked at least once."
TennesseeGuy Posted October 9, 2011 Report Posted October 9, 2011 Roy, those baits are beauties. Every fish should have one in his pantry.
Roy Posted October 9, 2011 Author Report Posted October 9, 2011 HAHAHAHA I love you too, Connie. In a manly manner of course.
lew Posted October 9, 2011 Report Posted October 9, 2011 Lew, good stuff. I was noticing...do you 'TEE' all of your forward trebles? Also, is that a Weagle I see there? Not a Weagle Roy, but a Doc, one of Pete Mainas baits and an excellent topwater. And yes, I do TEE all my center and front hooks. It saves alot of wear & tear on the lures but I find it also ups the hooking percentage. On my triple hook twitch baits, like that Double "D", I remove the center hook entirely and up the front hook a couple sizes too. Gives the bait a better action and also improves the neutral buoyancy while still hooking very well. I always enjoy tweaking baits to improve them.
Spiel Posted October 9, 2011 Report Posted October 9, 2011 Hearing about all these large baits on the board made me think that perhaps some of us might want to talk about this stuff. Whether you make your own baits or not . Whether they be large or small, wood, plastic, poured baits,wire baits, terminal tackle...whatever. How bout small fur and feathered. Yeah I know, I've posted them before but I just had to get in with something.
mike rousseau Posted October 9, 2011 Report Posted October 9, 2011 How bout small fur and feathered. Yeah I know, I've posted them before but I just had to get in with something. would this fall under bait making..? or taxidermy... really nice flies... and nice cranks roy... do you sell them? are they threw wire?
Roy Posted October 9, 2011 Author Report Posted October 9, 2011 Thanks for the info, Lew AHHHHHHH Chris! Most people knows about your quality rods. I was hoping you'd post some of your insects. The first time I saw some of yours I was speechless. I mean, the realism is out of this world. Even if you did post some of them before, I'm sure we all don't mind seeing them again and again. Great stuff! Mike, no, I don't see a need for through-wire on those particular baits. If they were plastic, rubber or balsa then yes, they'd be through-wired. I'm even moving away from screw eyes. There's a better way.
Handlebarz Posted October 9, 2011 Report Posted October 9, 2011 Chris they are the best I have seen heck I never produced anything like that the best I could do was the good O'l Muddler minnow LOL It does not matter the size of bait or lures one makes its how much they enjoy making them I would think once it becomes a burden or something you have to do its time to give up
Leecher Posted October 9, 2011 Report Posted October 9, 2011 (edited) Great thread Roy You certainly have excellent talent and great craftsmanship skills I love the paint jobs on your lures, they truly look fantastic I too enjoy making wooden lures when not fishing.... it's a hobby I truly enjoy!!! Here's some of my work that I'm really proud of: 3 1/2" crank Bumblebee pattern 5" crank The ultimate.... 10" Intruder Hula popper Jitterbug Spooks Jointed spook My collection on my plaque Another passion I have is tipups Ultra light Jacques Edited to add my latest spinnerbaits and cranks Edited October 9, 2011 by Leechman
Roy Posted October 9, 2011 Author Report Posted October 9, 2011 Super baits Jacques! A lot of work went into those. Fish catching colours too! I thought you once said that you weren't using a lathe...if that's the case, you have a dang good eye and lots of patience. Nice stuff, thanks for posting.
Leecher Posted October 9, 2011 Report Posted October 9, 2011 (edited) Super baits Jacques! A lot of work went into those. Fish catching colours too! I thought you once said that you weren't using a lathe...if that's the case, you have a dang good eye and lots of patience. Nice stuff, thanks for posting. Thanks mon ami!!! No lathe for me I know it would make my job easier and faster but would take away the fun and love of making lures from scratch Again your lures look fantastic Roy!!! Edited to say: I keep coming back to look at your baits and man those are some serious great looking lures Keep up the excellent work Roy Edited October 9, 2011 by Leechman
Fishnwire Posted October 9, 2011 Report Posted October 9, 2011 I hope you're exceeding proud of the results of your hard work. Those baits look amazing. The ones I attempted to paint last winter look like they were done by a child, in comparison. Really nice.
Jewelbee Posted October 10, 2011 Report Posted October 10, 2011 How bout small fur and feathered. Yeah I know, I've posted them before but I just had to get in with something. WOW!
Jewelbee Posted October 10, 2011 Report Posted October 10, 2011 Hearing about all these large baits on the board made me think that perhaps some of us might want to talk about this stuff. Whether you make your own baits or not . Whether they be large or small, wood, plastic, poured baits,wire baits, terminal tackle...whatever. It's a decent pastime for those days when you can't get out for whatever reason. I've got some on the go right now. These are mainly large baits between 9" and 14"...still have finishing touches, lips and hardware to do on these. They're all weighted and will run between 5' and 15'. Hope we can all share tips and tricks. Thanks. Very good stuff comes from the swamp
mercman Posted October 10, 2011 Report Posted October 10, 2011 How bout small fur and feathered. Yeah I know, I've posted them before but I just had to get in with something. WOW !! I cant even begin to imagine the amount of skill and patience it takes to produce these flies. I am truly impressed and awed.
Handlebarz Posted October 12, 2011 Report Posted October 12, 2011 Dang I thought that by Monday night there would be a lot of different bait makers posting here it could be a great thread lets see what ya all got
Roy Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Posted October 12, 2011 I was wondering the same thing. Some folks are bashful.
alexmedic Posted October 12, 2011 Report Posted October 12, 2011 I wish I could contribute some of my own pieces of art, but the odd worm harness just doesn't cut it. Here is a link to another site that has some amazing work: http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/showthread.php?t=67416&page=58 Pay special attention to member: "Piatu" His work with using real fish skin is amazing!
Moosebunk Posted October 12, 2011 Report Posted October 12, 2011 Quality Roy! Losta love and work goes into those, hope they all bang ya a goodun!
fishindevil Posted October 12, 2011 Report Posted October 12, 2011 awesome work guys !!!! i will try to post some as well,i have been at it for years too,but thats great work from everyone for sure,it feels good to make them,and to catch fish with them is a rush !!! thanks for sharing....great thread,and yes roy alot of bashful people for sure,heck i still have 5 or so fishing reports to put up yet !!! thanks guys for showing those....
DT10Sam Posted October 13, 2011 Report Posted October 13, 2011 Not sure how this topic got by me, maybe I need to be on here more often. Roy you are putting out some quality work there and you have become real handy with the air brush, great job and keep up the good work. Can't wait to see them completed. Regards, Sam
Remastered Posted October 13, 2011 Report Posted October 13, 2011 Something tells me Roy is a huge Musky fan. I'd like to try out fly tying one day just for giggles.
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