Eye candy, anyone?

Fishwhittler · December 23, 2012, 12:01:48 AM

Okay, I've been pretty busy lately:

Ghost Shad - This pattern needs some gold splatter on the back on future versions, but other than that I really like how it looks for now.

PB&J Craw - Name says it all.

Dark Bluegill handmade swimbait - My favorite swimmer I've built yet. 5 3/4" long, weight 2 5/8oz., slow sinker, made of PVC. The tail is thick rubber from an old overshoe.

Black Bass - I finally got a bass pattern I really like with this batch. I always seem to have a hard time nailing down bream/bass patterns, and this is about the tenth or twelfth bass pattern I've tried.

Silver Shad - Not much to say about this one. . .

Bullseye Bream - Basically a bluegill pattern with a chartreuse base. And that red target thingy. Never seen a fish that had one of 'em, but it can't hurt . . .

Foil Tablerock Shad - Here's something I don't do a whole lot of: Foil. It looks real cool when done well, but it's a bit of a hassle and I don't usually mess with it. But, I thought I'd do it on this one:

The back is purple pearl with black splatter, and the bait really sparks in the sun. I thought about putting black around the eyes instead of red to make them stand out more, but then I thought transparent red would look really good and gave it a shot. I like how it turned out—it's a bit different than most Tablerock Shad patterns I've seen.

One of the other baits I've been working on that I'll be posting sometime in the next few days is a prototype ultra-deep diver. Think DD22 on steroids. I hope to hit 20'+ with it, but the bill is big enough that it'll probably pull like a 4X4 truck . . .

Merry Christmas!

Ben

Shiloh · December 23, 2012, 05:16:06 AM

Wow those are really incredible

Mike Bush · December 23, 2012, 08:07:03 AM

Awesome work!!!

ranks58 · December 23, 2012, 09:00:50 AM

those are some beauty baits!

Bigwrench · December 23, 2012, 04:29:28 PM

I've been admiring your work for awhile and wondering if you sell them ? I'd like to try some of them out

almost a shame to get em dirty though lol awesome work either way !

finesse13 · December 24, 2012, 01:13:08 PM

Great work on all of them. I think that PB&J craw is awesome.

Please do not use Outdoor Hub Mobile, Please find and use TapaTalk for your phone

Nelsonv1975 · December 24, 2012, 11:01:26 PM

I think the talent you have for painting baits is awesome. Those colors are super sweet!

Chase bait · January 11, 2013, 11:54:06 AM

Man thats some nice work there. I just found this site the other day and it seems to be a good forum. If you dont mind me asking where do you get your blanks from? and what brush you using? I have only made jigs but want to get onto painting lures as well. thanks

Fishwhittler · January 11, 2013, 08:41:43 PM

Quote from: Chase bait on January 11, 2013, 11:54:06 AM
Man thats some nice work there. I just found this site the other day and it seems to be a good forum. If you dont mind me asking where do you get your blanks from? and what brush you using? I have only made jigs but want to get onto painting lures as well. thanks

Welcome aboard!

These baits are not unpainted blanks, they're Academy H2O Xpress hard baits. They run $4 for most styles, but they're only available from Academy.com. The quality is excellent, and the baits come with VMC treble hooks which are strong and sharp.

Lately I've been trying some unpainted blanks from www.unpaintedlures.com. The quality seems to be very good, considerably better than any lure blanks I've tried before. I haven't had a chance to fish them yet, but from what I've heard from other guys who use his blanks they're some of the best out there.

My current airbrush is an Iwata Eclipse with a .5mm needle. It's a very nice brush, but if you're starting out I recommend the Master G22 airbrush from TCP Global. You can find them in airbrush/compressor combo kits on Amazon for around $100 plus shipping. I started out with the G22, used it for over a year. The only reason I'm not using it now is that a friend gave me the Iwata brush, which is even nicer. However, as a starter brush the G22 is going to be hard to beat.

I hope this helps!

Ben

bigjim5589 · January 12, 2013, 11:01:38 AM

Ben, you're painting is always incredible!

Super information you've posted too!

Would you happen to know of any place that sells unpainted blanks for bigger, saltwater type lures, besides Ebay? I've bought them from some Ebay sellers, but the selection is very limited.

I would like to try painting some lures, but want to give something bigger & simpler a try before I try to get into air brushing small baits. I've collected some used lures to repaint, but am also interested in blanks.
Thanks!
Jim

Fishwhittler · January 12, 2013, 12:32:01 PM

Jim, thanks for the kind words.

As far as saltwater lures and blanks, I'm afraid I'm not much help. Lure Parts Online has some large saltwater blanks, but I believe most if not all of those are already available on ebay.

Also, Tackle Industries used to sell their muskie lures in unpainted versions as well. I'm not sure if they are still available, but you might try emailing and asking. I've not used those lures or blanks myself and so can't speak as to quality, though I have seen guys on the muskie.outdoorsfirst.com tackle-making forum who have painted them.

I hope this helps.

Ben

bigjim5589 · January 12, 2013, 02:12:59 PM

Ben, thanks! I already knew about Lure Parts, and didn't even think of Tackle Industries. I have several of their finished lures. I'll give them a try.

That Muskie site is pretty good too. I won't likely ever catch a Muskie, but have found that the lures they use will work just as well on Striped Bass!

Shewillbemine · January 12, 2013, 07:29:29 PM

These are kinda awesome.

Chase bait · January 13, 2013, 12:33:04 PM

Thanks for the information. I have a million questions but will wait till I get an airbrush and mess around a little with it. I think I will go with tht master G22 incase I don't like painting I'm not out too much ha. Thanks again.

BASSCATRPUKE · January 25, 2013, 10:32:44 AM

Very nice work. You are very talented

Mike Bush · January 25, 2013, 12:18:25 PM

Ben

You going to the QC Outdoor Show in Feb?

Fishwhittler · January 26, 2013, 01:59:35 AM

Thanks!

Quote from: Mike Bush on January 25, 2013, 12:18:25 PM
Ben

You going to the QC Outdoor Show in Feb?

Nope, but I will be at the Mid Iowa Bass Masters Fisherman's Swap Meet next month.

saltfisher · January 27, 2013, 01:32:28 AM

These look awesome!! I never painted a crank before, and if i would get that kit for $100, can anyone semi talented paint like this? Or do you have to be pretty artistic? Im decent at stuff like this (did alot of model cars), but never used a airbrush. I can be very particulate in stuff like this. Are there guides, or stencils you go by? I see some of these cranks you guys paint have some very sharp lines.

hook765 · February 11, 2013, 11:11:30 PM

i like your swim bait.been thinking of trying that pvc. is it real buoyant?? are they hard to carve?? the WHITTLER told me about that material last year. I would like to see more of those. good job

Hey " SALTFISHER " if you want to paint all i can say is go for it.! I had my air brush for a few months befor i got the guts to do it. scared to mess up on a bait.
I don't know if you have a hobby lobby in Adamstown,PA but here they have a weekly newspaper coupon that gives you 40% of one item. they carry Iwata neo paint guns and they work just ass well as the high end guns.they go for about $60-70 but with the discount.they are around $40.you can use that same coupon once a day all week long if you pull it up on your smartphone as you are checking out.so you could buy everything you need at almost 1/2 price.
hook765
(wish i knew that about $300 ago on materials that I bought.