Custom painting lures

[jolicious]

Mr. Al - Those baits are really good looking - they look as though they've caught a LOT of fish!

[MOsmallies]

Al that is phenomenal... Glad you decided to share! Entirely different method that also produces some really neat lookin baits... I'd pay good money for that bleeding shiner Rapala!!

[Al Agnew]

Yeah, that bleeding shiner pattern caught a pile of fish...the red paint is about worn off completely; it should have a lot more red.  Actually by the time I painted those I'd almost gotten away from fishing Rapalas, but then I discovered that they make an interesting topwater lure when you add the prop on the back like the second one.  I added a prop to the bleeding shiner and fished it hard for a year on a local lake and caught a ton of fish on it.

As I remember, I painted a stoneroller, a creek chub, a blackstripe topminnow, and a redbellied dace besides the ones I still have. Those got lost over the years, I guess.  I used artist acrylics, and relied heavily on iridescent gold, silver, and bronze for the scale highlights.  It really looked good at the time, but the iridescents tend to dull over time.  I don't remember which kind of varnish I used as a finish.

Speaking of finishes, in using the spray enamel, I've had a lot of trouble with the Devcon epoxy as a finish.  It just doesn't want to stick well to the enamel, and flakes off in big chunks.  I went to marine spar varnish in a spray can, with two or three coats.

[Guest]

Last night, I sprayed the Auto-Air Colors 4412 - Flair Tint Teal/Purple on a jerkbait. Wow, that stuff is impressive! I will post photos once I get them clear coated.

[Flysmallie]

42 minutes ago, TrophyFishR said:

Last night, I sprayed the Auto-Air Colors 4412 - Flair Tint Teal/Purple on a jerkbait. Wow, that stuff is impressive! I will post photos once I get them clear coated.

Good looking color. Always been my favorite flop on the color shift coatings. Auto-Air make some nice products.

[jolicious]

Has anyone messed with Crackling Medium on baits?

First attempt, and I like it.

I see potential laying down light base colors, then crackle medium, then a darker shad over the top on craw-imitating baits.

[MOsmallies]

That crackling effect looks awesome... Megabass uses it on some of their baits. Would love to see some craw patterns with that effect and may need to place an order

[dtrs5kprs]

That is nice. Crackling had been a tough effect, or at least a tight lipped one. Looks like it got easier.

[jolicious]

27 minutes ago, dtrs5kprs said:

That is nice. Crackling had been a tough effect, or at least a tight lipped one. Looks like it got easier.

"Easier because Joe can do it" - Geez Louise, Mr. Dave hahahahaha!

You're right, it is a lot easier.  Hobby Lobby carries a little (4 ounce maybe?) jar of "Crackle Medium"

Miss Sherry got it for me, so I don't know the exact price, but I'm pretty sure it's less than $5.

From the amount I used on that bait, I'd conservatively guess that I'll get 35+ baits out of a single jar

I hope that the link below leads to the YouTube video I watched about this method.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a1MwOFnyr8

 

One other note - The first two pictures are the same lure - I am really enjoying learning how to get colors to shift with angles of light.

[dtrs5kprs]

One of the keys on color shifts is using a light touch. If you want that highlight/interference look on a light color it sometimes takes mixing a little of the highlight in another color (as opposed to just shooting it over a dark color).

Think you are spot on about the crackle and craw colors. Black crackle in a red pattern, or a dark green pumpkin/brown in a green craw would be nice.