Here’s something I found on the net about lure designing, perhaps it would help u guys in the tought process while designing ur own lures.
It also offers some insight into why sometimes production lure are not made to be as perfect as possible. Because it’s not possible to manufacture LOL. So this is where our little hobby of handcrafted stuff comes in, we don’t have to cut corners or think of cost effectiveness to come out with our own little perfect lure. Enjoy.
June 10, 2003
Designer guided lure’s evolution
by David Dirks. His column appears Tuesday in the Times Herald-Record. Write to him at P.O. Box 87, Westtown, NY 10998, or by e-mail at dirksoutdoors@hotmail.com
Ever wonder how lures are designed? Or how the color combinations for lures are determined? Or how new lure designs are tested? I’ve always had a natural curiosity about how it is that some lures become great and why some never make it past the testing stage.
In this three-part series, we’ll get the inside scoop on how lures are designed by one of the country’s foremost lure designers, Cliff Soward. Soward has more than 31 years of competitive fishing experience and is a prolific lure designer. If you know brand names like Yum, Rebel, Heddon, Bomber, Cotton Cordell, Arbogast, Excalibur, Creek Chub, or Lazy Ike, you’ve probably fished with one of Soward’s creations.
I had the opportunity to get Soward to give us some of his extensive angling and lure design insights.
What are some of the most significant changes in lure design in your career so far?
Soward: "Technology that has to do with materials used in making lures.
“We have better plastics now that are stronger, better ways to make molds that will increase the performance of a lure and cosmetics. This is important but not as important as performance. Decorating techniques and materials such as hot stamp holographic. Designing is affected by all these factors since it opens doors where I could not go before.”
What is the difference between, say, the basic Rebel of 1962 vs. the Rebel designs of today?
“Most of the difference again is materials, new molds and finishes. Even today, we are putting more engineering into the lures. For example is the way we design the paddles or bills; they are now designed so they can go in only one way now…straight to increase the performance ratio when we test like 100 lures at a time. Another thing is we are getting much more realistic in appearance. The new REBEL minnow has a translucent body, which makes the belly seem transparent like a real minnow and holographic broken scale pattern again for more realism.”
Describe the impact that 31 years of bass tournament fishing has had on your ability to design lures for the market?
“On each trip I go fishing, I usually learn something new. I fish with a lot of different people and that is good because fishermen in general, especially good fishermen, try and modify their lures to adapt to the present situation. These little changes sometimes can trigger ideas into a lure design or even a modification of a present design to make it better. Even fishing for different species, a walleye fisherman’s technique or lure modification can apply to the bass or redfish fishery just as well.”
“Also, tournament fishing is more like hunting. You have a limited time to out-fish everyone else and also outsmart the fish so there is a limited time to think fast and analyze what the fish want in a certain condition. It makes me look back on some of the things I take for granted fishing for so long. There can always be a better mouse trap or in this case a fish trap.”
June 17, 2003
Lure design requires jack of all trades
This is the second column in a three-part series on lure design.
Cliff Soward lives the life that most of us can only dream about. Besides being one of America’s most prolific bass lure designers, he also is a noted wildlife illustrator as well.
Bitten early in life with the bass-fishing bug, even Soward’s college thesis was about the hydrodynamics of crankbaits.
In 1975, Soward gave a bass pro by the name of Jack Hains seven crankbaits designed by Soward for the fifth BassMasters Classic. Of course, Hains won that classic on one of those Soward-designed lures.
Even though he spent more than 20 years in the petroleum industry, Soward continued to design lures and other fishing accessories. Ever heard of the YUM brand of fish attractants? Soward designed and named it.
In his spare time, he has fished bass tournaments for more than 31 years and designed lures specifically for use in 39 of them. “Drawing and designing I feel is a God gift … not many people can learn to draw or design. It is just one talent He gives certain people … so put together an artist, fisherman, salesman, designer, hunter, outdoorsman, and part-engineer…and poof…(you have a) lure designer”, says Soward.
This week we continue the second in a three-part series on lure design based on an interview with Mr. Soward.
What’s the process of designing a lure?
Soward: "First, I need to target the species I am going after, the depth I want the lure to run, the action I want it to produce and also whether it will be suspending or floating. What size do I want this lure to be for this specific fishery? It may be something that I want to resemble in nature.
“I have to set a long list of priorities to specifically target all of the above and then I start working on a handmade prototype. It may take me 10 different prototypes or I may hit on it the first time but the working prototype must produce the action and depth that I am looking for in this lure.”
"Our engineers will scan my prototype and start on a plastic prototype. We back up the process and check on the weighting and balance trying to mimic the performance of the wooden prototype vs. the plastic model.
“Once we’ve completed the performance checks, we will start on the finish product and set up production. Last is color and appearance. This may take some time since I may need to draw the crawfish, perch, shad or whatever patterns we decide to use.”
Much of the “performance checks” require that Soward be on the water fishing. It’s a tough job but someone has to do it.
What would prevent a lure design from ever making it to the angler?
Soward: “Performance. If the lure has problems and the hydrodynamics cannot be solved to make a very high ratio of the lure to run correctly, then it is put on the back burner until we can solve the problem. Sometimes it is simple and some times it just takes time.”
“I don’t want to copy any lure design but just like a golfer, if I’m missing a 7-iron in my bag, then I want to make something that will do what I want it to do that fits that niche. Just like our pros, I have confidence in all our lures but if there is something missing in our arsenal, then I want to make a lure that will do that job.”
“Sometime a lure won’t make the cut if there is a problem in making the lure because of production techniques or until the engineering problem is solved.”
June 24, 2003
Designing good fishing lures often requires teamwork
This is the third column in a three-part series on lure design.
Bass lures are designed to catch fish, but they can catch anglers as well. In this third and last in a series, Cliff Soward gives us more of his insights on how tournament anglers help him create new lures and the impact of color on lure design.
How do other pro tournament anglers help you in developing new lure designs?
Soward: "Spending time with them either on the water or off is very valuable to me. Knowing the right questions to trigger their involvement will kick-start the things that we all sometimes take for granted others know. Good fishermen who have been with it for a while don’t sometime realize that we just do things naturally and take for granted what would amaze others. I give them prototypes to throw. I show them drawings and sketches to get their input early on.
“All most all the time it starts in the field, just FISHING and talking. Alton Jones, Jimmy Houston, Bill Dance, Timmy Horton, Sam Swett all can give you a different perspective of the same lure and even the receptionist can give me an idea at times. You don’t know when an idea will hit you and I like to design 3D in my head way before I start putting the lure on paper.”
The variety of lures available on today’s market is expansive. What advice would you give a novice bass angler as to what types of lures should be in there tackle box?
Soward: “The No. 1 thing in a fisherman’s or fisherwoman’s tackle box is “CONFIDENCE”. I try to design lures so the fisherman won’t need to try and tune the lure because it runs to the left or right and is hard to tune. I want to design lures that run straight out of the box so performance is not an issue. Second is color, a finish or color that the fisherman likes. Fish do not have wallets but they do have to bite so I try to design a lure that looks good to both the fisherman and fish.”
“I would look at what the pros are fishing with to win tournaments if you are into bass fishing. Read the different techniques and apply them to the lures you like. Ken Schultz has a book, “Encyclopedia of Fishing” that I go to all the time for research and clarification. Another thing I do is pick a lure and say I am going to fish with this lure for a day or half a day and get to know all that I can about its performance capabilities. Use different techniques on the lure and equipment such as bait casting or spinning tackle. Remember this: WET LURES CATCH FISH!”
There seem to be a wide spectrum of colors that are used in lures today. How do you determine which kinds of colors are most effective?
Soward: "I divide my color designs into two areas. The first is natural design that resembles something in nature, something that is forage for the species. The second is visual or trendy colors. These colors spring up in the market usually from an individual source that gets hot and then may fall off later. Water clarity makes a big difference as well. The bright fire tiger colors are noted for stained water. I don’t know of a lot of colors that resemble natural colors that catch fish.
"First, you really need to know how a fish feeds. First by sight, second by feel (water displacement on the lateral line) and third by scent. The fish needs to locate the lure and visual contact is where color makes a difference. “The future is natural looks and finishes. Holographic designs play a large roll in decorating. These finishes really can be made to look natural. Again, technological advances in materials will play a large role in my design work and knowing what is available.”
Regards,
LaPala
LKG Member: http://longkanggang.blogspot.com/
LureMaker: http://www.pbase.com/sebarau/lure_stuff</font id=“size1”>
