wood or plastic?

1

in view of the current debate between expensive japanese plastic lures and good ol wooden rapalas, i suggest we spice up things a lil bit.

WOOD or PLASTIC?

here’s my take on the topic:(i may be generalizing, pardon me)

well, most plastic lures today have their origins in wood. the luremaker creates a lure, carved from wood, balanced till it’s intended action, and then when it’s a hit among anglers and demands rise, plastic versions are made for mass production!

however, there are plastic lures which are original(can’t name one yet), designed using latest computer programmes to calculate every goddamn thing that matters to make it a hit.

what makes a wooden lure tick?
i believe it depends on the type of wood used. take balsa for instance. it is highly buoyant, thus is lively in the water. it is a preferred wood bcoz it is easy to acquire, relatively cheap, highly carvable, and is quite forgiving in terms of weighing them with lead/tungsten/stainless steel ball weights. it also absorbs a good amount of primer/epoxy so that it toughens up.

the downside of wooden lures are, well, once they are punctured(topcoat penetration), water seeps in, and stay in. they then lose their action. another thing is they rip apart relatively easier, but i’m not saying plastic lures don’t! most wooden lures also do not contain rattles(they can be added), whilst plastic ones are almost always built with rattles(which also serve as counter-balancers)

a wooden lure almost always has a fixed point of counterbalanced weight. therefore, it MAY not cast as easily as plastics which MAY have shifting weights to aid casting and add zing to the action. however, a well made wooden lure will do all that without moving balls, ask the Gurus like Nathan, Lapala,coley & gang. plastics require them because i feel they are inferior compared to wood!hehehhehehe(you don’t have to agree with me on this)

on the topic of price, generally, plastic lures are cheaper due to cheaper cost of manufacturing. HOWEVER, premium Jap lures like megabass put a lot into RnD and therefor cost a bomb. wooden lures don’t come as cheap, example the rapalas which are in the medium priced category. GOOD(or excellent) wooden lures are almost always expensive as they are usually handmade, and u all know how handmade stuffs kill our pocket, but they are a level above other lures.

GENERALLY SPEAKING, wooden lures are more original. plastic lures mostly take origin from wood. the reverse rarely occurs.

hope u guys can add in more input, very much appreciated. until then, happy luremaking n fishing!

P/S: just my take on this, do correct my POV yea guys!

FiR3 TiG3R®

  • U4 2006 - team member of BBOBs (Bersia Band of Brothers) + undercover(probation) Team Longkang Gang
  • U5 2007 - Team Longkang Gang

Looooong Live LongKang Gang!

tight lines, bent rods, spitting lures & singing reels…

2

hmmm… interesting write up, FT

anyway, i don’t care it’s wood or plastic, if it can catch fish, it’s a good lure to me [:D]

I come, I see, I fish!
WL
(Team Longkang Gang Kelisa U4 2006)

3

I do agree that wooden lures hav a touch to it is it is carved and not moulded..

Ugly Lures Work Too!!

4

but IMHO, moulded can make 2 lures 99.9% the same, which is important in those high precision tuned lures [:D]…

I come, I see, I fish!
WL
(Team Longkang Gang Kelisa U4 2006)

5

As we know wood and plastic has different bouyancy characteristic. Most wood by nature floats, so the distribution of it’s bouyancy is pretty even. Plastic on the other hand generally sinks and moulding a plastic lure compensates by having internal air chambers that makes it float. This construction method inherently create concentration of weight where attatchement points have to be made thus a plastic lure take even more care in distributing the weight properly for it to perform.

All of use might at some point bought plastic lures that are not properly tuned (This even applies to some named brand lures — ask Wahoo for his experience in this :D). So basically to say moulded lures are 99.9% the same is not really true. There are the QC to consider in the process like glueing up the halves, mold deterioting from production etc which might make plastic lures to not be the same in performance as well.

All said, I am biased toward wooden lure for it’s slightly superior “action” compared to plastic. What I can say is wood lures are more “lively” while the action of plastic lures are a bit “stiff”. For a well built wooden lure, the consistancy is equivalent to plastic lures. Even more so for custome lures as each & everyone is painstakingly crafted to perfection by U :smiley:

Just my 2 sen.

[img=left]http://www.pbase.com/sebarau/image/37737976/original.jpg[/img=left]

[img=right]http://www.pbase.com/image/57247880/original.jpg[/img=right]

Live to fish another day</font id=“size2”></font id=“blue”>

6

I couldn’t really say, because when plastic lures started apearing in my country i started building my own lures…so. Anyway i caught more with my hand made baits than with any other bought bait..
There r some that say that there r times that fish feel that a lure is hollow(so to speak). Meanning that they would consistently hit the same wood bait with the same action(i don’t say the exact action, cause u never get 2 lures with the exact same actio, only somwhere close, no matter what means of production r used), but rarely hit the plastic bait…(same pattern as well).
In my point of view rattles emit extra vibrations, that r felt by the lateral line. I know some might say that fish can hear this sounds as well with their inner ear, but that ear is mainly for ballance, bouyancy and other stuff(i guess Lp could detaliate this more than i can). Meanning that a powerfull vibration might do the same effect as a rattle does, or some more perturbances in the water(from the bait), could have the same effect. Meanning: making for examples small pits on the flancs of the lure, that might help amplify the “sound” a lure emits as well.
This rattle in wood and plastic baits i would say it’s debatable, because there r no certain studies on rattles, and their effects(at least as far as i know) So in my opinion a bait with not so loud rattle(or no rattle at all), and a higher wobble frequency, could have the same effect as a bait with a lower wobble frequency, and louder rattle. This is one theory.
Another one could be: sound travels further in the water than the “wave” produced by the bait, so the louder the rattle in a bait the further fish can “feel” it.
I know guys that love plastic baits. I can deffenetly say they love plastic baits more than woodden ones, because of their good rattle sounds. They r enchanted by rattles(don’t ask why).

p.s. sorry for the off topic: the sound of the rattle in a wooden bait can be enhanced by putting the rattle right next to the thru wire construction, so they touch each other. Or use some means so that it has a different connection, other than wood, to the exterior.

Don’t know how much of what i said helps, cause i’m a bit confused in this matter as well…so lets hear some other opinions as well :stuck_out_tongue:

7

FiR3 TiG3R,
I will have to agree with you. You made alot of observations and I will have to say that I think that you are right. Most bait companies make their lures out of plastic because once the mold is made, you can make alot of lures cheaply and fairly accurate. However, just because plastic is poured into a mold does not mean that it is perfect. I have seen a few molds with mistakes in them. There is a machine that will cut alot of wooden bodies. The machine will cut about 1000 wooden bodies a day once it is set up properly. Where the wooden lure companies fail is at tasks such as putting lips and weights in straight and getting things lined up. Yuki Ito of Megabass is a very innovative thinker. He puts more thought into one lure than most people put into all of their lures combined. I like wooden lures more than plastic ones. But I do admire the work that Mr. Ito does. Alot of the lures that Megabass makes are plastic copies of lures that Mr. Ito carved many years ago out of wood. So he likes wood also. But making many of his lures out of wood by machine is too difficult. His lure bodies are NOT SYMETRICAL. I think that this is special. Some of the Japanese lure makers really think before they do something. It shows in their work. Everyone is trying to copy their painting. They really took painting to a new level. But just because a lure is pretty does not mean that it is a good lure. I have seen many pretty Japanese lures that were pretty but did not catch many fish. What we need to do is think above the rest. It comes hard for me. I do not vision things as easily as others. But I work at it all of the time. As handmade bait makers, we need to work at being skilled in our craft. We must strive to make the best possible lures that we can. I love to work with wood also. And yes, if you work at it hard enough you can make wooden fixed weighted lures that will throw straight and far when you cast them. This is a characteristic that all good lures must have.
Skeeter

8

Hi Skeeter,
finally hv a chance to ‘chat’ w u
hv been reading yr article at TU
I hv registered there but dont understand why i cant post!!??

I’m hving problem in casting my lure as most of my lure tumble in air.
I believe it’s mostly due to the weight, or rather the fixed weight

Would be greatful if u could explain how to address this problem

Fun 2 Fish, Fish 4 Fun

9

Fat Rap. U could get an aerodinamicaly , and weight aproagh to this problem.
Lets say u want a fat bodied bait, no rettles, no weight shifting used in it’s desing. U want to be able to cast it as far away as possible. That means u dont’ need to have the lure tumble in the air.
My aproach would be the next one: Make the head a bit thinner than the rest of the body(meanning gill area), so u’ll have a more aerodinamic bait(SORT OF A BULLET), that flyes butt out first… I haven’t tried this iidea, cause i haven’e really had much time latelly, but i don’t see why it wouldn’t work.
Other aproaches would be weight shifting, but in wooden baits it usually is time consuming(tryed it myself, but kinda left it hanging somwhere in the past :p). But to get the exact action as on a regular weighted bait u need to experiment woth where the weight shifting “instalation” should be fitted, and would be really hard to get it in the same position all the time.
With minnow type of baits i have no advice yet, but my minnow type baits kinda get long casting(don’t ask how, cause i have no idea why, i guess it’s aerodinamics as well… but can’t figure it out yet :stuck_out_tongue: ), not all models though. I can only tell u that u can make minnow type of baits, with deep diver lips sort of fly in the air, depending o the lip shape and position, and thickness, u can make it glide thru the air, acting like an airplane wing, geting a bit more distance, and use ahead wind in your advantage, making the lure glide like a bird into the wind. Have done a few pieces, but lost them in the proces of fishing, and haven’t had time to make some more :((
Have some new ideas(well i alwais have new ideas), but have little time to make them come true :((

10

Fat Rap,
There are several things that you can do to stop the tumbling. The first thing you can try is to let the lure hang about 18 inches from the tip of the rod before you cast. This extra line helps. I know it sounds funny but it works. Next is to make sure that the line tie on the lip is not below the bottom of the lure. What I mean is that if you put the lip in at an angle and the line tie is below the bottom of the lure then the bait will want to tumble. This is why most of my lips come straight or almost straight out of the lure. Next is to add more weight. If the lure is balsa or other light wood then this can be done fairly easily. If the wood is a hard wood then it can take some time to get it right. Too much weight will make the lure sink and you don’t want that. A good crankbait has to have 3 properties.

  1. It has to throw straight, even in the wind.
  2. It must run in a straight line.
  3. It must float.
    Skeeter
11

My “Mentor” has spoken. Skeeter is one of the two guys who encouraged me to start making cranks. I had a pretty good idea what I wanted the crank to do but those 3 items Skeeter pointed out really hit home with me. Skeeter is also correct saying that weighting a wood lure properly will take some trial and error and you will be amazed at how the smallest amount of weight can make the difference. Give you all an example: I make my cranks from a cedar and balsa combination and they weigh right at .75oz and they still float, run strait and you can damn sure throw them strait into the wind.
Tally

12

Thks Guys for the info.

Savacs,
Hv also try making weight transfer but as i mostly make lures 80mm or smaller, its kinda difficult to do
But the gliding lip sound interesting, will give it a try

Skeeter,
should be no problem on the line tie
i use mostly local Jelutong wood which is v light, soft n hv good bouyancy
i’ll try adding more weight n see how

Tally,
with Skeeter as mentor, u propably do less trail n error than most of us :-))

Fun 2 Fish, Fish 4 Fun

13

Skeeter! Why r u saying that a good cranckbait must float?

14
quote:
Originally posted by Fat Rap

Tally,
with Skeeter as mentor, u propably do less trail n error than most of us :-))

Fun 2 Fish, Fish 4 Fun

</font id=“red”>Fat Rap…when I said Skeeter was my mentor, I did not mean to imply that he handed everything on a silver plate. Actually he only gave me pieces at a time between experiments. I have thanked Skeeter numorous times for not handing the info to me and making me do the work. It made me understand the in’s and out’s of a crankbait. To this day I still have the same amount of trial and error on newly designed baits. That is just part of the deal. I take in depth notes on everything I try and yes, once you get one design, one type of bait down then the trial and error for that particulat bait is over. There are a bunch of post’s on different forums that tell you not to do something, but they rarely tell you exactly what happens other than it doesn’t work. This kind of information is okay but untill you try your ideas, even if they don’t work, you will never fully understand a crank bait. When I make a crank and test it in the pool or very clear water, I know exactly what that bait does. In fact, I can almost close my eyes and imagine I am the crank when I am fishing and I know every movement the crank makes. That is what I meant about Skeeter being my Mentor and I will forever thank him for making me learn cranks.
Tally
one more thing: If you have an idea…try it!!!

15

Tally,

same here with LP n me, sounds so familiar but I’m not complaining :-))

LP encourage n guide me a lot on lure making
Post hm a question n he would give me some idea, then i would do all the trail n error
i agree that the experience makes me understand certain aspect of lure making better n the best thing would be having a smile on my face n say - LP, i’ve figure it out, it works!!!

Fun 2 Fish, Fish 4 Fun

16

Basically I agree with you, but I want to add this.
There are many factors that effect on the action of the lures such as the shape, weight, capacity, lip, line tie, hook & sprit ring etc.
And On this topic, after all, I think the specific gravity of the lure (weight per capacity) that matters on the action.
For surface to deep water lures, the weight should be least as possible for the lively action. But we also need the low buoyancy lures such as spoon-bill minnows, suspended lures, and sinking lures.
You know there are many plastic lures with high buoyancy and sinking balsa lures and this topic should be with the assumption “If the total weights of the lures are equal”.

P.S.
I live in Hamamatsu city located almost the half point between Tokyo and Osaka, where Megabass Inc. is. Yuki Ito was born in this city and his farther was a comercial fisherman. I heard he had learned a lot from his father and tested a lot of his lures in the ocean around here.
I remember Megabass was a small company making only some kinds of original spinner baits about 25years ago.
The beautiful painting of his lures is by the former YAMAHA employees who had painted the helmets for mortorcycle riders.
We have the head office of YAMAHA, HONDA, SUZUKI in Hamamatsu city.

Hiro

Fish On
http://www.knet.ne.jp/~hac21202/

17

hiro-san,

thanx for the info!

u must be living in HEAVEN then~!~!~!

FiR3 TiG3R®

  • U4 2006 - team member of BBOBs (Bersia Band of Brothers) + undercover(probation) Team Longkang Gang
  • U5 2007 - Team Longkang Gang

tight lines, bent rods, spitting lures & singing reels…

Team Longkang Gang: beach division

http://longkanggang.blogspot.com/