Here are some re-paints done in a crappie pattern. The blue and green back colors are gotten using a silica based pigment over black. The entire bait has been sprayed with the blue top coat on the left and again with the green to the right. I stood the two baits up so a glimpse of the back colors could be seen. I did the picture without hooks because the hooks make it impossible to position the baits so the colors can be seen.
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Nice work as always sir! 
Thanks John.
Very nice!
I like the detail that you put into these. They really stand out.
So are you pitching these or jigging vertical, or?
Tom whenever you or your heirs liquidate (some of) your tackle, they better do it via auction because your stuff is next level and should draw top dollar!
Thanks guys.
These started out as glow, #3, ultralite RipRaps. I popped the original eyes off and base coated the whole bait in a pearl white, then added color. Whe I put hooks back on them I’ll use a higher grade of hook than what Rapala uses.
Bullcans, I vertically jig these on light braid. Clam Frost #4 braid to be exact.
With the spawning winding down the crappies will shift to more open water for a while and if they are found suspending over deeper water these little guys are a perfect plan of attack. When we find some suspended fish we’ll use a traditional jig/plastic on one guy’s line then drop one of these vibes down on the other line. We try to keep the baits a foot over the fish and if they want it they’ll come up and grab it. Once in a while we’ll have to drop right down on them but not often.
Big Werm….. I have boxes upon boxes of baits I’ve done along with something about 40 jig molds and I have no idea how many injection molds for plastics. Some of those plastic mold are a couple hundred apiece and I have several duplictes of them. I don’t sell many baits anymore except to a couple very long time customers. I keep my fishing buddy well stocked as well as my fishing grandsons. When I kick it a couple very good friends and the grandsons are going to hit the jackpot.
More than anything with these small baits is the challenge of making something so small look good. I’m always trying new painting techniques and new color shifting pigments, like the one’s seen here in this thread. While the color shift is moot with these two, the extremely fine size of the silica pigment along with them being a white particle pigment allows me to use them over basically any color in a clear base to snazz up the finish product without covering the underlying colors.
Unfortunately, the phone’s camera has filters that nix a lot of reflection and getting pictures to show the real benefit that some of these pigments possess is a bigger challenge than the baits themselves. I took this pic in a workshop in the late afternoon without the overhead lights so you can actually see some of this beauty. This time it worked not too bad.
Thanks for the comments guys.
Tom you do some amazing work. I applaud your skill set. I wish I only knew half of what you’ve forgotten.
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