Home made poppers

[Red Bull]

Oh my jaw hit the ground! haha. Very nice poppers Angus! Did you paint them your self?

Hi Mick, yeah thanks mate, I painted them with an airbrush, which I also use for my artwork and illustration. Simple paint schemes are very manageable with spray cans too, so if you are making small quantities of lures, I'd be suggesting the spray can paints as a start.

So with the last loop it will tighten the wire inside when tied correctly then???

Yep, you've got it, the tail loop tightens everything up when done correctly. This may take some practice though, well it certainly did in my case. Have a look at some of the better thru-wired poppers and stickbaits in a tackle shop to see the exact effect you are trying to achieve.

How much would I be looking at for a cheap lathe setup?
Did you use the lathe to drill the holes?

My lathe cost $99, so it's well and truly paid for itself, considering I've made quite a number of big lures, which, if I purchased in a shop, would have cost many hundreds of bucks.

If I had a drill press, I'd be using that to drill the holes for sure, but at the moment, I am stuck with drilling from both ends of the lure with a standard hand drill and an extra long drill bit. I hold the lure in a bench vice and just do the drilling by eye. Generally I can get the hole close enough to dead centre. Some of my efforts do "come off the side of the boot", so to speak, but that's part of the fun for me.

Hope that helps mate.

Cheers
Angus

[griz066]

Mick, I have been making my own poppers and stickbaits for a little while now, and these lures have been turned on my cheapo wood lathe, and then sealed with marine epoxy to resist the crunching jaws of GTs, and to lay a solid base to paint onto.
Cheers
Angus

Well done Red Bull they look frickin fantastic I am going to have a crack at the poppers as well for the swains trip in August, got a couple of questions though.

What is the trick with the belly hooks, how do they join the other wire or do they.
Just wondering what brand marine epoxy you use? & where do you get it & do you spray brush or dip them.
I also wish I could paint like that, and I suspect you are an artist of some sort, and or very talented, either way well done and any tips would be appreciated

[oldboot]

I don't know which epoxy red bull is using but the two most common brands are.
west system and boat coat.

west system can be had from among other places, carbatec at corrparoo and glass craft marine...west system is made under licence in aust by ATL composites I have been told.

Boatcoat is made an marketed by boatcraft pacific at loganholme and is carried by various agent all over the country.

both are very runny and water clear when unfilled.

Dipping would be possible but very wastefull.....brushing on and letting the lure hang so the coat flows out and the excess runs off would be my method.

There are a couple of tricks with the belly hooks.....if slotting, there is no problem because you simply make a loop that pokes out.

if drillinmg thru there are a couple of " creative" solutions, one of the guys on here drills a hole and inserts a swivel then threads the thru wide thu that.

another option is to make a loop of wire a thread thru that with the thru wire.

I was making a loop with the legs bent over into a hook... thread up and secure the thru wire then insert the belly loop and hook it over the thru wire.

If you are filling the drilled thru hole with marine epoxy, nothing is going anywhere.

cheers

[84mick]

LOL Thanks Rob, mate I'm a joiner and love working with my hands which is why I started making my own poppers. I'll be starting on the tailor and the smaller trevs.

Angus, I was thinking of the car touch up spray paints to start with.

Thanks guys heaps!

Cheers, Mick.

[Red Bull]

Well done Red Bull they look frickin fantastic I am going to have a crack at the poppers as well for the swains trip in August, got a couple of questions though.

What is the trick with the belly hooks, how do they join the other wire or do they.
Just wondering what brand marine epoxy you use? & where do you get it & do you spray brush or dip them.

Hi griz, thanks mate. The belly hooks, as old boot has alluded to, are hung off a swivel which attaches to the main thru wire, as per the simplified diagram below. That's how I do it, and seems to work very well for me.

I don't even know what the epoxy is that I use, because I pilfered it from my Dad, who used it when he made a wooden boat recently. I think it might be Boat Coat.

I brush on the epoxy, but find that it sags and drips if you don't keep rotating the lure as it dries. If you had a rotiserie that did a slow turn for you, that would get the most even, smooth results. I don't have one of those, so I have to stay nearby while the epoxy dries, and keep flipping the lures.

I also wish I could paint like that, and I suspect you are an artist of some sort

see thread below.......

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/sho...d.php?t=149138

Anyway, the reality is that with lure painting, a lot of fish probably don't give a rats how pretty the paint job is, as long as it's something resembling an edible item. Non-existent paint jobs on lures still get bites, as long as the lure does what you want to. I paint my lures partly to satisfy myself and for fun, and partly because I sometimes feel that when fish are a bit shut down, you need something to turn the tables and trigger a bite. If that's some colour, then I'm in with a shot.

Hope that helps.
Angus

[deepfried]

Thanks for all the info Angus and Oldboot. You have made me want to give it a go as well. Angus your poppers look great and are a credit to you. I am sure a lot of people will benefit from your input. Time to blow the cobwebs of the old lathe and have a crack i think.

Cheers
Scott

[oldboot]

There are quit a few that question the need for a belly hook on a popper.

Another Idea I had was to use an assist hook like would be found on a blade jig attached to the front tow point.


As for the epoxy flowing......I find the best option is to hand the lure by the front tow point and brush front to back.....I find the easiest thing is to put a small piece of coathannger wire thru the front tow point.....I can then pinch the front of the lure and the wire between my fingers and get pretty god control of the lure, then touch up the frnt of the lure before hanging it by the wire.

OH BTW.... disposable gloves are a realy good idea with epoxy..some people can develop a serious alergy to the stuff over a period.....keep it off you skin as much as possible.

If you do get it on your skin......avoid solvents...it allows the nasties to pass the skin barrier........vinegar works very well....followed by soap.

Vinegar shifts quite a few things better than anything else.....incured epoxy, part set silicon, it is one of the few things that will disolve cured PVA glue.

Or a non solvent citrus bassed hand cleaner... ask your epoxy supplier.

cheers

[griz066]

There are quit a few that question the need for a belly hook on a popper.

Another Idea I had was to use an assist hook like would be found on a blade jig attached to the front tow point.


As for the epoxy flowing......I find the best option is to hand the lure by the front tow point and brush front to back.....I find the easiest thing is to put a small piece of coathannger wire thru the front tow point.....I can then pinch the front of the lure and the wire between my fingers and get pretty god control of the lure, then touch up the frnt of the lure before hanging it by the wire.

OH BTW.... disposable gloves are a realy good idea with epoxy..some people can develop a serious alergy to the stuff over a period.....keep it off you skin as much as possible.

If you do get it on your skin......avoid solvents...it allows the nasties to pass the skin barrier........vinegar works very well....followed by soap.

Vinegar shifts quite a few things better than anything else.....incured epoxy, part set silicon, it is one of the few things that will disolve cured PVA glue.

Or a non solvent citrus bassed hand cleaner... ask your epoxy supplier.

cheers

Looks like it is working for these guys.

http://www.nomadtackle.com/nsatackle...ig_poppers.htm