# What do you think of this



## Bugpac (Feb 22, 2010)

Tell me what you think of this, it is a shad swimbait made out of aluminum, It will be the only of its kind, and the strongest available in the world.. Be honest..

It is not complete, anyone guess its weight as shown?


----------



## Captain Ahab (Feb 22, 2010)

I liek it - but I would move the line eyelet to the top so you could jig it or run it like a rattle trap


----------



## Bugpac (Feb 22, 2010)

Hmm, I may have to do it both ways.. I haven't even swam it yet, I know for certain the screw eyes are gonna have to go, My buddy did the machine work to pin the hinges and he threw them screw eyes in for giggles, the holes there will line the 3d eyes up, and allow them to glue to each other.. I am positive i will have to ballast the front nose to swim vertically.. As soon as I get the details worked out, You are getting one of them to play with Captain Ahab.. :mrgreen: Hope to have it swimming perfect by end of next week, Making them is the easy part, I got to get one off to BYOB for a custom paint job as well..


----------



## Bugpac (Feb 22, 2010)

Here is were it started. It may make a better key chain then a swim bait, Only time will tell..


----------



## Brine (Feb 22, 2010)

Looks cool Bug. What is the length of the bait as shown?


----------



## Bugpac (Feb 22, 2010)

Brine said:


> Looks cool Bug. What is the length of the bait as shown?




6" long and 1/4" thick, If anyone has a guess on its weight.. 

All 4 pieces are cut from a sheet in about 30 seconds..


----------



## Waterwings (Feb 22, 2010)

That is interesting, and I was also wondering if it will swim vertical or flat-side down. Heck, if it doesn't work as a lure, it would make a cool keychain as you stated. 8)


----------



## Bugpac (Feb 22, 2010)

Waterwings said:


> That is interesting, and I was also wondering if it will swim vertical or flat-side down. Heck, if it doesn't work as a lure, it would make a cool keychain as you stated. 8)




The intent is to swim vertically, I have to get it on the water and do some lead ballasting.. I think it will take about 1/4 oz of ballast in the front at the bottom to swim vertically, It really is designed to be reeled as fast as you can, so it stays very close to the surface..

It will be a very expensive key chain if it ends up being one...  The crank bait I am building i am 99.9% confident will work perfect tho... Thats a few weeks away tho..


----------



## Bugpac (Feb 22, 2010)

For the record, No plans as of now to sell these, Just to say i did it is all...  And make a few for some buddys..


----------



## Waterwings (Feb 22, 2010)

Hoping it works out for you! Is all the hardware stainless?


----------



## Bugpac (Feb 22, 2010)

The roll pins are stainless, the swivels are generic that are in it, the next will have some stainless high end swivels as well..


----------



## crazymanme2 (Feb 22, 2010)

Bugpac those cut with a water jet :?:


----------



## Brine (Feb 22, 2010)

2.5 oz


----------



## Bugpac (Feb 22, 2010)

crazymanme2 said:


> Bugpac those cut with a water jet :?:



Yes sir.. 



Brine said:


> 2.5 oz



Almost


----------



## Brine (Feb 22, 2010)

I wouldn't think you could make it lighter than that.

3oz?


----------



## Bugpac (Feb 22, 2010)

It is lighter...


----------



## Brine (Feb 22, 2010)

If it comes in around 2oz, I'd like to throw it in the surf with my 11ft rod on 40# braid. :mrgreen:


----------



## Bugpac (Feb 22, 2010)

My goal is 2 oz, All the respectable large plastic swimbaits are at or close to that number...  I am planning that this will test well over 300lb for strength when pulled from the front and back, I will pull it till it breaks to get a exact number... It weighs 2.2 oz as shown..


----------



## Troutman3000 (Feb 22, 2010)

Very cool. I am interested to see how it turns out. =D>


----------



## Jim (Feb 23, 2010)

Bugpac said:


> For the record, No plans as of now to sell these, Just to say i did it is all...  And make a few for some buddys..



Very cool........."Buddy" :wink:


----------



## G3_Guy (Feb 23, 2010)

Very Nice! =D> I'm sure those who like to paint their own baits could have fun with this one!


----------



## Loggerhead Mike (Feb 23, 2010)

> Here is were it started. It may make a better key chain then a swim bait, Only time will tell..



you may just be a future bazillionaire :wink:


----------



## Bugpac (Feb 23, 2010)

Thanks guys, Matt at BYOB is gonna get to paint the first one.. And likely the rest as well..


----------



## bearsphan3.14 (Feb 23, 2010)

That is awesome. It would be a cool watch band if it was stretched out.


----------



## russ010 (Feb 23, 2010)

They look pretty good to me... 

I keep looking at them, and looking and looking... I think if you work with that middle body section a little, you can actually make slow sinking models, or even floating rigs by figuring out a way to put a little foam in the body section you have cut out. I think you can make a mold, use a little self expanding foam, then use a dremel to sand it down to where you want it to be... clear coat it then paint over and you got a fat bellied shad

I think it might actually work - but I think you are going to want to use braid to throw them bad boys around


----------



## Bugpac (Feb 23, 2010)

Thanks Russ, I have been thinking of several ideas.. The original reason to go Aluminum was to have it waterjet, that was the cheapest part, pinning it all together was the hard part.. Most all of the plastic shads comparable to this have to be hinged after it comes out of the mold, I could make this plastic really really easy now, I would build the mold with long steel pins that went thru the mold, so when it was poured the pins will locate the holes, when it came out of the mold it would just need to be assembled, no construction afterwards.. As it stands right now, It would cost me about 50.00 to have that made as is. Were trying to figure out how to make them cheaper. there is about 1 hr in machine work to put one together at 50-60 hr. They could be made in about 20-25 minutes if we were making 12-15 at a time, the setup is the part that takes the longest.. The aluminum was also to have ultimate strength..


As of right now I haven't had it in the water, will be mid next week before I can even try. Tomorrow I am heading to West Palm beach for the remainder of the week, I picked up a little part time side job transporting a Arca Remax car and working on the team at the track, It is gonna be a new experience for me, It should be a lot of fun. He told me today hed like to have me on full time, But cant make any promises as of yet.. Ill try to take some pics of behind the scenes and post them up. This weekend is a road course, we got a 25 yr old Louisianan driver.. The traveling part is gonna cut into my fishing time But heck, At least i will be able to afford to keep fishing anyways  We will be less than 10 miles from Okeechobee, I am doubting well have any time for fishing tho..


----------



## Brine (Feb 23, 2010)

Good to hear about the job opportunity =D> .

About the bait.....is is possible to etch in gills and scales/dimples? Might shave some of the weight a little.

Lemme know if you want some R&D field testing :mrgreen: .


----------



## Bugpac (Feb 23, 2010)

We can etch with the waterjet, IMO all that stuff just catches fisherman tho.. I may be wrong, but our thinking with the flat body was just that... Lets get out next week sometime and you can throw it around...


----------



## Brine (Feb 23, 2010)

Bugpac said:


> We can etch with the waterjet, IMO all that stuff just catches fisherman tho.. I may be wrong, but our thinking with the flat body was just that... Lets get out next week sometime and you can throw it around...



Buzz me when you're ready


----------



## Specknreds (Feb 23, 2010)

WOW!! That is awesome!! You could market it as is to tuna and wahoo fisherman. I would be willing to bet that a tuna would hit it fishing it like a diamond or butterfly jig. You could even use butterfly jig tandem hooks. 

Very, very creative!!!


----------



## BYOB Fishing (Feb 24, 2010)

Bugpac said:


> Thanks guys, Matt at BYOB is gonna get to paint the first one.. And likely the rest as well..



Lookin' Good!!! I can't wait to see them in person!!

Matt


----------



## FishinsMyLife (Feb 25, 2010)

Jim said:


> Bugpac said:
> 
> 
> > For the record, No plans as of now to sell these, Just to say i did it is all...  And make a few for some buddys..
> ...


X2 :mrgreen: 

Looks interesting for sure!


----------



## Doug (Feb 25, 2010)

Great :idea: . It will be interesting to know how it works in the water.


----------



## Bugpac (Mar 5, 2010)

Got the first swim out of it this afternoon, It has a nice tight wobble but lays over on its side. Gonna rework the rear of it a bit next week.. It need more weight in the lower half.. I got a plan tho.. Ill post more next week..


----------

