Great Lakes Lure Maker

Ouch! They were meant for water though..... Weren't they? Sorry les. Bad days happen to us all. Glad you had a good day though... Talk with you soon, Jason

Update: Silver soldier die was not taken apart like I asked. Instead, they Sharpened it again, about .100... Ran about 70 lures and broke it! Broke the top fin off of it!! Wow, are you kidding???? $2,400 to cut a new punch and die. $1,500 to shoe it!!! We will now have $10,000 or more into this lure. One we have never sold, nor do we know will be a seller, but we put a lot of faith into this lure.... Hmmm, this decision isnt going to be easy! Pull it from the line up, or fix it, and continue to bet on this horse! Some of the apprehension comes from knowing this lure was meant to commemorate a line of lure's we plan to make in todays "form",but retain their history. Something different in todays thinking. A lure you know is and was a collectible, but made today with modern speed advancements in mind. Hmmm.... some input would be appreciated. Ditch the lure,or run it??? thank you, Jason

Seems to me it was " sizing it up" before striking it. Sd was generatig all the noise. I would tighten up your rod to your release, and see if it it stilll there. Possibly mono generates the noise from the stretch? Nice Video! Learned a lot in 15 mins! Noise seemed to have no negtive effects, excepet for us thinking it should. Personally, I would work on reducing the noise, but maybe thats what is bringing them in....? We make a line of lures that rattle, and I believe that noise is what makes them hot.... Maybe some noise is good? None the less, this was a good video to learn from! Really nice job. Gonna have to get one! I can see the potential allready. Thank you for posting it. Jason

Awesome! Sent from my C771 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

How about I give you the buyers name and # and you work out the details with him. He lives in Endicott. He wont come for just 1, depending on where you live. Hes an Endicott police officer, and will check your current license. You should have facilities for holding them if you plan to attempt this, unless you can get 3-5 a day. He will make the trip for them. Sent from my C771 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Unless the person recieving the live animal has a special permit, or collectors license, issued by the state. Which he has. Sent from my C771 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Thanks les. Thats partly the reason I started this post. There is a lot of steps to producing lures from rolls of metal to completed product and I thought it would be an interesting and informative topic. Since were starting back up and overcoming the initial set backs you encounter, I thought this would be a good topic for anyone who may have wondered what it takes to mfg fishing lures. It's a "labor of love", cause if you don't have a passion for it, there are easier ways to make a living. If I wasn't dependant on the income from my other business, I would jump right into this full time, and things would move along a little more timely, but for now its a slow progression. Maybe by next year I can sell my business and take this on full time. I hope! Sent from my C771 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Awesome les! Nice looking fish! Looks like the lake was pretty calm. Sent from my C771 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Update: Metal arrived this week, and we set dies yesterday and ran 3 each as a test run. 1 each I got to keep, the other 2 went to Quality control to be checked and recorded, a couple changes were made and now we have product quality control established, at least for these 3 lures. I was pleased with the metal we got it was just what we expected, so holding out until getting what we wanted paid off. First lure we set and ran was the Great Lakes #4. Everything went well here and were running this lure as I type this post. Second lure we set and ran was the Silver Soldier. Things did not go as well with this one. The punch got bent some how and is now in the tooling room being cut apart and i'm waiting to here what our options are for fixing it. (it was brand new!) If you look carefuly you can see "stress" marks in the metal. The punch is striking the stock at an angle and also fitting into the die at an angle. Now the clearences have been ruined and the result is a very heavy burr left behind from the stamping. Third lure was the Keuka Wobbler. Again, everything went well with the KW and they are being made right now. As you can see here, all the metal has a PVC tape on one side. This protects it from scratches during the MFG process. Tape always on the down side protects it while being slid thru the dies. So by this afternoon we will have all our #4's and KW's we ordered and maybe in a few days the SS also. Unfortunatly I have to leave tonight to work out of town Thur - Fri and all next week as well, so I won't be able to do anything with them till this job is done. Next step will be Pierce, form, and logo them all. Things are begining to take shape now. Getting ready to place a tape order, once we finalize what colors we will keep, or add, and what new "schemes" we will add to our line up. Still not set on paint process's yet and were still debating the switch from "rattle cans" to air brushing. Hooks, split rings and swivels have been inventoried and an order is almost ready for them as well. We are also looking for a full time shop employee as well. Duties will include polishing lures, de burring, and other misc. piece rate work. ( PM me if you know anyone who might be interested) Thank you, Jason

Nice report Nick! Congrats on having your boat back on the water. I haven't fished since the end of July some time, so it's good to hear the fishing has picked up on the south end. Seems all my big jobs wound up Aug - Oct, so other than tourny's I won't get to see much fishing any time soon. Theresa sold your client's their license's yesterday. They were in the County Clerks Office explaining how they always look forward to fishing with you. Theresa came home and said " I sold license's to a group that's fishing a charter with Nick. Did he fix his boat already?" When I told her you had it fixed before leaving for Aruba she said "Wow, that didn't take long." Can't ask for better client's, or a better trip than that! Nice job all around!

I believe Jans Netcraft catalog has them, but its not on the web site. I couldn't find them on it, so i ordered their catalog. They have 1/0-2/0-3/0 Mustad siwash hooks. Order # 9510xxxs. 100 hooks for 30.49. Sent from my C771 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Years ago switched to all single hooks. Treble hooks were too much trouble to get free, (net and otherwise) and seemed to do the most damage to fish intended to be released. Especially the 8-12 inch fish. Les made some very good points, and I would say the same applies here.

Possible "co signer" ?

Nice Brad! Good luck if your still there!

Awesome! Go Theresa! No matter how many fish you caught, can't beat a little time on the water with your Mom. Way to go Joe!

Now that is an impressive looking solution. Did you make, or have that made? Very nice. Sent from my C771 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

My boat has hydraulic steering as well. With key off, auto pilot and steering work fine, just not as easy. Sent from my C771 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

This is my kicker mount. Obviously the motor is removed for transport, but hooks up easily, and no steering issues. I've used it with my auto pilot as well, and no issues. Very easy to make, and a lot less expensive than other options. You could make this in a couple hrs with a torch to bend metal and a welder.

Thanks, and Your welcome. Another thing to consider if your gonna target coyotes. All dairy farms calve in the winter. Find one that calves outside and you hit a gold mine. All that smell of birth and the after birth makes the area a coyote magnet. During winter, coyotes will also eat manure. (I've even used it as trapping bait) I got into doing this just to help some neighbor farmers who had coyote problems and were losing calves on occasion. They were willing to let me try anything just to knock them back some. The coyotes get so bold, that even after being shot at, would come right back into the pasture. Coyotes are most active at dawn and dusk, but I've called them in at 3 in the afternoon, and at all hrs of the night.