OK, I am just getting started in painting my own baits. Getting ready to retire in Sept and figured I better find something to do for fun on cold rainy days. These are the first baits that I have ever painted. Be brutally honest, what did I do right, wrong, need to learn, whatever. I am having a blast at 66 yrs old. Finally doing some colors in certain baits that I have always wanted but no-one offered. Even learning to add micro glitter into the epoxy before going on the drying wheel. Had no idea that this hobby was going to grow into a house payment The first pic is just where a took an ugly glide bait and added a JigSkinz to it. Painted the underbelly bone, added the sunset orange under the front and gold and chartreuse micro glitter to the epoxy finish. The rest I sanded, and painted from scratch.

Sounds like you are having fun and enjoying the process = nothing wrong.

They look great to me! It looks like you did a great job on the scale patterns which is often very easy to overpaint. You will enjoy this hobby very much, and never give up on a lure until you've put eyes and clear on.

Thanks guys... The hardest part is that there are soooooo many options to how you want to paint it. I want to try non-traditional colors because I think the fish have seen the regular colors so much that they kind of recognize them. But I find it fun to try something and if I don't like it, I just light sand and give it another goal. Love to look at the stuff you guys paint and I get ideas of "I think I might try that but use ??? colors instead".

They look amazing.The only thing funner than doing your own lures...is when you catch the first fish on one!

I bought molds for doing vertical jigs for snapper and the day I went out and slayed the fish on a particular color pattern was incredible.

I hope as you learn and progress that you keep posting pics.

I wonder how long it will be before you, like myself, realize that you are finding glitter everywhere and drastically cut back on using it.

Looks like you are using the coarser stuff. I had some powder glitters that i found...oh my god that stuff was hard to contain!!!

LOL, it is not supposed to coarse, it is advertised as being micro glitter. It is really pretty fine stuff. I have tried different amounts added to the flowable epoxy. The bottom pic has much less glitter than the lures above it. The 7" swim bait has no glitter but I used holographic vinyl tape. I cut and laid the tape, put 1 layer of epoxy over that lure, came back and sanded the edges so that you couldn't see the transition line, and then painted it. Final coated it with another layer of epoxy. I actually looks a lot better in person than it does in the photo. That was my very first lure. I started wishing that I had picked something a little easier than a multi-jointed bait pretty quickly after I got started. I don't like a lot of glitter but a small amount to flicker in the sun at daybreak is desirable. The colors above are pretty much for fishing the marshes around Galveston and Bolivar for whatever willl hit it. Now just need a chance to try em out.

Looks good. NIce colors

Progress is looking great, CWorthy

Thanks guys, one day, one day, I might get good.

Be careful...its habit forming.

My only criticism is I'm not a fan of the flake over the eyes. Other than that they look fantastic.

I agree bender, first time I tried. I like the flake but the only way to not get it on the eyes is to put one layer on with flake, add eyes and then second layer. Not sure how much that would change the weight or action of the bait. Still figuring things out.

bender

I will definitely look into that. Thanks Red