When you think of Tennessee, two things come to mind: the University of Tennessee students singing Rocky Top when they win and hand-crafted, hand-painted custom built balsa wood crankbaits. No other region in the United States produces more high quality, in demand, hand-crafted, hand-painted custom built balsa wood crankbait. The craftsmanship is second to none and jack the jaws of thousands of fish.
Once again, the weatherman completely missed the forecast... not a cloud in the sky and without a breath of wind. So much for this morning’s forecast of heavy rain today, some local down pours could cause possible local flooding. Fishing in these conditions, bluebird sky and no wind during the summertime, usually sends anglers packing till the sun goes down. However, I have a new plan of attack to catch these bass, one which has been around since anglers began fishing for bass.
Imagine dragging one of your favorite balsa wood stickbait out of your tackle box and giving it to a self confessed trophy fish hunter, Jake Bunio to trick out. He would start by taking out the original bill and replacing it with a beefed up lip that could take some major abuse. Next, he would change out the hooks and rings replacing them with extra strong hardware sturdy enough to land a trophy fish. Finally, he would completely remove the generic finish and replace it with a highly realistic finish that imitated a Rainbow Trout, Tui Chub, or Kokanee Salmon.
All crankbaits, no matter what material they are made out of have one thing in common, they are built to mimic forage. The majority are made to resemble shad, blueback herring, or crawfish. The bulk of these lures are made by an injection molding process while a number of custom built crankbaits are made from some type of wood. Popular choices include cedar, poplar, cherry, sugar pine, and balsa. Similar to the injection mold crankbaits, custom built wooden crankbaits come in either flat and round sided.
The enjoyment and exhilaration of catching fish on lures you made yourself cannot be measured. Nevertheless, the disappointment of not knowing how to or inexperience in making your own lures can be frustrating after spending hours trying to make your own lures. You have all the correct equipment and materials needed but for some unknown reason it just does not seem to work as it should. What is the solution? Do-It Molds Corporation in Denver, Iowa, has the answer, the Education Center located on their website. It offers answers to questions, how-to articles, how-to videos, and information on basic lead molding.
When it comes to fishing lures, nothing has been attempted to be copied more than a high quality, hand crafted, balsa wood crankbait. The low standard knock-offs come and go. Even manufactures of plastic molded crankbaits have tried to reproduce the action balsa crankbaits but have yet to be successful duplicating it. Although there is a high demand for hand crafted, custom painted, balsa wood baits few companies or individuals produce enough for anglers to purchase. One family owned business, BassHunters Custom Crankbaits in Knoxville, Tennessee specializes in custom, hand crafted, balsa wood crankbaits and custom paint jobs.
Once again, the weatherman completely missed the forecast... not a cloud in the sky and without a breath of wind. So much for this morning’s forecast of heavy rain today, some local down pours could cause possible local flooding. Fishing in these conditions, bluebird sky and no wind during the summertime, usually sends anglers packing till the sun goes down. However, I have a new plan of attack to catch these bass, one which has been around since anglers began fishing for bass.
