Craftsmanship can be measured by the end results of the product they produce. Nowhere is that more true than when it comes to the craftsmen that build custom balsa wood crankbaits. Imperfections are quickly spotted and only the best end up in anglers tackle boxes. Not only must a custom balsa wood crankbait track right it’s got to have the right shape and bill design; in addition to the right color pattern or finish. One finish becoming more and more popular among anglers buying custom balsa wood crankbaits is a foiled finish. To keep up with demand, JawJacker Lures has released their foiled series of crankbaits in new foiled finish color patterns.

Balsa wood crankbait are unique lures, but add a foil finish to them and they become works of art by craftsmen. Nevertheless, this art was made to catch fish and not sit inside a trophy case or tucked away in your tackle box. “Any of the styles of crankbaits I make can have a foiled finish although, its time consuming to apply the foil, paint it, and reseal it before selling the completed balsa wood crankbait. They do end up weighing more because of the extra coating, but it also makes them more durable,” said Rob Cochran, owner of JawJacker Lures (Phone: (865)806-2770, Facebook Page at JawJacker Homemade Balsa Crankbaits, or www.JawJackerLures.com). Similar to building and painting a balsa wood crankbait, Cochran adds two more steps to building his foiled style balsa wood crankbait. “I like to hand sand each one before attaching the adhesive to attach the foil and trimming it,” Cochran continued, “I really like working with foiled balsa wood crankbaits because there is so much you can do with them. Foil is also a really natural color so it’s easy to match the natural color of crawfish, sunfish, shad, or other forage. For example, darters usually have a brownish green or gold tint to them while silver base color patterns match a shad’s silver sides.”

JawJacker Lure balsa wood crankbaits come in a number of different styles and color patterns; in addition to having several different lips to select from. Cochran’s first lures he built and one that he still makes is the JJ which is oval in shape. Besides being oval it also is the only balsa wood crankbait he makes with a rattle in it and takes longer to build compared to other JawJacker Lures. Other oval shaped JawJacker Lures include SSD, FM SS, SSM, and CK. The PT, LJ, Little B, KTR, KHW KHM, KHS, and KH Series of JawJacker lures are a flat sided crankbait. The B Wobbler, B Deep, and B Shallow are round balsa wood crankbaits that are harder to build. The BLZ and Baitfish is a hybrid between an oval and round design. JawJacker Lures come in a wide selection of foiled finished color patterns including BRO Gill, Boone Docks, Gunmetal, Foil Black, Sneaky, Mountain Dew, Creek Chub, Smoking Shad, Rusty, Foil Sexy Shad, Foil Blue, Foil Gray, Copper Nose, Foil Clown, and Sunfish.

JawJacker Lures are available with several different lips. Which lip you use is a critical part of how deep or how wide a wobble the crankbait will have. “I have around 12 or 15 different lips that I use. Each one of the lips is hand punched with a dye to a particular shape from a certain material. Only one lip is punched out at a time. Sometimes, I will even trade with other custom balsa wood crankbait builders,” said Cochran. Maybe the strangest lip that you can have put on a balsa wood crankbait is a coffin bill. It’s shaped just like a coffin and makes a balsa wood crankbait dive down to 12- to 14-feet deep depending on line size and type.

Custom built balsa wood Crankbaits have a unique action and appeal that make fish want to bite them. That’s why so many anglers will only fish with them. Foil finishes will only increase the number of strikes an angler will have while fishing with them.

 

 

 

 

Foil Finished JawJacker Custom Built Balsa Wood Crankbaits was provided by Brad Wiegmann Outdoors for JawJacker Lures.