Prettier in pink....

[ctom]

Expanding on my Coho cranks a bit, I did these up yesterday and think I have plenty now to get after those silver fish the next time I am at the cabin.

The black/orange back/pink belly bait is a copy of one that I have used a lot of on Lake Superior and taken all of the salmon species, including an Atlantic several years back. The original doesn't have much of any paint left on it so I think it's retired for good now....but I may opt to re-hook it and re-paint it.

The purple/pink just expands on the blue/pink baits from the other day.

I did something a wee bit different with the paints on these baits. The purple bait's top coat is a very thin clear gloss with a load of violet Do-It Hi Lite powder in it, then sprayed to cover the entire bait, pink and all. When I finished with it I dumped the clear back into the mixing cup and re-thinned and added about the same amount of gold Do-It hi lite powder to it and ran this mix over the entire black headed bait. Boy, does this make those pearl colors turn a corner. In the little bit of sun we've had lately this top coat makes the orange seem like it on fire and the pink is just dizzy. The combination coat on the pink and purple is the same.....dizzy. Looking at the baits in the picture one can see the hi lites in both colors coming alive on the edges, the best I can do with my camera.

I have some diving stick bait blanks on order to do up in the pink combo colors for trolling Superior using the same pink-based  color patterns as these in the last couple days.

[alwrenn]

boy do they POP!  Beautiful-er in pink!!

[ctom]

The pink in these two baits is a blend of createx colors applied over a pearl/white base. There are three colors that go into the pink to get the pearl I like. Before the clear gloss top coat laced with the violet hi lites the pink was bright. After a couple coats of the clear gloss it was just electric. The pictures of these pink numbers just can't do them justice.

 Between Isobnad and yourself Alwrenn you guys put out some amazing baits with detail. I like working with abstract stuff like the moss to get random patterns on the baits and I try hard to avoid lines and clean edges, but that's just my preference. I've dinked with teeth of differing sizes on combs for vertical lines and I have a pile of fin templates I dig into on occasion. The outstanding crappies you did a short time ago got me thinking about the moss stuff so I had to buy a bag and try it.

I also delve into the color shifting pigments mixed in a clear gloss top coat that can be effectively laid over just about any color, but the darker the under color, the better this stuff will work. The hi lite powder in the clear on these pictured baits makes a super interference coat and as these baits get moved and the light angle shifts they do some neat color transitioning. I generally put some of the top coat in a cup and toss in some reducer and stir it in. When I think its loose enough I add the powdered pigments and watch as I blend them in. If the clear tightens up any I add more reducer. I like a very loose liquid for this final coat so the pigments can flow before the coat sets up. On the reducer, I use an eye dropper to add drops to my mixing cups. Reducer can get away from you if too much comes rolling out of a bottle. The eye dropper allows you to be quite precise. The next time you do up a crappie bait like your others, heat set the last color coat, then mix up clear and blue hi lite quite thin and spray a couple damp coats on the flanks and across the back. Heat set, then give the back one more damp pass and re-set with the heat. Put the eyes on and dip per your usual cover coat.  When everything is hard-dry, trot that bait out in the sun and move it around in you paws. That blue hi lite will come and go just like on a live fish.

[alwrenn]

Thanks ctom…..but I can only hope to hold your hooks....you are the best!  The amount of thought put into finishing the job is just as important as painting the job.  I like your thinking on straight lines b/c nothing in nature is perfectly symmetrical.

Because of you I previously bought some color shifting pigments and have been scared to use it on my cranks.  You have convinced me to give it a try....the possibilities can be endless.

I will do exactly what you suggest!  Thanks for your input sir!

[ctom]

Oh heck yes, use them!

Keep in mind that the most dramatic effects will be realized when they are applied over a  dark color, a dark green or blue or purple, a deep red. They will work over any color though. And don't ignore the regular hi lite powders we using in plastic in a clear as a top coat over any color as an interference color. On your crappie baits I would hit them with plain green hi lite in clear, especially across the upper flank and the top of the back. Play with the amount of powder and play with combining colors....maybe gold with the green on those crappies. Just be sure to thin it up good with reducer. Not water thin, but not really thick either. The real light show begins AFTER you get the bait painted the way you want and this clear top coat gets sprayed on. You really cannot see it until you shift the angle light hits the baits....just like real forage.