Quote Originally Posted by slimshady View Post
I ended up doing it out of necessity initially. When I first started making baits (for myself initially, then selling them) I had a hard time finding blanks that were any good. Most of the ones that I found had bills that were too wide and not shaped correctly. They ran ok at slower speeds, but when we got to the summer, we found out that they didn't run worth a crap. They pulled too hard and were super touchy to tune.

After a couple months of searching and sampling, I finally found a supplier that had blanks that worked really well. The ones that I use now are pretty much identical to what you would buy in the store, only better, because when I get them, I dip the whole thing (bill included) in KBS Diamond Cote, which makes them really durable and smooths out any imperfections in the seam between the two sides. I dip the body again after I paint them, or coat them with epoxy, depending on the pattern.

Here's a comparison of the older blanks on the left and the newer blanks on the right.

11/27 Huron trip-blank-comparison-jpg

Here's a picture that shows how I modify the older ones:

11/27 Huron trip-modifying-bill-jpg

If anyone on this site bought baits from me prior to mid April of this year, it is likely you have the older blanks. If you do, go to my web-store and send me an email to let me know. You can ship them back to me and I will repair them for you for free. I have already reached out proactively to most of my customers that bought the older blanks, however, I may have missed a few. You can choose either Standard or Narrow, or some of each. I am only offering this for the older blanks, not the new ones, as they run fine as-is. When people spend that kind of money for custom baits, I want to make sure they have baits that actually run right. Cheers!
You're a good man. Bravo 👏