108 



KINKS OF ALL KINDS 



minnows and crawfish often do 

 close to the bottom. This bait will 

 also get results in early spring, 

 when bass are not very lively. 



I took five one time with this 

 bait that weighed twenty-two 

 pounds. 



HOME-MADE ENAMEL 

 FOR THE PLUG 



BY JEFFERSON HINES 



Is there a "plug" caster among 

 us who has never tried out some 

 model bait of his own invention 

 and found that the greatest draw- 

 back to the success of his crea- 

 tion was the lack of a proper sys- 

 tem of enameling the wood so 

 that it is entirely waterproof as 

 well as sound in color? Here is 

 a kink in this line that the writer 

 has developed and put to the test 

 many times and found satisfac- 

 tory : 



After the sandpapering of the 

 bait body is done and the sockets 

 are neatly drilled for the hook- 

 mountings and the small screw 

 eye hole is drilled in the nose of 

 the bait and you are figuring on 

 what to enamel it with, get some 

 white shellac already mixed from 

 the paint store. 



First of all, thin a little of the 

 shellac with alcohol and "size" 

 the bait with it, either by brushing 

 it on or by dipping. Let this siz- 

 ing dry, well (over night, say) to 

 be sure it is well set. 



Now get whatever colors you 

 wish for the bait, in dry form in 

 either pigments or metallic 

 bronzes. Mix whatever body 



color you desire in regular solu- 

 tion of shellac. Use just enough 

 shellac to the amount of dry color 

 required so that it will flow 

 smoothly from the brush in ap- 

 plying. 



Mix the color always just be- 

 fore the immediate time of apply- 

 ing, as it is better fresh. Use a 

 small flat brush and rapidly lay 

 the resulting shellac-enamel on the 

 bait in a smooth, thin coat. Hold 

 the bait upon a large pin or 

 sharpened wire stuck into the 

 screw eye hole in the end. Hang 

 the bait up for this coat to dry 

 over night. 



Next day look the bait over, 

 and, if not well covered, give it 

 another body-tone coat. Again 

 allow to harden for several 

 hours. 



If desired to have the back of 

 the bait colored or spotted with a 

 different tint, mix this next and 

 apply carefully, either by brush- 

 ing on or stippling with the end 

 of the brush. 



Do not forget that these shellac 

 enamels must be applied quickly 

 and deftly to be smooth. 



Allow the last coat to dry over 

 night and apply a coat of clear 

 lacquer (by "clear" we mean as 

 colorless as can be procured). 



This will set very quickly, as it 

 is prepared in "banana oil" (amyl 

 acetate), and furnishes a coat that 

 is impervious to water. 



Be sure and get the lacquer 

 brushed well into the hook and 

 screw-eye holes. When the lac- 

 quer is dry, the bait is ready 



