Last Sundayafternoon, I apparently didn’t have enough on my weekend agenda to keep me occupied. I got out a box of crankbaits, a notepad and some fishing line, and turned my bathtub into a lure test tank. In the 8 inches of water I was able to capture, I used short lengths of line to lead crankbaits around the tub like dogs on a leash. I took notes on how they wobbled side-to-side, how they rolled top-to-bottom, how fast they floated to the surface and the angle they rode in the water. I also compared those movements to the body shape, bill shape and size, material, and construction.
My goal was to see how different designs utlimately changed the action of the lures. Eventually,I want to build a few crankbaits of my own. Tests such as my bathtub test will hopefully give me a head start before I start making sawdust. And luckily I live alone, so no one was there to see me playing with lures in the tub.