There’s something sweet about custom crankbaits. Every time I see one I imagine someone sitting at a workbench sanding, whittling, shaving, gluing and all the other work that goes into making one. Isometimes wonder how they can part with them after all that effort, but not for too long.Money is quite persuasive.

Honestly, I haven’t fishedmany custom cranks,but every time I see one Istart in on a thorough examination. I look at the hook eyes or wire to see what gauge was used. I imagine how it will swim based on the bill shape, size and angle. I wonder how it might swim differently with a slightly thicker body or shorter tail.

I blogged about this subject in the past, and I have been writing about it often lately. But I keep coming back to crankbait design when I think about fishing. I even have a pile of sawdust in my bedroom/workshop where I started tinkering with my own custom creations. They are all yet to swim, because I am currently working out some of the construction processes. But soon I will seal them and toss them in a pond. That’s when I will really learn about crankbaits and how each detail affects its performance. And when I tweak the designs, I’ll learn even more, until, I hope, Ican work in reverse. Rather than build it, test it and see the result, I can decide what result I want to achieve, and design accordingly.

I doubt Iwill ever sell any of these crankbaits. But again, money is persuasive. I just don’t think I can part with any of them yet. Considering the time I put into them, I think they are all wonderful, despite what anyone else may say when they offer a critique. Plus, if they don’t swim worth a hoot I will have some very cool Christmas ornaments.