About Our Baits
Individually Crafted
Each Woodpecker bait is hand-turned on a lathe or shaped from a clear wooden blank. Our crankbaits and surface baits are made from poplar. Most of our swimbaits baits are made from mahogany. Mahogany has a specific gravity of .65, heavier than basswood or balsa. This allows for easy adjustment to make the bait float, sink quickly or slowly, or just hang suspended. Mahogany sands and finishes beautifully.
But the most distinctive feature of mahogany is its musical "tink." Segmented baits "clack" as the segments wiggle back and forth.
Unique and Detailed
The baits are shaped and drilled by hand, weighted according to function, and then primed and painted. Most of our designs are painted by airbrush. The eyes, diving lips, and hardware are then installed, and the baits are hand-detailed. The baits are sealed with epoxy early in the construction process, and finally clear-coated with another coat of permanent, non-yellowing epoxy.
Many of our colors and patterns are based on one of three baits found in the Delta: shad, crawdad, and bluegill. We also do rats, glide baits, and 6 and 8 inch “wood walkers” . We do custom baits on order, like our “ Lucky Draw” (similar to the Roman Made Mother).
We not only design our lures to simulate bait, we make them look like bait as well. Presentation is key when trying to catch fish, especially largemouth bass!
We would love to work with you to create new colors and designs. Just let us know what you have in mind.
Made with High Quality, Interesting Components
We make our own diving/action lips for all of our crankbaits and jointed swimbaits out of .093" Lexan polycarbonate. We use premium adhesive stick-on eyes.
We use either stainless steel screw eyes and hardware, or we make our own out of 316L stainless steel wire. All penetrations of the bait body are sealed with epoxy or cyanoacrylate glue.
We use strong stainless steel split rings and quality treble hooks.
On some of our premium baits, we use Owner line swivels as hook hangers, so that the hook anchor pivots.
We clear coat our baits with a premium UV-cure epoxy.
Designs that have been tested in the California Delta
We offer walking stickbaits, glidebaits, two-, three-, and fourpiece wakebaits, crankbaits, rats, minnow-darters, choppers, and little baits that we call "fireflies." And more. All of our designs have been personally tested and approved by Amber Russo and Britt Brittain, both avid Delta anglers.
Care and Repair of Wooden Baits
If you slam your wooden bait against a rock, the epoxy top coat may get dinged. No problem. Super glue (cyanoacrylate) seals the top coat on the spot. Or, some five-minute epoxy works wonders. If you are perfectionist, try the epoxy product used by many bait makers: Devcon Two Ton. Devcon is very hard and very transparent. It will look best if you sand the damaged area lightly and brush on a thin coat of epoxy. Keep the bait in motion for 15 minutes or so, to prevent runs and drips. Of course, any penetrations of the body need to be sealed immediately to prevent water intrusion.
If the damage isn't catastrophic, we can probably recondition and restore your bait to collector condition. Just contact us and tell us what you need.