About Our Baits
Individually Crafted
Each Woodpecker bait is hand-turned on a lathe or carved from a clear wooden blank. Our crankbaits are made from poplar. Most of our other 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." We can take advantage of this feature by incorporating internal rattles or moving ball bearings. Segmented baits "clack" as the segments wiggle back and forth.
Unique and Detailed
The baits are drilled by hand, weighted according to function, 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 with acrylic paints and other markings. The baits are sealed multiple times in the construction process, and finally clear-coated with a 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 frogs, rats, Glide baits, “wood walkers” (similar to the lunker punker) and our latest masterpiece is the “ Lucky Draw” (similar to the Roman Made Mother)
We not only design our lures to simulate bait we design them to look like bait as well. Presentation is key when trying to catch fish, especially 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. 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 either two-part epoxy or 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, lipless crankbaits, 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 Brit Britten, both avid anglers on the delta.
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.