Making "Smile Blades"

[TubeDude]

Most walleye fans...and a lot of Koke-nuts...love Mack's Smile Blades.  But none of us like the price tag...60 cents or more per blade.  Me too either.  When I started putting some on my fligs I was looking at taking out a second mortgage to be able to stock up.

Since I already make most of the lures I use, I figured out a way to make my own Smile Blades...for about 10 cents apiece.  Here's a pictorial writeup on the subject.  Lemme know if you have any questions.

[Therapist]

Pat,  your ingenuity never ceases to amaze me.  Amazing what you can do when you sit around and begin cogitating on a situation.  Can you come up with a fool proof way for us to be able to stay on the water during this "stay at home" time !!!  Keep up the good work !!

[TubeDude]

Pat,  your ingenuity never ceases to amaze me.  Amazing what you can do when you sit around and begin cogitating on a situation.  Can you come up with a fool proof way for us to be able to stay on the water during this "stay at home" time !!!  Keep up the good work !!

I call that "codgertatin'", thank ya kindly.

"Stay at home"...on the water?  Easy.  Whatever place you wanna go fishing just designate it as your "home water".  See how easy it is when you got smarts like me?

Even with the admonition to self-quarantine, there is also the advise to get out in the fresh air for some exercise...as long as you maintain "social distancing".  For some of us smelly fisherfolk that part is easy.  Nobody wants to get close to us anyway.

How is the knee coming along?  Talked to Rick last week and he said you are not getting out much.  Shame on ya.

[ELM 71]

Very nice Pat. No doubt in my mind they will be killer fligs like all the rest of them. Hope all is well with you and yours.

[fast_randy]

I just ordered a few blades from Macks. Mostly for trolling with hoochies or squids. I will make my own from now on. And start using them on fligs. Thanks again Pat. You are amazing.

[MSM1970]

just when I think I got this adiction under control you come out with something else, man your the best dealer I know

[TubeDude]

Aha!  Gotcha.

[liketrolling]

[font]Thank you for this I have every thing I need to make them in my house and in the garbage. Also with the ones I have can change what they look like by adding tape to them.[/font]
What amaze me is the time you put in to making a PDF file.Can you make a Spin-n-Glo? they are costly also.  I like a Spin-n-Glo on the front of a squid fishing for Kokanee.

[lifeshort]

Thanks 
I have been making my own Kokanee lures for several years and never thought about making these.
It just seems like more fun to me when I can make my own.

[TubeDude]

[font]Thank you for this I have every thing I need to make them in my house and in the garbage. Also with the ones I have can change what they look like by adding tape to them.[/font]
What amaze me is the time you put in to making a PDF file.Can you make a Spin-n-Glo? they are costly also.  I like a Spin-n-Glo on the front of a squid fishing for Kokanee.

I like Spin-N-Glo also.  Used them for years for steelhead and salmon.  And found out that walleye like them here in Utah too.  Also cats.  Several of us cataholics are dragging around big Spin-n-Glow bodies ahead of a large chunk of carp meat with a circle hook in it. 

I have made up quite a few other goodies for kokes but haven't "tackled" a Spin-n-Glo yet.  Should be simple.  I will just cut and shape the foam body, put a plastic tube down the middle and then super glue in the two wings.  I'm anticipating it will take some careful cutting and fitting to get the right curvature on the prism tape wing.  But for koke Spin-n-Glows I could just paint the plastic in  hot colors too.  And a lot of them are plain white.  But I like hot pink...and there is some hot pink prism tape that will work.

The original design for the steelhead and salmon models included a wide head and a narrow tail end.  I plan to make some on both round and cylindrical shapes.  As long as the color and the action are good the shape should not be an issue.  I'll quarantine myself a little longer and work on it.  Will post up when I get something.  Here is a picture of some of the "bait floats" I already make.

[2knots]

Nice job Pat, recycling at its best   and you can fill some empty spots in the freezer if the fish are bitting. The spin-n-glows also work for Kokanee in the small sizes

[wiperhunter2]

Great PDF writeup Pat, glad to see you figured out how to not only get those smilie blades made much cheaper than buying them but also getting the PDF file posting situation working too. Your an inspiration to us all.

[liketrolling]

Pat  every one of your custom bait floats will work for kokanee.   but pink is the number one color but you need some green when they start going deep.   about 4 years ago at flaming gorge we were catching a lot of kokanee.  a guide was fishing by us.  we came in the same time he did, and he ask me what I was using because no one else out there was catching any thing.  I showed him how I had my squids setup with floats ( not as good looking as yours) they use for [font]Walleye, he asked what thay did to the squid, I said I don't know but it is something they have never seen befor.  on some of my dodgers I will use 1/2 light green almost yellow and the other half pink. dark green does not work for me.   and I love those  colors togather.   I also make a dodger the first coat is light blue glow and a top coat that is glow pink when it is charged the blue comes through the pink and that works.[/font]

[TubeDude]

Pat  every one of your custom bait floats will work for kokanee.   but pink is the number one color but you need some green when they start going deep.   about 4 years ago at flaming gorge we were catching a lot of kokanee.  a guide was fishing by us.  we came in the same time he did, and he ask me what I was using because no one else out there was catching any thing.  I showed him how I had my squids setup with floats ( not as good looking as yours) they use for [font]Walleye, he asked what thay did to the squid, I said I don't know but it is something they have never seen befor.  on some of my dodgers I will use 1/2 light green almost yellow and the other half pink. dark green does not work for me.   and I love those  colors togather.   I also make a dodger the first coat is light blue glow and a top coat that is glow pink when it is charged the blue comes through the pink and that works.[/font]

As you know, I have already been experimenting with a few other things...in the hot colors the kokes like.  I look forward to working with you to develop a line of things that work well and aren't readily available on the market.

[elkantlers]

Thank's for the Write up. Anything that saves a few buck is a good thing.

[TubeDude]

Thank's for the Write up. Anything that saves a few buck is a good thing.

You're welcome. Working now on several ways to make my own "Spin-n-Glo" lures.  Will post a pictorial soon.

But ya know, it's really not all about saving money.  Even more important is being able to fish with exactly the sizes, shapes and colors of lures you want...not having to settle with whatever they have available commercially.  And right up there with that is being able to catch fish on your own creations.  Sometimes you come up with winners.  Other times not so much.  But is always fun to try.  And my wife thinks it keeps me off the streets and out of trouble.  She thinks.  Ha.

[fish_4_all]

Anyone have the pdf for this instruction? I have tried lots of materials and can't get them to stay like a blade does. Spin-n-glo are easy, these little buggers have been a menace..

[TubeDude]

Anyone have the pdf for this instruction? I have tried lots of materials and can't get them to stay like a blade does. Spin-n-glo are easy, these little buggers have been a menace..

Wow.  Talk about a blast from the past.  I am reposting the original PDF.  It was probably lost in the "changeover".

Since then I have made and used a lot of the "snarl" blades...on a lot of different lures...for a lot of different species. 


I have found that using the white plastic from milk cartons is not good if you paint them.  The paint does not hold well.  But if you can find some good rigid clear plastic...like from large juice bottles or other containers...they will work better both for adding prism tape or for paints.


One comment I get on them is that they are not quite as rigid as the Mack's blades and you need to check and/or re-crimp them sometimes after landing a fish.  True.  But some problems are better to have than others.

[wiperhunter2]

i can see it and open it without any problem.

[TubeDude]

i can see it and open it without any problem.

I reposted it.  The original PDF file disappeared during the "upgrade"...along with a lot of other stuff.  I get requests from members to repost some of them.  But with the "new and improved" format I can no longer attach PDFs to private messages...only pictures.  The member who requested a new copy on this thread had sent me a PM asking for it and I told him I couldn't send it back that way.  

All's well that ends...or whatever.