How to Make a Wooden Magic Swimmer Bass Lure. Carving a Better Swimbait Lure

The Magic Swimmer has been around for a while is an excellent bait but I wanted to improve it just a bit. In this video I show you how to make a swimbait that is as good or better than anything you can buy.
www.amazon.com/shop/engineere...
/ engineeredangler
pB5ReGuDlS...
/ engineered-angler-9424...
/ @engineeredangler

[@EngineeredAngler]

Just as a follow up...first: the finished weight of the lure was 31.23g, that's about 1g above the design weight. Second: that big bass was a victim of either a gator or a big gar.

[@TheRoyal769sr]

Awesome job on this!

[@Arbyofuchprawnage]

Thank you! I really wanted to know what happened to that bass.

[@thegoods2240]

Just to shoot the stuff, my dad passed away a few months ago, and going through his stuff I found a bunch of lures he made. He made mostly surf casting plugs, but I found a few crankbaits too, he copied this old jointed Mirrolure (discontinued) that I found in the same box. With a bit of tuning and a split shot in belly of the front section, I got one to work really nice. So I sanded it down to bare wood, soaked it in thinned Helmsman Urethane, and painted it silver and white. I used it trolling the other day and caught a 9lb brown trout on it. It meant a lot to me.

[@EngineeredAngler]

Wow! What a great story. Cheers to you for going through the work to get one of your dad's lures ready for the water. And congrats on a fantastic catch! I think it could have been a little dink fish and you still would have felt the satisfaction. So sorry for your loss...I lost my dad a while back. It's not an easy thing.

[@thegoods2240]

@@EngineeredAngler Thanks, just using it was enough, catching a nice fish was a huge bonus. I hope to take all his hand made lures and either complete the ones he didn't finish, or get the others back in working order. Sorry for your loss as well.

[@charlesknight3204]

Kind sir: What an excellent job on that lure!!! Your video production and editing skills are phenomenal; that’s coming from an individual whose degree is in radio/TV/film. Please keep the videos coming!!! Take care, be safe, best wishes and God bless!!! Chuck Knight from Buffalo, Texas. 👨‍🌾✝️🙏🖖

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thank you very much!

[@jamesstewart5371]

Wow you took me back to my Aero course in 1983 with that laminar flow discussion. I am going to have to check the Reynolds number on the J plugs I am building to ensure I have turbulence at the fwd section. Thanks Franco I knew it would come in handy one day.

[@markroth9827]

Not instincts, science! Thank you for your video.

[@Straight0uttaCrofton]

when Chip Foose extended a piece of trim while doing some body modifications to Adam Carolla's DB9, Astin Martin released the following year's version with that same trim piece extended. maybe Berkley will implement your design changes for 2023.

[@paddlehooked4687]

Been feeling confident in my bait making lately like “I think I understand this stuff”. 30 seconds in to you explaining how you’re going to improve this bait and I’m humbled realizing how much I have to learn in this hobby.

[@salmohunter4126]

Amazing work of art and engineering ,I envy your skill brilliant work .

[@nelsonsanchezriveronn4003]

Yo soy un Ingeniero Agronomo, que traigo en mis genes la pesca como mi deporte favorito y tambien hacer mis propios señuelos...soy un fiel seguidor de todos tus videos...he aprendido un monton con todas y cada una de las explicaciones (paso a paso) de tus proyectos...Mil gracias!

[@EngineeredAngler]

Me alegro tanto de saber lo...gracias.

[@PENFOLD1962]

That's got to be a winner. You sure do know your stuff when it comes to lures. I'd be so confident and smug if I had made it.👍😷👍

[@EngineeredAngler]

I can't get a fat head...I'll probably have egg on my face next time.

[@PENFOLD1962]

@@EngineeredAngler Oh! You have the right to be smug, I bet you've forgotten more than others actually know about building lures. Your lures are head and shoulders above the rest. I love watching your videos because you actually go into the technical details. Don't get me wrong there's some really good Lure carvers and painters but that's all they are, you have so much more and you're not shy of letting others know what you know... The others keep it hush hush! It's taken me a while to get my gear together and I'm hoping to start Painting Lures myself. During the time it's taken I have avidly watched your channel, most of the time I've been left with my mouth wide open with amazement lol but I can't thank you enough I've learned so much from your videos. You have the patience to take us from start to finish, explaining every little bit of detail along the way, you don't edit (cut) 75% then speed the rest up so fast it's just a mass of blurred imagery! So you're entitled to be smug in my opinion lol. You could even be called the 'Smug-Lure' (Smuggler) lol or even put the message across and call one of your future lures 'The Smug-Lure' lol Thank you for taking the time to reply I really appreciate it. Take care my friend 👍😷👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@MarcosMVlures]

Min 10:01, although you did this by hand in another video, this is even better, just excellent.

[@giulianoaireti5943]

Franco, we're waiting for you in Italy for a masterclass 😎

[@EngineeredAngler]

I would love that!

[@scottb4767]

What can anyone say? You're just so consistent on making great baits. Your paint game has come along nicely!

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thank you very much!

[@theinvasivespecies1119]

great looking lure and lure action! I enjoy your videos

[@saeem1571]

ultimate design and engineering !

[@thelonesomefisherman7425]

It swims real nice. Nice looking lure.

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thanks 👍

[@thelonesomefisherman7425]

@@EngineeredAngler Thanks for your reply

[@AAE-cg1il]

Wow……Patrick Sebile should hire you as his chief engineer…….You never fail to impress…

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thanks man.

[@nicksmith437]

Another fantastic blow by blow instructional vid. Thanks so much. I have done 1 jointed lure but not used the v shape. Going on a 5 mth trip camping and fishing so will have to try just b4 Christmas. Hope you have been enjoying your sailboat. Kind regards. 🎣🎣

[@EngineeredAngler]

Enjoy your trip.

[@CarolinaBassHunter]

Loving the video. It would be AWESOME if you could make a Crappie glide bait. It would get tons of views I bet! Just a thought.

[@thewarpsyrhead]

I love the Sebile version, have several still in the packages and those are the same complaints that I have-love the improvement!

[@CraftyKiwiLures]

That turned out amazing, great job 👌👍

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thanks 👍

[@pmpkmc]

Once again Franco, thanks for the inspiration. I made a copy of this lure this week by capturing an image or your drawing and up-sizing it to 8" and got rid of the rear treble hook. I plan to take it out tomorrow in the surf to see if i can get a few stipers. My paint job looks like a 3 year old did it but the striped bass dont seem to care. mostly spray paint, aluminum tape for an eye and some marker/highlighter for details. and a coating of epoxy and some glitter. If you had a patreon where we could get basic drawings and details i would happily contribute to you for the info.

[@EngineeredAngler]

I'm hoping to set it up a Patreon account and offer greater details, drawings and exclusive Q&A's. I will be polling folks in the community soon. Be sure to weigh in. Thank you and good luck with the stripers.

[@pmpkmc]

@@EngineeredAngler Turns out that my swimmer was not so magic, I was fishing it in the mouth or a river so there was some good current. When it swam it really had a nice wide random zig-zag movement like a darter might. But i think my hinges need work. The rear section would go perpendicular and lock up. After trying to fix it i ended up just gluing the rear section to make it a single joint. But even that joint is a bit stiff and glitchy, which i think is due to the eyes i made for the hinge since i couldn't find good screw in ones to use. Now that i epoxied the mid and rear sections together i'll give it one more go tomorrow.

[@pepsithebunny2404]

I love the action. Greetings from Brazil.

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thank you

[@Franklinfishingflies]

I did not expect the action to be that good!!! I want to see the video of it getting smashed because it’s definitely going to, it looks great on a steady retrieve the occasional twitch can only make it better. Nice work Franco

[@thaddeus7300]

dang it, i got no time to make lures this week, and you just put one more on the list. Crazy action 🙏 thanks for the tutorial

[@jimgarrett7078]

Excellent execution and results.

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thank you very much!

[@wesneal7913]

You do amazing work. Always ook forward tou your videos. Keep'em coming

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thank you! Will do!

[@markus148]

Amazing work, the lure as well as the video!

[@hankvana2149]

Nice one Franco! Thanks for sharing your design thoughts!

[@EngineeredAngler]

My pleasure!

[@kunst-koder-werkstatt4425]

realy nice!!! that lure has everything i missed on the original

[@shawnmoorshead9135]

Love your content. Keep it up.

[@tracyholland5318]

Thanks for the video! we enjoy watching.

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thanks for watching!

[@kimbapanda]

terrific build. well done! Always love your process, but an especially good outcome for this one.

[@aaronjudd9043]

Great job of the magic swimmer. How about making a lure to troll from your sailboat when out cruising.

[@EngineeredAngler]

I like it!

[@hookreelfishing]

You did an amazing job!!

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thanks

[@tedmemo9625]

That is some fine work. Please keep up the content it is amazing.

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thanks, will do!

[@stevebrockway4738]

Instinct, shminstinct; that is Engineered Angling all the way. Excellent upgrade to an existing lure. The bass at the end was jaw dropping for an Ohio guy. I figured it was a gator.

[@mg3897]

Amazing work Franco. Thanks for your work and effort. 🙂

[@EngineeredAngler]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@jorgericardomachadodasilva7663]

Great Job as usual

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thanks again!

[@pablogrande8971]

Thanks, really like this one!

[@EngineeredAngler]

Glad you like it!

[@Wabes_1]

Your info is great, thank you for sharing, i really like your videos.

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thanks for watching!

[@Hellionmasks]

nice job! cool lure👍

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thanks! 👍

[@pitbullcustomlures1917]

That turned out absolutely amazing Franco! Nice work

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@breadman1148]

Great video

[@bradleyadams5725]

I have been wanting to see how you anchored the wiretie/hook connection to be secured with confidence. Awesome detail!

[@EngineeredAngler]

Glad it was helpful!

[@p8triot394]

Great Job

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thanks

[@davedelany2116]

Great lure 👌

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thanks 👍

[@KueInternationalThailand]

Good job welcome to Thailand

[@striperhunter-ic2wt]

This is a great improvement ! I've caught some monster stripers on the largest size MS. One of its other problems is bad rings and hooks. I've had the same one in my bag for years I just touch up the paint and add sharpie mackerel stripes. Great build

[@EngineeredAngler]

Cool, thanks

[@kurtcoffed6289]

you are trying to prove how smart you are - - your lures are awesome, yet there are a ton of lure makers that match yours hands down

[@EngineeredAngler]

Sure

[@christopherromina5445]

Cool lure

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thanks

[@ncoutdooradventures6148]

Another incredible build! But now, say you're not fishing from a boat,, but rather from a pier that's 24' above the water,, where would you place the tying eye to make it swim under water?

[@EngineeredAngler]

I'll have to scratch my head on that one...

[@johngonsalvesiii8142]

Great video keep up the good work! How about a weed less jitterbug Abercast use to make one with double upturned hooks

[@SilverTickler]

The lure looks amazing and maybe make a June bug lure

[@EngineeredAngler]

Maybe!

[@striperhunter-ic2wt]

I also leave the rear hook off and upgrade the front 2

[@thegoods2240]

You sir, are the man. Patience, skill, and attention to detail. Have any lure companies been looking to hire you as a lure designer? I think maybe I would have tried to get some kind of sealer inside those joint pin holes? I always worry about the wood absorbing water and changing the action. Maybe I'm just a worry wart!

[@EngineeredAngler]

I soaked the wood around the pin holes with thin CA glue. It seals it and hardens the area.

[@TheRoyal769sr]

Awesome

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thanks

[@day9791]

You can get more range of motion out of those "V" joints by sanding back the sides of the lure on the convex half of the joint. Sort of like youre taking it from a 90° angle (45° on either side of your centre line) down to a 80° angle, ish. Something I learned from watching marling baits, thought I might share incase you or anyone else can make use of it.

[@EngineeredAngler]

Sure...that's an easy mod and works pretty well. The nice thing about V-joints is how well they hide the hardware and I think for most lures the range of motion is just fine. Thanks for the tip though.

[@overnightOCD]

nice..i wouldn't mind making a custom lure

[@darki_lures]

Nice like every video from you , i would like to see some GT or Tuna Lures ;) maybe swimming and sinking stickbait ?! just maybe ......

[@EngineeredAngler]

Thanks for the idea!

[@killentime6771]

Do my you mind saying what type of would are you using. Awesome job!!!!!

[@killentime6771]

Wood....ha ha..auto correct

[@EngineeredAngler]

I usually mention the type of wood I'm using...on this one I used cherry.

[@stevewoldanski4780]

nice bait

[@capatainnemo]

i watched one of your videos where you used a cd to make a lure and demonstrated how easy it is to remove the foil coating from the disc by accident..... was wondering if you could use double sided ( doublestick) tape to purposely remove the foil and use it to foil a full size lure

[@EngineeredAngler]

That could work.

[@MarcosMVlures]

As you said, you nailed it, excellent action. You threw some data over there... Like the turbulnce the first part of the body does, inorder for the other parts to move. I would like more info about that, please. And why did you move the line tie further up?

[@EngineeredAngler]

Those are pretty involved topics that I will cover in a master class some time in the future.

[@MarcosMVlures]

@@EngineeredAngler Excelent!!! Thanks a lot

[@jonnicholas8028]

What type of wood did you use for that build? Nice work!

[@EngineeredAngler]

I'm pretty sure I mentioned it in the video...but I don't remember now.

[@WladimirNSO]

Очень круто 😃👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@chadchapman5303]

That’s a sharp looking bait. What clips are you using? I seen you loose a new lure with them recently but that happens.

[@EngineeredAngler]

They are duo lock snaps and I have been fishing with them for many years and they rarely give me issues. I need to keep reminding myself that they don't last forever. I should really replace them every couple of trips.

[@showemethemoney]

Do you have a good rule of thumb to figure out how much mass to leave for paint/clear coat? It’s easy enough to weigh out your lure with hardware+weight. But I’ve had issues where I get my lure dialed in then add paint and clear coat and it becomes too heavy.

[@EngineeredAngler]

That seems like a simple question but there are so many aspects; most resin clear coats are only slightly heavier than water (1.1 specific gravity) so even though they add weight they don't add much negative buoyancy. Paint, eyes, foil, fins, etc. are the bigger issues. This lure came out 1g heavier than I designed but the sink rate was spot on.

[@natewood4731]

That was going to be my question as well.

[@samoks123]

Nice build and great swimming lure. You should call this lure the EA swimmer or so What kind of hinge pin you are using for the jointed part?

[@EngineeredAngler]

It's 1mm stainless wire

[@samoks123]

@@EngineeredAngler thnx

[@surfcat2051]

Nice work. What happened to the bass? Gator?

[@EngineeredAngler]

I think so...he was pretty fresh when I found him...so it was a recent attack.

[@valiantwarrior4517]

I never really thought about the effects of laminar flow on something moving through a body of water. Interesting. Does the carving help create the turbulence, or is it strictly for appearance? Thanks for the video!

[@EngineeredAngler]

On this one the carving is just for looks.

[@moquant947]

👍👍

[@tittyrino]

Very nice. I am making one tomorrow for Musky.

[@elkaiozen]

Started making baits recently and I generally can get the painting to look like I want it to except the scales. They always seem to either be to over powering or practically non existant any tips you can offer for getting the right balance of showing up without completely washing out the orginal colors.

[@EngineeredAngler]

Try using transparent paints...and practice.

[@elkaiozen]

@@EngineeredAngler thanks. I tried a bit more tonight and I think my biggest issue was the mesh I was using was to small so unless I had it rediculously tight the paints were going under it so wasn't getting distinction. But also yeah tried some of my more transparent options and that helped to. Thanks for the advice. So excited to be going on this path Your Channel and Marling Baits are both huge inspirations and have thought me so much already I truely appreciate it.

[@danomite359]

Nicely built and explained! (I'm one quick to be critical) LOL Tempted to attempt that build, starting with a good screen grab of your layout. Is that cheating?

[@EngineeredAngler]

There's no such thing as cheating...I started with a store bought lure, after all.

[@foreststevens9653]

what do you do with the lures? id buy this from you.

[@tezc1197]

How's that trolling motor working out for you?

[@EngineeredAngler]

Oh man there's a video coming on that a bit of a mixed bag...look for it

[@jonathancarter3999]

Can I buy one of these from you!!! I can get some good action footage for you

[@EngineeredAngler]

Sorry but that was a one-off lure.

[@jonathancarter3999]

@@EngineeredAngler what lures of yours do you sell

[@EngineeredAngler]

Sorry but, for now, none

[@joycedimaggio3816]

You should teach a class

[@aaronk4310]

Oh my sexy lures. Hello beautiful

[@EngineeredAngler]

Easy! That's my girl.😄

[@MarcosMVlures]

Min 10:01, although you did this by hand in another video, this is even better, just excellent.

[@EngineeredAngler]

It works great, Just need to turn the screw eye in the right direction 😀