The idea of the big bait museum is to document chronologically the evolution of the Castaic Trout (wooden). Due to time constraints, this will be a work in progress.
However, there are two lures that are actively being traded that need clarification now. The wooden Trout and the Baby Bass.
THE TROUT
The pre-1996 Castaic Trout was made out of wood and hand-carved, therefore, each lure was a little different
The dots on the body of the pre-1996 lure were smaller, more in number and painted by hand.
The fins are lighter in color and contained black flake.
The post-1996 Castaic Trout was injected, so every bait was identical in shape
The dots on the post-1996 lure were larger, fewer in number and painted using a stencil.
The pectoral fins on the post-1996 Trout lay flat against the body.
The pre-1996 bill was unique in shape
The post-1996 bill has a more commmon shape.
BABY BASS
Pre-1996 Baby Bass tail fins were held in place with a single wooden peg.
More fin rays.16 on the tail, 8 on the top fin and 7 on the bottom.
The lateral lines on the pre-1996 lure are darker and more distinct.
The fin shapes on the post-1996 Baby Bass has a more round appearance.The tail fin was glued into place.
Fewer fin rays.10 on the tail, 6 on the top fin and 5 on the bottom.
The overall paint was darker.
The bill cut on the pre-1996 Baby Bass is a straight-cut.
The post-1996 bill cut had a channel used for alignment of the bill.
Now here is a little history.The original batch of Baby Bass were painted in Largemouth and Smallmouth patterns of 500 each.That original batch of 1,000 went to Japan.They were ordered sight unseen. Another 100 were made and then sold in the U.S. to the local tackle shops.All the lures that went to Japan and a few select customers in the U.S. got the numbered lures.They were numbered in red as the "A" series.Chomp continued with the Baby Bass after I left, but I don't know the details on the numbering.
One last thing.I would like to clear up the "Wood" Baby Bass misnomer.NO Baby Bass were ever carved out of wood.They were injected polystyrene with a blowing agent which allowed it to float.As fate would have it, that combination produced a wood look and feel.
Length: 11"Height: 2 1/2" Weight: 7 1/2 oz.Width: 1 1/2"
This former 2 x 4 is my humble beginning.It's not much to look at, but the main idea was to see if I could successfully make a jointed, flat-sided slab of wood swim upright.I figured that since it was so high from belly to back, that it would need some type of ballast and two pivot points, one near it's belly and one near it's back.
It was a success as far as swimming upright.The problem was with the 7-strand wire I ran through the lure.On it's first trip out, after an hour or two of cast and retrieve, the constant bending at the joint caused one side of the wire to brake.
My original paint job was silver with a black back.Chomp was sick of looking at it, so I fixed the wire and he gave it this Trout paint job.
