By Mark Romanack with Darrell Wood
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| Darrell Wood of Sandusky, Ohio is pictured here with one of his “custom creations” aimed at helping anglers catch more Lake Erie walleye. |
In my family
when someone’s hands smell like fish, we joke and say that’s the smell of
money. I’ve
made a comfortable living communicating the outdoor lifestyle in
magazines, on-line, in books, video and through outdoor TV. Promoting
recreational fishing ranks at the top of my priority list and I’m never more
happy than when my hands smell like fish!
Darrell Wood is
one of the more popular and prolific National Team Pro Staffers for Off Shore
Tackle Company’s. It’s hard to be on Facebook and not feel Darrell’s presence.
His frequent posting of images, tips and fishing reports helps inspire others
to get on the water and follow in Darrell’s wake.
Besides being a
talented tournament angler, fishing educator, dedicated father and commensurate
ambassador for the sport of walleye fishing Darrell owns Hi Tech Custom PaintedBaits, LLC. As an avid open water troller Darrell knows full well how important
lure color can often be in fishing success. That goes double when the lures of
choice are popular crankbaits and spinner blades used to target walleye.
“I started Hi
Tech Custom Baits in September of 2012 soon after meeting Jay Couch at an MWC
event,” recalls Wood. “After seeing a few of my custom painted crankbaits, Jay
kept bugging me to turn my passion for painting fishing lures into a business.”
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| Custom painted baits have become wildly popular among big water trollers. Darrell Wood of Hi Tech Custom Baits is one of the region’s most popular custom lure painters. Anglers can have their own baits repainted or Darrell has 26 stock colors to choose from in popular lures. |
Currently Hi
Tech Custom Baits has 26 stock color options, but Darrell will custom paint
just about any fishing lure or trolling hardware any color combination a
customer imagines. “Typically my customers provide me baits that aren’t
producing because they have marginal paint finishes,” says Wood. “I repaint
those baits according to the recommendations of my customer, effectively
turning dud lures into productive fishing baits!”
Darrell will
custom paint both opaque and clear body crankbaits. “A lot of guys are favoring
the look of custom paint jobs produced on clear body styles like the Rapala
Glass series or the Bare Naked series from Reef Runner,” explains Wood. “You
get an unique look when clear lures are custom painted that is tough to find in
a factory paint scheme.”
Hi Tech Custom
Baits produces custom painted crankbaits, blades for spinner rigs and recently
expanded to include custom painted Off Shore Tackle Tadpole Divers.
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| Factory finishes like the ones featured on these baits have come a long ways in recent years, but many anglers still favor the “custom painted” option guys like Darrell Wood with Hi Tech Custom Baits provides. |
“Jay Couch and a
growing number of other anglers believes that painting the Tadpole and making
it more visible to the fish creates an illusion that a predator is chasing prey
in the water,” explains Wood. “I find that the Tadpole is a more efficient
means of getting spinners, spoons and even crankbaits to depth compared to
traditional in-line trolling weights. Because the Tadpole dives deeper on
shorter lead lengths I can set lines faster and get baits in the strike zone
quicker compared to keel sinkers.”
Tadpole Divers
come in four sizes including the No. 1, 2, 3 and the new Magnum. For targeting
walleye suspended from five to 25 feet below the surface the No. 1 and No. 2
sizes are ideal. In the Central and Eastern Basins of Lake Erie where walleye
frequently suspend deeper in the water column, the No. 3 and Magnum Tadpole
come into play.
Because Darrell
Wood spends most of his fishing time on Lake Erie his custom paint finishes
feature a lot of pink, purple, white and chartreuse shades. “Some of my
favorite colors include pearl white, pearl raspberry and pearl chartreuse,”
adds Wood. “I also strongly recommend that anglers who fish on Erie have their
baits painted with a bright orange belly strip. It’s amazing how well this
little detail works especially during the fall fishing season.”
To learn more
about Darrell’s lure painting passion visit www.hitechcustompaintedbaits.com
or check out the Facebook site at facebook.com/newhitechcustoms. Darrell is
also a frequent visitor to the Facebook site Off Shore Tackle Tadpole Society
which was created to share fishing information pertaining to these unique
diving devices.
If you have
lures that aren’t producing, maybe it’s time to give Darrell a call and put a
custom spin on your walleye fishing efforts? For Darrell Wood and Hi Tech
Custom Baits, the color of money is any color under the rainbow!
