Anyone make your Lures?

[SoulWinner]

Outside of fly fishermen/women, does anyone make your own lures? If so, what kind and what do you fish for?

 

[snapperbait]

Re: Anyone make your Lures?

I did once... Just for $hits and giggles I made a crankbait for bass fishing... Took about ten hours for me to shape, paint, and assemble it.. It was beautiful, even if I do say so myself.. Awesome action (tried it out in my friends pool) ... <br /><br />First cast down at the pond, caught a little one about a pound... Thought that was the about the absolute coolist thing ever...<br /><br /> Second cast, TREE STUMP.. Never seen again...

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: Anyone make your Lures?

Ohhhhh, man. That blows! I think I might try my hand it. If I loose it, it won't be the first time, and I wont have $5. in it

 

[wikelam]

Re: Anyone make your Lures?

yeah i like to tie my own flies, cast my own jigs and sinkers, make my own spinners. i have been known to take apart plugs and crankbaits to design my own. i like to carve away some of the lips on crankbaits to get them to go crazy in the water. sometimes this is the only way to catch fish.

 

[Bco128]

Re: Anyone make your Lures?

flies ,yes.cranks no...at least not yet.i dont cast my jigs or spinners,dont have that much time for it but buy unfinished bodies and do the paint and skirts and blades myself.and no kidding in carving crank lips for action.the bass do get a bit lazy around here this time of year don't they?

 

[DaleT]

Re: Anyone make your Lures?

Yes, I make several different types. I tend to stick with wooden crankbaits and crawler harnesses but have also delved in to spinners and others. I mainly use them on Northerns, Bass and pan fish. Heres a link to an earlier thread with a similiar theme.<br /><br /> Thread

 

[digimortal777]

Re: Anyone make your Lures?

an uncle of mine made a jerk bait from plywood and painted it bright orangy red and put black perch stripes on it , first cast in at the docks got a 10 pound pike

 

[SeaDawg]

Re: Anyone make your Lures?

My wife and I used to make saltwater lures and rigs for the local tackle shops. All styles of bucktails, fluke killer rigs, top/bottom rigs, etc. Powderpainted most of the jigs, even designed lure tying machines. We could make 2 jigs a minute (per machine), when we got rolling.<br /><br />But her health went downhill, and it was cutting too much into my fishing time, so we've sold off most of the machines and components. Still have about a $1,000 worth of stuff left though, slowly selling it off to friends and flea markets.

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: Anyone make your Lures?

Thanks for the link! About carving and shaping the lip on crank baits, could you explain how that is done? Like what part of the lip do you cut away? I had thought of that but didn't want to ruin a $4 lure. Now I'm gonna make a few top-dogs on my lathe with beaded and combed bodies to see how that works. And the use of Christmas tree icicles, what a great idea

 

[Bco128]

Re: Anyone make your Lures?

just whoop out a knife and start whittlin.if your worried about ruining a good crank start with the $1.00 walmart cranks.then try diff ways.i like to make a curved cut into one side or the other about 1/4 to 1/3 into the lip.ive also thinned both sides as well as a half circle in the front.the point isntreally to make a whole new predictable crank but to create an action wic is unpredictable.the slow wobble works great but an irratic motion drives them nuts.one other thing i like to do is drill some small holes about 1/16 to 1/8 inch in the lip as well.this adds a bit of noise as well but not so mutch as to turn fish off.again try on the ceapest ones you can find then just have at it.

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: Anyone make your Lures?

Thanks!

 

[roscoe]

Re: Anyone make your Lures?

I make spinners for trolling. Just like the spinner rigs at the store. Except I use fine 15# nylon coated steel, instead of nylon leaders, so I don't loose them on the first pike that comes along. I have caught perch, crappie, and bass on them, but mostly walleye, northern pike, and whitefish. I also make them with a small snap for attaching the hook, so I can change sizes, or use a small treble if fishing in area with no weeds or snags.

 

[Red Rider]

Re: Anyone make your Lures?

Yes, I make a lot of lures, because I loose a lot of lures. Of course I also fish approximately 200 days a year. <br /><br />Most of what I make is for saltwater use. Get a catalog from Stamina. They are usually $2.00 but well worth the price. You can usually get one for free by going to their web site. www.Staminainc.com or you can use the online catalog.<br /><br />No I don't have any connection with them. In fact I haven't been in Minnensota in at least 6 ot 7 years.

 

[pbailey]

Re: Anyone make your Lures?

Back in the seventies when we used to get a good run of Grey Trout in the Chesapeake we would make lures out of trolling sinkers. <br /><br />The lure of choice was an eight ounce diamond jig. <br /><br />As kids we couldn't afford three bucks a pop. So we would take a sledge hammer and pound an eight ounce trolling sinker flat. Then attach a treble via a split ring and a split ring to the other end for tying to. For added flavor we would put a piece of red electrical tape around the middle. Caught fish with them everytime. Well almost everytime. <br /><br />One of the last trips we made during the hayday of the Trout here, my buddy made a jig out of 3/4-inch copper pipe smashed flat on each end and filled with lead. Holes drilled for split rings and hook.<br /><br />He had caught three or four trout with it when, he jigged it up and on the drop something slammed that thing. After about 15 minutes of loosing battle, what ever it was spooled him. <br /><br />We think maybe it was a red drum.<br /><br />pbailey

 

[Andrew Leigh]

Re: Anyone make your Lures?

Soulwinner,<br /><br />just to wet your appetite more go to Canadian Luremaking Guide . They have a great downloadable .pdf file called the "Canadian Guide to Luremaking" it's a really cool resource with many great tips and illustrations.<br /><br />See ya<br />Andrew