Lure Making

Lure making is something every fisherman does. It is only to what extent they become involved in this side hobby to the sport of fishing. I consider rigging a herring cap or tying leaders to be included in the art of lure making. You can buy your leaders and rigs or you can make your own. Most fisherman make or tie their own as we all get pretty good at it over time and because every fisherman has specific details that they want incorporated into the finish product.

 Lure making or tackle crafting covers a large aspect of the sport of fishing and for some it becomes a major hobby. For others it becomes a source of income or a source of artistic expression. And it becomes a feather in your hat to catch fish on your own creations and the oohs and ahhs form fellow fisherman at your artistic abilities. Even when you get old, dumb and feeble like me, you can still create eye catching and fish catching lures.

 This article will only scratch the surface of what this art is about and my intent is to give you some starting points and maybe some inspiration.

In the above photo is some of the supplies I used to make some tuna trolling lures. Heavy nylon thread and skirts along with lead heads which I poured and painted.

These trolling lures are a combination of hootchie skirts and silicon skirts. Both are readily available in almost any color combination you can come up with. Hootchie skirts are a salmon fishing lure and the silicon skirts are typically used to make spinnerbaits or flippin jigs. Any time where you want the lure to "breathe" you use silicon skirts.

In these photo's I have supplies for making salmon trolling lures or rigs. A hootchie skirt with a mylar tinsel insert and herring caps. The herring and anchovy caps fit over the bait and alloy you to adjust the spin or rolling action. These work very well.

Tying fishing flies is an art as old as fishing. Fly fishing is as much about tying your flies as it is about actually fishing. It is a hobby where you can buy just the minimum tools and supplies for a specific group of lures or flies or you can go overboard and learn to tie just about every thing. It starts with a few feathers and some yarn and when the affliction really sets in you are looking at fancy oak roll top desks because the guy in the magazine picture ties his flies on one and you think it might actually help you get your space organized. You buy fancy feathers that come from hybrid roosters, The chicken meat is only worth a few bucks. But the feathers on his back are worth over a hundred. Tough life being a chicken.

Making your own spinners is as simple or elaborate as you want to make it. A wire forming tool makes it easy and it is just a matter of collecting some supplies and putting them all together.

In the lower photo are some hand tied walleye worm harnesses. I caught my first walleye using these. Its just a spinner with a bead body and a couple small hooks to hold a night crawler on the rig. Miniature hootchie skirts also work well for the body. It is common to find locally produced fishing rigs at tackle shops near your favorite fishing locations. A local fisherman gets good at making rigs and so supplies them to the local tackle shop. Everybody wins as the local guys will also have a good sense of what colors and sizes are working.

I use lure tape to add color or flash to divers or flashers. The purple color is a magnet to coho salmon. But only on the diver. For the blade baits the lure tape is pre-cut and so making blade baits is as simple as applying the tape and adding split rings and hooks. These blade baits are popular with the walleye fisherman here on Columbia, but they will catch just about any fish that swims.

Lead heads or jig heads are used in all types of fishing. Pouring the lead is a matter of buying the molds you like and getting the proper hooks. Painting is as easy or as complicated as you want to make it. A single color dip or multiple colors applied with an air brush.

Years ago when I did a lot of bass fishing, there were a lot of guys making their own plastic worms and the dream was to sell enough to make a business out of it. Some succeeded very well.

I remember a trip to fish the west coast finals at Lake Shasta. The local tackle store had rows and rows of locally made hand poured straight worms. So we bought a few but ended up taking home the money throwing crankbaits. I think my partner and I didn't really know how or where to fish the hand pours so we did what we knew and it worked. In time we got very proficient at fishing plastics.

 There is almost a cult following to the art of making molds and pouring plastic fishing lures. Some guys think if they can just discover that magic design, they can sell it to a major tackle company or sell it to tackle shops and make enough for that bigger boat. The truth about plastics is that there are so many designs and styles out there that it is the skill of the fisherman that makes something a success much more than it is the design of the lure. That is true for any lure. Every lure choice is situational just like choice of rod and reel or line type or presentation.

 I tried my hand at pouring plastic lures and I pretty much suck! My hand is not steady and the learning curve proved a bit steep for my tastes. It takes time. I traded all my supplies to a friend who also owns a tackle store. Much easier to just buy whatever he comes up with than expend all that time on my own.

These are the companies I have ordered product from.

 Lure Craft  www.lurecraft.com

 Barlow's Tackle  www.barlowstackle.com

 Jann's Netcraft  www.jannsnetcraft.com

 Cabela's  www.cabelas.com

 Stamina   www.LurePartsOnline.com

 You can shop their online catalogs or request a printed catalog. I always prefer a printed catalog as it is sometimes easier to find things. Sort of like window shopping.