Need To Know...

[Minnesota]

I really want to learn how to make simple lures. Lures made from things you can get from a hardward store. I searched the internet and all it gave me were web sites on books to make lures.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Hey Minnesota, welcome to the board. I'll see what I can offer to get you started. Pop on back anytime for more "Martha Stewart" stuff.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The local building materials outlets and hardware stores have a bunch of stuff you can saw, hammer, carve and sand into useable lures. All you need are some basic hand tools, some manual dexterity, a bit of creativity...and some initial guidance. I suspect that you already know your way around a tool box and a workbench, by the tone of your request.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have been "tackle tinkerin'" ever since I was a kid in Idaho. I have made lures from black inner tube rubber, carved broom stick handles, hammered metal tubes (copper and aluminum), sheet metal (steel, brass, copper, aluminum), sheet plastic, wooden strips and dowels, cork stoppers, balsa chunks and have even made buzzbait blades from snipped aluminum cans (beer or soft drinks...either works).[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you really wanna go crazy, you should have both a bench vice and a sander/grinder. You will also need saws. If you have a good band saw or power craft saw, you got it made. Otherwise an assortment of coping saws, keyhole saws, hack saws, etc. will get the job done...altough more slowly and with less precision. You also need several different sizes and shapes of files, and different sanding options. I like the little rotating drum sanding discs you can put into a drill. Oh yeah, you will use your power drill and a "Dremel" drill a lot...for drilling, shaping and smoothing.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I don't know what kind of lures you want to make, but a lot of us find it fairly easy to carve and paint different kinds of topwater and diving baits from wooden dowels. You can get your ideas for shapes from looking over the lure rack at a tackle shop. I have also attached pics of some of the ones I make. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you want more than just a chunk of painted wood, there are several items you will need to turn it into a sturdy and useable lure. First, you need screw eyes. These are generally available at a well stocked building materials outlet. You put these in the front and back...for tieing on the line and for hanging on the rear set of hooks. You might also want to add one at the front or middle, for additional hooks. I can cover that process in greater detail, when you are ready for it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Other options are to either scoop out the front, to make a popper or chugger, or to add a "bill", to create a diving lure. You also might want to add small "propeller" spinner blades either (or both) front or back. These can really add to the noise and attraction of a topwater hardbait. All of that stuff you will have to buy from a good tackle supply that has luremaking components. I suggest either Barlow's Tackle or Jann's Netcraft. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Use can use almost any kind of paint for your base coats...enamel, urethane, krylon or whatever. You can brush it on, spray it or use an airbrush. The latter is a nice refinement for fancy paint jobs. You should always finish your lures with one or two coats of good clear epoxy paint. This will make them more resistant to scratching and chipping, and will make them resistant to the "meltdown" effects of being in contact with soft plastic baits too. That stuff can ruin a good lure fast, if it is not resistant to the solvents in plastic lures.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have attached a pic of some flutter spoons that were made from different guages of metal...brass mostly. You need a good saw and a grinder to cut and grind the blanks into shape. Then, you need to pound them over a shallow depression in a block of wood to get the right bend and "spoon" shape. That takes some experimentation and practice. But, you end up with some lures that are great for both trolling and jigging. All you need to add are split rings and hooks...after painting.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If your time, energy, motivation, creativity and budget allow it, you can also get into making jigs, spinners and other lures. We can help you with all that. I think you should also look a little harder on the Internet. Go to Google or Yahoo and enter "Making fishing lures", and you will get pages of sites to check out. True, many of them are commercials for selling books and lure making components, but you can learn something from most of them. Here are three I have found that might have some stuff for you.[/#0000ff]
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[fyshrmn]

I noticed all your crankbaits are the same color. That must work well for you.

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]The ones in the pic were mostly made to fish in Arizona waters where threadfin shad are the main forage species. You will notice I have included a black dot on the sides of many of them...as a natural threadfin has.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I paint the bodies white and then overcoat with a pearlescent glitter in a clear vinyl paint mix. On many of them, I add a bluish color back, like shad radiate during most months of the year. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Those colors work great in many fresh water lakes and also in salt water, where small mullet and anchovies are on the diet of the predators.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I make all kinds of wild color patterns, including rainbow trout, perch and fire tiger. But, it is hard to go wrong with basic white...or variations thereof. White is a universal color for most fish.[/#0000ff]
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[nathan]

You may also want to check out [url "http://www.Tackleunderground.com"]www.Tackleunderground.com[/url]
Great info. there on making any kind of lures,and the guys in the forums are very helpful....Nathan
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