Lures - What do you do?

[vinny1957]

When making your lures and placing your hook eyes etc., do you use 2 halves and put them together, drill through the bait, saw a groove across the bottom or do you use the type that screw in? What do you like and why?
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I have been carving and painting my own wooden hardbaits for quite a few years. I have tried a lot of things...like gluing two halves together, with a wire center, etc.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]My preferred routine for eyes and hook rings is the screw eyes that are readily available in craft stores or from online lure making suppliers, like Janns Netcraft. If they are properly attached, they will never pull loose during normal fishing conditions...including snags or large fish. Your line will break before you tear one out.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I generally use a small rotary tool drill (Dremel or similar) to predrill a pilot hole for the screw eye. Use a drill bit slightly smaller than the diameter of the screw eye you want to use. Then, before inserting and tightening the screw eye, put a bit of WATERPROOF epoxy in the hole. I use a special rod-builders epoxy. It holds well and will never disintegrate in the water, like may of the 5 minute epoxies.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Be sure you have your screw eyes properly positioned before allowing the epoxy to dry. If you are making a crankbait, that may need to be "tuned" to get it to run right, it might be a good idea to use a longer screw eye for the line tie and not epoxy it. This will allow you to tweak it with your pliers if you need to adjust it on the water.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Believe me. Unless you are using 100 pound test super braid, you will not tear out a well mounted screw eye from your lures.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]One exception. I make some small (less than 2") floating shad lures for the early part of the year when bass are busting young shadlets on top. I form them "popper style", with concave faces. I DO NOT put hooks on them. Instead, I drill a hole through the blank, before final forming, and then run my line through that hole when I fish it. I tie a small treble or dressed single hook on behind a bead. Then, when I hook up I am in direct connection with the fish. And, I can change size and style of hook to suit my whims.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]You can do this same thing with a larger lure...drilling the hole running downward to emerge at the middle bottom of the lure. Again, that works okay for a splashy topwater bait, but not for cranks or shallow running minnow baits.[/#0000ff]
[signature]