If you have a fishing lure, you won’t struggle to get the attention of fish. A lure is a type of stimulated bait with contrasting colors uses movement, vibration, and flash to attract fish. Usually, the lures have got several hooks that help you catch the fish if they strike it. But can you make your fishing lure? Read on and learn how you can make fishing lures yourself at home.
Quick Navigation
Importance of Making Homemade Fishing Lures
There are different types of fishing lures like a surface lure, or soft plastic lures, each having its purpose and advantages. However, if you’re into fishing and have a tight budget, it can be challenging for you to buy the equipment. This is because all the fishing equipment are not cheap, and there are also several requiring a lot of money. One of the ways you can reduce the cost is by learning to make fishing lures at home.
Apart from saving on cost, making your lures will bring in something new fish are not used to. Remember, many people do fish and might be using similar traps in the same water body. So having a new unique lure will help you attract the attention of more fish.
You’ll also achieve the satisfaction that your creativity has born fruits and that you’ve made something according to your wish. Doing this will also keep you busy and if you turn it into a hobby or business, making money out of it can also be possibility. You’ll also make lures of your design, helping you boost your creativity level.
Things You’ll Require to Make Fishing Lures
If you love fishing, it’s best to learn how to make your own fishing lures. You can make fishing lures out of things like a toothbrush or a synthetic toy but it requires different tools and materials. So, you’ve got to check on that.
You will need the following materials and tools for this process:
- Drill bits
- Tape measure
- Roofing knife
- Coping saw
- Power drill
- Sandpaper
- Sharpies
- A small painting brushes
- Waterproof superglue
- Pliers
- Wood
- Wood sealant
- Large nails
- Treble nails
- Paint
- Bigger popsicle stick
- Treble hooks
- Split rings
- Googly eyes
- Treble hooks
Note that these tools or materials are things you can get cheaply while others you may be having at home so you’ll not spend much on them.
The Procedure of How to Make Wooden Lure
- Design the lure you want to make. The first step you should consider when making a lure is the design you’re to make. You can also consider making topwater fishing lure that works best near the water surface. It’s the easiest to make and lightweight making your fishing work easier. Topwater traps attract fish mostly early or late hours of the days when they’re active. But you have to ensure the lures have an attractive color. If you want to create your lure from a pattern, download a template since making such from scratch can be challenging. With the designs, you can learn to make custom fishing lures which is also helpful in knowing where to fix hooks. The size of the bait you expect to make should correspond with the type of fish you’re hoping to catch. You can design it of size three by 6 inches, but smaller sizes can do too. If you can, do several lures sizes which will give you an easy time in the water.
You can also learn how to make deep sea fishing lures like diving bait if you’re going to fish in deep waters. Diving baits have a lip that makes them sink when you’re retrieving them. So, you have to be careful while making them, but it doesn’t involve additional work. These lures are much heavier than topwater, something that helps them hold up. You can use them any time of the day in any water body. They’re round with a lip that allows them to sink, but some types have an internal rattle that attracts crankbait. Thin minnows are long and narrow baits, and they consist of a small diving lip on their inside that makes an arrow around as you retrieve. However, the curved minnows don’t have a lip but comprise of the curved body with a smooth surface at the top.
The deep sinking lures have long lips that enable them to sink if you don’t retrieve them. Such lures will help you attract fish in deep water.
- After that, you should choose a strong, lightweight wood for making the lure. You can work with either cedar, pine or balsa, which aren’t hard to shape and floats on water with ease. Hardwood like maple or oak is suitable for lures that don’t move faster. Remember, the wood choice is critical as it’ll determine the type of fish you catch. A bigger, stronger and durable wood will do you good.
- The next thing you need to do is cut the wood using the knife into the desired shape. Use wood that’s ½ inch bigger than the size of lure you intend to make. To get this know the size of the lure beforehand. A bigger wood will give you enough space for sanding and shaping your fishing lure. You can get the best wood for making lures in any of the home improvement stores.
Before cutting the shape out of the wood, sketch it using the templates. Let the shape be the same as you want your lure to be, and do this neatly and accurately. Ensure you have the necessary PPEs like a dust mask and work in a well-aerated place.
- Using the saw, cut out the wood, which will enable you to work faster. Don’t cut a small lure shape from the wood to give you space for corrections. Leave about 1/8 inch of wood around it to avoid making a smaller lure. If you’re using a carving knife, cut away the wood gradually around the sketch. After that, you can carve out the lure using a knife. But you’ve got to ensure the design is in shape before doing the smaller details. If you want to make it, a popper cut the front end so that it curves inward. You can also design sketch patterns on the wood, although it’s not necessary. Alternatively, you can use Dremel to make the groove in the popper lure as it cuts the excess wood with ease.
- The next step you should do is sand the wood with sandpaper. Use equal pressure to rub on the surface of the lure and pay much attention to the rough ends. Don’t forget to smoothen the front and back of the lure to get rid of sharp edges. Also, double-check the size of the lure to cut excess wood that you might have left. Finally, sand the lure using fine-grit sandpaper to get rid of any remaining imperfections.
- Drill pilot holes for the hooks and leads of 3/16 inches. Drill through the center of the lure’s nose if you are making a popper. Flip the lure to make the second hole at the back. After that, turn it again on the front side and make another hole 1/3 inch away from the front end. You can use the template to help put the pilot holes in the right place, which varies according to the type of lure you’re to make. Note that most lures have one hook at the back and another one in front. You can also add weight to the lure, especially if you intend to make sinking lures.
- The next step you should do is to paint the lure. Before doing that, make sure you wipe it to remove wood dust, that can prevent the paint from sticking well. You can use either a microfiber cloth or a tack cloth to do this. Then you should apply a clear wood sealer on the surface of the lure evenly as a base coat which will make it waterproof. Give the sealer around twenty minutes to dry, although the drying time will depend on the type of product you use and its manufacturer. Using an airbrush, apply primer basecoat. Use matching primer and sealer if possible. But some sealers also act as a primer. So, if you’ve such, you don’t need to use a primer as a base coat. If you want a perfect finish, dip the lure into the base coat. You should also consider using a white primer to avoid having a darker lure. Give it around 30 minutes to dry before proceeding. Then paint the base layer of your lure using different colors depending on the final look you’d want to get. Do apply lighter colors first across the lure. You can also add any decoration you’d like on your lure and make it look real like store-bought lures. Give it another thirty minutes to dry off before doing the final touches. Apply the clear topcoat to make it waterproof and durable. Allow the clear coat to dry for not less than a day before using it.
- Attach the hooks and weights on the lure. Use screws of ¼ inches to make pit holes. Ensure the screw you’re using for this process are slightly bigger than the pilot holes to make them stick well. Also, you can use different type of screws depending on the type of lure you’re making. After that, attach the hooks to the screw eyes and pass the split rings on to the top and bottom with pliers. You can then fill the lure to add weight to it.
- If you’re fixing a lip, cut the right place and seal with the glue. Use a knife to cut horizontally across the lure, apply glue and put the lip in. Let the glue stick for about one hour before using the lure.
What Else Can You Learn Making Apart from Wooden Fishing Lures?
Besides learning how to make homemade fishing lures, you can also google how to make artificial fishing lures and save on costs. Knowing how to make soft fishing lures is also not challenging to understand. Note that making plastic fishing lures is not much different from making wooden ones except the materials and tools that may differ. You should also know how to make a fishing lure shadow box that will give you an easy time keeping your equipment.
Check out the following video for making soft plastic Fishing Lures.
Final Thoughts
If you know how to make balsa wood fishing lures, you’ll save a lot of money you’d spend buying the equipment. Understanding how to make and sell fishing lures is also a great way of generating income. Don’t hesitate to give it a try if you’re into fishing, and design different sizes and enjoy your experience.