Fishing lure

[taandctran]

Anyone ever made any wooden fishing lures??? I was woundering what type of wood floats the best, and what type of finish you can put on one so that the fish wont smell it???? I was thinking that a softer wood like poplar would proably float the best. and that I should paint the lure like I want it and then put a layer of CA glue over it. Tell me what everyone thanks about this, or if anyone has any other ideas or experience.

 

[Gofor]

Balsa works well for a floating lure if you are tying to the hook. You can find it at a Michaels, or at a model hobby shop. If you are anchoring the hooks into the lure, you need a harder, tight grained wood, well dryed. After coating it and the coating cures, drop it in a jar of cod liver oil. (The oil out of a can of sardines or kippered herring works too). To be honest, if you soak it in fish oil, you probably don't need to paint it at all. Size and shape are most important.
In the past, I made a couple lures out of an old rake handle, and they worked as well as the commercial ones. Of course I also made some spoon baits out of household spoons and a bit of iridescent striping used for car pin striping and had luck with those, too. This wasn't because of my skill at lure making or as a fisherman, it was 'cause I got lucky once in a while. Let's face it, even a stopped clock is right twice a day!!:mrgreen:

 

[McRabbet]

IMHO, balsa wood is quite soft and perhaps too buoyant as well, unless you are making top-water plugs. I'd opt for the favorite wood of carvers, basswood. It is readily available through better wood suppliers (Woodcraft, Woodworking Shop, etc.) and will hold up to repeated use. I'd paint with acrylic paints and then clear coat with epoxy to protect the finish. There are plenty of sources for add-on eyes, plastic diving bills, hook swivels and treble hooks online -- just do a Google on "Lure Making Components". One of the best is Jann's Netcraft at http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/. HTH.

Rob

 

[Matt]

I just got my Penn State catalogue (www.pennstateind.com) and it has lures on the cover (almost thought it was the Bass Pro catalogue :-D). Anyway, they sell Spanish Cedar and Basswood blanks for making lures. So, I guess those would be good woods?

They also sell the kits with all the fittings.

I can't speak for the quality of their stuff and I haven't figured out yet how their prices compare to just buying the hooks and stuff at a fishing shop, but hey it's a place to look.

Show some pic's when you're done. I am dying (just a thousand more projects to go:eusa_doh to make some lures and game calls... What better way to enjoy the outdoors than with gear you made? :icon_thum:icon_thum

 

[Travis Porter]

My father made some out of some Mahogany scraps I gave him one time. He commented that it carved well. I would think that regardless of what wood you use you would want it not to heavy/dense so it doesn't put too much weight on the rod and easy to carve. My .02

 

[Gofor]

Duh! What was I thinkin'?? Of Course the best wood for a fishing lure would be BASS wood!!:mrgreen:

 

[SkintKnuckle]

Thanh, the original Stan Gibb's saltwater plugs were made from white cedar, probably because his shop was on Cape Cod, and white cedar is a northeastern species. I would think that some straight grain western cedar would do very nicely.