Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Primitive Skills => Topic started by: youngbowyer33 on November 27, 2009, 10:15:49 pm
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Dont know whether to put this in here or in anything else, but, this summer my dad wants to start making lures with me.like buying balsa wood, cutting and whittling it, putting hooks and a lip on, then painting them and finally using them. I thought it would be pretty cool catching a fish on a lure you made your self, kinda like killing an animal with a bow you made.My question is, have any of you guys done it, or have any ideas?
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Take up fly fishing, I make all of my own "lures"! ;D Seriously, I'm not sure balsa is the best choice, yes it floats well, but I imagine screws and other hardware will just pull right out of it and it would get dented and dinged too fast. I'd look toward basswood (linden), poplar etc. But don't take my word for it, I'm just a fly flinger ;)
Swamp
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One thing I read about Florida history is that the Castrol Plant got established here because of the fishing lure industry. Supposedly it was introduced to replace Balsa.
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I was kind of interested in this type of thing when I was a kid in my dads workshop. I used any scrap of wood I could get. I think Rapala originally carved from balsa but I would think it would nick up easily. Basswood probably would be a little better and I have used poplar with some success. It is a lot of fun and rewarding to catch a fish on your own creation. Hope you enjoy it!
Kip
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I was kind of interested in this type of thing when I was a kid in my dads workshop. I used any scrap of wood I could get. I think Rapala originally carved from balsa but I would think it would nick up easily. Basswood probably would be a little better and I have used poplar with some success. It is a lot of fun and rewarding to catch a fish on your own creation. Hope you enjoy it!
Kip
You know come to think about it Rapalas are/were balsa. I stand corrected. Boy I used to catch a lot of fish on those things...
Swamp
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i make some flies, but it should be tons of fun to make some bass luers. if yall get good at it, do a build along or something. i know i would be interested. ;D
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i've tied flied since i was 10 or so and made a few wood casting plugs like rapalas. you can use balsa if the fish you catch don't have teeth (like bass), but if you catch a pike, walleye etc, they won't last long.
the biggest key no matter what wood you use is to cut a kerf in the bottom of the plug and run wire through it, twist loops in the wire where you tie your line and attach a treble hook. the wire is then laid in the kerf and filled with epoxy, you can add sawdust to the epoxy to make it blend in more. this way you have a direct connection from line to wire to hook and are not relying on screw in eye's, you don't really need the seconf hook up front, a single treble hook in the back is more than adequate.
i paint them with any old paint, one good tip is to use an old toothbrush, dip the tis of the toothbrush bristles in the paint and then run your finger accross the brush, the paint with splatter onto the lure. by using different colors and angles you can make pretty cool patterns. i'll try to post some pictures later.
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thanks for the responses, they helped.and my grandfather always used to paint the belly of his store bought lures orange, then my dad started it, and it actually worked, well, kind of. so im gonna do that.