MINESAPINT

Hi Wanttomakelures, Diemai has summed it up. He has also mentored me recently. I used to fish for Cod and make my own pirks out of golf shafts filled with lead. I could make 200 a session (2 hours) and the cost was the cost of the scrap lead. When I discovered other anglers were fishing for Bass with plugs I thought I would make my own. I live in UK but converted plugs are on sale for about 15 dollars here. With Diemai's help I am now confident that I can produce all sorts of wood blanks, weight & add hook hangers etc but my progress has ground to a halt because I have not yet decided how to finish the lures. I was going to try photo finishing. Printing onto tissue paper then glueing the image onto the lure but have just jammed my printer and am in trouble from the OH. I could hand paint but then I would be ashamed if someone else saw my efforts. I am currently considering buying an airbrush & paint but this represents a substantial investment and quite frankly for the accumulated costs it would be cheaper for me to purchase the finest lures available as I need them. I have now realised lure making is an absorbing hobby that I will probably get into seriously but I no longer see it as a way of producing cheap lures. MINESAPINT

I have now managed to purchase a quantity of stainless steel (316) wire 1.0mm and 1.6mm so am in a position to continue with my popper. I do have various lighter weight woods available but will continue with this ash blank for practice/experience. One thing I am unsure about which Scottishghillie tried to explain in his reply is whether the sloping mouth should look down into the water or up into the sky? I assume it should look down into the water and additionally the attaching eye should be attached towards the top of the gaping mouth? I imaging this arrangement will create a rocking/popping motion or am I just confused? Thanks MINESAPINT

Diemai, I suppose it will be a natural progression to make lots of different sorts of lures whether they be surface or shallow divers once I realise the procedures involved. It seems to me that it is impossible to predict what type of lures will catch on a given day so I am happy to make an assortment of styles & colours and will over time choose my favourites from these. I have read threads on Bass fishing sites entitled "which is your favourite Bass lure"? and everyone who responds suggests a different lure. Obviously there are not any hard & fast rules. Lures I remember being mentioned are Storm jointed thundersticks, Poppers, Maria Chase Angel Kiss. I am planning to make some jointed lures and some sand eels. If only I could find some wire! Going shopping today so will ask around. I am reading a book on Bass fishing which says Wrasse are a popular prey of Bass so I suppose I should make a lure that looks like a Wrasse. I suppose the 2 I have made have the correct shape for Wrasse so it is a matter of painting them Wrasse coloured. Will post any further progress. Thanks MINESAPINT

Keram, I am also on that learning curve but a few months behind you by the look of your lures. If any of my future lures resemble any of the ones you have just posted I want you to understand any resemblance is purely coincidental!!! I think I will have to invest in an air brush. I assume this is what everyone uses to paint their lures? I also assume an air brush is just a mini spray gun? Great lures. MINESAPINT

Success! I live on a farm and there are 2m diameter cattle drinking troughs in the fields. I attached a length of fishing line to my original lure - the one with the undersized lip, and tossed it across the trough and pulled it towards me. Initially it dived to 4 inches in a straight line then as I continued to pull it towards me the straight dive turned into a waggle. It looked just like a fish swimming and if I was a British record Bass I would definitely have had a go at it! I am looking forward to a more realistic test. As I make, test & use more lures I will be able to compare their different characteristics. (As soon as I find some wire)!. Diemai - You have done it now! I will have to make all those patterns you have listed! Thanks for all your help. MINESAPINT

Thanks Diemai & Mark, I am finding this fascinating. It is time I tested the 2 lures I am fiddling with at the moment to find out if they need adjusting or scrapping. I am not concerned with how many failures I have along the way but hope I will learn from each one. The main problem I have at the moment is I live in a country area with not much industry and have not yet been able to find a supply of stainless steel wire except for a few bits picked up off the floor of someones workshop. Will be posting pictures of my MK 3, 4, 5 versions etc in due course until I get one right! MINESAPINT

Thanks for all the great advice again. As you are aware from my dumb questions I am new to lure making but you will be unaware I am also new to fishing with lures. So the lure which is the subject of this thread is called a topwater lure (equivalent of a dry fly)?. It will be towed across the surface of the water and its principle attraction is that it should pop when tugged due to its design?, providing the design is correct! MINESAPINT

I have seen lures this shape: Do you call them poppers? I am not sure how they are supposed to work and not sure how to proceed. It is made from Ash and is about 6 inches long. Thanks MINESAPINT

MK 2 version with larger lip:

Diemai. Thanks for further advice/encouragement. Nothing I have done is by intention. I have no idea how the lure needs to react to catch fish and furthermore do not understand what to do to the lures during manufacture to give them different characteristics. All your advice is being noted! I think you realised I drilled my holes offset so as not to drill through the wire. At the moment I have no option but to continue with the small lip as removing/replacing it might be difficult but if at a later stage I find the lure is not performing I will try to replace it then. All part of the learning curve. MINESAPINT

Just to let you know I am still here. A bit more progress although there are not many shops round here and I am having difficulty obtaining supplies. 3 photos showing lure hopefully taking shape: You will note the lead ready to glue into the holes in the belly. MINESAPINT

Diemai, Thanks for your further advice. Makes a lot of sense! Will post again as soon as I have anything new to report. MINESAPINT

OK. I have given this weighting problem some thought. There are 2 considerations in my estimation. 1 How much weight. and 2 Where to put it. I decided to establish how much weight would provide negative buoyancy as follows: I screwed an eye into the end of a lure. Filled a deep bucket with water. (Tap water as had no sea water to hand, will give slightly different results). Hung various items on the eye and lowered into the water. Ended up with a piece of wire hanging from the lure and sliding a selection of washers onto the wire until desired weight achieved. Can now weigh the bunch of washers & the wire which in fact weighed one and a half ounces exactly. So in sea water this lure would float (just) providing the eyes, wire, hooks & lead weighs no more than one and a half ounces. I now have to decide on a % of one and a half ounces on a trial & error basis and I thought of 66% for starters. So the lead & hooks etc need to weigh one ounce. As I will be using woods of different densities and producing different size & shape lures by squint of eye and skeg of gob I thought I would try to come up with a formula to help with this weight problem. Photos as further explanation:

PhilB, I also know nowt about Bass fishing! I think I read that all Bass will take a big lure but only small Bass will take a small lure in Mike Ladles diary. My blanks are 6 inches long and as you can see fairly deep (about the size of a small herring or mackerel) and I am now thinking these blanks will need quite a lot of lead to balance them. I assume you need to add lead to the belly until the lure sits upright??? I have plenty of suitable wood and can easily make more blanks so as Diemai mentioned trial & error is the only way forward. I am going down to Whitby today and hope to pick up a book at the library about Bass fishing and see if I can purchase any supplies for lure making. Thanks MINESAPINT

That's a really neat homemade screw eye and a great idea to slot the lures belly to fit through wires. I was thinking of cutting a saw cut in the lures belly for another reason - to epoxy sheet lead into. Could kill 2 birds with 1 stone? Here's progress so far: