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The best lure you've ever made?

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So guys as I'm only just starting out on my journey of lure making, I thought it would be good to hear a few stories about some of best or most pleasing lures you have ever made & why?

What made that lure special for you & what was the process you went through to make it, what paint scheme did you choose etc?

Hopefully hearing a few success stories will keep the interest flowing while I'm working on my first lures over the weekend :yay:

All the best :tipsy:

Andy.

 

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Wow, what a can of worms that is.

OK, I have one for you.  "A" bait of fond memories, and sad memories, is one I made as a 10 year old. 

My dad had some spinner making components and let me use them.  We grew some "Indian corn" and I collected several kernels that had the most divers and brilliant colors.  I drilled a hole in the center, than soaked them in varnish.  When completed, it was a light but very colorful little spinner for trout.

When I pulled it out to troll for the fist time my dad laughed and put me down big time.  Within an hour I had caught so many fish that the whole family was using MY spinners.  Of course varnish and indeed varnish from the 1970's did not protect the corn for long so two or three trips and they fell apart, but what great trips.

Fond because I "stuck it to" my dad who never did think I was worth much.  Sad because in my later years he would brag about how fantastic the lure was that my "young brother" made.  My young brother never made a lure in his life.

I think a lot of our best memories are also our worst.  As for best lure, well I have dozens of others over the years that still fill my mental tackle box.

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1 hour ago, Anglinarcher said:

Wow, what a can of worms that is.

OK, I have one for you.  "A" bait of fond memories, and sad memories, is one I made as a 10 year old. 

My dad had some spinner making components and let me use them.  We grew some "Indian corn" and I collected several kernels that had the most divers and brilliant colors.  I drilled a hole in the center, than soaked them in varnish.  When completed, it was a light but very colorful little spinner for trout.

When I pulled it out to troll for the fist time my dad laughed and put me down big time.  Within an hour I had caught so many fish that the whole family was using MY spinners.  Of course varnish and indeed varnish from the 1970's did not protect the corn for long so two or three trips and they fell apart, but what great trips.

Fond because I "stuck it to" my dad who never did think I was worth much.  Sad because in my later years he would brag about how fantastic the lure was that my "young brother" made.  My young brother never made a lure in his life.

I think a lot of our best memories are also our worst.  As for best lure, well I have dozens of others over the years that still fill my mental tackle box.

That's quite a story buddy & can totally see where you're coming from, must of felt good when the whole family were requesting one of your spinners though :yay:

Andy.

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First lure I ever made was with my grandpa.  I still have it too!  It's a little bass-o-reno style plug.  He showed me how to do the shaping and sanding and then he painted it black, installed hardware, and gave me the finished product.  I once caught around 20 pike (small ones) in one go with it.  They were hitting the surface like crazy, and the only way I could get it to work how they liked it was to wrap the wire leader around the front hook.  Kind of weird, but it's what they were after.  I have since retired the lure and have it hanging up in my shop.

My most successful lure I made so far is a small popper.  I made it with a kid at the school I work at.  The ballast weight is a 3/8" steel hex nut.  I put a picture of it on here a while ago, but it's got a cream and brown color pattern with gills.  The day of the picture I caught 9 bass and a bullfrog, with the biggest bass being 21 inches (which for around here is pretty big).

 

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This is a tale of multiple ‘happy accidents’ making a memorable lure. I have a bond with this lure that is tempting me to not retire it, even though it belongs on the wall now.

My favorite lure is one I call Dicky Moe after the whale in a Tom & Jerry cartoon.  The cartoon whale was the first thing I thought of when the lure was finished.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bttiQVVweJE

It is all white, 9.75” long, and weighs 3.1 oz. without the hooks.  The bait came out longer than expected because I forgot to take into account the joint gaps would add close to an inch of length because I used big gate eye screws for hardware. The V cuts for the joints don’t mesh perfectly and are ‘close enough’.

I made numerous mistakes during its construction. I was so disappointed with its appearance that I was ashamed to fish with it initially. Dicky Moe was my first attempt at a big bait. I wanted to make it a simple design. I started with a section of 1-1/8” diameter poplar dowel. I just rounded the nose and tapered the back half of the bait down a bit. It is clunky and amateurish.

I screwed up the eye sockets. I eyeballed the locations with a hand drill (no pun intended). The eyes are not in the same spot on both sides. The drill bit walked making the edges of the sockets jagged and not perfectly round. The lure looks a bit cross-eyed.

I made another mistake in sealing the bait. I soaked the body sections in MinWax Wood Hardener for a day. Wood Hardener will work a sealer, but it has a long off-gas time. I did not know this at the time. Soaking the sections for that long probably requires a month of off-gassing with that stuff. This would cause the paint and clear coat to separate from the body later on.

I finished the parade of screw ups when I installed the lip. I was trying for a 70 degree angle. I cut the slot too big for the Lexan. I used 2 pieces of blue tape like tent rope supports to hold the lip in place while the epoxy cured in the slot. The lip shifted and I ended with an 85 degree angle lip, just slightly forward of straight 90 degree down. The lip ended up being slightly tilted, not straight across the bait. The lip reminds me of a snowplow blade, titled to push the snow off the road.

Despite its ugly appearance, it has great action. It wriggles and clacks on the surface. The sections whack against each other. With my rod tip down, it bulges just below the surface. It makes a big wake. In its debut, I caught 3 fish on it, all largemouth, 2 to 3.5 pounds.

After that first trip, some off the painted lifted from the body. This problem would pop-up throughout Dicky Moe’s life. Through the years, I would peel off the lifting section, cut it off with a razor blade and patch that section with random white paints and epoxies.  The lure is now has uneven color ranging from bright white to some spots that have ambered. The clear coat is uneven due to overlapping patch jobs. I keep catching fish on it including several over 5 lbs. Years ago, I decided to not strip the paint. I have just kept on patching it. I don’t want to strip the paint and possibly ruin Dicky’s mojo.

Dicky Moe was responsible for one of my favorite fishing memories. 3 years ago, I was fishing off the dock at my parents’ lake house. They were having an extended family bbq with over 30 people attending to celebrate my oldest uncle’s birthday. I decided to take a few casts while waiting for food. My relatives made numerous jabs about the ‘ridiculous’ size of my lure. On the second cast, I caught a 2.5 lb. largie which surprised my relatives. I was then able to respond with “never doubt the master”. A couple of minutes later, as the lure was no more than 10 feet from the dock, the lure got hammered. The strike was like someone threw a bowling bowl in the water. After a brief but intense fight, including a massive tail splash that sprayed me, I landed a 7.2 lb. largie which stunned everyone. There is nothing quite like catching a big fish in front of audience that was mocking your lure.

Dicky Moe has a special place in my heart. It continually reminds that a lure’s appearance does not necessarily relate to its effectiveness. It has provided faithful service for a decade. It will probably go on the wall this year. One of the big gate screws does not look secure anymore. When I die, I want to be cremated with this lure along with some my other favorites.

This pics don’t really show how mottled the paint is. One pic is with a SK 2.5 squarebill for a size comparison. After looking at the pics, I never noticed how crooked and misplaced some of the eye screws are.

dick moe joint.JPG

dicky moe head.JPG

dicky moe snowplow lip.JPG

dicky moe w 2pt5 squarebill.JPG

Edited by JD_mudbug
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You’re welcome.

I have seen a few posts lately from people new to lure making. It’s nice to see. A couple of decades ago when I really started trying to make lures, I was usually disappointed my lures did not look like the masterpieces you see on this site or the hand-made lures I would see at fishing expos.  I found painting in particular to be frustrating to do well. My painting skills have improved over time. I am even proud of some of my paint jobs now. They still don’t look like masterpieces. But, they catch fish. 

I just want some of the new people to know your lure doesn’t have to look like a work of art to be a great fish catcher. Never get disappointed with your efforts. Every mistake is a lesson learned.  No matter what your skill level, all you have to do is keep trying to improve your lure making skills, bit by bit.  The satisfaction of catching fish on a self-made lure is worth the effort.

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21 hours ago, JD_mudbug said:

This is a tale of multiple ‘happy accidents’ making a memorable lure. I have a bond with this lure that is tempting me to not retire it, even though it belongs on the wall now.

My favorite lure is one I call Dicky Moe after the whale in a Tom & Jerry cartoon.  The cartoon whale was the first thing I thought of when the lure was finished.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bttiQVVweJE

It is all white, 9.75” long, and weighs 3.1 oz. without the hooks.  The bait came out longer than expected because I forgot to take into account the joint gaps would add close to an inch of length because I used big gate eye screws for hardware. The V cuts for the joints don’t mesh perfectly and are ‘close enough’.

I made numerous mistakes during its construction. I was so disappointed with its appearance that I was ashamed to fish with it initially. Dicky Moe was my first attempt at a big bait. I wanted to make it a simple design. I started with a section of 1-1/8” diameter poplar dowel. I just rounded the nose and tapered the back half of the bait down a bit. It is clunky and amateurish.

I screwed up the eye sockets. I eyeballed the locations with a hand drill (no pun intended). The eyes are not in the same spot on both sides. The drill bit walked making the edges of the sockets jagged and not perfectly round. The lure looks a bit cross-eyed.

I made another mistake in sealing the bait. I soaked the body sections in MinWax Wood Hardener for a day. Wood Hardener will work a sealer, but it has a long off-gas time. I did not know this at the time. Soaking the sections for that long probably requires a month of off-gassing with that stuff. This would cause the paint and clear coat to separate from the body later on.

I finished the parade of screw ups when I installed the lip. I was trying for a 70 degree angle. I cut the slot too big for the Lexan. I used 2 pieces of blue tape like tent rope supports to hold the lip in place while the epoxy cured in the slot. The lip shifted and I ended with an 85 degree angle lip, just slightly forward of straight 90 degree down. The lip ended up being slightly tilted, not straight across the bait. The lip reminds me of a snowplow blade, titled to push the snow off the road.

Despite its ugly appearance, it has great action. It wriggles and clacks on the surface. The sections whack against each other. With my rod tip down, it bulges just below the surface. It makes a big wake. In its debut, I caught 3 fish on it, all largemouth, 2 to 3.5 pounds.

After that first trip, some off the painted lifted from the body. This problem would pop-up throughout Dicky Moe’s life. Through the years, I would peel off the lifting section, cut it off with a razor blade and patch that section with random white paints and epoxies.  The lure is now has uneven color ranging from bright white to some spots that have ambered. The clear coat is uneven due to overlapping patch jobs. I keep catching fish on it including several over 5 lbs. Years ago, I decided to not strip the paint. I have just kept on patching it. I don’t want to strip the paint and possibly ruin Dicky’s mojo.

Dicky Moe was responsible for one of my favorite fishing memories. 3 years ago, I was fishing off the dock at my parents’ lake house. They were having an extended family bbq with over 30 people attending to celebrate my oldest uncle’s birthday. I decided to take a few casts while waiting for food. My relatives made numerous jabs about the ‘ridiculous’ size of my lure. On the second cast, I caught a 2.5 lb. largie which surprised my relatives. I was then able to respond with “never doubt the master”. A couple of minutes later, as the lure was no more than 10 feet from the dock, the lure got hammered. The strike was like someone threw a bowling bowl in the water. After a brief but intense fight, including a massive tail splash that sprayed me, I landed a 7.2 lb. largie which stunned everyone. There is nothing quite like catching a big fish in front of audience that was mocking your lure.

Dicky Moe has a special place in my heart. It continually reminds that a lure’s appearance does not necessarily relate to its effectiveness. It has provided faithful service for a decade. It will probably go on the wall this year. One of the big gate screws does not look secure anymore. When I die, I want to be cremated with this lure along with some my other favorites.

This pics don’t really show how mottled the paint is. One pic is with a SK 2.5 squarebill for a size comparison. After looking at the pics, I never noticed how crooked and misplaced some of the eye screws are.

dick moe joint.JPG

dicky moe head.JPG

dicky moe snowplow lip.JPG

dicky moe w 2pt5 squarebill.JPG

Brilliant read, if it catches it catches :yay: bet that 7lb fish was a great scrap!

Andy.

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32 minutes ago, mark poulson said:

JD_mudbug said, "The satisfaction of catching fish on a self-made lure is worth the effort."

That is soooooo true.

JD_mudbug & Mark I agree, Iv'e been building handcrafted lures for quite a while and have had some great success with them, but the one that sticks out to me was a tournament buddy of mine asked me to build him a pair of shallow water crankbaits for a certain situation, I built 2 and painted them in a japaneese style or version of sexy shad. He fished them the weekend after picking them up and caught over 30 bass ( 1 day ) with those lures. So I'd have to say seeing someone else, especially a buddy fish your creation and have success would be my best. I've built this particular lure for many years and fished it all over and in different situations, always caught fish but having a buddy new to the lure have success with them was really special.

I always encourage anglers I come in contact with to follow thier passion or dreams in tackle crafting and take pride in helping others when the opportunity arrises. Recently I've been mentoring a young man, the son of a friend I work with, he sends me pictures all the time of soft plastic baits he's made and fish he's caught with them, always bring a smile to my face seeing him enjoy the baits he's created and the fish he catches with them.

Rich

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@JD_mudbug It's always tempting to compare... I just bought an airbrush the other day. When I went back and bought a hose the gal at the counter asked me what I paint.  We talked a bit about making lures when she asked me if airbrushing is easy (I've not tried it yet).  I told her, "well, the guys on YouTube make it look easy."

I think accepting the process of learning through mistakes is critical!  The booklet that came with the airbrush I got specifically says to be prepared to make lots of mistakes.  It's all part of the journey.  I've been very impressed with some of the work I've seen on this site, and hope to learn and practice my way to such high quality pieces.

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