Make Wood Fishing Lures

It is important to know before you begin a hobby what will be required. We'll cover the basic equipment needed to make a wooden fishing lure.

Supply List

• Scrollsaw
  
• Masking Tape
• Wood (see below)
  
• Lure Hardware (screw eyes, treble hooks, split rings)
  
• Paper and Permanent Marker
  
• Sandpaper
  
• Wood sealer, paint, marine varish
  
• Wood Filler and Lead Weight (if you plan to weight your lure)
  
• Whittling or carving knife
  
• Drill

Choosing a Wood

The body of your wooden fishing lure is created from a rectangular block of wood that is a little bit larger than the desired finished lure size. If you are planning to make a wood lure 3-1/2" in length, you might start with a wood block that measures roughly around 3-1/2" x 1" x 1."

You can cut your wood to size using one of several different types of saws, including a bandsaw, mitre saw, a scroll saw, or a hand saw. Some suppliers sell wood in pre-cut blocks, however they usually cost more than if you buy a larger piece of wood and cut your own blocks.

Different types of wood create different types of actions in your lures when they are in the water. Soft lure woods include basswood, cedar, pine, and balsa. Harder woods are those such as oak, walnut, maple, ash, and birch.

Soft woods are lighter which gives them the ability to float, easier to cut to shape, and offer quicker action than hardwood lures. Hardwoods are more difficult to work with as far creating the lure shape you want, but they make great suspending lures

Try creating lures from both hard and soft woods and trying them out to see which you like best.

The choice you make in wood depends on the type of lure you plan to make, such as a topwater lure. You can also make your own spinners, plugs, spoons, divers and swimmers.

If you are a beginner at lure making, you might start with basswood because it is easy to work with. Most commercial fishing lures are made of basswood, red or white cedar, or balsa wood.

Other items you will need include the lure hardware, which varies per plug but typically will include a screw eye for attaching to your line, treble hooks, hook attachments, split rings, lead weights, fins, and any other hardware you choose to use. You will need a carving or whittling knife to shape the block. You will also need sandpaper to sand your plug once it is shaped. You'll need a drill, wood sealer, and paint.

Basic Steps for Making a Wooden Fishing Lure:

1. Cut a rectangular wood block slightly larger than desired wood size. (See Info Above on Wood Selection)
2. Draw the lure shape onto the wood block using a Sharpie permanent marker. Draw all four sides of the lure shape onto the sides of the wooden block.
3. The left and right sides must be identical for proper balance, so you might trace onto paper first, then cut out to make a reusable pattern.
4. Using a scroll saw, cut EACH side shape of the lure from the wood block; there will be two cuts, one for EACH side, which will create 3 different pieces.
5. Your rectangular block is now in three separate sections.
6. Tightly tape these three sections back together as if they had never been cut.
7. Using a scroll saw, cut the wooden block again along the top and bottom pattern shapes you traced onto the block earlier. Side shapes must be kept uniform to maintain balance. Top and bottom cuts can vary based on desired design.
   
8. When done, remove the tape and you now have your basic wooden lure shape.
   
9. Using a carving knife designed for this purpose, fine carve or whittle your lure into shape. Add detailing as desired.
   
10. When all cutting and carving is complete, fine sand your wooden lure.
    
11. Using a drill, make properly sized holes for attaching lure hardware. The hardware you use will vary on individual lures. You will need a screw eye for attaching the fishing line and two additional screw eyes for attaching the hooks (our lure will have two sets of treble hooks). Positioning of the screw eyes is important so your treble hooks "clear" each other. A "lip" is optional and can be made from a variety of materials such as plastic or acrylic.
    
12. Place a "split ring" on the two hook screw eyes to be used for attaching treble hooks.
    
13. Apply a good quality sealer.
    
14. Apply a prime or base coat of paint. Then detail as desired.
    
15. After painting is done and completely dry, apply a couple of coats of marine or boat varnish.
    
16. Now most importantly of all, Go Fishing!
    

Some Spoon Tips
Harnett, Robert
Buy This Allposters.com

The above information is just a basic tutorial on the wonderful craft of making your own wooden fishing lures. Once you get the basic hang of how lures are made, you can delve deeper into the world of lure making.

You can add variety to the action of each lure you make by varying the type of wood used, the shape, the hardware, and the detailing. The creativity is endless because the detailing can be completed in so many different ways using a wide variety of colors and so forth.

You can find some really great detailed information on wooden lure making techniques in the Wood Lure Making Guide. Make lures for your own personal use, turn a few out for friends as gifts, or make a few to sell.

The most fun part of wooden lure making is testing the lures! So make a lure, and go catch that prizing winning trophy fish!

Making wooden fishing lures and using them to catch fish is a tremendously fun hobby. What makes it even more interesting is doing research to get ideas on different things to try to attract more fish. Even more fun than that is getting to test out different lure shapes, colors, detailing, etc. to see what works best.

So what kind of fish can you catch with your homemade fishing lures? The same kind you can catch using commercial fishing lures: Whatever's Biting!

Bass, striper, musky, trout, crappie, salmon, pike, and the list goes on. Fresh or Salt Water Fish.

If you love fishing, then you already enjoy learning more about what fish do, or don't, like about certain lures and baits. So use what you already know about fish, then learn some more, and make plenty of different kinds of lures so you can experiment with them all. You may be the inventor of the next Best Selling Fishing Lure!

Have Fun and as always, A Day at the Lake always Beats A Day at Work!

This is a guide I found incredibly useful when I started making homemade lures. Rather than have to figure out a lot of things for myself, I was able to get tried true and tested techniques and methods from someone who not only makes lures, but uses them on a regular basis.

For the price of a couple of commercial fishing lures, I was well into making a wide variety of lures using methods explained in great detail, saving me a lot of trial and error lessons.

If you want the real meat and potatoes of lure making, check out these features you'll find in "The Ultimate Guide to Homemade Fishing Lures."

Key Features of this Guide

• Lure component sourcing: one of the biggest challenges when beginning lure making is finding all the components you need at the best prices. Instead of trial and error methods, this guide provides sources for all materials needed in lure making, including wood, hardware, etc.
  
• Tools needed and proper use of them
  
• Precise instructions on the best painting and coatings for your lures
  
• COLOR photographs of many of the lure making processes found in this guide
  
• Tips and instructions for air brushing your lures, including tips on air compressors
  
• How to use the "masking" technique for applying stunning effects on your wooden lures
  
• Good wood sealer is CRITICAL; get information on the BEST wood sealers and where to find them
  
• Get detailed instructions on how to make popper mouth lures, saltwater stripers, flat nosed swimmers, and round nose Danny style swimmers
  
• Precise instructions for a perfect tail wrap every time
  
• The "Ultimate Guide to Homemade Fishing Lures" provides extensive lure making details and information, and costs about the same as 2 or 3 commercial fishing lures
  
• The guide is a 30 chapter guide and covers everything from material sourcing to final lure packaging for those wishing to sell their finished lures
  
• I, personally, found this guide to be incredibly helpful in my lure making hobby
  

Happy Angling!

Photos are Copyright Istock Photo and used via Paid Permission.