radu Posted November 30, 2003 Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 i have a question...say i decide to use screws for the hook eyelets, instead of through-wire. I have never fished, to my knowlegde, a lure with screws for hook eyes, and therefore i have no idea about the resistance of screws to pressure, let's say when you fight a fish. I know that very expensive lures use screws (Dowluck, some Saurus and other "collector style" lures, which tend most of all to be surface lures, -by the way, i didn't see until now a LIP lure over 100 bucks in Japan, while there are plenty of surface lures at this price like poppers, Little George, spin tail poppers and every other kind of domestic and wild animals you can figure out including Mars little green creatures, i talk about lures you can find in many shops or mass produced ones-, it is probably because sandwiching a wire requires much more craftmanship to achieve the same degree of precision in design and balance, let alone the time?). I wonder, if you pay 100 bucks for a lure, wil you have the heart to fish it too? Anyway, does anyone know about the degree of resistance of screws? On the other side, screws would save me from lots of work, especially on poppers and other surface lures, so that i can focus on painting... thank you, Radu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
out2llunge Posted November 30, 2003 Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 Screw eyes as they are more commonly known work extremely well. However, it depends on the wood you're working with. Would I trust it with a material like balsa, probably not, unless I was fishing for some very tiny fish that didn't put up much of a fight. I loaned one of my muskie baits to somebody who hooked and landed an 18 lb. anchor. And yes the screw eyes held just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatnik13 Posted December 1, 2003 Report Share Posted December 1, 2003 I tend to use hook hangers at the rear of the plug so that the screws aren't pulled in a direct direction.This lets the hook or treble hook swing in multi positions. In all other locations I only lost screws because I over torked it as I was constructing the the wood lure not fishing.I only use hard wood not balsa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radu Posted December 1, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2003 Thank you guys, it is very helpful, as always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Mitchell Posted December 1, 2003 Report Share Posted December 1, 2003 I have used screw eyes in balsa wood. In the tail I used 1 1/4" long and in the belly I have used 1". I screw the screw eye in and then back it out and put 2 ton epoxy in the hole with a thin piece of wire. I have used both the 5 & 30 minute epoxy. I put a little around the thread of the screw as it is being put back in. I have even used cotter pins in the same way. Made the hole larger and then filled it with epoxy. I bass fish and have caught several drum & catfish (not on purpose) that weight 8 - 10 lb. I have not had a single hook holder to pull out. Now the hooks had to be replaced after they got bent up. I have been glueing the lips or bills in with epoxy and have not had them to pull out. This is not to say that it won't happen. It is that I have not had any problems doing it this way. Charlie M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatnik13 Posted December 2, 2003 Report Share Posted December 2, 2003 The hook problem will easyly be resolved by buying 2x strenth hooks if you haven't already or increase by 1 power over what you use now,just got to make the hook sharper if you increase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe32 Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 I use screw eyes for making all of my baits,I use 1 1/4" stainless steel eyes.I epoxy the screw eyes in and I have had friends land pike to nearly 30lb and never had a screw eye pull out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurecarver23 Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 I use 1/2 inch long screw eyes in basswood. Once the screw eyes are in the wood and glue in they arent going anywhere. Basswood floats well and is tough. Screw eyes are a lot easier to attach than putting a through wire in the lure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosierdaddy Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 Another secret that I will let out is that when I run in screw eyes as hangers I dont put them straight in. I run them in at a slight angle from the head ( lip ) end toward the tail. This way a fighting or stricking fish would literally have to tear the lure to get them out. Always epoxy them in as well. Wipe the epoxy on the threads.. run them in.. back them out and repeat. This will work the epoxy down into the hole. If you intend to use a screw eye for the tie-on make sure you use a brass one like Baralow's sells. This screw eye must be soft enough to bend in order to tune the lure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
