jolie Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 Its shocking to me how much money a few bad casts can lose when we Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikeman Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 (edited) My guess ??? If you won't try it you'll never now Minimal requirments you say? You are in deep trouble now. For me it all started like that: A piece of wood A handsaw X-acto knife Some wire Some lead Laquer Paint Plastic for the lip This should be the minimal requirments (don't ask me about the prices in USA but I think you'll go cheap with all those garaje sales and bargains, deals and so on) The trouble?? You'll want more, Airbrush, acrilic paints, epoxy resin and than you realise you pay for quality, you don't like to screw your work, you invest $$$ but also time (some fingers too if you are not carefull ) and time is money, but the satisfaction of catching fish with your own lures??? I'll let you figure it out So my advice...GO FOR IT P.S. forgot about the terrible headaches the laquer attacks the paint, one rattle can paint disolves other and the lure looks like it has cheese on it, go for products from the same factory and read if they are disolved by the same thinner, water based paints will help you go through P.S.2 You don't ask "is luremaking for me?" on the largest worldwide luremaking website cause the answer is definitely YES Edited October 30, 2009 by pikeman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miragestalker Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 After spending 700 bucks on materials, a table saw, a drill press, a scroll saw, wood carving tools, air brush, supplies etc etc.... I was thinking the same thing to myself last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikeman Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 about the action? there are ways to figure out this problem I'll give you some hints 1. build the body , water proof it , place a lip, screw eyes or whatever, treble hooks too and take a needle, place some lead on it and push it into the lures belly , go for a swim in the bathtube or a tank, move the needle on the lure until you find the proper action, if the lure is larger use more needles or lead , be sure to check the lip alignment and the toe eye too before you start the bathtub fishing. After you found the place for the lead, make holes and place it in the lure 2. build the body , place the lead, screw eyes, lip and treble hooks , prepare a set of plastic lips and go for the bathtub, gently replace the lips until one catches your atention by giving the lure the action you want...don't forget to waterproof the lure before you start 3. throw out money on the window...buy a lure and tare it apart, this will bring you information...but you won't be so good of doing an exact replica , and if it's plastic with chambers in it , remember that you use wood (not the same density, and it's difficult to place chambers in it at the beginning) Oh, another important tip: practice, lure shapes , lips shapes, toe eye placement (on the lure, on the lip) this is the way to experience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikeman Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 After spending 700 bucks on materials, a table saw, a drill press, a scroll saw, wood carving tools, air brush, supplies etc etc....I was thinking the same thing to myself last night. and than you realised that you are wayyyy into deep to go back now + you kinda love it , if not you wouldn't have bought all sorts of tools, but damn you forced the limit and wanted more and more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lure--Prof Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 If your goal is simply to save money on fishing lures that are as effective and durable as production lures, and not take any of your fishing time away, or a very minimal amount of it, then luremaking probably is not going to be bottom-line cost effective for you. Same deal as travelling cross-country: You can stay in a lot of motels for the price of a small motorhome plus campground fees, etc. But if what you are after is a certain type of experience on your journey, besides sheer point to point travelling efficiency, then you'll have to consider widening your parameters as to what you're willing to sacrifice. I've made bass and panfish lures since I was a teenager; so for me luremaking has long been a large part of my total fishing experience. And I've reached the point where after a lifetime of fishing and lure building experience, I've learned to make lures that last longer and catch more fish than similar production lures which are built to a price point. I no longer build lures to imitate factory lures, but build them as tools to use for specific fishing conditions. I tell you this to illustrate that there can be goals beyond the scope of mere cost effectivness. Of course, when I can catch more and bigger smallmouth by dropshotting Gulp Minnows, I'll do that too:lol:. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolie Posted October 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 If your goal is simply to save money on fishing lures that are as effective and durable as production lures, and not take any of your fishing time away, or a very minimal amount of it, then luremaking probably is not going to be bottom-line cost effective for you.Good luck! I guess asking "is luremaking for me" isn't exactly a question any of you can answer. but what I would like to know more about the action. Is a plug that visibly woobles, an effective fishing lure? Pikeman mentions the bathtub test- but outside of seeing that it does indeed wooble, how do I know that the wooble is effective? Rapala (amoung many others) claims to have spent quite some time getting the action just right. Dean, You can't obviously count time making a lure, if your judging costs between making and purchasing. But on the surface of it, it seems that a homemade lure MIGHT be quite inexpansive. about 2$ USD. thats 1/2 to 1/3 the price of a rapalla. of course there may be things about rappallas or other brands thats just better than the beginners attempt at a plug. I'm interested to note that you think you can make a plug BETTER than the commercial guys.hmm. I guess my thought is that it seems less expansive and worth it if it didn't take a really long time... I always pretty much figure- that I have to give it try (as Pikeman says). I won't really know until I do. My game plan is to try a 5" wood plug, entirely from local supplies. That will be the trick. my choices wood wise are very limited; right now, it seems my best bet is poplar. I will attach pictures. Thanks pikeman for the tips. No on to the first step; basic supplies (ie wood), design and cutting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtrs5kprs Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 It's WAY not cheaper. You have to do it b/c you have something (or think) special, or you simply enjoy it. Aside from pouring grub heads and such, saving $ is tough. More likely to spend it on components, tools, molds, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 It's WAY not cheaper. You have to do it b/c you have something (or think) special, or you simply enjoy it. Aside from pouring grub heads and such, saving $ is tough. More likely to spend it on components, tools, molds, etc. What he said. To me, it's a hobby within a hobby. Of course you could "save"some $ on individual lures but I can pretty much guarantee you'll spend more on building supplies than you normally would have spent on lures you would have purchased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikeman Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 Is a plug that visibly woobles, an effective fishing lure? Pikeman mentions the bathtub test- but outside of seeing that it does indeed wooble, how do I know that the wooble is effective? Rapala (amoung many others) claims to have spent quite some time getting the action just right. this is were you got it wrong, there are a lot of factors to consider, that's why you must have some knowledge about fishing with lures before you begin building one. How do you know the wooble is effective? How do you know a lure that you've bought is effective? Just because someone else caught a fish with it ? ... even so what about the factors? time of the year? water temperature? water color? location (the depth were the charges occured)? lure color? You must build different lures with different actions for different situations...even if the eye sais that you got the correct wooble (from your opinion) yet you still have to find out the moment to use the lure ... it's all about practice. But remember , the fishes are unpredictible, if you are full of fishing experience, you may find moments when even if all the conditions are perfect they will not respond to what you gave them in other similar situations and this my friend is why we love fishing, cause it is an adventure...it wouldn't be the same if you would catch fish in every trip and with the same lure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 Jay, there are good reasons to build your own crankbaits and some not to. You can save money compared to buying custom crankbaits at $15-20 a crack. But if your point of comparison is a $7 Rapala (I agree, they're darned good baits), you're borderlne. Most of the guys who build enjoy the craft aspect, so the process of building them is a reward in and of itself. Catching fish with them is icing on the cake. With experience you learn to build crankbaits to perform in ways different from standard commercial baits, and in some ways better. You can build them to be very durable and paint them to your own taste. Building crankbaits has taught me more about fishing crankbaits than I ever would have learned just by fishing crankbaits. The downside is that it's a lot more work than ordering a Rapala from BassPro, and to do it well you need to become something of a crankbait specialist. So like anything else, it's not for everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68KingFisher Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 I'm pretty new at the whole lure building thing, but from what I could tell when I first looked into this hobby was, you could get into it as deep as you wanted. From just whittling a topwater chugger from a stick that fell outta the tree in your backyard to going full bore and acquiring all the wood working tools needed to go into production almost, or anywhere in between....I think its up to you how deep you wanna get. Do it for the fun of making your own lure, and just go with it and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazmail Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 There is even more reason here, I saw some CD Rapala 'Brown Trout' (2 1/4" - 3 1/4") for $22.95 (US$20) in K-Mart the other week - once you get the weight and template right, you can probably make 4 an hour, that's about $80 (US$72) an hour plus hooks. They are great lures, but the way trout waters can make them disappear, I'm all for making my own.pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishwhittler Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 If you are only looking to save money on lures, then no, luremaking is probably not for you. On the other hand, if you are looking to have a lot of fun building your own lures and then catching fish on them, then yes, you will like luremaking, especially after you hook into a good sized fish (or any fish, for that matter) on a lure that you made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lure--Prof Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 I'm interested to note that you think you can make a plug BETTER than the commercial guys.hmm. I don't think I can, I know I can, within the parameters of bass lures. But I am far from the only one here who does that, we could fill the page with members who build better crankbaits than what mass production produces. This is the norm in many industries, which are sprung from hands-on grass-roots manufacturing whether you're talking guitars, quilts, food items, clothing, or anything in the crafts industry. If we were merely imitating major manufacturer's lures, this site, with one of its precepts being "All custom, all of the time" would not exist. Especially here on the Hard Baits Board, practically all the major lure styles have as their heritage one fisherman working alone to craft a better lure, whether in Finland, Michigan, Florida, or Tennessee (to name a few places). A good argument can be made that, in the lure industry, the "tail wags the dog". If you spend some time here in the Hard Baits Gallery you should see what I mean. I doubt there is a touring bass pro who doesn't keep a good selection of low-volume custom crankbaits, (or topwaters, jigs, or spinnerbaits, etc) in his box---This is one of the worst kept secrets about the touring pros, many of whom use lures made or painted by people who post here---and they sure aren't using them because we pay them! Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 I'm interested to note that you think you can make a plug BETTER than the commercial guys.hmm.I don't think I can, I know I can, within the parameters of bass lures. But I am far from the only one here who does that, we could fill the page with members who build better crankbaits than what mass production produces. This is the norm in many industries, which are sprung from hands-on grass-roots manufacturing whether you're talking guitars, quilts, food items, clothing, or anything in the crafts industry. If we were merely imitating major manufacturer's lures, this site, with one of its precepts being "All custom, all of the time" would not exist. Especially here on the Hard Baits Board, practically all the major lure styles have as their heritage one fisherman working alone to craft a better lure, whether in Finland, Michigan, Florida, or Tennessee (to name a few places). A good argument can be made that, in the lure industry, the "tail wags the dog". If you spend some time here in the Hard Baits Gallery you should see what I mean. I doubt there is a touring bass pro who doesn't keep a good selection of low-volume custom crankbaits, (or topwaters, jigs, or spinnerbaits, etc) in his box---This is one of the worst kept secrets about the touring pros, many of whom use lures made or painted by people who post here---and they sure aren't using them because we pay them! Dean Many of the Pros are sponsored by commercial builders and may even give credit to their sponsors products, even if it "ain't" so". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikeman Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 OK, here is one aspect to DeanMcClain and Husky ffor giving them credit As a contest participant to our national fishing tournament (in Romania) there are only two stages were we use hard baits (small cranks) and I'll tell you this , in an overfished catch and release lake the predators will not respond as you would expect to commercial lures, especially in a contest when there is pressure on the lake due to over 60 to 99 boats. Another reason? the lake is fished with comercial lures over the year so bringing a new handmade lure into a contest is (in my opinion) the surprise factor and this is already tested, as Dean said each participant has a handmade lure in it's pocket, if they are sponsored they'll probably tell you how the fishes were caught at a comercial lure, but believe me it ain't like that for the majority of them Another way to look at this, there is one person that owns a lure factory, but he will fish with own not in production made lures, yes, the lures are made by himself but he doesn't give them to mass production Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captsully18 Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 Jay, I want to add my . A lot of good advice has been laid out here. I think that if money is your big concern, then this is probably not for you. Most of us here enjoy building baits as a hobby within a hobby (fishing). We can spend our time, when we cannot get on the water, designing, building, painting new baits. All of this takes time and (ugh) money. It's the enjoyment of crafting a bait and then catching fish on our own baits. All of us fall into various categories from beginner to master craftsman. There are many here, including myself, that once thought that we might save money by building our own. We found that such was not the case. But, after building a few one finds out that it is very enjoyable, and we got hooked to the madness. You mentioned that you are looking for a bait that will work in a specific way in the deep holes you fish. Building one is probably the best way to achieve this. You are probably not going to have the success you want on the first bait. This is just part of the learning curve. Don't become discouraged, keep at it and you will get just what you want. Personally, I hope you decide to jump into this wonderful hobby and achieve a bait that does just what you want it to do. Your satisfaction will be great, and you will then be hooked on the madness that all of us here enjoy. Wishing you success, and welcome to TU and the madness within. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.dsaavedra. Posted October 31, 2009 Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 if you're that worried about saving money, i think fishing is the wrong hobby, and especially fishing lure making. i don't make lures to save money (well sometimes i do) but mainly because its so fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie Posted November 1, 2009 Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 For myself lurebuilding is a fun stress relieving hobby.Money is my last concern and when you catch your first fish on your lure it will open up a whole new world.After working a 60+ hour week running like a wild man trying to finish for the day, my garage is my sanctuary and this is how I burn a little tension off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
