Sunday, October 30, 2011
Simple Top-water Lure
This lure is made of a 5-inch piece of broom handle, two eye screws, a split ring and a trebble hook. You will want to saw off a 5-inch piece of broom handle. Next, scallop one end and carve the other to gradually sloping point with a rounding head on the end. Smooth the rough areas with light sandpaper. Next, choose your color scheme. If you have chosen yellow and green you can go for a natural effect like some type of lizard might appear to look to a fish. Once painted and dried, you will want to screw an eye screw into the scalloped end of the lure in the very center; screw it in securely. In the very tip of the opposite end you will want to screw the other eye screw. On that eye screw you will want to add one split ring. On that split ring you will want to place your trebble hook. And there you have your first homemade Lucky 13 lure.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Wobbler Plugs
A simple way to make wobbler plugs is to cut the head at a 45-degree angle, as shown below. However most of these plugs are made with a grooved head.
To do this, cut the plug at the same angle, then carve out the head with a rotary file mounted in a drill press or hand motor tool. If you haven't got such power tools, use a small gouge to cut out the groove.
To complete the wobbler plug you'll need three treble hooks and four screw eyes. To start the screw eye in the wood, first take an ice pick or awl and push it into the wood where the screw eyes will go to make small holes.
Then put the screw eyes into the holes and twist them in. The screw eye which goes at the head of the plug (where the fishing line is tied) is forced in "as is". Pliers can be used to screw it in.
The other three screw eyes hold hooks and if the screw eyes are closed they must be opened. Then slip a treble hook over the eye and close it.
If you want to give the plug a professional look, slip small disc or cup washers over the shank of the screw eye before you force them into the plug (see illustration below). Two treble hooks are attached below the plug and the third at the rear or tail.
Screw eyes make inexpensive simple hook hangers and are strong enough for most freshwater plugs. However, you can also use special hook hangers to attach the treble hooks.
These are small metal saddles with a stop that prevents a hook from fouling with other hooks or the fishing line on a cast, or when the lure strikes the water.
The hook hangers have two small holes on each end and are attached to the plug with small screws, as shown above.
Popping Plugs
It is easy to make popping plugs, using the same plug body as the wobbler plug . You simply turn the plug around and attach the hooks on the opposite side, as shown below.
Here you do not necessarily need a grooved head. A head cut at a 45° angle will provide plenty of splash and commotion when jerked.
This plug is also made with three treble hooks. However, if you are making a smaller version of this plug for use with spinning tackle, it can have only two trebles—one at the belly and the other at the tail.
The typical popping type of surface plug is shown below. This plug has a wide, cupped head and then tapers to a narrow tail. It should be about 2 3/4 in. long with the head section l 1/8 in. in diameter and tapering to a tail about 3/8 in. thick.
This lure has one screw eye at the head in the center of the cupped head and two treble hooks, one at the belly and the other at the tail.
Because of its shape, this popping plug is most easily made when turned down on a lathe. However if you don't mind the work involved, whittle or file it down with hand tools.
Basic Lures You Can Make For Fishing In Freshwater
No one is sure who made the first fishing lures for freshwater fishing. The fishing lure known as a "plug" had its origins in the distant past.
The modern wooden fishing plug had its beginnings around 1900, and in the following years several companies started to manufacture these fishing lures for black bass.
Later they made larger and stronger fishing plugs for pike, muskellunge, and salmon. Plugs are now widely used in freshwater fishing, as a look at any fishing tackle store showcase or counter will reveal.
Today there are many different types, sizes, shapes, and colors of freshwater fishing plugs on the market. The angler who wants to make his own plugs can duplicate many of the more popular models.
However, there are a few basic types, and the construction of these will be covered in this page.
To make plugs you will need wood which can be cut into small blocks and then shaped to the size and form you require.
The best all-round wood for making freshwater fishing plugs is cedar. Straight-grained white cedar is excellent since it is light, strong, and easy to work. It also stands up better in the water than most woods.
Red cedar can also be used instead of the white variety. Other woods which can be used for making plugs are basswood and birch.
Most of these woods can be obtained at a lumber yard in large blocks or round logs. They can then be sawed with a circular saw or hand saw into convenient small blocks about 6 in. long and about 4 in. square.With a wood-turning lathe or even a metal-turning lathe, for that matter, you can shape the plugs quickly and uniformly in fairly large quantities.
If you already have such a lathe, so much the better. When turning down plugs with a lathe, mount one of the wooden blocks between the centers.
Measure and mark the length of the plug you are making on the wood block with a pencil so you know where both ends will fall.
Then start the lathe and, using the wood-turning tools, shape the wood to the correct diameter, taper, and shape of the model you are copying.
After this is done take some sandpaper and sand the plug very smooth as it is turning. Then cut the finished plug off from the rest of the wood.
If you have no lathe you can turn out plugs at a fair speed with ordinary hand tools. You can whittle plugs from the softer woods with an ordinary sharp knife if you prefer to work that way.
However, a somewhat easier and quicker method is to secure the block of wood in a bench vise and then use a rasp to take off the corners. If you cut the block of wood almost the diameter of the finished plug, you will have less filing to do.
In other words, if the finished plug will be an inch in diameter, start with a block of wood of about the same diameter or a bit more. Then you only have to round off the corners with the rasp.
After using the rasp for the rough work finish shaping the plug with a wood file. Then it can be made smooth by using different grades of sandpaper.
Several basic body shapes are used in making freshwater fishing plugs. An old-time favorite is the wobbler type shown below. This plug is simple to make since it is uniform in thickness with a rounded tail and a grooved head.
It should be about 3 3/4 in. long and 3/4 in. in diameter. The dimensions given for all the wooden plugs here are the so-called "bait-casting" size.
These are fairly large freshwater fishing plugs suitable for use with bait-casting, spin casting, or spinning rods. They weigh about 5/8 of an ounce when finished.
If you want smaller fishing plugs strictly for use with light spinning tackle, make them about one third smaller than the dimensions given here.
Next we have the surface plugs which ride on top of the water and create some kind of commotion, such as a splash or ripple. One of the simplest of these surface fishing plugs is the popper type. Another type of surface fishing plug which was popular many years ago and is still a good fish getter for freshwater fishing is the collar type.
Illustrated above, yet another popular surface plug which has proven effective over the years is the propeller type. There is also a less common, but equally effective freshwater fishing lure and it is the darter type of surface plug.
The strictly underwater plug shown below is an old-time favorite of freshwater fishing consistently through the years.
The large bait-casting size in this plug consists of a body about 4 in. long, 3/4 in. in diameter, and the tail tapers to 3/8 of an inch.
The head part is round with a concave cut on top. This can easily be done with a half-round file or by holding the plug against a revolving grindstone.
If you haven't got the time or desire to turn out the plug bodies with hand tools you can order different types and sizes of finished wood bodies from some of the mail-order houses.
These wooden bodies are already shaped and sanded smooth so that all you have to do is assemble the parts, such as the hardware and hooks.
If you want to make plastic plugs, order such bodies from the mail-order houses. Some of these plastic plugs come complete, all ready for adding the hooks and other metal parts. Others come in two sections and must be cemented together.
Before making the wooden plugs described in this section, decide how you will paint or spray them.
The freshwater fishing plugs described in this page and suggestions for making them are just a starter for the ambitious do-it-yourself angler.
Many different kinds of plug can be made or created. The angler can experiment with plug weights and shapes and work out a freshwater fishing lure most suitable for the waters he fishes.
One angler may want big, strong plugs to use for such large fish as muskellunge, pike, Pacific salmon, etc. Naturally, he will use larger plug bodies, stronger, heavier hooks and heavy hardware and fittings.
Another angler may want small, light lures to use for such small fish as trout, bass, and panfish. He will make much smaller plugs and use lighter hooks and hardware.
Still another angler may want to create a plug which resembles some particular minnow or small animal which fish feed on in the waters he fishes.
All of these anglers can usually meet such demands more exactly by making or designing their own freshwater fishing lures.
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.
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.
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