Fishing Lure Making & Design - Eye Spots

To make fishing lures that actually catch fish, you need to have a strong understanding of response triggers. A response trigger is a fishing lure characteristic that makes a predator feel compelled to strike at it. Although there are many opinions among fishing lure makers about which response triggers actually work, there is general agreement about the effectiveness of one trigger in particular - the "eye spot" (a.k.a "eyespots"). The eye spot is considered one of the single most effective triggers on a lure. Research has shown that virtually all predator/prey relationships involve some sort of exchange of eye responses (such as making or avoiding eye contact) that sets the social order among species. Over time, the predator and prey species learn to interpret the intentions of each other by monitoring these physiological eye responses and reacting to them accordingly. For instance, a predator fish's pupils will typically get extremely small at the moment of attack while the target prey species' pupils will get very large at the same instant. Knowing that the predator fish expects its prey's pupils to rapidly dilate during the attack helps us, as luremakers, to design fishing lures that mimic this behavior and thus provide better strike triggers for the fish we are targeting. Likewise, knowing that a very small pupil is an aggressive sign that a fish is about to strike tells us we should avoid making eye spots with very small pupils because that could actually scare our target fish away! In addition to the pupil sizes, the position of the eye in relation to the axis of the body also helps the predator anticipate the direction that the prey fish will go when it flees. Predator fish will watch the eyes of their prey and then gauge their angle of attack based on the direction the eye is facing and the level of dilation of the pupil. When the pupil gets big, it signals that the prey fish is about to flee, and the predator fish will attack at an angle that intercepts the prey fish. When you're designing lures, the pupil should always be facing in the direction of the line tie so the predator fish can anticipate the forward movement of your lure as you retrieve it and make contact with the hook during the strike. Fishing Lure Making Tips for Eye Spots- The pupil should be large on your lures in comparison to the overall eye (see "Prey" image above) - If you're making an eye with only one color (a single dot), the eye spot should be darker than the lure's surrounding body color - The pupil should always face in the direction that the lure travels during retreive (on typical lures, it should face the line tie) - The eye boundaries should be crisp and well contrasted against the lure's body color Painting Clean Eye Spots on Lures There are many different techniques for adding eyes to fishing lures, including stickers, stencils, brushes, and countless other techniques. Without dismissing the value of these other approaches, my personal favorite is the common "nail dropping" technique. With this technique, you literally "drop" a small dot of paint from the flat end of a nail onto the lure's surface and allow it to spread out into a perfect circle and dry. During this process, you must take care to prevent the nail from actually touching the lure...the only thing that should touch the lure is the paint! Use different size nail heads to create eye spots of different diameters and allow the paint to dry between drops.

homemade Fishing Lures

Fishing lures are extremely important in fishing. As exemplified, fishing lures are needed to bag the catch of the day. Meaning, good lures are needed to have a good catch. If you are planning to indulge into this kind of activity, might as well know what fishing is.

Fishing is a form of hunting activity with the goal of trying to catch a fish. This is an ancient practice that was handed down from generation to generation. From the very simply way of catching fishes, various techniques are now emerging. To some degree, other proponents claim that fishing is already considered as one of many sports.

Tracing back the history, fishing has started during the Mesolithic Era. This is a claim that was further proven when archaeological evidences were uplifted. Fish bones, preserved fins, scales, and fish cave paintings were just some manifestations implying that sea foods have been part of ancient survival mechanisms.

Among the groups of inhabitants, Egyptians played a vital part in pronouncing the history of fishing. The gift of Nile River enabled many of them to pursue early fishing. This was clearly illustrated on tombs where fishing scenes and drawings can be found. In ancient Greek culture, fishing was also considered but did not gain much recognition from the early people.

This is where fishing started. It may be a pastime or means of survival, but the important thing here is to continue the tradition set out by our ancestors. Today, various means and techniques of fishing have emerged. There are many considerations to observe, one is the use of fishing lures.

If you are new to this activity, the very first thing that you need to learn is the different tools for different water and catch types. To simply say, this means that your lure choice would greatly depend on the setting, whether you will be going on for a fresh water fishing or on salt water. Moreover, there are also choices to consider for common targets such as bass, tout, minnow, salmon and pike. This could also determine your success rate in fishing.

Today, there is no need to go extra mile in searching for the best fishing lures, there are stores that offer different forms and types of fishing lures. There are different designs to choose from and different sizes depending on your reach. These fishing lures are reliable because manufacturers give out their best especially when their credibility is at stake. This is most true for the branded ones. The only consideration here is your willingness to stretch out your pocket and spend.

On second thought, it might not be very financially practical to own brand new sets of fishing lures. There are various options that you can choose from, you can either purchase a pre-owned fishing lures, you can borrow from a friend, and you can also rent and others. Getting an expensive fishing lures would not be always a good idea to follow. Sometimes, because of the amount of money you paid for a fishing lure set, you may even become hesitant to use it especially in a harsh condition or being afraid of casting it to rocky areas. The probability is, you are just going to display it at home or take risk in using it.

Because of people’s innovative ideas, fishing lures can now be made at home. This only requires your creativity and imagination in order to make a good one. If you find yourself getting troubled in doing it, there are many instructional manuals, guides, and tutorial videos that are widely available and offer step by step instructions that are easily understandable. The power of internet can also give you the benefit of getting an instructional medium in a short span of time. Remember, there are enormous numbers of booklet that can be bought or downloaded online. Some of them may not even charge any cent.

For the materials that will be needed, most home made fishing lure types can be made out of items that can you find at home. If you lack these, might as well go to a nearest hardware and gather the necessary materials. Some of the tools that will be needed include hammers, saws, electric drill, hand drill, pliers, snips and soldering iron.

Now that you are ready and set out in making a homemade fishing lures, all you need now is the determination to make one. The following are steps on how to make a homemade fishing lures.

For wooden lures, different types of wood can utilized. Balsa and Basswood are the common woods used to make fishing lures. But being resourceful is a great edge here; you can utilize the common wood that you can find at home. Cedar which comes in red or white can make a good quality fishing lures. Using these will enable you to carve and shape the wood easily depending on the type that you wish to make. Wood is also resilient enough to shape it easily.

After creating the design, you may now go to painting patterns. It is important to use a light color to give a favorable look. You can also look for some patterns on books or over the internet. Utilizing an airbrush is a lot more convenient aside from the great look it gives. In order to create a subtle pattern on the sides of the lure, you can also make use of used nylons. When painting, always seal your wooden plugs before doing so.

After painting, use a fine sand paper to sand down the lure. This will give a finer look and smooth to touch. Failure to do so will result to an uneven paint job. Sand papers can be found in different hardware, be sure to buy the appropriate one, a sand paper that can be used on woods. Utilizing a sand paper will help you create a better fishing lure.

The best thing about fishing is the technique in doing it. It is also advisable to make your own personalized fishing lures. This will give you comfort in using it.

jitterbug

You can easily build jitterbug fishing lures when you build the wooden fishing lures. Just cut a handle off of a spoon and drill a hole in the center of the scooped part of the spoon. Attach it to the scalloped end of the wooden fishing lure and fasten the eye screw through it into the lure.