Monday, November 12, 2012

To make your own fishing lures, start with an old tablespoon or teaspoon. I stress old because if you filch a good spoon from the family silver set, someone’s going to be in trouble — although a silver-plated spoon would work well.Next, use a hacksaw to cut off the handle close to the spoon bowl, and file the cut end smooth. Then make a long, narrow lure from the handle by cutting it to a suitable length. Drill a one-sixteenth-inch hole near both ends of the spoon and the handle. After drilling the handle lure, add a slight twist so it will wobble, imitating a minnow.
For each lure, slip a split ring through all four holes. Split rings, swivels and hooks can be bought anywhere fishing lures are sold. At the tip end of the spoon and the narrow part of the handle, slide a swivel through the ring. At the other end of both, slide your choice of hooks through the ring. Attach the hooks using needle-nose pliers to avoid hooking your fingers.
If you paint one side of the lure with high-quality gloss paint, it will produce contrasting colors when the lure rotates in the water. Paint the lure long before you plan to use it so there will be no paint odor.
When you catch a really large fish, be sure to casually mention to anyone nearby that you caught that monster with a spoon!