r/lurebuilding Jan 02 '20

How to Make Your Own Lures: A Guide series

93 Upvotes

1. What kind of lures can I make?

  • Crankbaits (Lipped and Lipless), Jerkbaits (Lipped and Lipless), Swimbaits, Poppers, Stickbaits, and other topwater lures are all possible, with new lures being invented all the time! Below is an info graphic with a few of the most popular types of fishing lures, but there are many more!
These are just a few common lures that can be found in most tackle boxes, but there are dozens of other types to discover!

2. What do I need to get started making hard body lures?

  • Lure making is not as complicated as it may seem. Yes, power tools such as drills, dremels, lathes and sanding machines all help, but none are necessary. To start all you need is:
  • Wood, to carve into the body.
  • Tools (at the very least a knife to carve, a small saw, and a drill are all very helpful)
  • Sandpaper to finish the bait off smoothly
  • Terminal tackle, including hooks and split rings
  • Screw eyes or a through-wire (a single wire going through the entire bait that serves as your hook eyes and line tie.
  • Weights so your bait sinks, in the form of either split shot, glued into the body, or lead, poured into a cavity.
  • glue/sealant, epoxy, and paint
  • OPTIONAL: Lip (for crankbaits) Rattles, details such as foil, and power tools, and an airbrush for more smooth

3. What do I need to get started making soft plastics?

  • A mold, which can be bought, or made from silicon.
  • Plastic resin (plastisol)
  • Dye to give color to the lure
  • OPTIONAL: Glitter, multiple colors for a more detailed bait

4. What wood should I use?

  • Popular lure making timbers include balsa, basswood, cedar, cypress knees, jelutong, beech and some types of pine. But there are thousands of other options. Look for something easy to carve, lightweight and resistant to denting. It’s easier to get all your components aligned properly if you start with straight, square blanks.

5. What paints should I use?

  • For brushing on paint, a wide variety of artist acrylics and poster paints will work. Just make sure the paint and clear coat will not interfere.
  • For airbrushing, water-based acrylics are the favorite, due to their ability to spray evenly and produce a good coat while remaining non-toxic, and non-flammable.

6. How do I seal my wood lure?

  • Wood is like a sponge, it soaks up water. Once in, water works its way through the wood by capillary action until the wood is waterlogged. This kills action, weakens glue and is the most common cause of paint failure.
  • Super Glue can be used, where the glue is applied over the entire body, left to soak into the wood, and then the bait is sanded smooth.
  • Epoxies are two part synthetic resins that cure hard when mixed. There are some that are designed for penetrating and hardening wood. One example is Envirotex Lite (aka “Etex”). Etex is also great for clear coating painted lure bodies and makes a very strong adhesive.

7. Where can I buy lure parts?

8. What epoxy should I use?

  • Some use prefer to clear coat them with a two part epoxy. Others prefer to use a two pack automotive polyurethane over airbrush acrylics. And still others dip their lures in moisture cure polyurethane.

Below are some some more sources for learning how to build lures, additionally, guides from some of this subs best lure mentors are going to be rolling out very shortly.

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This stickied post will be used to compile all guides made by our "Lure Mentors." Below are links to each guide, complete with pictures and detailed descriptions for each step. If you would like to become a Lure Mentor, and create guides for this sub Please PM me ( u/jspencer501 ) for more details, you get a cool flair!

Guide 1 - Lipless Crankbait By u/zingerbobingerGuide 2 - Lure made of Paper By u/SolarBaits

More guides will be coming out in the weeks to come! please let me know any comments or concerns.


r/lurebuilding 17h ago

Jig Some Crappie Jigs I Tied Today

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66 Upvotes

r/lurebuilding 16h ago

Soft plastic My boyfriend and his friend make custom soft baits out of Utah—thought you guys might like to see their latest work!

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3 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

My boyfriend and his friend recently started getting into making custom soft baits for bass and catfish here in Utah. They've been spending a ton of time experimenting with different molds, flakes, and scents to get the actions and colors just right.

Lately, they’ve been doing live streams where they pour the baits from scratch and do fun little auctions for the community. It's still a super small passion project, but it’s been awesome watching them hone the craft.

They’re always looking for feedback on colors and shapes, or even ideas for custom orders if anyone has a specific pattern they've been trying to find. Just wanted to share their craft with some fellow anglers!


r/lurebuilding 1d ago

Question Any coat suggestions?

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10 Upvotes

I live in the netherlands and started recently making my own wooden lures these are my last 2. The problem im having is that the epoxy i bought the first time took way too long to dry and was inconsistent and the other epoxy i bought made the acrylic melt and drip off. I need suggestion where and what epoxy or other clear coat i can get.


r/lurebuilding 1d ago

Jerkbait Whats your opinon?

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11 Upvotes

I like it but I haven‘t fished it yet
Herkunft Action is ok but doesnt swim good wile realing strait


r/lurebuilding 1d ago

Crankbait My first lure with an airbrush

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59 Upvotes

Went for a bluegill/ green sunfish pattern. Pretty proud of it.


r/lurebuilding 2d ago

Glidebait Dialed in the weighting on my 3D-printed glidebait for trophy pike!

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10 Upvotes

Here are some test tank shots of my new 3D-printed glidebait. The black tape is just holding everything together before I permanently glue it up.

​I finally got the buoyancy and weight dialed in! It falls perfectly level, stands right up on its hooks when it hits the bottom, and gives a belly flash when twitched. I also built an internal rattle into it, and the hooks are hung on swivels to keep big fish pinned without gaining leverage.

​I designed this specifically to hunt for a 40-inch trophy northern pike on my upcoming Canadian fishing trip. Now it just needs paint, the eyes, and clear coat.


r/lurebuilding 3d ago

Swimbait Just made and fished with my first attempt at a Swimbait

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34 Upvotes

I need more weight in it which means I probably need a better way of adding weight than cramming lead shot into drilled holes...

I had one bite on it, a big Bass but I mistook the hit for a snag and didn't set the hook and by the time I realized what happened it jumped and spit the lure out.


r/lurebuilding 2d ago

Glidebait Pike I caught on a tail fin glider

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18 Upvotes

r/lurebuilding 3d ago

Crankbait Little Crankbait

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42 Upvotes

really love this little crankbait I made from basswood

.90 oz

2.5 inches


r/lurebuilding 3d ago

Question Do you think my first lure would swim?

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7 Upvotes

Started work on my first crankbait today, used belt sander, handsaw and a box cutter, it's made out of pine. I'm pretty happy with it since it's my first time using a belt sander and I got it to be symmetrical after a lot of trial and error, it 3.4cm long and currently weight between 1 and 2 grams. But I'm worried about a couple of things, mostly whether it would swim properly(EDIT: by that i mean wiggle around and rotate like a store bought crank bait) with this shape and on the sidenote where do you think I should put birdshot and how much of it would it need


r/lurebuilding 3d ago

Lipless Crankbait First time trying my some lures I made

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13 Upvotes

I know they look ridiculous but let’s see what happens!! Hopfully the bass at Collins lake are extra hungry!!


r/lurebuilding 3d ago

Glidebait Couple of Lures I made for Striper fishing

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8 Upvotes

r/lurebuilding 4d ago

Crankbait Just finished my latest build

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35 Upvotes

What do you think?


r/lurebuilding 3d ago

Soft plastic Pink lures #handmadelure #bassfishinglures #viralshorts

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3 Upvotes

r/lurebuilding 3d ago

Soft plastic pink swim #sanantoniofishing #handmadelure#viralshorts

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3 Upvotes

r/lurebuilding 4d ago

Glidebait Bluegill wooden glidebait

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25 Upvotes

r/lurebuilding 4d ago

Question Please help identify this lure.

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21 Upvotes

r/lurebuilding 5d ago

Other I have a little helper in the workshop with me today

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26 Upvotes

r/lurebuilding 5d ago

Crankbait Just a couple of baits I made

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33 Upvotes

These were carved from cedar and painted with spray cans with a UV resin clear coat.


r/lurebuilding 5d ago

Spinner Some of the baits from last month

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22 Upvotes

Some custom colors I tied for myself and friends, and a set of small inlines that went with my friend to Canada.


r/lurebuilding 5d ago

Crankbait My little Blue Minnow

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26 Upvotes

Started making lures a little over a month ago and this has been my most successful little minnow design and colour by far


r/lurebuilding 6d ago

Crankbait Casting Practice Minnows

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19 Upvotes

never planned on making any lures but I needed some practice minnows and taking the hooks of the small guys is a real pain so I made these two.


r/lurebuilding 6d ago

Jerkbait Not the best quality photo, but it's been quite a while since I've posted here

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10 Upvotes

r/lurebuilding 5d ago

Question What gauge and material for hook hangers and hinges?

2 Upvotes