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How to make a classic wooden fishing lureBy Tim Kubetz

1. The first step in the bait-making process is to choose a design for your lure and the type of

wood to use. There is much room for creative freedom with the design of the lure. Dont get

stuck !ust copying other designs" all of the great baits had there start as a block of wood in

 the hands of someone who wasnt afraid to e#periment. The type of wood you use is

dependent on the design and purpose of the lure. $ach type of wood has certain attributes

 that make it better for certain application. Basswood is a good starting point as it is easy to

carve and is fairly buoyant. %ther popular materials include balsa" poplar" and cedar.

2. &ow that you have a design in your head you can either trace it on the wood or" if a lathe will

be used" !ust mark out the basic dimensions.

  &ote' ( lathe is a great tool if the lure has a consistent round shape. Baits like

 topwaters" for instance" are very easy to shape

on a lathe.

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3. &ow its time to start shaping. )hether you use a lathe or are going at it by hand" remember to be

patient and go slowly. *ou can always sand away more wood but you cant undo a mistake. +f using a

lathe" it helps to create a straight blank of the preferred diameter before you actually start shaping. To

carve the bait by hand" several tools can be used including' chisels" carving knives" or my personnel

preference" a wood rasp.

4. %nce the basic shape has been roughed finer shaping can be done with , grit sandpaper. )hen +msanding + usually make it a three step process" first with , grit" then with / grit" and finally finishing

it off with a super fine 00 grade.

5. &ow that you have finished shaping your lure" its

 time to drill the hook hanger holes and" if necessary" cut the bill slot. &ote' )hen carving baits by

hand" + have found it easiest to drill the holes before any shaping is done while you still have a flat

piece of wood. Doing it this way ensures the hook holes are perfectly inline and balanced. *ou will also

want to cut the bill slot first. 1or hook hangers on bass-style baits + usually use 23 brass eyescrews andmake the pilot holes with a 453 bit. 6ures designed for larger game fish such as 7uskie re8uire a

larger" stainless steel eyescrew.

6. To insure durability" it is necessary to coat the eyescrews with epo#y when installing in the bait.

%therwise" you could end up with nothing but an eyescrew on the end of your line after hooking a big

fish. 9tay away from / minute varieties of epo#y and instead use a slow cure variety to ensure the

strongest bond possible. )hen seating the hook hangers" when make sure they are inline with each

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other as this is what ultimately affects how well a bait performs. Brass hook hangers allow you a small

window of error because you can bend them to tune the bait.

7. +f your design re8uires any kind of ballast weight in the body now is the time to install it. 9mall 4, oz

finesse weights work well for this application" !ust make sure the weight isnt off-center or it will kill the

baits action. :se the same epo#y you used for hook hangers and be generous when seating the

weight.

8. (fter the epo#y has had at least one day to cure you are ready to apply a coat of ;arathane sanding

sealer to the bait. The sanding sealer doesnt actually provide water protection to the lure. )hat it

does is soak into the grain and allow for a much smoother finish after it has dried and been sanded

again. (lthough it is possible to skip this step. 7y e#perience has been that you get a much more

professional finish when using the sealer.

9. <ive the lure another day to cure before sanding to perfection.

*ou are now ready to apply the epo#y sealer that will waterproof the lure. The reason for sealing

before painting is so the bait is protected if some mean" toothy critter should happen to puncture your

 topcoat =guaranteed to happen>. There are lots of sealers on the market and + have tried many

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different kinds" usually with unsatisfactory results. 6uckily for you" you can learn from my e#periences

and avoid the e#penses and frustrations that + e#perienced. The product which + now use is called

$nvirote# and is a two part epo#y sealer available at many hardware stores. (lthough epo#y is a real

pain to work with" you will get away with nothing less for wooden baits. 6ac8uers" enamels" and water-

based sealers simply arent ade8uate.

The trick to achieving a smooth uniform finish with epo#y is to keep the bait constantly rotating

so the finish doesnt sag to the bottom. This can be accomplished two ways' either by turning the bait

by hand for 5 hours =you will go insane>" or by constructing a drying wheel powered by a small motor.*ou want a motor that turns between and , rpm =+ used a chicken rotisserie for a grill that does ? rpm>.

6eave the bait on the rack for at least / hours before allowing the bait to finish curing for @0 hours

=youre probably gonna want to do something else while your waiting>.

10. (lright" now that the epo#y has finally cured" its time to start

painting. +f you are !ust starting to dabble in the hobby youll do fine with hand brushes and a few

spray cans" in fact + have seen some amazing color patterns painted this way. +f you are a little more

serious about painting and want to try to produce real professional finishes =key word being Atry3>

youll want to invest in a 8uality airbrush. 9everal good brands are out there including Badger"

aasche" and +wata and all will serve you well. (s a side note" + highly recommend a double action"

verses single action" brush as they allow for much finer work.

  The first step in painting" no matter what color pattern

you choose" is to spray4brush a primer coat of white. This step is critical as it makes any color painted

over it more vibrant and stand out more. &ow the thing to keep in mind when painting is that its all

about layers. Dont try to paint it all at once" !ust keep adding more coats to build the pattern. 1or

instance" for a basic baby bass pattern" start with pearl" then spray a leaf green on the back through a

scale mesh fabric" ne#t add the dark lateral line with a stencil" finally add a dark back and some red

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accents around the gills. )allaC *ouve got a spot on match for a !uvenile bass. The key with airbrushes

is lots and lots of practice" and make sure that you practice on either plain paper or a re!ect bait. (lso"

dont e#pect to freehand everything" stencils are a painters best friend. (nd know this" mess-ups will

happen" !ust learn from your mistakes and have fun with it.

11. (fter youve finished painting" youre probably eager to

get out and cast your custom creation. But waitC 9tart fishing now" and chances are that your paint !ob

will be destroyed and your bait will swell up with water and rot. &ot good. To avert this catastrophic

disaster we must apply the final coat of epo#y sealer. :sing $nvirote#" apply this coat !ust like you did

in step " being sure to turn your bait on the drying wheel for a good si# hours before still curing. The

number of coats you use is up to you" the more you use the tougher your bait will be. But know this"

 too many coats will add weight and decrease buoyancy. 1or crankbaits and !erkbaits + usually use 0 or

E but for topwaters + !ust do one coat to keep weight down. +f applying more than one coat" you dont

have to wait the full @0 hours between each coat for the epo#y to cure. +n fact" its best to !ust wait 0

hours in between applications as this will help the coats bond to each other.

12. &ow comes the moment weve been all been waiting for" testing the bait. :se split-ring pliers to install

 the rings and hooks and e#periment with several different sizes of each until you find which setup

allows the best action. +f your bait doesnt run perfectly true remember to try tuning the lure bybending the brass line tie. (dding a split ring to the line tie will allow a freer action and help the bait

stay in tune.

9o there you go. *ou now have a one of a kind bait that will

hopefully catch the fire out of the fish. +f it doesnt" well that !ust means you get to e#periment some more

and youll find you get better and faster with every lure you make. Bait making is a great hobby"

especially for those days when you cant go fishing. + hope this tutorial will prove helpful.

Tim Kubetz Athe mad bait maker3 of )B Fo.

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Materials

Here’s a list of what I use and recoend for each sta!e of the "uildin! #rocess.

$ools%4 in 1 wood ras# has four sides for sha#in! "lan&s

'ower drill with 1(16) "it for drillin! hoo& han!er holes

*ilton +croll +aw for cuttin! out the "asic sha#e

,elt-drie lathe used to turn round "aits

/uler with 1(32) increents

+#lit rin! #liers

,ad!er 175 rescendo dou"le action air"rush

4 r# otor for drin! rac&

2 !allon h# air co#ressor

Materials%

ou can !et ost of these ites at anns et raft. ther ites should "e aaila"le at our local

hardware store.

,asswood for hand carin!

'o#lar for lathe

) "rass eescrews

30 inute e#o for hoo& han!ers

arathane sandin! sealer

reate air"rush #aint:nirote e#o sealer

Mustad short shan& hoo&s

+tainless steel s#lit rin!s

3; holo!ra#hic ees ) diaeter

arious lure a&in! co#onents includin! cran&"ait li#s< #ro#ellers< and wei!hts fro anns et raft