| Making your own fishing tackle, just as fly tying, can | | | | These two places carry everything you'll ever need |
| be a very rewarding activity. I actually enjoy making | | | | to make any lure or fly you can imagine, as well as |
| lures and tying flies as much as I do fishing. | | | | sinkers, jigheads, rods and nets. |
| If you live up North, it's also a great way to stave | | | | I won't go in to flies here, because that could cover |
| off the Cabin Blues of deep winter. You won't really | | | | several books. I will concentrate on conventional |
| save any money, but you can derive deep | | | | lures, going from the simplest, to the most |
| satisfaction from catching fish on something you | | | | complicated. We'll start with the most low-tech, but |
| hand-crafted yourself. | | | | one of the most successful lures...the spoon. |
| I can't describe the feeling of accomplisment, | | | | A spoon is just what the name suggests. A convex |
| especially when other anglers come over to look at | | | | surface, painted or textured, or just plain smooth, |
| your creations. | | | | and a plain concave surface which is the bottom of |
| If you have it in mind to make lures and sell them on | | | | the lure. It has a small hole drilled or punched in each |
| EBay to make money, I hate to disappoint you, but | | | | end, with a split ring and hook on one end, and a plain |
| China cranks out millions of inexpensive flies and lures | | | | hole, or swivel on the other to tie the line on. |
| every year, and re-sellers have flooded the internet | | | | That's it. On the retrieve, it wobbles, darts from side |
| with them, just like retail stores. You can get 12 | | | | to side, flutters and drives fish crazy. They can even |
| French spinners for as little as $9.00 on EBay. | | | | be tiiped with live bait ,or skirts, or plastic bodies. A |
| There is no way you can make them that cheap at | | | | plain version can easily be made by cutting the handle |
| home. Are they as good as your own hand-crafted | | | | off of a suitable sized culinary spoon and filing the cut |
| ones? Of course not. | | | | smooth. |
| A lot of the time they don't even work right, and fall | | | | Then simply drill a small hole in each end and attack a |
| apart after a few fish. But...they got sold! If you're | | | | spit ring and hook at the larger end, and tie your line |
| going to get into tacklecraft, do it for your own | | | | to the other hole. I would recommend attaching a |
| enjoyment. Your not going to get rich making lures. | | | | split ring and swivel to the line end, because due to |
| I have made lures out of left-over Balsa Wood, old | | | | the violent action of the lure, the metal can cut your |
| teaspoons, costume jewlery and the like. They | | | | line. |
| worked fine. But you can economically get the | | | | You can paint the spoon, hammer a texture onto it, |
| correct parts online to make lures as good as | | | | dress the hook with bucktail , marabou, or a rubber |
| anything out there. My favorite places are | | | | skirt, or tip it with whatever you want. |
| Barlow's Tackle Express and Cabelas | | | | |