true-king

I was checking out the offshore lure/skirt selection at GBB&T today and realized that they are EXPENSIVE! I saw several that were $50 a piece, some $90. I remember seeing a fishing show a while back where the host was talking about homemade lures/skirts. He used something like a cap of a laundry detergent container for the head. Anyone tried creating their own offshore lures? Seems like it would save money going this way.

true-king

:bump

Just One Fish

never made them but here is a site that you can choose the head and skirts and they are interchangeable so you can use the same head and just change the skirt to what the fish want

www.mdlures.com

PBTH

It would be an understatement to say that GBB&T's bluewater lure section is slightly overpriced and slightly understocked.

I make a few different smaller lures for trolling, but they are made for dolphin and tuna so they are fairly simple. They usually involve just some squid or double skirts with an appropriate sized egg weight and maybe a mylar pearl baby for some flash. They are cheap, troll in rough seas at high speeds, and slay dolphin and skipjacks. Also, I'm always on the look out for nice small to medium sized trolling heads so I can add the color and type of skirts that I want. I make my own daisy chains too because they are much cheaper.

My dad used to make his own marlin lures back when he ran out of K.W. and we still have quit a few of those. I'll have to ask what type of plastic he was getting the heads made out of.

bellafishing

I had been considering taking some of my Marlin lures and making a plaster mold of them and then filling that with resin to cast them. I don't have a drill press to drill a true center hole and haven't quite figured out yet how I would create a collar at the base other than using a pipe cutter to create a groove all the way around the base of the lure. I guess you would just coat the inside of the plaster mold with vaseline so you could remove the head when it set up. I think you might be able to also leave a toothpick or bamboo kabob stick where the hole should go and pour thelure headaround it and just remove it when you're done. Not really sure. Lots of ideas, but no experience.

Bob

Xanadu

Some lures are cast as they are finished like Black Bart. Others are cast and then put on a lathe to cut the collars. The resins used are proprietary to some degree, but all are available if you can just figure out which are which.

The easiest way to go is to buy a small lathe and cast your resin in prescription bottles. You can use a large nail as the center shaft if you sit it upside down in the goop and anchor it in the center, but the resin isn't going to be heavy enough so you see the lure makers fashioning weighted inserts to make the lures run the way they want.

It's not hard to make something that looks like a lure, but it is a PITA to make ones that work, don't chip, don't turn yellow or run right.

true-king

I guess you're right

Evensplit

In most cases, you'll get what you pay for. I've found that the commercially made lures tend to hold up better over time.You don't have to buy the most expensive lures to catch fish.

Don't be afraid to play around with different stuff -We used to make a lot of lures, some out of some bizarre stuff - some worked some didn't. We trolled offNC with an old skirt tiedonto an ear of corn - caught a few dolphin on it before something destroyed it in one pass.

JoeZ

Once upon a time, wasn't that how they all were made?

Try it. You won't know if it works unless you do it.

No, that advice has led to a lot of pain and frustration as well.

You might buy two, make two and troll a four-lure spread and see what works.

I don't know, it's worth a shot.

Hook

Be sure to match your lures with thesize tackle you will be using.:usaflag Alot of the "Famous " lures were and are still made for Heavy tackle. Also match the lures with thetype of tackle and the area you will be fishing with. Kona Hawaii is very calm while out here you have days of different wave conditions. Do not be fooled by someone showing you a lure that the fish tore upthen find out they were fishing in area that does not get allot of pressure.:nonono ie Central America back lakes ect.

Talk to people who fish around here and what they use. Hopefully you will get the correct info. Doyour home work; it it will save you in the long run.:toast