How to make a Balsa Crankbait

Well it is a start……………………

   I finally edited together my balsa crankbait video. It feels like an age since I started messing around with this little lure and hopefully later this week I will after a long recuperation from my recent illness get a chance to throw it back in some water.  Maybe I will remember how to catch some fish but that is never guaranteed. Part two will be along soon.

  Balsa Crankbait Design and Templates

  Balsa Crankbait Tools and Materials lists

The Montana John

I finally got round to finishing a small number of ‘Montana John’ fishing lures.  The lip and single hook make them look pretty distinctive and as lures go I think they are pretty unique. What I like about them best is the running depth at less than two feet I can get them into shallow water without constantly pulling weed from the lip. Jerking them along really makes the best of the dressed tail as together with body it has the look of a jointed lure. The price £12.50 plus postage, See the shop link in the side bar.  

Son Of....

Image Above: Pine Devil Minnows

Despite all the things I have piled on my plate I actually got back to making some new lures based on my prototype devil minnow. I redrew the drawings and made some router templates from them and then cut out ten blanks, from these only five were worth using as it has been a while since I have used a router. I got hold of some ‘redwood’ which in this country is Scots Pine. Although not a hardwood it is no bad to work with but it really doesn’t like being cut across the grain.  The shape came out a little boxier than the original but the dimensions matched pretty well. 

Rather than use lead I opted for nontoxic fishing weights, something I have wanted to do for a while. Having yet to decide colour schemes I went a bit mad with this lot and sprayed whatever was in the can adding halved plastic beads for eyes. I still have a lot to learn about making these in volume and a long way to go with finishes and colour schemes.  So I am off to the lake to test them out.  

The Devil Rides Out

I wanted to create a robust minnow type lure from wood using just some basic geometry to give it that look rather than complex carving or casting.  I shaped the above lure from pine using the band saw and router. As test piece I thought I would go a little off beat with the colour, this I suppose is the zombie look. The eyes are glow in the dark beads cut in half, maybe not zombie more the devil rides out.  This time I am going to let the epoxy fully cure before giving it a test run.