How To Make A Simple Wooden Lure

I padded off down to the lake this afternoon to try out the paint brush handle before the water had a chance to freeze up again. I briefly had the place to myself and threw the new lure without my usual restraint, it flew like a rocket. The hardwood and rear weights kept it on course enabling me to place it rather than hurl it and hope for the best. With the rod tip lowered and a steady jerk on the retrieve I could keep it subsurface gliding and bucking with its silver sides flashing.  I slowed my retrieve and added long pauses so it sank to the bottom and kept some depth. In among the jerks I felt the rumble of a fish but it had gone after putting a couple of bends in the rod. I cast again and again while trying to remember the sequence of tugs and pauses that had triggered the attack. In the end I contented myself with the thought that it would have all been too much to catch a pike on the lure’s first outing, especially in the middle of winter: it didn't stop me vainly casting along the same stretch of water.

When the Essex boys turned up I switched to a lighter drop shot rig and a soft plastic fearing the water would quickly be covered by a web of carp lines.  Moving out of the way while they set up I threw jellies along the reeds. One of the lads asked if I had any old lures going spare so he could do a bit of spinning while waiting on his bait alarm.  I fished out a jig head with a soft plastic lure, but he didn’t seem that impressed so I gave him a Phox Minnow that I had managed to spray up in the style of a multi coloured sock. Although I give away lures a little too regularly I still get that nervous feeling that comes from handing over my work to be judged by someone else.

I moved a little further round the lake and continued my campaign to either catch a fish of freeze to death in the process. Back over the lake my Phox Minnow had claimed its first victim a small pike and I headed over while they waited for me. I waded into the shallows and unhooked it claiming it as my own as I had made the lure and was having no luck myself. I wandered back to the reeds and gave a few half-hearted casts before deciding that despite Christmas winter on the whole is crap, so I packed up and headed home. 

How to make a Buzzbait

It was a little busier at the lake than I am accustomed to. The warmth of the winter sunshine had brought out a field of competitors, but rather than clog up the central swim they had tucked themselves away into the corners leaving me a sizeable stage to test my lures. I had come to get some film of my latest project the Buzzbait, this was to be a repeat performance after yesterday’s visit when I found once again my camera was battery- less.

The buzzbait is at best a little more than ridiculous, I know it has its roots in the spinnerbait  but there is pushing the design envelope  and then there is farting in it and posting to someone you don’t like. Despite looking like a unfortunate accident involving a teenager with a mouth full of dental work and desk fan this is a lure that truly make sense once you get it into the water. Given a couple of reel handle cranks and a slightly raised rod tip the lure rises to the surface as the blade splashes creating a sound very similar to that of a duckling running on water to make good its escape. Unlike the sloppy casting spinnerbait the buzzbait flies a little longer and little more directly all be it with a purring blade.

With all that said this is really a summer lure for use when little critters like ducklings, rats,mice, and voles are about on the snaggy margins where wobblers fear to tread. Until then I can just make the excuse that I am testing it rather than fishing with it.

When I had what I thought was enough video to edit together I put the camera away and clipped on a Montana John and went for walk along the bank. A group of young lads decided to join me casting jellied lures across my line while telling me about the pike they had caught last week, whose weight seemed to be yo-yoing with every detailed addition to the story. I tried to get a little distance on them and attracted the attention of another passer-by who asked how it was going as I struck into a fish.

It felt a healthy size and drawn by the commotion the lads ran over brandishing landing nets and asking if I wanted them to net it. I jumped down into the shallow water and brought the fish in; with crowd safely on the bank I slipped the hook out and let pike away before it became a thing to prod at.

The lads, who couldn’t have been much more than ten, asked what I caught the pike with and I showed them the lure. The oldest of the group took off the jelly shad he had been using and began tying a different lure on his line, one which I recognised and  I told him the lure he was holding was one I had made; I think he thought I was asking for it back. His mate said he had gone into the lake to get it out and the water had come up to his underpants. I had given it away to fisherman a few weeks earlier who must have lost it only for it to change hands again.  To show I was not trying to reclaim lost property I gave him another lure, a plastic swim bait I had retrieved myself and thought I better throw in some traces for safety. I had my fish, my film and smile from hearing about a kid who wadded in after one of my lures so I packed and headed home.

  How to make A Buzzbait  Drawing by  

  Tools and materials list for making as Buzzbait by  

Mackerel Feather Rigs Revisited

I have been back over some old ground, creating some more mackerel rig videos but I felt the original needed some improvements. Hopefully the addition of new patterns and videos will make the process of tying your own a little easier and maybe I can move on to breaking some new ground or at least get out fishing.

Stop Press. 

Depressingly the Marine Stewardship Council have taken mackerel off the ‘fish to eat list’ due to the threat of overfishing to its breeding stock in the north east Atlantic.