Homemade Artificial Lures

Catching fish with your own lures can be a rewarding experience. It can also be an inexpensive way to fill up your tackle box without shouldering the costs of store-bought bait. There are many styles of artificial lures that can be made. The most important consideration is making sure the lure produces an action that attracts fish.

  1. Beer Cap Lures

    • One type of homemade lure that can be made with commonly found items is a beer cap lure. Bend a beer cap over so its teeth meet. Put several small steel pellets or sinkers in it before it is completely closed up, as well as loops of metal wire placed opposite each other. The cap should have a smooth side and a ribbed side, with a metal loop on the top and bottom. Seal the cap with a hot glue gun and attach a double hook through the loop. The lure can be used on anything from trout to pike.

    Plastic Worms

    • Fishermen can go through a lot of plastic worms while fishing, as they tend to rip or get pulled off the hook. One way to cut down on costs and customize your plastic worm supply is to buy a kit and make your own. Mix and heat plastisol, a liquid containing PVC particles, and pour it into molds of your choice. Select colors and other effects. Making your own plastic worms will allow you to adjust your supply to the type of worm that works best where you fish.

    Wooden Poppers

    • Make your own poppers out of cedar or pine, which are especially useful for bass. Shave a piece of pine or cedar into the desired shape and sand it to a smooth finish. Paint the lure, making sure each side of the "head" has a large eye. Many people paint the front third of the lure a bright color. Screw in two hooks on the bottom that are attach to eye screws, using needle-nose pliers. Screw another eye screw into the front of its head.

    Rubber Tubing Lure

    • Another quick and easy lure is the rubber tubing lure. Cut a piece of rubber tubing the size of the lure and a piece of wire that is long enough to go through the tubing and make small loops on each end. After making the first loop in the wire and crimping it with a crimping tool, feed three sinkers on the wire that are small enough to move inside the tube. Wrap the sinkers with prism paper to make them shiny. After the wire and sinkers are inside the tubing and there are loops on each end, plug both openings of the tubing with hot glue, making sure the sinkers nearest to the glue don't get glued down.