I am overwhelmed with info from YouTube

[Arlin Eastman]

There must be tens of thousands of YouTube about making lures, bobbers, and just making tackle.

It seems most everyone that makes them refer to Paul Adams who lives in the UK.  He makes some amazing lures and how to do everything.  I contacted him and he sent me all of his templates and info he did over the years.

If you guys would like me to post some links I would be most happy to since it is so nice to see how lures are made.  I was also quite surprised at how lures have changed since I have been fishing.
Most lures were made out of wood unless they were jigs or having feather or other things added to lures.  Now tons of them are cast in plastic or rubber and it just does not seem the same.
So tell me what lures you like the best and why.

Arlin

[Smallie_Stalker]

I don't know that I like any lure the best but there is just something about throwing old school lures that I really like. They seem to have a little something that a lot of modern mass produced lures are  lacking. Wooden lures especially rank among my favorites.

You are a very fortunate man that Paul Adams sent you all of that stuff. I have been watching his videos for a few years now and he is an absolute master.

[Arlin Eastman]

We have sent a dozen emails back and forth in the last two weeks.  I am thinking I want to make the lures with the wire instead of eye hooks to make it last longer and keep the fish on the hook incase the lure is Killed.

So mush to learn.  I still have some of my great grandfathers tackle from back in 1905 when he made his own and when I was a kid he taken me fishing on Lake Superior and he had a hideous looking and big lure I laughed at.  He said he caught a lot of Pike and Musky on it and would only part with it when he died.  Well he died the next summer with me in the boat and great grandma gave me his tackle box along with his 10 weight bamboo fly rod.   

Arlin

[bigjim5589]

Arlin, a lot of lure making is only limited by the imagination of the person making the lure. I frequent some other fishing sites where there are some folks I would consider master lure builders.
One fellow from Finland makes wood lures, and IMO makes some of the best & most artistic I've ever seen. There's also a fellow in Japan who makes lures & his are equally as much works of art as they are functional fishing lures.

Since you're just getting into it, don't let all the information overwhelm you. Take it in a little at a time, and start simple, then expand from there. I started about 50 years ago, and still have so much I would like to learn, that I doubt I'll ever learn it all. It's been a life long endeavor for me, which is one of the reasons I've stayed interested in making lures. I tie fishing flies too! 

I don't have any lures that I like best as far as making them. They all have a place in my tackle boxes, and that's why I make them. What I really like is being able to make exactly what I want, or because it gives me the ability to experiment with ideas.

Although, because I make lures & tie flies, I'm very fond of hair jigs, and they're some of my favorite types of lures to fish with too! 

Here's a pic of some of my hair jigs. Simple, but quite productive! 

[Arlin Eastman]

Arlin, a lot of lure making is only limited by the imagination of the person making the lure. I frequent some other fishing sites where there are some folks I would consider master lure builders.
One fellow from Finland makes wood lures, and IMO makes some of the best & most artistic I've ever seen. There's also a fellow in Japan who makes lures & his are equally as much works of art as they are functional fishing lures.

Since you're just getting into it, don't let all the information overwhelm you. Take it in a little at a time, and start simple, then expand from there. I started about 50 years ago, and still have so much I would like to learn, that I doubt I'll ever learn it all. It's been a life long endeavor for me, which is one of the reasons I've stayed interested in making lures. I tie fishing flies too! 

I don't have any lures that I like best as far as making them. They all have a place in my tackle boxes, and that's why I make them. What I really like is being able to make exactly what I want, or because it gives me the ability to experiment with ideas.

Although, because I make lures & tie flies, I'm very fond of hair jigs, and they're some of my favorite types of lures to fish with too! 

Here's a pic of some of my hair jigs. Simple, but quite productive! 

Jim

do you have any hair left on your head. 

I would say those are Jigs and would like to get some molds so we can make some of them to.

I grew up in the Mountains of Colorado and learned to do all my fly fishing there except with my Great Granddad shown me in Wisconsin and I was in the boat with him when he died.  GGrandma gave me his tackle box with all of his hand made lures and some as far back as 1902 or 1906 I do not remember which now but I still have the old woodies.

Arlin

[Oldfart9999]

Jim, what are you using for a trailer on those jigs? I've used a Zonker on several with good results.
Rodney

[bigjim5589]

Rodney, those are rabbit strips (Zonkers) that I cut myself from whole hides. That hide was dyed a rusty brown. There's a few strands of Flashabou in each one too.

That way I can cut the strips any width I need. Most I use are about 3/16" to 1/4" wide. However, I'll cut some a little wider & some narrower, but seldom less than 1/8" wide. I buy some of the packaged strips also.

The other hair in those jigs is coyote, and/or fox.