The Hunt For Big Fish with Larry Dahlberg

Hi, love to throw spinnerbaits up here in Maine. Want to learn how to make my own. Don't know where to start? Thanks, RAB

How involved do you want the process to be? If you want to pour the lead and spray fancy paint jobs, you'll need guidance from someone smarter than myself.

I'm not set up to pour lead, so buy the spinnerbait heads from Jann's Netcraft or Lure Parts Online (LPO). You can get them painted or unpainted. I buy painted.

You'll need wire forming pliers to shape the hoop for the swivel and blade, needle nose pliers just don't work for this. I think I paid $5 for a pair of wire forming pliers at a craft store.

When I order my spinnerbait heads, I also order silicone skirts at the same time. I have also tied up a bunch of spinners with flashabou skirts in various colors.

For blades, beads, and swivels, I harvest those off of old spinnerbaits that are too mangled to swim straight. I also search the clearance bins for these components. I also buy some new from time to time, when needed. Of course, new ones are available through Janns and LPO

I have found that, even with reused components, making spinnerbaits isn't that much cheaper than buying them. But you can assemble what you want and its an enjoyable process.

Agreed, it is not that much cheaper. Cabelas often has sales for 99 cents or so, and WalMart does as well.

Still, I do it just like rausch51 does it, except I paint my own.

You can also get Do-It molds to pour your own lead, and you can either buy pre-bent wire or bend your own.

Now, if you feel energetic, use mold putty to form your own shape, round wire bending pliers to form your wire, then use HS2 RTV to form a mold. Then you can do any shape you can create in your head.

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/lure-making-parts/
http://www.lurecraft.com/content/
http://makelure.com/
http://lurepartsonline.com/cart.html

Thanks, I'm buying War Eagle spinnerbaits, which are great, but cost around $7 each. I figured making my own in the winter would be a good hobby in the non fishing months. I assume I can buy decent quality components at the links provided? I don't mind playing around until I can make a decent spinnerbait.
Rick ><>

HI R
Making spinner baits is really, really, easy. As usual, our friend AKA (thanks again AKA) has answered your questions with exactly the same answer as I'd have provided!
Have fun!
best
L

I use Netcraft supplies. I've found it worthwhile because you can make really high quality baits for a lot less than the high quality $5+ spinners and spinner baits. I got into it because I like spinners (as opposed to spinner baits) for trout fishing in snaggy areas and it was costing me a fortune in Mepps products.

AKA has a very good answer but I think that you will do well to try making original heads of skulpy or wax and making a mold that will hold the wire and then using mold putty to make the mold as it lasts longest with lead.

Bassman wrote:
> AKA has a very good answer but I think that you will do well to try making
> original heads of skulpy or wax and making a mold that will hold the wire
> and then using mold putty to make the mold as it lasts longest with lead.

Good catch Bassman. Sometimes I get lazy and mix up the fact that Skulpy and mold putty are different.

I have been doing some prototyping with Plaster of Paris lately as well. I just poor cubes of it and go after it with my dremel tool.

My wife says I need to start doing that outside, and with winter coming on, well back to skulpy and wax.

If you like war eagle spinner baits, here is way to make them better. Preformed spinner bait wire various sizes, 3/8 to 1 ounce tungsten bullet weight or flippin weight, high strength heat shrink tubing 1/8 to 3/16 size, spinner bait hook or any hook. Put the bullet weight on the one end of the preformed wire, bend a loop, attach hook on loop and close, side heat shrink tubing over the eye of the hook and loop. Heat the heat shrink tubing make sure the weight, wire, and hook are straight as the tubing cools. Bend the wire at the head/weight 45 degrees. Just add blades and skirt. You can make barbs with the heat shrink by making it longer and cut 45 degree cuts before heating and pull the 45 degree cut out as it cools. Now you can make a spinner bait with any hook on the market (swim bait hook, worm, spinner bait, flippin) or size. Just reuse the weight after the wire or hook is damaged.