# Carved Bait



## FishinsMyLife (Jan 23, 2008)

I got bored a while back (rainy and too cold to fish) and carved a lure out of pine. I know pine might not be the best wood for lures but thats not the point. The lure has the basic shape of a bluegill and will be a topwater bait. I'm looking for suggestions on ways to attach hooks. I want to put a hook (feathered treble) on the back so it looks like a tail, and I want to add another hook right in the middle of the body of the bait. The lure floats like it is a dead or dying bluegill on its side, so I want the hook to just dangle down I guess. A long time ago, I used the hooks from Heddon Torpedoes on a wooden popper because they were on a screw type thing. I want to attach the hooks to this bait in a way that I know they won't come off. I was thinking about using heavy duty staples from a staple gun and attaching a split ring and hook to that, but that method might not even work and it isn't really aesthetically pleasing :roll: . I hope you can picture what I am talking about. I'll post some pictures if I remember. If you know of a good method or just an idea that you want to throw out there, it would be greatly appreciated.


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## kentuckybassman (Jan 23, 2008)

What about those little screw in eye bolts? Then you could put your hook directly on to that and not have to worry about it coming off. I guess, I don't know about stuff like that but you know what they say,"If at first you don't succeed,try try again" I have a little saying myself too,"You don't have to be a rocket scientist but it sure does help!!"


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## FishinsMyLife (Jan 23, 2008)

Thats what I was thinking with the Heddons but I have tried those and sometimes the blade part of the screw gets covered in sap and little bits of wood and it pulls right out. That might have been a different type of wood that it happened to me before with, I can't remember. I might try it anyway, thanks for the input.


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## slim357 (Jan 23, 2008)

yea get someone those screw-in eyes and attach a split ring.


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## kentuckybassman (Jan 23, 2008)

Thats what I was calling the screw in eye bolt. What's the actual name for those things anyway?


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## slim357 (Jan 23, 2008)

Wire eye lags, also have seen them called screw eyes (eye bolts have a nut on the end, i had to look up the name cuz i didnt know what they were called either)


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## little anth (Jan 23, 2008)

post us some pics i want to see how she looks :wink: good luck


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## Nickk (Jan 23, 2008)

slim357 said:


> yea get someone those screw-in eyes and attach a split ring.




use those in the pic, drill a small pilot hole and mix up some epoxy and roll the threaded part through it before you screw it in. Clean up the excess right away with a paper towel and maybe some lighter fluid or clean solvent.


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## Jim (Jan 24, 2008)

pics, pics, pics!


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## dampeoples (Jan 24, 2008)

Nickk said:


> slim357 said:
> 
> 
> > yea get someone those screw-in eyes and attach a split ring.
> ...



Pine is more forgiving than other woods, the harder the wood, the better for using screw eyes. In this case, Nickk is correct, you might want to even drill the hole out about two drill bit sizes smaller than the screw eye, fill that hole with epoxy, use the 5 minute kind, then screw it in. Don't worry much about the stuff that squeezes out, you can cut that off with a hobby knife, and it will most likely be covered by your sealer anyway. You're gonna need several coats fo some sort of sealer, as wood absorbs water, then paint, then a clearcoat over that.


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## Derek777 (Jan 25, 2008)

if i were to make a bait like that, id drill a hole through the bait from front to back right down the middle. id then drill a hole where you wanted the hook into the bait intersecting the lengthwise hole through the bait. id then run a length of wire through the bait. when i was running the wire through the bait and came to the hook hole., id stick a nice ball bearing swivel like a sampo or spro, through the hole, and feed the wire through the one end of the swivel. the other end would be hanging through the hole for you to attach your split ring and treble. id then run a loop and haywire tiwst at each end for th elie tine and rear hook hanger. maybe add some epoxy to both ends, ir cap it with a nice metal cap so the wise cant slide through and voila, hardwired bait, with no way for any screweyes to pull out when you have a big fish on.


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## little anth (Jan 25, 2008)

i like that idea good one


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## jkbirocz (Jan 25, 2008)

I dabbled in lure making when I was about 13 or 14. I made lures with wire frames and lures with eye screws. I don't think I ever fished any of the baits though. The easiest way to have a wire frame was to cut a rough shape of the lure out of wood on a jig or band saw. Then cut the lure in half lengthwise. Then cut grooves for the wire you plan for....the eyelet, and the hook eyes. If you use balsa you can just press the wood instead of cutting the grooves. After the wire frame is bent and in place I epoxied the body halfs together. I think I found something online when I made these lures, or it was in a magazine. I will post the lure sometime, it was a blasa clone of a excalibur shallow running fat free shad. Of course my paint job was trashy....and hand painted.


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## Derek777 (Jan 25, 2008)

:lol:


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