Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

We aquaponics people tend to be a handy lot, so I was wondering if anyone else makes their own lures?

I've made a few. So I thought I share them.

This was done with printed design that was glued on to a silver birch carved blank. It never hit the water because it's in the "museum" but I caught a few fish on similar ones. This probable represents my best effort to date.



This squid jag is my favourite because I've never known anyone else to have made one . It's also been retired because of some "in the field" adjustment to the rear hook cluster with some pliers after I trimmed too much weight off the front and had to make amends. It also caught a fair sized squid and I doubt it has the structural integrity to catch another after my adjustments (I hacked off the second row of hooks because it wouldnt sit right. Those hooks where never designed to be trimmed

Another favorite is this hot glue gun shimp. Built up around a wire harness, it's never caught a fish but in testing it got a great strike from a cod. (no hooks)



This experimental lure made from dowel pinned PVC never went any further because I got distracted by something else

And my favourite for actual use this tiny 1g lure made with a bit of electrical wire with the wire removed so I could keep it really lightweight. There is no hang points or harness to keep the weight down. You thread the line through the insulation and tie on a small single hook. Great for easily spooked redfin.

I use them unpainted so they break down and rust out if you snag them on trees, or whatever. I lose a lot because I like to chuck them in close to snags, or under trees.

As they get water logged, they start as floaters, progress through sitters, and eventually become sinkers. It's actually quite handy to try each of the different zones with the same lure . If they survive for another day they dry out and become surface lures again. ACtions vary from lure to lure so you kind of have to fish to the lure. I make them pretty rough, and just line up bibs by eye. This means sometimes they swim in circles or dont do much at all. But I think that works in their favour.



Being so light they dont spook anything so they are great for little rivers . I can cast perhaps only 5 metres, and 2 of those are my rod and arm, but in little rivers they rock. I have no fly skills but have a feeling they might even work on a fly outfit, they are so light.

The bibs are made of plastic packaging from things like packs of batteries. The yellow insulation is the thinnest I could find. ) the line is 1.6kg fluro.

The hook is the short shank version of the one I use for gar.