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| Carved, sanded, ready for the details (Sitting on top of a wood block just like the one it used to be) |
Today I've been drinking coffee, listening to Q-tip (if you haven't heard his brand of hip hop, I highly recommend it), and making wooden fishing lures. A great combination I think. Hip hop and fishing go great together, I think... Perhaps the Fonetiks should make a comeback...
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| The workspace (Just to the left is my music stuff - computer, keyboards, monotron, nord electro- I like the juxtaposition) |
Using some of the tools my buddy Mark let me borrow (especially the fly tying vice) I've been able to complete my first sturdy wooden lure. I recently received my second shipment from Jann's Netcraft (thanks to Rob for hipping me to them) and got some stuff I needed. Stuff like split rings, brass screw eyes, quick-change clevises, colorado and willow blades, and more.
A couple of weeks ago I bought a cheap wood carving kit, which came with a single handle that could accept a variety of different blades. I proceeded to break almost every blade in the kit due to my lack of experience (and the crappy quality of the blades). Most of the breaks happened when I used the blade in a way it wasn't intended! I've done some internet research, and I think I've learned the error of my ways.
Ordering some Christmas presents on Amazon, the site recommended a $2 wood carving kit to me, and I snatched it up! I got it a few days ago, and although it is very cheap, the tools seem very substantial. I haven't broken a single blade yet! These tools - I think- are specifically for doing relief carving, not whittling so much. I've put them to good use on some projects that I can't share just yet.
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| Sharpie-d, nail-polished, and ready for the hardware |
I used on of the V-gauge tools (I think that's what they're called) to make little scale indentations on the lure. Will the fish care if there are fancy little scales on the lure? I don't know, but I think it looks pretty cool. I couldn't open my little canisters of paint, so I just used some sharpies to paint the lure, doing my best impression of a firetiger pattern.
Then, using some wood glue, craft-store eyes, my split ring pliers, and the fly tying vice, I assembled the rest of the lure. I'm extremely satisfied with how it looks, and I have no doubt that this will catch some fish. At least I hope so!
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| The finished lure. I'd eat that! |
"I recently bought a bunch of flannel shirts, which for some reason gave me the urge to get some wood and carve things."
ReplyDeleteHA
That just might be the ugliest lure I've ever seen, which means the fish have never seen anything like it, which means it will be deadly on them.
I used to make bizarre jig and pig type things out of the plastics that had been sitting in my tackle box for years. Just pile them up on a big hook and throw them in the water. Got some of the biggest largemouth I've ever caught that way. Go figure.
Looking forward to your next creation.
Haha thanks Ken, I guess it isn't exactly attractive in the traditional sense... But I hope you're right, that it will be deadly on the fish! My limited experience making lures suggests that what might catch a fisherman in the store and what will catch a fish can be totally different things...!
ReplyDeleteMy impression of mepp's black fury has been pretty deadly on LMB and catfish, and I was worried the smell of sharpie on the blade would dissuade them. Who knew!?