muskie or pike lures

[Panfish_Catcher]

Can anyone give me some tips on making some top water muskie/pike baits? Any easy designs that work well? maybe out of wood? any kind of tips will help thanks!

[mainbutter]

double bladed inline spinners with flashabou are not only popular with musky and pike fishermen, but also fairly straightforward to build. I've only built small inline spinners, but the concept is mostly the same with some added bells and whistles (flashabou skirt, egg weight, second treble, heat shrink over weight/trebles, etc). There are a number of websites out there that describe building one of these, and search engines are your friend there as I certainly wouldn't be able to write up a how-to as nicely. The best part about these is that all the parts are readily available for purchase online or even at some tackle shops.

Wooden lures, such as suick-type jerkbaits or crankbaits, are FUN to make, but if they turn out like mine, may just not be up to par with commercially available lures. This kind of lure crafting is time consuming, and having equipment such as a band saw really helps perform the major shaping. Shape your lure, add hardware (hook hangers, plastic diving lips etc) with screws and glue, base coat with 30 minute epoxy, paint, topcoat with 30 minute epoxy.

I mean really, take a look at a suick, think about what you need to put it together, and go do something like it The tricky part is drilling holes and adding lead to weight it how you want.

I like using poplar from home depot, it's much harder than balsa, but workable with my band saw, sharp knife, and sandpaper.

Soft plastic lures for muskies are difficult. You basically have to pay someone to use a CNC to custom machine a mold, then you have to deal with the liquid plastic material etc.. I pour soft plastics, but only small stuff. IMO getting a custom mold made is cost prohibitive in itself from a hobbyist standpoint, and I don't know anyone who machines musky sized soft plastic molds that aren't custom orders.

[Panfish_Catcher]

Thanks for the tips! if i can i might post pics if i get something made soon

[rugbymn]

Larry Dahlberg has a HSOforum devoted to making your own lures. He has kits you can order for soft plastics, hard baits, etc. Just run a search for "makelure" and you'll go right to it.