Joys Of Doing It Yourself......
By Dan Johnson
I’ve been a tackle junkie since I was old enough to collect a weekly allowance and spend every cent on hooks, jigs, hardbaits,<SCRIPT type=text/javascript src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/tinymce/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/themes/advanced/langs/en.js?9"></SCRIPT> and anything else fishing-related that would fit inside my overstuffed tackle box. Thanks to my parents’ love of travel and the outdoors, I amassed quite a collection during my childhood as the family visited baitshops and fishing holes from northern Canada to southern Florida. And though it’s been nearly four decades, I still possess a variety of souvenirs from these journeys, from a handlining reel used to pluck pinfish from the riprap along John’s Pass on Florida’s Gulf Coast to countless battered spoons, spinners, jigs, and cranks that I simply had to have.
I confess this tackle obsession to put what follows in perspective. Nothing against the amazing array of new and noteworthy products on the market today, but there are times when there’s no substitute for rolling up your sleeves and either making gear yourself or tweaking existing products. Whether out of necessity to meet the demands of specific fishing situations, or for the personal satisfaction of catching fish on gear you’ve crafted, the process of creating your own fishing tackle offers many rewards.
Where To Start
The list of potential projects is limited only by your imagination. With the right tools and inclination, the aspiring do-it-yourselfer can produce everything from soft-plastic worms and sliding sinkers to custom rods with which to fish them. And, like most pastimes, tackle making can be as simple or as complicated as you make it.
Although I’ve dabbled in it over the years, I put the pastime on plane last summer, when a care package of supplies arrived on my doorstep from the good folks at Do-it Molds in Denver, Iowa. A 40-year-old company recognized as a world leader in the tackle-craft industry, Do-it has built a reputation for manufacturing high-quality jig, lure, and sinker molds cast from a high-grade warp-resistant aluminum alloy. They also offer an amazing range of supplies such as pre-molded crankbait bodies, spinnerbait kits, and more.
Like a kid at Christmas, I tore into the package and—accompanied by my sons and wife—was soon engrossed in a variety of tackle projects at the garage workbench. One of the most challenging and fun activities was learning to airbrush custom designs on Do-it’s crankbait bodies, as well as our own recycled spinnerbait blades and other tackle. We quickly gained respect for the skilled artisans whose canvasses include everything from diving plugs to Harley gas tanks.
Family Heirlooms
Another recent revelation in tacklemaking came from Rapala’s Mark Fisher. While preparing my sons for a youth fishing tournament last summer, I queried a few friends in the fishing business as to what tools are on tap to help young anglers hone their skills. “I’ve never been asked that question—but it’s a great one,” says Fisher, himself a father and no stranger to competitive angling. “Fishing rods are not like golf clubs, which are manufactured to fit the golfer. Rods are measured in actions and made for specific presentations—trolling, vertical-jigging, casting swimbaits, and so forth—not the angler’s physical stature.”
Such technique-specific rod design begets a one-size-fits-all selection process guided by fishing method when it comes to outfitting accomplished anglers. But youths need tools they can wield successfully, and Fisher warns that rods which are too heavy, too long, or too stiff for kids may turn them off to the sport altogether. “You can’t give them tackle that’s frustrating to use,” he says. “If you hand them a rod they have trouble with, the next time you ask them to go fishing they may choose a less-stressful activity.”
Fisher’s answer to the intermediate rod dilemma? Make your own. “When my kids were at that stage, we went down to the local rod shop, Thorne Bros., picked out blanks the kids liked, then built the rods ourselves,” he says. “After years of use, those custom rods became family keepsakes.” Another plus: Rod-building is a good way to help young anglers feel a part of the game. Fisher says, “Their pride in ownership is priceless.” With custom shops like Thorne located in most major metro areas across North America—and literally thousands of online options a Google away—finding rod-making supplies and instruction is easy.
The Art Of Tweaking
Not all tacklemaking involves creating gear from scratch. I keep a healthy supply of spare parts on hand, such as swivels, beads, blades, hooks, and split rings with which to tweak mass-produced baits for performances better fitting the conditions and mood of the fish. Simple adjustments include the ­In-Fisherman trick of swapping the factory treble on a jigging spoon for a single hook, in the process adding an extra split ring in between the hook and spoon to create a pivot point that allows the hook to more easily move into the fish’s mouth.
More complicated doctoring can involve any number of major tweaks, ranging from shaving and ­re-shaping crankbait lips to weighting baits and adding blades and the metal “clackers” which they strike to produce extra sound.
Whether you’re molding jigs, airbrushing cranks, or tweaking topwaters, you’ll be a better-armed and more efficient angler because of your do-it-yourself efforts. As a bonus, the art of tackle crafting is quite often a destination in itself. Hours spent at the workbench provide nearly as satisfying a distraction from the pressures of reality as actually going fishing.
By Dan Johnson
I’ve been a tackle junkie since I was old enough to collect a weekly allowance and spend every cent on hooks, jigs, hardbaits,<SCRIPT type=text/javascript src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/tinymce/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/themes/advanced/langs/en.js?9"></SCRIPT> and anything else fishing-related that would fit inside my overstuffed tackle box. Thanks to my parents’ love of travel and the outdoors, I amassed quite a collection during my childhood as the family visited baitshops and fishing holes from northern Canada to southern Florida. And though it’s been nearly four decades, I still possess a variety of souvenirs from these journeys, from a handlining reel used to pluck pinfish from the riprap along John’s Pass on Florida’s Gulf Coast to countless battered spoons, spinners, jigs, and cranks that I simply had to have.
I confess this tackle obsession to put what follows in perspective. Nothing against the amazing array of new and noteworthy products on the market today, but there are times when there’s no substitute for rolling up your sleeves and either making gear yourself or tweaking existing products. Whether out of necessity to meet the demands of specific fishing situations, or for the personal satisfaction of catching fish on gear you’ve crafted, the process of creating your own fishing tackle offers many rewards.
Where To Start
The list of potential projects is limited only by your imagination. With the right tools and inclination, the aspiring do-it-yourselfer can produce everything from soft-plastic worms and sliding sinkers to custom rods with which to fish them. And, like most pastimes, tackle making can be as simple or as complicated as you make it.
Although I’ve dabbled in it over the years, I put the pastime on plane last summer, when a care package of supplies arrived on my doorstep from the good folks at Do-it Molds in Denver, Iowa. A 40-year-old company recognized as a world leader in the tackle-craft industry, Do-it has built a reputation for manufacturing high-quality jig, lure, and sinker molds cast from a high-grade warp-resistant aluminum alloy. They also offer an amazing range of supplies such as pre-molded crankbait bodies, spinnerbait kits, and more.
Like a kid at Christmas, I tore into the package and—accompanied by my sons and wife—was soon engrossed in a variety of tackle projects at the garage workbench. One of the most challenging and fun activities was learning to airbrush custom designs on Do-it’s crankbait bodies, as well as our own recycled spinnerbait blades and other tackle. We quickly gained respect for the skilled artisans whose canvasses include everything from diving plugs to Harley gas tanks.
Family Heirlooms
Another recent revelation in tacklemaking came from Rapala’s Mark Fisher. While preparing my sons for a youth fishing tournament last summer, I queried a few friends in the fishing business as to what tools are on tap to help young anglers hone their skills. “I’ve never been asked that question—but it’s a great one,” says Fisher, himself a father and no stranger to competitive angling. “Fishing rods are not like golf clubs, which are manufactured to fit the golfer. Rods are measured in actions and made for specific presentations—trolling, vertical-jigging, casting swimbaits, and so forth—not the angler’s physical stature.”
Such technique-specific rod design begets a one-size-fits-all selection process guided by fishing method when it comes to outfitting accomplished anglers. But youths need tools they can wield successfully, and Fisher warns that rods which are too heavy, too long, or too stiff for kids may turn them off to the sport altogether. “You can’t give them tackle that’s frustrating to use,” he says. “If you hand them a rod they have trouble with, the next time you ask them to go fishing they may choose a less-stressful activity.”
Fisher’s answer to the intermediate rod dilemma? Make your own. “When my kids were at that stage, we went down to the local rod shop, Thorne Bros., picked out blanks the kids liked, then built the rods ourselves,” he says. “After years of use, those custom rods became family keepsakes.” Another plus: Rod-building is a good way to help young anglers feel a part of the game. Fisher says, “Their pride in ownership is priceless.” With custom shops like Thorne located in most major metro areas across North America—and literally thousands of online options a Google away—finding rod-making supplies and instruction is easy.
The Art Of Tweaking
Not all tacklemaking involves creating gear from scratch. I keep a healthy supply of spare parts on hand, such as swivels, beads, blades, hooks, and split rings with which to tweak mass-produced baits for performances better fitting the conditions and mood of the fish. Simple adjustments include the ­In-Fisherman trick of swapping the factory treble on a jigging spoon for a single hook, in the process adding an extra split ring in between the hook and spoon to create a pivot point that allows the hook to more easily move into the fish’s mouth.
More complicated doctoring can involve any number of major tweaks, ranging from shaving and ­re-shaping crankbait lips to weighting baits and adding blades and the metal “clackers” which they strike to produce extra sound.
Whether you’re molding jigs, airbrushing cranks, or tweaking topwaters, you’ll be a better-armed and more efficient angler because of your do-it-yourself efforts. As a bonus, the art of tackle crafting is quite often a destination in itself. Hours spent at the workbench provide nearly as satisfying a distraction from the pressures of reality as actually going fishing.