My Lure-Making Journey - The Quest to Make the Perfect Lure for Bass
I have always been passionate about fishing and lure-making. My earliest recollection of making a fishing lure was when I was around ten years old and chasing the neighbour, Aunt Tolla's chickens, to grab some tail feathers! These feathers were worth the scolding! They were duly fastened to a hook with cotton and my mum's pink nail varnish. Very primitive, that lure caught nothing, but that's where the quest began.
On the other hand, the lure above has been very good to me! It is a hybrid, an eel-shaped swimbait with a soft plastic swimbait body and a metal head with a lead core. I've fond memories of the bass above, it was caught on 31 October and is special to me as 31 October is the latest date in the season that I've caught a bass on a lure way up here in the North East of England.
.jpeg "A photo of a hand made wooden lure coated with epoxy, very successful when fishing for bass")
My lure-making ventures have been focused on bass for approximately the past seven years. Why bass, you may ask? Well, I'm a lure fisherman at heart, I'm in the UK, and catching bass is an obsessive quest! Bass fishing can be a real challenge, especially way up in the North East of England. The lure above is handmade from wood and coated with epoxy, using the design elements and basic proportions of a very popular Japanese lure.
This lure above is made using an American soft plastic mould, Have you heard of Marling Baits? This is one of his designs, the mould is made by Epic Bait Molds. This was my first venture into making soft plastics. I experienced many drawbacks fishing this lure along the coast, though that's my personal experience. To be fair, the lure was really designed for use in lakes and ponds for largemouth bass.
The swimbait above has made it to our Swimbait Category Page - it's the Whipwad, also designed as a collaboration between Marling Baits and Epic Bait Molds, USA. Our Bass Addict WhipWads are made in the United Kingdom with the express permission of the collaboration. See Swimbait Category Page Here
Getting good distance casting is something that I really appreciate in a successful lure when lure fishing for bass, as you cover larger areas, and you may be able to reach structures that may hold that specimen fish! The lure above is a hybrid made from wood with a lead core and a metal head. It's been a catcher! I'm always seeking to give myself the edge!
The bass above also fell to a handmade wooden lure, sprayed white, and coated with epoxy, it has its drawbacks as it's fairly light, distance is an issue, and it really isn't a fan of the wind.
Above, you will find the next phase of my quest to make the perfect lure for Bass, the development of our proprietary bucktail jigs. These had great success during the past few seasons, and I knew that I was onto something awesome! We developed our own lures, handmade in the United Kingdom.
What you see on this Community page is a condensed version of my lure-making journey. All the while plotting and planning, scheming and designing, as well as endless testing and enduring all kinds of weather in the process.
So, you may ask, what is the final phase, what have we learned and what's ahead for Summer 2025? Well, dear friend, that's where I found a lure that ticked all the boxes! We have named this final development evolution the NBA Sandeel! More about the NBA Sandeel may be seen here at the NBA Sandeel Page. NBA Sandeel
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