Welcome to Week CLII of 鈥楩ishing Parkland Shorelines鈥�. Like most of us I am a novice fisherman, loving to fish, but far from an expert. In the following weeks I鈥檒l attempt to give those anglers who love to fish but just don鈥檛 have access to a boat, a look at some of the options in the Yorkton area where you can fish from shore, and hopefully catch some fish.
The idea of a nice little woodworking shop with a lathe, belt sander and Dremel set, plus a few other handy tools, all dedicated to lure making is something I will say appeals to me.
I can hear both my late father, and my former school shop teacher Mr. Bourne, back at the Centennial Junior High School in Tisdale, laughing out loud at that statement.
Handy in woodworking was not something people would attribute to me.
The footstool I made as a class project, while utilitarian, had the general aesthetics of a partially-rotted tree stump.
Yes, I have fashioned a few homemade lures, but let me be brutally frank, if Pike had any taste in lure making they would sprout legs and walk away from the lake I fished my lures in search of new water.
But I still hold onto the idea of creating fantastic lures, even if they are as much a dream as an ace on the disc golf course, or a 180 in darts.
So, when I came across the Living Lures page on Facebook, I quickly clicked 鈥榣ike鈥�.
It was through the page I contacted its creator Chester Emery.
A quick email, and I was able to pick his brain a bit on lure making.
Emery lives in Canberra, Australia where he says he mainly targets Murray Cod, yellowbelly, and Australian bass.
So the man was a fisherman first, which makes sense. But I wondered why he returned to lure making.
In my case I did it on a bit of a lark, and with an eye to sharing with you my readers.
鈥淚 was very disappointed with the types of lures that were available and decided to do some research into making timber lures and after some trial and error found a course in timber lure making,鈥� he said via email. 鈥淲ith the knowledge I gained I started trying different designs 鈥檛il I found the type of action and depth of swim action I was happy with.
鈥淎s I mainly specialize in rare timbers I do a lot of nudes (nudes are timber that is only clear coated) lures that show the grain and beauty of the raw timber rather than full painting 鈥�
鈥淣udes are one of the most sought after lures by collectors as it is the best way to show timber in its most beautiful natural state. The term nude is given to any timber lure that after shaping聽 and sanding to get the most out of the grain is finished with a clear coat of epoxy resin ( mostly a product called Envirotex lite ), or clear coat enamel or acrylic paint to seal the timber.鈥�
I was left wondering what wood was best?
鈥淎 balsa wood or cedar are the two most popular wood for making lures as they are easy to shape聽 and work with and are very buoyant and floats and are suited to surface or sub surface lures unlike timbers like maple or mahogany that are a denser timber that weighs a lot more than cedar and is better suited to deep divers or nudes,鈥� explained Emery.
Emery said lure making is a lot of trial and error.
鈥淭he greatest challenge is trying a new design and having to fix any problems and when you first start out getting the information on how to make lures and where to get parts and who to talk to,鈥� he said, adding that 鈥渨as my reason for starting my own Timber Lure site where luremakers can go and put up posts on their new designs and offer help to those starting out.鈥�
Initially Emery kept things simple.
鈥淲hen I first started out I only used hand tools, but as demand increased I slowly bought more power tools as I needed,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 found by using hand tools it gave me a greater sense of accomplishment as you get great satisfaction in working with quality timber and being able to use it when finished.鈥�
On terms of starting tools, Emery said you can keep it simple.
鈥淎 first tool is a craft knife with snap-off blades, a small handsaw, various grades of sandpaper from 60 to 240 grit, (you can go up as far as 2000 grit for very fine sanding), a ruler, a sharpie or felt tip pen, pencil,聽 and a drill,鈥� he said.
鈥淎lso a plastic ice cream container makes a good piece of plastic for making a template of the shape of lure you are going to make.鈥�
Then you will need the hardware; hooks and eyes etc.
鈥淚 highly recommend www.lurepartsonline.com,鈥� said Emery. 鈥淭hey are America鈥檚 largest selection of lure building supplier and I buy all my hardware from them.鈥�
As you might expect Emery recalls his first effort.
鈥淭he first lure I made was a small two-inch that was a hit with the Cod,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his spurred me on to making more as the thrill you get from catching your first one on a handmade lure challenges you to try different things to see if they work.鈥�
And now Emery leans toward his own lures over those from a store.
鈥淵es but I do try lures from fellow luremakers but by using your own lures you gain more info and when I catch fish the lures are easy to sell as people have faith in them.鈥�
With his experience, I wondered if Emery had a 鈥榞o-to鈥� lure he turned too most often; his Len Thompson hammered perch or red and white as it were.
鈥淚t depends on the time of day and type of fishing I am doing but I do seem to use my green and purple deep diving lures more of the time,鈥� he said.
Emery does not just make nudes, and explained how he goes about protecting a paint job.
鈥淎s most luremakers start out using a primer then paint the lure whatever color they like and finish it with enamel or acrylic paint in a pressure can,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he only problem is even after applying several clear coats the paint can get scratches from the hooks or hitting underwater rocks that will allow water to get in to the timber so the professionals use an Epoxy Resin called Envirotex lite that is a two part epoxy that gives the lure a thick and durable finish that stands up to the punishment of fishing and one coat is the same as 50 normal coats of paint.鈥�
And some designs intrigue the creator too.
鈥淚 have a four-inch deep diver that I designed five-years ago, and a three-and-a half-inch finned lure that I am about to release along with six other designs that have been popular,鈥� offered Emery.
As you have probably gathered, lure making has become a business for Emery.
鈥淭he industry has gained more of a following with people seeing what the lures can do and while it has been hard to compete against the cheap Chinese copies slowly more people are seeing the benefit of well-made timber lures,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here is also a large amount of lure collectors that seek out timber lures for their collections.
鈥淎lso with the global markets that are available to lure makers these days it is becoming more of a business due to demand worldwide.鈥�
So what advice does Emery have for those intrigued by the idea of crafting wooden lures?
鈥淟ook up local and overseas timber making lure sites, and talk to lure makers,鈥� he said. 鈥淪tart with basic tools and paints 鈥檛il you get better.
鈥淒o research on your local varieties of fish to see what they are going for and try to come up with colours by asking locals what is working in your area.鈥�
You can find out more about Emery鈥檚 efforts at Timber Lures on Facebook 鈥渨here we can give them any advice they may need to make lures as we have some of the best international luremakers on our page,鈥� he said.
Emery also added, 鈥渨e do a charity once a year called Lures for Cures that we get teams of six luremakers to make and swap with the other members of their team, their lures and they all combine six lures into a group and we auction it off to raise money for Cancer research by the Garvan Institute. Last year we had over 30 luremakers contribute in the groups and another 20 suppliers that donated timber lures towards our cause. The link is on our page or can be found on Facebook at Lures for Cures that has more information on the luremakers that contribute.鈥�
