In the off-season, what is a bass fisherman to do? Perhaps you will talk about fishing, dream about fishing, and/or plan for the next year’s fishing trips. Why not spend the time more productively by making your own bass fishing jigs? You can just as easily make your own bass fishing jigs, rather than keep buying them at the expensive marked-up price from stores. If you think it would be too difficult to make your own lure, think again.
Making a bass jig is quite easy and simple, even for a novice. You will need a few items, which you can purchase at discount stores with sporting goods departments, or directly from lure-making catalogs. Doing an internet search for “lure-making catalogs” should provide you with some websites. Most of these catalogs are free upon request.
In order to make one bass fishing jig, you will need:
1 premade jig head with a hook in it
1 three-layer silicone skirt of any color
1 package of glass rattles with straps (optional; use if you want your lure to make noise)
model or epoxy paint in your favorite color
model or epoxy paint in clear color (optional)
paint brushes for the paints
Step 1: Paint the premade jig head with the model or epoxy paint. Let dry. You may want to put at least three coats of paint on the jig, plus one coat of clear paint. Be sure that your work area is well-ventilated when using the paint. Some of those model and epoxy paints have strong fumes.
Step 2: Take the skirt and carefully thread it over the hook of the jig head, onto the collar of the jig head itself. The tight band of the skirt will hold it in place. Watch out for the hook when working with the jig head.
Step 3: Attach the rattle and strap by threading it over the jig head onto the collar of the jig head, same as you did for the skirt. The tight strap will hold the rattles in place.
And there you have it: your finished lure! Now, wasn’t that easy?
The premade jig heads come in many styles, such as ball, football, banana, stand-up, and bullet. In addition, lure-making catalogs sell unpainted jig heads of popular manufacturers, so you can make one that looks like your favorite lure for about half the price.
For the more advanced lure-maker, lure-making catalogs are a great resource because they have all the items you will need, in an infinite variety of styles and colors. Your local sporting goods store might have some of the items, but certain colors might only be available in the catalogs. Lure-making is not only easy, but inexpensive, too. Don’t waste your money buying premade lures when you can create a batch of ten at one sitting.
When the next fishing season rolls around and you catch that trophy bass you have always dreamed about, you can take extra pride in the fact that you caught it on a lure you made yourself. All your fishing buddies will want one, too!
