This type of bait as a jerkbait is indispensable for pike fishing. In appearance, this tackle is very simple, and the process of its manufacture is not particularly time-consuming. Jerkbaits belong to volumetric baits, and are made mainly of wood, plastic can also be used for these purposes. The article will consider an option on how to make your own jerkbait. Such model will consist of two halves, which are subsequently glued together.
Materials and tools:
- board (soft wood, preferably spruce);
- construction cotter pins;
- varnish, paint and all accessories for painting;
- steel weights;
- sandpaper;
- pliers;
- knife;
- hammer;
- file;
- hooks tees;
- drill and drill;
- glue.
Manufacturing process
Step one. Create a blank
First of all, a piece of cardboard is taken and the shape of the future bait is drawn on it. Next, this contour must be cut and then circled on the board from which the workpiece will be cut. You should get two equal in size, shape and thickness of the halves. The width of the board should be 12 cm.
Step Two Installation of sinkers and loops
For loading steel weights 16 mm long are used. It is important that they are immersed to the same depth in both halves of the bait, only in this case it will be balanced. The depth of the holes for the sinkers should be 8 mm, the installation location is selected depending on what characteristics you want to get from the jerkbaite.
First, the sinkers are set in only one half, and then marks are made on the second where you need to drill holes.
Sinkers here serve at the same time in order to establish loops. In this case, the hinges are made of cotter pins, which are bent as shown in the pictures. Cotter pins should be slightly pressed into soft wood.
Step Three Lure assembly
After weights and loops are installed in the half, and holes are drilled in the other, both parts can be glued. For these purposes, a good layer of epoxy glue is applied to both sides of the workpiece, then the halves are well compressed until the glue hardens. It is best to use a vice for these purposes.
After hardening, the workpiece is carefully processed with a rasp and sandpaper. It is necessary to remove the excess edges formed by the protruding glue. After good grinding and achieving the best smoothness, you can start painting the bait
Step Four Painting
You can paint the bait in any colors, you can do it manually, but it is best to use templates for such purposes. For example, a simple template can be made from a piece of electrical tape. As for the eyes, you can draw them by hand or buy ready-made ones in handicraft stores. Many fishermen believe that the presence of the eyes of the bait is more attractive to the predator.
After painting, the jerkbait needs to be varnished, it will prevent moisture absorption and will give more shine and color depth. To open the varnish, the bait is suspended and a layer of varnish is carefully applied from the spray gun. If necessary, there may be several such layers.
That's all, the bait is ready. According to the author, its attractiveness for fish is not much inferior to store analogues.
Jerkbait Weight Made do it yourself is 65 grams, it has a length of 10 cm, and its height is 4 cm. With a smooth wiring, the bait will float, and with good jerking it will go to a certain depth and then float.
Weighting the load, you can achieve a deeper dive, but to give greater buoyancy, the weight of the sinkers is reduced. Also, the distribution of sinkers greatly affects the game of such a bait. But here you already have to experiment.