DIYer Makes His Own Buzzbait

Some folks just keep buying cool-lookin' stuff but never get around to putting it to use (I fit in this category), even though that was their reason for buying it in the first place. Once in awhile, however, a fella or gal actually makes good on such plans, and as it turns out, I read about one of these individuals here recently...before my computer came apart at the seams, so to speak.

The DIYer (do-it-yourselfer, should anyone be wondering) in this case had bought some "chasebaits ultimate squids." He thought they were something a bass would eat if presented right. These baits come three in a pack and are about 6 inches long with tentacles, and there are few color options.

As this DIYer explained, "I had an old in-line buzzbait from yesteryear, so I took off the blade, added the hook from a beat-up, hollow-bodied frog, and inserted that into the body of the squid and attached it to the blade. Now I have an in-line squid buzzbait.

"Having a paygrade just one step up from a wheelbarrow operator," he continued, "I thought I'd better test it.

"Fishing has been horrible lately, with every-other-day thunderstorms making the lake muddy and high. I just wanted to see how it looked coming across the water, plus I had a new rod and reel I wanted to use as well. To my delight, it worked great and makes a nice 'fluttering' sound. I even got a hit on it, but it was a small bass.

"The only problem was that on about 20 percent of the casts, the two longest tentacles would get tangled in the hooks and mess up the action. Might have to cut those shorter. Next I'm going to attach one to a large buzzbait and see how that setup works. One thing's for sure: No bass around here has ever seen how that works...well, there is one."

Another long-time DIY lure maker was the late Dewey Mullins, whose patented "special" spoon perhaps was his crowning achievement. This spoon gained considerable notoriety during those not-soon-to-be-forgotten days of the '70s and '80s, when anglers from every part of the country were flocking to Back Bay for a chance to catch some of those legendary 8-plus-pound bass. Dewey's spoon accounted for a large number of those citation catches, including his own 13-pound 3-ounce largemouth, caught in September 1979.

Among Dewey's other DIY accomplishments was a line of spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, as well as his own adaptation of the original Flying Lure, which he fashioned out of Johnson Silver Minnow spoons.

There are many different types of fishing lures available on the market these days. In fact, there are probably thousands, if not millions, of different lures out there. You've probably noticed that each year, there are more and more new types of lures coming out. The reason for this is simple: Fish are getting larger and smarter.

According to research by the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, a fish learns to avoid hooks by observing and remembering the mistakes of other fish in their environment. Old lures are becoming less and less effective, increasing the need for newer, more expensive lures that fish haven't seen before, in an effort to trick them into biting.

Rather than spending your money on new lures, consider reaping the benefits of making your own.