Rewards Of Lure Making

Because the window often seems so small between the last bit of snow melting and the first hint of fall each August, openwater fishing has a special place in my heart, and in those of most anglers. The freedom of drifting about on an open lake, or lazily floating down a river is a feeling unlike any other. The warmth of the summer sun, the humid air hinting at an evening thunderstorm and the tug of a fish on the line buoys my spirits year round.

But the most rewarding feeling each openwater season is the tricking of fish with a lure of my creation. Whether it’s a bluegill or a trout on a homespun fly, a crappie on a handcrafted marabou jig or a muskie on a bucktail I prepared in March, landing a fish on a homemade lure is a sensation as wonderful as a muggy summer evening filled with the scent of burgers on the grill.

My foray into lure making began with learning how to tie my own flies, and my creations began to pay dividends just a few months after I had received my fly tying vise as a Christmas present. The simple flies like dubbing scuds, pheasant tail nymphs and Letort hoppers that I tied up over the winter fooled countless bluegill on the shores of Big Detroit Lake the following summer. The streamers, like Clouser Minnows and Mickey Finns, hooked me into acrobatic battles with smallmouth and white bass on the Sheyenne River. Dry flies like the Adams and the Elk Hair Caddis helped me land trout on the Turtle River in northeastern North Dakota.

Now my flies bump along the banks of small Arrowhead streams and the tributaries of north shore of Lake Superior in search of brook trout and steelhead, and each tying season brings with it advancements and new presentations, and recently, my first steelhead on a glo bug I had tied.

In order to reach that point in my tying efforts, I started with the web as my primary instructor. Utilizing the techniques of the late Al Campbell, a renowned Black Hills fly angler in the latter part of his life, in his beginner’s tutorial on Fly Anglers Online (www.flyanglersonline.com) I learned the basics, and began tearing through the pages of a number of instructional books. After a couple years of tying, I splurged and bought the Bible of fly tying entitled “The Fly Tier’s Benchside Reference,” a tome devoted to nearly every possible technique used to attach feather and fur to a hook shank.

From there, I began experimenting with the techniques in the Benchside Reference and applied them to standard tackle. I attached tails and bodies to standard jigs, and accented the treble hooks on my favorite crankbaits with flash and feather to add that extra triggering effect. I engineered ice jigs and spoons highlighted with beads and other additions that helped move lethargic fish from the bottom of chilly winter waters. Each experiment, whether successful or not, taught me something new about lure making, fish reaction and presentation.


At the urging of my brother, now a devout muskie angler, I began crafting large inline spinners two years ago, and due to my experience with fly tying and lure making of other sorts, the learning curve has been an easy climb. Through the help of websites such as Stamina Tackle (www.staminainc.com) and Rollie and Helen’s Musky Shop (www.muskyshop.com) the creation of commercial quality lures has been easy. The variety of blades and body materials available to today’s angler assists in producing lures that have caught a number of big fish for my friends and family, including a 55-inch muskie that my brother landed just an hour into this year’s season.

Anytime a fish is fooled by my lures throughout the openwater season, my sense of pride and self-reliance grows. This summer, consider creating your own flies, jigs, crankbaits and spinners in the coming years, showing off that creativity and skill that all anglers possess, but maybe don’t harness. Use my path as a guide and search out other tutorials and instructors to help you get started. You never know until you try it, but when you do you will find the experience of landing your first fish on a fly or lure of your crafting is one of the most rewarding openwater accomplishments…in our outdoors.

Photo One:  This sunfish smashed the surface for one of the author's Yellow Stimulator flies.  Photo Two:  The author landed this north shore steelhead on an orange glo bug egg fly he tied himself.  Photo Three:  Author's brother, Ben Simonson of Valley City, ND, caught and released this 55-inch muskie in the wee hours of opening day trolling a 12-inch flashabou inline spinner crafted by the author.