Do It Yourself, Is It Really Worth It?

[PondBoss]

I was just curious how much it costs you guys that make your own rods, tackle, etc. I've been doing a little bit of looking around and it seems way expensive to build your own rod, and or make your own baits. Granted, I understand you get the nifty feeling of catching fish on something you produced yourself, but does the end justify the means?

[Vodkaman]

There is no reason why you cannot build crankbaits for little more than the cost of a couple of trebles. Everything else you need to build, you probably have in your garage: broom handle, sharp knife, hack saw, sand paper, elec hand drill, super glue, paints, epoxy. When I started four years ago, I built a lot of baits with just these materials.

If you find that you enjoy building baits, then you can make it your hobby. Any money you spend on making your hobby more enjoyable cannot be added onto the cost of the bait, as it was not a necessary purchase. Buying more glue, epoxy, paint, wood, knife blades, sandpaper etc, these are valid costs. Lathe, drill press, bandsaw, table saw, belt sander etc, these are luxury items pampering to your hobby.

Dave

[PondBoss]

Broom handle? I assume for carving baits? If that is the case, I think all of my baits would end up as saw dust or thrown in the trash. My artistic ability is horrible on a good day. lol

[the crab]

The time will come that the initial investment pays for itself, but that's only if you stay with it for a long time. I don't think anybody does it just to save money. I do it because to me making rods and tackle is almost as fun as catching fish.

[MALTESE FALCON]

Catch one fish on a bait you created, and it's all worth it. Most of us that make our own baits don't do it for profit, or to save money. The winter here in Michigan is cold and BORING. I make baits for "Mental Therapy" more than anthing else.

Falcon

[cadman]

Like mentioned here, it is not about how much money you will save, because the initial cost is a killer, and unless you stick with it, it's not worth it. I make and sell jigs, I don't do it for the selling part because I have more money invested than what I can recoup, and it never ends. I do it for therapy as well. I enjoy making something from scratch, then painting them and fishing them. It's a passion for me first as a hobby,then selling them, to make a little side cash.

[ww2farmer]

Guys make there own stuff for many reasons. Saving money can and is one of them, but the inital start up costs of lead and/or plastic pouring equipment and supplys can make the short term costs add up, more so then buying mass produced stuff. I have a buddy who makes alot of stuff him self, jigs, plastic baits, drop shot sinkers,etc..... he likes it, has a place to do it, and had no problems paying for all the stuff to get started. Me............not so much, I have been over there and helped him, it's slow, tedious, and not fun for me. I bought a drop shot sinker mold and have him make me some sinkers, and I buy a few other items he makes cheaper than what I can get them from a big name company, but I don't plan on jumping in and getting too involved in making stuff myself, it's just not for me.

[Chris]

I started hand carving lures when I was about 15. At the time I was making my own lures basically because it was cheaper than buying them and I had the exact lure that does exactly what I want. The fact that I have total control of how and where I weighted the bait, shape, and years of trial and error actually made me a better fishermen. For me it was the ability to tinker with the variables that made the lure run or work that taught me how fish react to lures. About my early 20's I was taught by the owner of a lure company named GS Gray. I would carve lures and then go visit Gary and have him paint them for me. At the time he also was a taxidermist and helped me refine my lure carving. He also would hand carve lures and sell them at the bait shop where I was working at the time. Gary in his younger years worked for a guy named Jim Pfeffer at Denmark's sporting goods. Early on my tools where a knife, sand paper, and a block of cedar or what ever wood I could find and paint. Here in my later 30's even though I do have the tools to make carving a little easier I still hand carve lures for the initial idea. I use it to get the bugs out before I get serious about making the lures in quantity. The more you tinker with a lure you have built from scratch the more unique or refined you can make the lure run. It is this uniqueness that makes the difference and why most take the time and effort to build their own. Gary would always say to me man that's different with some of my early hand carved crank baits and showed me that different is always a good thing.

[Vodkaman]

Broom handle? I assume for carving baits? If that is the case, I think all of my baits would end up as saw dust or thrown in the trash. My artistic ability is horrible on a good day. lol

Yes, the broom was for the wood,

You would surprise yourself at what you are capable of carving out. After half a dozen goes, you will start to get the hang of it, another half dozen and you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

There is no rush to turn out perfect bodies anyway, as you have a lot and testing and learning to do. You have to learn about lip size, shape, angle and placement; tow eye position and ballast position. All of these have some effect on the lure and you have to find a balance between them all, to get the bait to swim. It is not difficult, but may take several goes to get a swimmer. After a while you will start to get a 'feel' for the balance.

I started off with a 3/4" diameter balsa dowel, from a model shop. I had a very basic shape that I could turn out in minutes. Yes, it was ugly, but it was for testing and learning. The carving skills come as you learn everything else at the same time. Once you can build a swimmer every time, then you can start to think about paints, NOT before.

To start the bait building hobby, you need no particular skills, just safety common sense and a willingness to learn from inevitable failures. We are here to help too.

Dave

[BobP]

I build most of the rods and crankbaits I use.

Compared to factory rods, you save more money building your own as the price of the rod blank increases. The 'break-even' point is around $125 on a factor rod. At that price or less, a factory rod is usually cheaper than I can build one with the same components. At the other end of the price range, I can build a rod with a St Croix SCV Legend Elite blank for considerably less than its retail price. Maybe save as much as $100. And of course, I can build them exactly like I want - grips, guides, reel seat - a considerable advantage. But my choices in rod blanks is more narrow than the commercial rod market, so that's a disadvantage.

Crankbaits are different. the cost to build them is way lower than a custom wood crankbait would cost (the most expensive component are the treble hooks!). I can guarantee durability and the action and color pattern will be tweaked 'just so' to satisfy what I want to show the bass where I fish. That's a huge advantage. But there is a steep learning curve to building crankbaits. They are deceptively complicated little hydrodynamic machines and it takes experience and dedication to build good ones. So if you don't intend to build them as a long term hobby, you will probably be disappointed. That doesn't consider repainting commercial cranks, which some guys like to do. JMHO, there are good commercial choices in the 10-17 ft depth range, so I concentrate on shallow and ultra-deep models.

[Jigfishn10]

I've been buying spinnerbait, buzzbait & jig heads pre-cast and painted, and adding skirts & hardware of my choice. I find a huge savings in doing this way, plus I get the colors and hardware I want.

I do own a jig mold so I can make my own jigs, but that's usually reserved for the winter.

I built four of my rods, all St. Croix, and I found that it saved me money back then, but I can't verify that now. I haven't built a new one in a long time. The last 2 builds I did, were rebuilds. I really liked these 2 rods and use them a lot. I can't find them anymore, so I stripped all the hardware, reel seat and grip, refinished and added all new components. A lot of labor and not a lot of materials I needed to buy.

My 2 cents.

[PondBoss]

I've been doing some looking around and have found some inexpensive ($20-$30)IM6 blanks on clearance. What is the difference between IM6, IM8 or the $25 rod at Wal-Mart? I have a couple IM6 rods, one IM8, and a couple $25 Wal-Mart jobs. I catch fish on all of them and honestly can't tell much difference. I do however have my favorites.

Does anyone happen to make their own rods in the OKC area on this forum? I'd love to watch, learn, and ask any questions that may come up.

As far as baits go.....

I could see making jigs as a money saver in the long run. I think at this moment in time I have 5 of my 9 rods rigged up with jigs of various sizes and colors. As for crankbaits, I have seen what are said to be "OEM" blanks on EBAY for about $1 each. That would be a cheap experiment, but again my art skills lack at best. Not to take anything away from any of the amazing baits I have seen on this site and the people that have painted them, but does it take a lot of artistic prowess, or do you just kinda learn with trial and error as you go?

[BIG M]

I started building cranks to make something different than was on the store self. I like smaller sized baits and did not like what was being sold in the big box stores.

I made my first crank with a coping saw, pocket knife, and sand paper. The bait was made of cedar and painted the belly orange and back black. I caught somewhere around 40 bass on that bait and I've never stopped. I use a scroll saw, drill press, compressor, and airbrushes now for building. I still do all my carving/sanding by hand (my fav part of the build). I have no artistic ability but I'm stubborn so I keep trying until I figure out how to paint a pattern I like. The trick with painting is simple, lots and lots of practice.

[FL_Sharpshooter]

I've been doing some looking around and have found some inexpensive ($20-$30)IM6 blanks on clearance. What is the difference between IM6, IM8 or the $25 rod at Wal-Mart? I have a couple IM6 rods, one IM8, and a couple $25 Wal-Mart jobs. I catch fish on all of them and honestly can't tell much difference. I do however have my favorites.

Does anyone happen to make their own rods in the OKC area on this forum? I'd love to watch, learn, and ask any questions that may come up.

As far as baits go.....

I could see making jigs as a money saver in the long run. I think at this moment in time I have 5 of my 9 rods rigged up with jigs of various sizes and colors. As for crankbaits, I have seen what are said to be "OEM" blanks on EBAY for about $1 each. That would be a cheap experiment, but again my art skills lack at best. Not to take anything away from any of the amazing baits I have seen on this site and the people that have painted them, but does it take a lot of artistic prowess, or do you just kinda learn with trial and error as you go?

The numbers IM6,7,8, etc stand for the modulus content of the rod. The higher the number of the IM graphite, the more modulus it has. The higher the modulus, the better the reaction speed and the power of the rod blank.

[jwfflipper]

I was just curious how much it costs you guys that make your own rods, tackle, etc. I've been doing a little bit of looking around and it seems way expensive to build your own rod, and or make your own baits. Granted, I understand you get the nifty feeling of catching fish on something you produced yourself, but does the end justify the means?

Well for me so far this year I have spent close to 2750-3000 dollars on material and printing, and that doesn't include what I am getting ready to order next week! It is alot

but it is what it takes for me.

Jeff

[PondBoss]

Well for me so far this year I have spent close to 2750-3000 dollars on material and printing, and that doesn't include what I am getting ready to order next week! It is alot

but it is what it takes for me.

Jeff

Printing?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

If your sole reason for getting into building tackle, especially rods, is to save money,think twice. Beyond components, rod building has it's own version of the bait-monkey. Tools, supplies, equipment, accessories.... all add up.

[Dave T.]

I was just curious how much it costs you guys that make your own rods, tackle, etc. I've been doing a little bit of looking around and it seems way expensive to build your own rod, and or make your own baits. Granted, I understand you get the nifty feeling of catching fish on something you produced yourself, but does the end justify the means?

If your intent is just to build a couple of rods for yourself, your better off saving the money, and have a custom rod built for you. A well built custom rod built on a top notch blank to your exact specs, with the best components available is superior to almost any off the shelf rod... period.

So, on the other hand, if your intent is to pursue the rod building hobby to a point where you get good at it, you will have better fishing tools... that you made, and if you can sell a few... you might break even.

[PondBoss]

It seems the basic consensus is a no. lol I just wanted to make a couple of rods and see how it went. Maybe make a few cranks of my own too. But, after all of the replies, it seems it's more of something not to do unless I'm going to really get into it. Thanks guys, I appreciate all of the answers.

[RandySBreth]

You got the answers before I got here - here's my two cents:

Save money doing a little? No way. Satisfaction of having something exactly like you want it? Yes.

[Jigfishn10]

You got the answers before I got here - here's my two cents:

Save money doing a little? No way. Satisfaction of having something exactly like you want it? Yes.

You're not too late. He's determined to do something. Any help or advice you can give him will be much appreciated. He'll tell ya...LOL

He's a great guy Randy.