Making a Lipped Stick Bait

In this "How to" I am making a lipped stick bait that is 175mm long and will be around the 2-2.5oz mark when finished. Wood used is Radiata Pine 35mmx35mm.

Tools used-

• Mini Lathe
• Bandsaw
• Drill press
• Assorted turning chisels
• Forstner Bits

First up I grabbed a piece of 35mmx35mm pine and cut it to the exact finished length I wanted the lure to be. I marked out where I would like the eyes on the lure and position of the belly swivel and weight.

 

Over to the drill press where I used a 1/2" forstner bit for drilling out the eye socket, I guessed the depth I would need as I can always touch it up later if they are too shallow.

 

 

Still at the drill press, now drilling the belly weight hole and the swivel hole, I drilled down to just below the centre line.

 

 

All that is left before turning the lure is to cut a slot so I can fit a metal lip later on.

 

 

I marked the block on the ends to find the centre by drawing a line from corner to corner and mounted the piece in the lathe.

 

 

Started turning the block down to a round piece of wood, and cut in to end of the piece to mark how big I wanted the tail to be.

 

 

Now it is just a matter of shaping the lure, keeping it simple with a nice curve.

 

 

Finished shaping the lure, a quick touch up on the eye sockets to even the depths out and then started sanding, working from heavy grit to fine.

 

 

Now I have fitted the jacobs chuck to the lathe with a 4.5mm long series drill bit.

 

 

Now this is why it was important to start with the block of wood the exact length I wanted the lure to be, I have two perfectly centred marks from the spur centre and live centre on the lathe from when the lure was turned. Now it is just a matter of setting up the lure.

 

 

Slowly feeding the lure into the drill bit, making sure I back the lure out and clear sawdust and chips out every 25mm or so. Be careful as if the drill bit gets too hot they can snap in the wood ruining both a good lure and bit. I kept drilling untill I had got to the hole closest to the eye.

 

 

Perfectly centred hole in the lure.

 

 

I have now got to mark where to drill for the wire to pass through the metal lip. The tow point is lower than centre so I fit the lip and mark where I need to drill from.

 

 

Now it is pure guess work from here, I need the hole to line up with the hole I drilled from the tail through the centre of the lure. I spent a little time making sure I was straight and on the right angle and then went for it.

 

 

Now with all the drilling done I can fit the belly wieght, 7mm diameter and around 6grams cast from lead. Fit the wieght and then apply some wood putty or car filler (bog) to the hole and let dry.

 

 

 

 

I will carry on this thread and the lure when the filler drys, time for a cuppa.

 

 

 

 

 

Go for it kadin, Pine is ok to use but there is no limit to what you could use just it may be better suited to a certain style of lure because of the woods density etc...

Ok now the wood filler has dried and is able to be sanded back.

Awesome post again, thanks.

I am impressed. On average how long from start to finish to make 1.You are 1 clever man.Thankyou for sharing your knowledge with us.

So is this a bibbed minnow or a popper or a stickbait? That bib looks pretty booty, will surely give the lure a helluva kick. Would it have been better to have tapered the nose a little, will not that flat face interfere with the bibbs action?
Brilliant looking lure, not criticising at all, just asking...

Whoa real cool mate thanks for sharing

i think you have done a fantastic job RAL,
can i just add this, please dont take it the wrong way im just trying to help.
ive made thousands of bibed  lures and poppers in my time
your design is really radical, i do have my doubts about it being easy to retrieve though,
with the tow point being low which will make the bib come into effect and the flat head combination will create a lot of water pressure while trying to retrieve fast, if thats what your intention is,
i feel it will roll out when trying to wind at any speed, but hay its a start and you live by experimenting right?
tell you what i do like which i haven't seen for years now is a propeller in front of a lure that skips across the surface... these used to be dynamite on kings but they dont sell them anymore...


        

Lethal wrote: i think you have done a fantastic job RAL, can i just add this, please dont take it the wrong way im just trying to help. ive made thousands of bibed  lures and poppers in my time your design is really radical, i do have my doubts about it being easy to retrieve though, with the tow point being low which will make the bib come into effect and the flat head combination will create a lot of water pressure while trying to retrieve fast, if thats what your intention is, i feel it will roll out when trying to wind at any speed, but hay its a start and you live by experimenting right? tell you what i do like which i haven't seen for years now is a propeller in front of a lure that skips across the surface... these used to be dynamite on kings but they dont sell them anymore...

Awesome RAL, like a plopper of old but rolls, which is jerked at intervals as if it was on its last legs dieing on the surface, nice.
your paint jobs are truly fantastic and attention to detail is exceptional love your work RAL.