Fish-N-Fool Loc: N. Idaho

For the Past 25 years plus a few I have been making some of my own baits. I either make or modify in some way about 90% of all the lures I fish. I have created just about every type of bait known to the fishing world in that time. I owned (technically I still do), a lure company called of course "Fish-N-Fool Lures". The main baits I sold were my somewhat famous Sink-N-Fool Baits. I have retired and do not sell them in the stores anymore. As it was pretty labor-intensive, and I wasn't getting rich at it so when I turned 67 I gave it up. They were without a doubt the best do nothing deadstick type heavy salt bait on the market when they were for sale. They were designed to fish weightless on an EWG hook. They moved through the water much like a dry leaf falls in the air, with a side to side wobble, due to their wide flat shape. There came in 2 sizes, a 5" and a 6" and about 2 dozen colors. Pictured below are some of the more popular colors I sold.

I also made a bait called the "Slow Fall jig". This was a 1/2oz. Jig so it would cast great and yet still fell at about 3 inches per second due to a unique foam tube cast around the hook shank. I added my own design of trailer I called the "Kick-N-Fool" to that as well. There is a closeup picture of it as well as 3 in some popular colors and one of my Kick-N-Fool Trailer.

The next bait was my own unique version of a chatter bait that I called a Chatter-N-Fool. This turned out to be a very good Pike bait. This bait worked best with no trailer or a very small one, as anything very big killed the action.

One of my favorite baits I ever made was what I called "Mighty Mouse". This is a 3" floating lure that sits in the water with the tail down and the line tie about a 1/2" above the water, so you can cast this thing anywhere, and it will crawl over any weeds or sticks and never gets hung up. The Largemouth Bass destroyed these things, but Pike and Smallies like it just fine as well.
That's all the baits I ever sold, but I made a lot more just for me to fish, so I will show a few of them in the post below as well.

Fish-N-Fool Loc: N. Idaho

Here is another picture of my Mouse from the top.

I made or painted a lot of hard baits as well. First up is a topwater bait I made from a broomstick. It is kind of a big jitterbug type bait. I made this as a Pike lure, but I have caught more L.M. Bass on it than anything else.

Another topwater bait I made was a floating buzzbait of sorts. This has been a real killer for Bass, and I have got quite a few pike on it as well.

One of the best Pike lures I ever made, or should I say put together, as I didn't make all the parts to this, was this oversize spinnerbait. This has put a ton of fish in my boat over the last 5 years or so since I made it.

I have painted a lot of lure blanks as well. Here are a few of the ones I really liked.

I've also made a ton of different soft plastic baits, but I think I have rambled on long enough as it is. :)

If any of you guys make your own baits please show them here. If you want input on a bait you want to try to make I'd be happy to help as well.

bknecht Loc: Northeast pa

Wow FNF, those are some fine looking baits.

DVTracker Loc: Harrisburg, PA.

FNF, all look nice and I can picture them catching fish. You're very good at crafting lures. Thanks for sharing.

Gordon Loc: Charleston South Carolina

This is a great post to start off the new year. Thanks FNF

NJ219bands Loc: New Jersey

Nice 👍

bapabear Loc: Blaine, Washington

Can you provide more details on the mouse construction. It is interesting that it sits hook up. You can post on hear or PM me. Thanks so much.

J in Cleveland Loc: Cleveland, Ohio

Wow!! Really cool!! I’m looking into make my own soft plastic baits. Just for fun. Where is a good place to source materials? What brand of material do you recommend?

Tight lines
J

Fish-N-Fool Loc: N. Idaho

Bait plastics; https://baitplastics.com/product/bait-plastics-plastisol-one-gallon-choose-formula/ has the best plastic in small quantities and the best prices. I get my coloring from; https://www.lurepartsonline.com/Lure-Making/Worm-Making-Materials/Colors-and-Glitter?page=1 If you plan to design your own baits and make a mold thats the hardest part of making a soft plastic bait by far. There are a lot of companies that you can buy molds from however to get you started.

J in Cleveland Loc: Cleveland, Ohio

Thank you! I have some experience in casting plastic molds. I’m gunna try to make my own mold first then go from there.

Fish-N-Fool Loc: N. Idaho

If you need any help with that, let me know. I can help with bait design as well as molds.

Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

Congratulations on your lure Manfacturing. My father-in-law, Ike Walker began making lures using a lathe in his garage, this eventually became the Bomber Bait Company!

Their first bait was a single offering of a 6 inch black lure that looked like a bomb, (since this was at the beginning of World War II.)

Just for the record, I caught the first fish ever caught on the Bomber Bait Company's Water Dog.

Since the original Bomber ran backward, many kept asking for a similar bait that ran forward, which became the Waterdog. We were trolling in Texoma to see if the new aluminum bill would have excessive wear. I caught a 3-pound Kentucky Spotted Bass. I was using a Shakespeare direct drive reel and this fish pulled off enough line so fast it created a callus on my thumb that reminded me of it for years. Just Sayin...RJS

NJ219bands Loc: New Jersey

Mark Sosin Signature Series Bombers are the best.

Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

Bomber Bait was initially sold to a company in Dallas, then to a company is Arkansas. I do not know their name off hand. Just Sayin...RJS

Bassthird Loc: Private Idaho

Uh oh,
Your giving me ideas.
What a great addition to the the site you have been.
Thanks
From the world’s biggest bassthird