This article is intended to be a fun project for you, your family or any fishing outing. We will demonstrate how you can make your own fishing lure out of common household/office supplies. Just some basic background on what exactly a fishing lure is: A fishing lure is a type of artificial bait with the sole purpose of enticing a fish to bite. There are many different types of fish and each one has its particular likes and dislikes. If you know what type of fish you are going to be going for, do a little research and find out what types of food that particular fish eats. Knowing this information beforehand will save you time otherwise spent trying different lures and baits that don’t work. Since you are trying to entice the fish to bite your lure, lure presentation is key. Your lure uses a variety of attributes to entice the fish such as: color, vibration, flash and movement. Keep these attributes in mind as you build your own lure. Items Needed: • 1 Aluminum Soda Can • 1 Medium/Large Binder Clip • 2 Heavy Duty Paperclips • 1 Pair of Scissors • 1 Pair of pliers (preferably needle nose pliers) • Permanent Markers (if you want to add some color to your lure) Step 1: Transforming the aluminum can Using the empty aluminum can, cut the can in half more towards the bottom. You are going to be using the very bottom of the can, the part that is thicker and already has a natural curve to it. Step 2: Creating the body of your lure Once you have the bottom of the can cut out, trim it into more of a rectangular shape and round the corners. You should now have a piece of aluminum that is about one to one and a half inches long, naturally bowed in the middle with slightly rounded edges. The bow in the middle is going to help with your lures presentation by increasing the movement of your lure while it is retrieved through the water. Step 3: Prepping the lure’s body and creating the hook It’s time to prep the body of your lure by puncturing two small holes in either end. These holes are going to serve as the anchor points for both your hook and your swivel. I used a small hole punch to puncture my aluminum can but your could you use the end of just about any sharp object you can find. Creating the hook takes a little finesse as the metal you are using brakes easily when bending it with pliers. To make the hook you are going to use the binder clip. It has a natural hook built into the metal handle, it is up to you and your trusty needle nose pliers to make it come forth. Using your pliers, snip both handles of the binder clip off as close to the base as you can get. You want as much metal to work with as possible. The bottom of the handle, where there is a loop, snip it off so that it creates a natural hook (see image for detail). Now that you have a hook shaped piece of metal, use your pliers to carefully bend the opposite end of the hook into a loop hole. Use your pliers to squish the loop as much as possible to eliminate any gaps between the metal – you don’t want your fishing line to slide off your hook because there is a gap right there. Step 4: Attaching the hook to the body and creating your swivel Using your heavy duty paperclips, you are now going to attach the hook and create your swivel. Bend your paperclips so that they are straight and no longer in paperclip form. Insert the paperclip into the hole you made on the body of the lure. Put it in about half way and then twist it a few times and be sure to make the twists tight. Now with the two ends of the paperclip, insert them into the hook’s loop hole that you made earlier and twist again as tight as possible. Use the pliers to clip off any unwanted or excess paperclip after you have twisted it on tight. Now using the second paperclip you are going to make a swivel so that you can attach your line without having the aluminum cut through it. If you haven’t already, bend the paperclip out again. Insert it into the other end of the lure about half way again. Bend it and twist it so that you make a loop in order to tie on your fishing line (see image for detail). You are now almost done, just one step to go. Step 5: Adding your own look to the lure Using the permanent markers you have, draw on any type of pattern that you would like to see your lure have. This part is totally up to you and your imagination. However, remember that certain species of fish are attracted to certain colors and patterns so be conscious of what type of fish you want to go after as you add color to your lure. Congratulations! You should now have one homemade lure to add to your tackle box. Keep in mind that if you decide to make more of your own lures, you can find other materials to use besides the ones in this demonstration. I hope you enjoyed this demonstration and creating your own lure. Best of luck to you out there on the water!