It is not uncommon for outdoors enthusiasts to want to create some sort of useful tool for their adventures.
In fact, that drive is what has led to a retail market being flooded with everything from the right camouflage to the perfect fishing pole. Still, every great idea starts at home with a little ingenuity and some elbow grease.
Fly tying is a perfect example of a common way of getting crafty for the sake of the sport. Fly fishing alone is quite a learning endeavor so including fly tying in the mix just adds to the fulfillment of the sport. Any day catching fish is a good day but doing so on a personally hand-crafted fly or lure will certainly boost the trip’s memorability.
I must have been in my teens when I found myself becoming entranced by lure crafting. Much like botany or automobiles, there is a never-ending wealth of information to work with and, regardless of how well versed in the subject, there is always something else to learn. It began with reading about hand-carved lures and led to some interesting experimental lures that while modest in design, were functional.
By leaps and bounds, my favorite lure creation was lost in an epic battle with a beautiful northern pike. I have a knack for making what looks like a duster out of the tail of every deer I process (that may be another story) and I just so happened to have a couple of short bushy tufts of fur to work with, so I did.
I filled the hollow of the tail where the skeletal structure once resided with hot glue and a properly carved cork, then placed a bright green jig head with an attached 8/0 hook through the cork. This was a far shot from pretty and far more rudimentary than the properly sanded and painted lures preceding it but it looked like it would do the job.
Excited to try this monstrosity I had created out and expecting the best, I rigged up heavy on one of the rods I typically use for salmon with a 30-pound test line. This too was my first attempt at trolling from a kayak which, I found, is easier said than done. After about three-quarters of the trip all the way around the lake, it finally happened. Something big hit my homemade buck-tail rig and hit it hard.
After what must have been 15 minutes of being pulled around the lake, I had the fish close enough to the boat to see a girthy pike with plenty of fight left in it to pop my line and swim off with my arts and crafts project. The loss of the fish felt rough but the satisfaction of making a successful lure was well worth it.
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