lure making

[awesome guy]

any fishermen here make their own lures? I'm thinking this is my next conquest. Especially for spring striper season right around the corner. Most all swimbaits increase the weight with the size of the swimbait. I don't want this. I want a paddle tail that's 6 inches long, but just a half ounce of weight so it swims high will trolling with the yak. I could use lead heads and soft bodies, but it's still hard to find a large hook with a half ounce lead head. I also want some with more black than they typically have for working light lines for speckled trout. Plus there's just more options. I like Larry Dahlberg's style, with just one hook on the rear instead of multiple treble hooks all over the lure. They're a pain to release the fish and are for rookie fishermen. Most every fish will inhale the lure, so you just need a single hook on the tail. Plus he makes models where the hook is attached directly to the line and the lure floats above it, making the lure move out of the way in a hookup. He also trains together several lures with this approach, like adding a popper to the front of a swimbait. I want this kind of flexibility. Plus making a lure for a couple pennies vs. $8 for 3 storms is just more economical. I'll really be in the green if I can make stretch 20s that cheap. They sell for $20-30. Most all saltwater lures are in the $10 or better range. The other want is custom chatter baits for red fish. I want to make some with gold chaters, a red lead head, and chartreuse body. They sell for $5 and last for just a couple days because of the abuses of saltwater and vibrations of the lure itself.