Resin Head Trolling Lures

[astrobud311]

I am very interested in creating some of my own offshore trolling lures. I was wondering if anyone had any experience making the molds and pouring the resin. Any tips or reccomendations would be extremely helpful.

[clt_capt]

There are a couple of ways you can make them - depending on how creative you want to get.

1) Make your inserts and pour your resin into a plastic bottle.
Once cured, shape the head on a lathe (or by hand), then polish with successively finer grit of sand paper - 120, 220, 320, 400, 600, 1200, than polish with very fine polishing compound.

2) Take an existing lure head, place it in a container slightly larger than the lure head and pour RTV Silicone around. Allow to cure. Once cured, gently remove the lure head from the silicone. Now you have a mold.

Now you put your insert into the mold and pour your resin like #1.

You can make the inserts out of just about anything. Some of the more well known brands use real abalone shell as the flash.

[Fishing Hawaii]

Look for complete illustrated instructions in the book Fishing Hawaii Style, Volume I. To order a copy, go to FishingHawaiiOffshore.com. Jim Rizzuto

[Jason @ Melton Tackle]

I second Fishing Hawaii's recommendation. Jim Rizzuto is THE source for all things related to Hawaii fishing - reports, instructions, etc. His writing style is creative, humorous, extremely entertaining and informative at the same time. No other writer has a pulse on Hawaiian fishing quite like Jim.

He has all books available for purchase on his site - http://FishingHawaiiOffshore.com

[astrobud311]

Thanks for all your help guys. !!!!

[Fishwagon]

Do a search here. A year or two ago a guy who owns a lure company in Florida posted several great threads of pictures on the process, (lathe-free). Show how to make sure they released from the molds, and how to use a polisher to buff them.

[Boonebird]

This is what we do. Its much easier. go to www.meltontackle.com or your local fishing store and just buy the lure. Sorry LOL It sounds like you have some great advice . Let us know how it works out.

[tim R]

Safety first, make sure you do all your work in an area with alot of ventilation...

The materials you are working with can be tough on the system...You can go from talking with a British Accent to Jeff Spicoli in about two hours...(Seriously Dude)

Good Luck & have fun...

[astrobud311]

Yeah I know how dangerous the chemicals can be I am a advanced composite technician in the US NAVY. I was just looking for some tips.

[Fishing Hawaii]

Lure-making 101/102. In a number of posts, members have been referred to my book Fishing Hawaii Style Volume I as a source for advice on casting resin heads for skirted trolling lures. Volume I has been out of print for quite a while and I am getting more and more requests for information.

To fill the needs of members and others who have contacted me, I just finished publishing the book “Lure-Making 101/102” as a special edition in The Kona Fishing Chronicles series. The book shows how to make the kinds of lures you see on the accompanying cover (all of which came out of our shop).


This 144-page book is a history and an homage to the artisans who brought big-game lure-making into the modern age. In showing you the path the great lure makers followed, the pages provide an array of ideas you can use to create and innovate. The book is interesting if only for the story of big-game lure-making throughout the last seventy years but there is a lot of practical information for home craftsmen.


The how-to section begins with simple lures you can make from readily available materials without needing molds of any kind. Then it introduces how to cast lures from “found” molds in the tradition of early lure makers who used bottles, tumblers, and tubes.

After you have created some masters you want to duplicate, the book teaches you how to use RTV (room-temperature vulcanizing) liquid rubber to make sturdy and dependable molds. You can use these molds over and over to make your own lures in the spirit of centuries of master fishermen.

The book is available only directly from me. For information, please email me at Rizzuto@aloha.net. Fair warning. You may have to act quickly. This is a short run book with a limited number of copies. The first shipment arrived here two weeks ago and was snapped up immediately by Kona fishermen just on word of mouth – no advertising. I just got a second shipment and those are flying out the door.

Look for complete illustrated instructions in the book Fishing Hawaii Style, Volume I. To order a copy, go to FishingHawaiiOffshore.com. Jim Rizzuto