Spinning Topwater Fishing Lure

thingiverse

These are some floating, spinning, topwater lures that I designed and printed. They were a lot of work to get into proper working order, but look great and catch fish, at least in my neck of the woods. What you will need: =============== * Stainless Steel Wire - [I used these 5-inch 0.35 dia ones](https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/wire-lure-shafts/320608.aspx) * Split Rings - [I went with 20lb](https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/split-rings-pliers/316900.aspx) * Swivels - [I used these, I think #3 size](https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/crane-swivels/335305.aspx) * Treble Hooks - [#4-#6 size works fine](https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/eagleclaw-treble-hooks/820216.aspx) * Silicone Skirts - [Something like this or make your own](https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/silicone-skirts/360757.aspx) * Plastic Beads - [Like these](https://www.jannsnetcraft.com/fishing-lure-beads/350310.aspx) * Very Small BBs - [1.5 to 2mm](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YKQJ9QG/) * Primer - [I like this stuff](https://www.rustoleum.com/en/product-catalog/consumer-brands/auto/primers/2-in-1-filler-and-sandable-primer) * Sandpaper - I use mostly 400-800 grit wet/dry stuff * Paints - Acrylic, Enamel, Airbrush, whatever * Wire Bending/Cutting Tools - Round jewelry pliers work well * UV Cure Resin - [I used this](https://www.michaels.com/signature-crafts-light-cure-uv-resin-3.68oz./10625688.html) * Time and Patience Printing: ======= Orient the lures with the flat front-end on the build plate and the "wings" facing up. I printed these with various kinds of PLA with a 0.4mm nozzle and 0.25mm layer height and 20% infill with at least 4 outer layers. While you're printing, you'll either need to pause or space them out well across your build platform to insert the BBs in the middle of the print. This will give them their "rattle" sound that helps make them enticing to bite. Post-Processing: ============= This is where the real work comes in. After you're done printing, you'll need to prime the lure bodies and sand them down to be as smooth as possible. For me, I was happy enough with 2 coats of primer, sanded down wet with 400 grit sandpaper, then another 2 coats, and sanded down wet with 800 grit sandpaper. After that, I primed them all with white paint as a base coat. After that, I used an airbrush to paint and blend various colors to make for a variety of patterns. I hand-painted some dots and embellishments on them with shiny paints to give them some flare. Now it's time to coat the whole thing in UV curing resin in an indoor place using a foam brush or paintbrush you don't care about. Do this on a sunny day or use a UV curing light if you have access to one. I cured mine outdoors, and did two coats on the whole thing, with about 15-20 minutes or cure time in bright sunlight, rotating periodically so each side would face the direct sun for at least a little while. After that, I assembled the lure with the pattern: bead-lure-bead-skirt Make sure you leave enough room so the lure body can spin freely. Bend the straight wire on the back-side of the lure into a circle, and then wrap the excess around the straight part behind the skirt 2 or 3 times. There are lots of videos on youtube about how to bend wires for lure making, so I suggest looking up one of those if the description isn't particularly clear. After that, put a split ring on both the front and back side loops of the wire, a treble hook on the split ring on the back side, and a swivel on the split ring on the front side. With that completed, you're ready to fish!