Make Fishing Lures for Money: 5 Steps to Making & Selling Lures

So whether you make soft plastics, crankbaits, or fly lures, you won’t have trouble finding buyers!

In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how to make fishing lures for money. Everything from using the best materials and where to sell fishing lures to how much you can actually make selling lures.

What You Need to Get Started

Getting into lure-making doesn’t require a massive investment. You can start with just a few basic materials and tools, keeping costs low while still creating high-quality lures.

Basic Materials

Here are some of the basic martials you’ll need to make fishing lures:

• Hooks: Choose the right size and type based on your target fish.
• Molds: Silicone or aluminum molds for shaping soft plastics.
• Paints & Finishes: Airbrush paint, powder coating, or epoxy for vibrant designs.
• Soft/Hard Plastics & Wood: Materials for crafting durable lures.

Essential Tools

You don’t need a workshop full of expensive tools. You can use any empty space (garage, shed, even your patio) and a few basic tools to get started:

• Melting Pot: For soft plastic lures.
• Airbrush Kit: Adds professional-looking details.
• Hand Tools: Pliers, knives, and sandpaper for shaping and finishing.

How Much Does it Cost to Start?

What I like about making and selling fishing lures is that it’s one of those side hustles that doesn’t need a lot of investment. You can start making lures right away for less than $100.

All you need is a few basic molds, some plastic, and a few hooks. As for hand tools, most of us already have the basic hand tools. If you have paint laying around, you can use that. If not, you can pick up paint for a few dollars a can at your local home improvement store or online.

How to Make Fishing Lures

Making fishing lures is a mix of creativity and technique. Whether you’re making soft plastic baits or classic wooden lures, here’s a simple process to get started.

How to Make Soft Plastic Lures

1. Heat the plastic: You can use any way you like to melt the plastic (microwave, stove, fire in the back yard, etc.)
2. Pour into molds: Once the plastic melts, carefully pour it into the silicone mold.
3. Let it cool: After pouring, wait for 5 minutes for the lure to set before removing it.
4. Add details: Once the lure has cooled of and you’ve removed it from the mold, start painting it. You can use glitter to jazz it up.
5. Attach hooks: Once the paint dries, add the hook to the lure and give it a dry (in this case, wet, lol) run to make sure it works properly.

Warning

Whenever you are melting plastics, please make sure to work outside in open air, or if you are using an indoor space, make sure it is well-ventilated.

And don’t forget to wear appropriate masks so you don’t breathe in toxic chemicals. Gloves and safety goggles are also helpful.

How to Make Wooden Lures

Making wooden lures is a bit harder for a beginner since it may require some wood carving. But you can start with simple shapes to make it easier.

Here’s how:

Cut & shape: Start by carving the wood into your desired lure shape. This requires a bit skill and experience.

Sand: Sand it lightly to smooth out the edges Smooth edges.

Seal it: Apply a waterproof sealant.

Paint & finish: Once the sealant has dried, you can paint your wooden lure with whatever color you have in mind.

Attach hooks & eyes: Drill small holes into the wood wood and attach the hooks and eyes to the lure.

Making the actual lures is the hardest part of this whole thing, but with some practice, you will be making amazing-looking lures in no time. The beauty of handmade lures is that, because they are unique and not mass-produced, people are more likely to pay more for them.

Best Places to Sell Fishing Lures

Ok, so now that you’ve made your lures, it’s time to sell them. Thankfully, finding platforms to sell your custom-made fishing lures is easy, and there are a lot of options.

Etsy & eBay

Let’s start with the obvious. eBay is a great place to sell anything, including lures, but if you want to get a bit more money for your handmade lures, Etsy is a better option since shoppers go to Etsy to find unique handmade items. As such, they are willing to pay more for them.

Create an account on Etsy and follow their selling guide to get started. Remember, half of selling online successfully comes down to pictures. So make sure to take quality pictures that show all the unique details of your handmade items.

Fishing Forums & Facebook Groups

Wanna go directly to where fisherman hang out?

Try fishing forums and dedicated Facebook Groups. Groups like Bass Baits Buy and Sell and Custom Lures Showcase and Sell on Facebook are great places to get started with.

As for fishing forums, TackleUnderground.com, BassResource.com and CustomBaits.com Forum have dedicated sections for selling custom lures.

Local Bait & Tackle Shops

Another great place to sell lures is your local bait & tackle shops or sports equipment stores.

This is where a little creativity and salesmanship come in handy. The best way to do this is to sell lures wholesale. Your local fishing supply store isn’t going to buy lures from you at market price. They have to make money on it as well.

By selling wholesale, you get to sell more of your stuff for reasonable prices, and the store gets to buy wholesale and profit by selling them individually. It’s a win-win for both sides.

Sell Lures on Your Own Website

If you want to take this to the next level, you can build a simple few-page website (or use any of the free website builder sites) and sell your stuff directly to buyers.

You can even use platforms like Shopify to make everything easier since they handle all the technical aspects and payment processing. But there is a fee depending on how big your site is.

How to Price Your Fishing Lures

Pricing your homemade fishing lures can be a little tricky since it depends on a variety of factors.

But to make sure you can actually sell your stuff and make a profit, add up the cost of materials, tools, and the time you’ve spent making each lure.

Once you know how much it costs you to make each individual lure, check out similar lures on sites like Etsy, eBay, and local fishing forums to see what they are actually selling for.

Once you have that number, you can put a price tag on your stuff. You want to price it in a way that you can actually make money from your hard work, but you also don’t want to price it too high.

With some trial and error, you will get the hang of it and know exactly how much to sell your fishing lures for.

Wrapping Up: Turn Your Passion for Fishing into Profit

Making and selling fishing lures is a fun way to make extra money, especially if you enjoy fishing yourself.

Not only does it give you a chance to make money, but making fishing lures can also be a great artistic hobby that helps you de-stress by focusing your energy on creating beautiful little artworks that are both practical and useful.

So whether you’re a hobbyist or looking to make this a full-time business, making and selling fishing lures can be a great way to earn money with little to no investment!