We're the Diamond in your Tackle Bag! Salty's wood lures are your source for stripersonline!

We're the Diamonds in your Tackle Bag!
Hand-Made Wood Fishing Lures, Block Surf Tins, Striper fishing Lures, Wood Surf Plugs,
Fishing Lure Kits and Lure Building Hardware / Complete Plug Building Supplies


Topwater Lures  Sandeel Needles  Swimmers-5 Styles!  Dahtahs  Casting Eggs  Lure Kits  Lure Kit Pictorials
Plug Building Supplies  Freshwater Lures  Classic Tins  New Prod/Lure Forum  Gift Certificates  Why Salty's Lures  Sales Policies
Contact Us VIEW CART
If you see this page it is on our old site, it no longer has pricing on it or will be updated. Please use https://cart.saltwaterplugs.com
 

 


Wood Lure Building Kit Pictorial Instructions

Topwater Kits

These are GUIDES only.
All kits will require minor finish sanding, assembly, paint, etc.
 

We also carry a full line of DIY lure parts too!

  1.25 Oz Topwater Glide Bait
  2 Oz Topwater Glide Bait
 

1 Oz Pencil Popper Kit

  1.25 Oz Bottle Popper Kit
  1.5 Oz Bottle Popper Kit
  1.25 Oz "The Deputy" Pencil Popper
  1 Oz Little Big Mouth Popper Kit

Miscellaneous notes/tips on finishing kits:

Do NOT force weights into holes. If there by chance is some sprue/flashing on the lead it must be removed before insertion.
Salty's is not responsible for cracked lure bodies due to improper assembly/care taken during assembly-these are kits.. made on high precision cnc equipment but sometimes poured things like lead don't fit perfect-it is your responsibility to properly assemble kits. Ya can't fit a square peg in a round hole :)
We provide you with the basic raw materials and pictorials to aid in assembly.

Finishing: There are many ways to finish a lure. We highly recommend you dip your lures in something to waterproof them.
Thompson's waterseal will not work and anything with wax in it is not recommended-We recommend either Tung Oil, Shellac, Spar Urethane, Val-oil, Boiled Linseed Oil cut with mineral spirits, or any kind of lacquer sanding sealer will also work with multiple dips may be required-let dry properly after each step.. if you don't your paint/clear is likely to not stick properly. Minwax makes a good lacquer sealer in a black can, products such as Waterlox, Floor sealers, etc. Use appropriate cautions when working with these items.  Out of all the different methods for a home based person to safely use I think the Minwax sanding sealer or spar varnish with multiple dips between drying is one of the best options. You can find this at HD, Lowes, hardware stores, etc. Salty's now has a line of lure paints which can be used not only as a dip sealer, primer, finish coat, but it's engineered specifically for fishing lures and arrow shafts. More information is located in our free lure forum and on the website HERE .

After you seal your lures you need to prime them. Try to use a color close to your base coat. White/light lures should have white primer for highest color clarity. Lures meant to be dark are best primed grey or black. Bin spray primer in the red can is alcohol based and dries quickly. This stuff will stick to just about anything. Just make sure it's compatible with your paint. Try to stick to similar brands of paint. Dissimilar and even some like branded paints can be incompatible due to elements like aluminum etc in the paint. Bin is available at HD, Lowes, your local hardware store etc also. If using Salty's lure paint our Supercoat can be used as a sealer and a top coat!
Bin also makes a thicker oil based primer in a white/gold can this works well also but takes additional time to dry.
If you plan on using a solvent type of paint then you should have a solvent primer underneath to avoid incompatibility problems.
Stick with same brand paints such as Painters touch, Rustoleum, Krylon, etc, do not mix.
It is up to you to determine compatibilities. Salty's is not liable in any way for coatings issues.

Paint can be Salty's Lure paint, Spray cans, Testors model paints, Createx T shirt paint, Acrylic paints from AC Moore and other craft stores, Enamels with a brush, etc.
It's up to you how fancy you want to make them!  As with all paints, coats are best applied thinly. Too thick will cause crackling, or bubbling in most cases.
Be very careful applying a solvent based coating over a water based. Many water based paints can't take acetone-it causes them to lift/bubble.

We sell the scale netting on the site in the plug building section for making the scales on the sides of your lures.
Clip over your lure kit and lightly spray silver etc through the mesh. Let dry and remove.
Not necessary but some think it improves their hookup rate because it looks more realistic.

We recommend you topcoat your lure kits with either a thin coat of Devcon 30 minute epoxy, several coats of spar varnish, multi coats of Krylon etc clear in a spray can, or some of the new water based polyurethanes can work well also! Remember to use the same brand of paints throughout to eliminate adhesion issues! KBS Diamond finish makes a great one part brush on finish but use outdoors or in a well ventilated area. Can have storage problems also as it's a moisture cured urethane..
Salty's Supercoat makes a tough chip resistant top-coat.

Basically the order in which you want to finish the kits is to dip seal them, prime, base coat (white or black), color coat, clear coat, final assembly.

Lips, grommets, weights ,etc can be glued in with 30 minute epoxy, or any expanding polyurethane glue will work also (sparingly).

One tube of 30 minute epoxy can assemble many lures-eyes, lips, grommets, weights, etc, and give you a great clear coat when "drawn" across the lure using an acid brush found in your local hardware store plumbing dept (or we sell the good one's on the site here under the plug building section). Cut the bristles short and it will allow you to get a thin coat which looks great and lasts well. We have the bristle brushes also in our online store under the lure parts section.

If kids are doing the work remember to use proper precautions-rubber gloves are a good idea when working with glues, safety glasses if re-drilling through holes, etc.
Always use proper ventilation and follow manufacturers directions!

It is normal to have to re-drill weights on some kits to get the wire through. We recommend a 1/8" extended bit in a battery drill. Use care!

COMMON SENSE PREVAILS! SAFETY FIRST!

It is your decision on how you want to finish them, and we will not make recommendations beyond what you see here.
It's what works for you!
I don't wish to have people be unhappy with something because it
didn't work for them and I recommended it.

If you have questions, register and ask on our lure forum!
This forum has alot of people that make these kits on it!

It's free!

 

  1.5 Oz Peanut Plooper Popper Kit
  2 Oz Pencil Popper
  2.5 Oz "Canal Special" Pencil Popper
  3 Oz Pencil Popper-use same pictorial as the 2.5 Oz above
  3 Oz "Doctor Salty" Spook kit
  3.5 Oz Sheriff Pencil Popper
  1.5 Oz LITTLE BLABBERMOUTH Popper
  3 Oz BIG BLABBERMOUTH Popper
  5.5 Oz GT Popper Kit
   
Needlefish Kits  
  1.5 Oz Slim Needlefish Kit
  1.5 Oz CHARKTAIL Needlefish Kit
  2 Oz Wad Needlefish Kit
  2 Oz Sandeel Needle Kit
  2.5 Oz "The Rat" Needlefish Kit
  2.5 Oz Jointed Needlefish Kit
  5 Oz CANAL MONSTER Needlefish Kit
  2.5 Oz syBiL Needlefish Kit
Swimmer Kits  
  1.5 Oz Midget Swimmer
  1.25 Oz Egglet Swimmer
  2 Oz Egglet Swimmer
  2 Oz MAC Pikie Swimmer
  2.5 Oz Tallywhacker Swimmer
  2 Oz Sandeel Swimmer
  1 Oz Lil Bugger Surfster Style Swimmer
  1.5 Oz Little Troublemaker Surfster Style Swimmer
  2.5 Oz Big Troublemaker Surfster Style Swimmer
  2.5 Oz Danny Surface Swimmer
  2.5 Oz Torpedo Danny Surface Swimmer
  4 Oz Mac Pikie Style Metal Lip Swimmer
  4 Oz Pikiezilla Giant Jointed Pikie Swimmer
  6 Oz M80 GIANT Swimmer
Classic Series Kits 2 Oz A40 JR Swimmer
  2 Oz A40 JR Eelskin Swimmer
  2.25 Oz A40JR Jointed Swimmer Kit
  2.75 Oz A 40 Style Swimmer
  2 Oz Conrad JR Swimmer
  2.25 Oz Jointed Conrad JR Swimmer
  3 Oz Fathead Bottle Swimmer
  3 Oz Danny Swimmer
  3 Oz Slopehead Swimmer
  1 Oz Little Buggereno  
  3 Oz BIG BUGGERENO
  2 Oz Dahtah Kit
  3 Oz Dahtah Kit
  4 Oz Conrad Sr Metal Lip Swimmer Kit
  3.5 Oz Cowboy Jr Metal Lip Swimmer Kit
  4 Oz Cowboy Sr Metal Lip Swimmer Kit
Musky/Freshwater
Lure Kits
3/8 Oz Freshmouth Popper Kit
  5/8 Oz Micro Scuttlebugger Topwater Kit
  5/8 Oz Dart n Shart Kit
  3/4 Oz LITTLE JERK
  2 Oz Scuttlebugger Topwater Kit
  5/8 Oz Micro Spittlebugger Kit
  3/4 Oz Little Buggereno subsurface Lure Kit
  1.75 Oz Shuttlebugger Topwater Kit
  2.5 Oz Sputterbugger Topwater Kit
  6 Oz M80 GIANT Swimmer
Hand Carved Lure Kits 2 Oz FB Deep Diving Swimmer
  1.5 Oz Sharpeye Swimmer / Page 2
  Frech Style BABY Banana Lure Kit
  Frech Style Banana Lure Kit
Jim Brown Kits 1 Oz Eelskin Lure Kit
  2.5 Oz Jointed Eely Swimmer Kit

Generic assembly/wiring instructions and a pictorial on how to make the tail loop

Click here for a video we put together of how to make the tail loop

More information on lure building and finishing can be found in our lure building forum!
 

Salty's is Safe and Secure for online transactions!

 

Salty's ships worlwide!

All images and pages Copyright 2002-2019 by Scott Bullock/Salty's

**Free/Flat rate shipping does not include lead, liquid items, wood squares or oversize items.
These items may be additional depending on size & weight. 
All items under 150lb are subject to Federal Sportfishing Excise tax.
More information can be found on our sales policies page.

See Us on Facebook! See Us on YouTube!