Crafting and fishing handmade wooden lures have been a part of my life since the 1990s. I have caught numerous fish with my own creations, including chuggers, spitters, propeller lures, "spooks", "jitterbugs", "lucky 13s", and crankbaits. Decades of fishing with my original lures have provided extensive performance feedback and time needed for trial-and-error lure development.

My process of making them attractive starts with selecting the appropriate wood. I apply transparent and semi-transparent coatings to let the natural beauty of the wood shine through the finish. The wood's porous surface contributes to the lure's depth of color, texture, grain patterns, sheen, iridescence, and overall natural appearance. Using turned wood for lure bodies allows orienting the piece for best results.

There's significant variation in the density of small wood cuttings used for lure bodies. Even pieces of the same size from the same board can have a density difference of 20% or more. To compensate for the variability in wood weight, I begin by weighing the lure body and determining its volume. Each lure is then meticulously crafted to an ideal completed weight for its type and specific size. Before they are deemed complete, all lures undergo float testing and are adjusted for perfect balance.