Spinning. Lures: all notes, author's notes.
Wobbler. It’s hard to even imagine how popular it is among spinning players. A simple-looking fishing lure that even looks like a toy. But this is only a first and deceptive impression. Gradually, with experience, every spinning angler begins to understand how different all these millions of models produced around the world are and how demanding this bait is in terms of quality of execution and design. Since the time of the first Rapalov wobbler, the structure of the bait has changed beyond recognition: the material - from simple wood to soft plastics, the shape - from the simplest to the multi-component and imitating a living object down to the smallest detail, and technical improvement has long ago turned a simple bait into a complex fishing device.
But no matter how complicated manufacturers make their branded models and no matter where their design imagination takes them, a hand-made wooden wobbler can still compete with any “sophisticated” factory model in terms of catchability. And even though store shelves are littered with millions of plastic models of various designs and shapes, hand-assembled balsa “pieces of wood” are still valued to this day and craftsmen make them with their own hands and fish with them and enjoy both the catching and the making itself.
And for those who like to make things, and in particular for those who decided to make a wobbler with their own hands for the first time, I decided to describe the process of the birth of this bait - from designing the blank to the last layer of varnish. And the highlight of my story will be the availability of all materials - in other words, “a wobbler from what is at hand.” And no complicated tools or devices. Cheap, simple and cheerful. I will write everything about my specific wobbler, and you can adjust the recommendations according to your requirements. So, let's begin.
PROJECT. Since my main target is chub, an actively playing bait is required. Focusing on well-known models, the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, L-minnow 44. And why not? Moreover, I have long been looking for a wobbler with the same body shape, only with greater depth. No problem - we copy the L-minnow shape, and make the blade deep - long, with a more horizontal position and a front loop placed on the blade. We design the location of the loop (distance from the nose of the bait) depending on the required diving horizon - the further the loop, the deeper the wobbler will go. We take out the original from the storerooms and proceed to the search for material for the blank.
MATERIAL. The most affordable and easiest to process is undoubtedly wood. Which? Of course, the type of tree plays a significant role. But believe me, in our case this is not critical. The only thing I recommend to you is to make identical wobblers from different types of wood. And in practice, compare how much this factor influences all parameters. My personal opinion is that the persistent search for some kind of balsa is simply unjustified - it may be extremely necessary in some cases, but I have not yet seen it. So we go to the balcony in our utility corner, where all kinds of wood scraps are stored for such an occasion. I sort through the boards and find a cut piece with the smoothest texture. The fibers run as parallel as possible and along the cut - this is a guarantee that during processing the wood will not chip somewhere in the wrong direction. Here is the material for the preparation - this is pine.
BLANKET. We outline the outline of the original L-minnow 44, cut it out with a hacksaw and trim it with a knife...
... we finish it with a file and finish it with sandpaper. I make the sizes and proportions of the three blanks slightly different in order to subsequently identify the best option.
We mark with a pencil the slot for the blade, the holes for the lower and back loops and the indentations for the eyes (if you will be installing them).
We make holes with an awl and drill them out with a thin drill. Take a stainless steel (dental) wire and twist three loops. Two identical - for the tees and one longer - for the front. The length of the front loop is measured depending on the distance it extends to the shoulder blade.
Next is the crucial moment - cutting under the blade. Measure it a hundred times and drink it once. I recommend using a ready-made wobbler with the depth you need and approximately the same body proportions. You can also evaluate the location of the front hinge for the first time. I make three models at once, with different parameters of the blade and loop location - practice will show which design is the most successful. We measure the width of the cut according to the thickness of the future blade and carefully and most importantly strictly horizontally perform it using a hacksaw blade for metal or a jigsaw.
Next comes the most important part of the wobbler – the BLADE. It can be made of both metal and plastic. Since I have thin plexiglass on hand, I make it out of it. But as an experiment, I also made blades from elastic plastic, in order to be able to bend it while fishing, thereby changing the game of the wobbler. The results were very interesting. Useful for understanding the wobbler in general. You can also make an experimental one - with a thin blade made of soft metal and bend it in the same way during fishing. And it’s not even that difficult to manufacture, a wobbler with a replaceable blade, for example, like the Sorcerer model from Halco. And if you want to experiment, you can add a variable load. But this is a completely different story.
So, we outline the outline of the blade and cut it out with a hacksaw. We process it with a needle file and use the same hacksaw to cut a slot for the front hinge.
We adjust the length of the front loop and the width of the cut in the blade to its thickness. I did not twist along the entire length, but left the front part untwisted in order to make the cut as narrow as possible in order not to unnecessarily weaken the blade. With a minimum gap, the loop is well fixed in the cut and, when subsequently filled with epoxy resin, holds very well.
We finally adjust all the holes for the hinges and the slot for the blade, assemble and admire the almost finished wobbler.
Now the second most important part of the wobbler is the LOAD. I would like to immediately note that what is much more important is not the mass of the load, but its location. Based on the required characteristics in floating properties, we first select the weight. Unfortunately, there is no formula for calculating it and you will have to select the mass using the sample method. To do this, drill holes in the bottom of the wobbler as shown in the photo. You can make them along the entire length, as close to each other as possible, and after adjustment, simply fill the unnecessary holes with plugs from the same wood. The load itself is cylinders made of lead. You can roll them from sheet metal or turn them from solid wood.
Before you start testing in the bathroom, be sure to soak the blanks with drying oil, otherwise the wood will absorb water and all your experiments will go down the drain. We hang the tees on the winding rings and try different options for the location and quantity of weights in the home pond - the bathroom.
If you are satisfied with everything, then consider that your wobbler is almost ready. The final step will be working with epoxy resin. We glue the loops under the tees, lead weights and a blade with a front loop on glue.
The last stage remains - PAINTING. Impregnation of wood with drying oil, which we carried out earlier, is one of the stages of protecting the wobbler from water. The next layer will be a primer layer, which of course also fulfills its painting role - preparation for applying paint. I used automotive primer, which was left over from the time of repairing my first Zhiguli. Dip the wobbler into the ground, dry it and repeat again.
We trim the surface with sandpaper and proceed to the artistic part. If you have the makings of a painter, then there are no problems - we paint with a brush as your heart desires. But if God has not given you artistic talent, then it is better to use aerosols or a spray. I have been painting wobblers for a long time using auto enamel in aerosol cans.
We set a silver tone with “Snow Queen” or “Nickel” paint, pollinate the back with black, and the bottom of the wobbler, in my case, with golden or orange. This is one of millions of options - you have an unlimited field for imagination.
Dry and varnish. The most durable and designed specifically for our conditions is yacht varnish. But if there is none, use any one designed to work in harsh environmental conditions. You can add glitter or a little silver to the varnish for beauty. Finally, you can glue on bulging eyes, which can easily be borrowed from old wobblers that have become obsolete.
Well, that’s all - your wobbler is ready for fishing. How much more interesting it will be for you to catch fish with bait into which you have invested a piece of your soul, I think it’s not worth mentioning. In general, the very process of inventing your own unique design or model, and even making a wobbler itself, is very exciting. Don't be afraid to experiment and imagine. Not long ago I created a wobbler from a completely unusual material - plasticine. And I caught a chub with it! My delight at the first bite is simply beyond words. Believe in your strength and success awaits you. Go for it! Good luck in the workshop and on the pond.
All details and questions on the manufacture and modification of wobers >>>
One day I needed to make tiny (20mm) floating wobblers. And immediately a problem arose: wobblers made from ordinary wood (birch, linden, oak) sink, since the wood does not have sufficient buoyancy to keep the blade, tees, winding rings, primer, paint and varnish afloat. I had to think about it and came up with the idea of making a wobbler from... an ordinary cork. Take a cork (preferably solid, not glued) and turn it into a blank of any shape you like. You can take any branded model as a basis, or you can experiment yourself. I recommend working more with a sharp knife, since this material is quite difficult to sand.
A wide incision is made along the abdomen for the frame. The frame is a piece of stainless wire with loops at the ends. It's best to solder the loops. This will improve reliability. The next step is to glue the frame. The inner surface of the cut is primed with ordinary superglue (SuperGlue, Supermoment, etc.). After a few minutes, a frame is inserted into the cut and filled with the same superglue. After drying, we reinforce it with thin copper wire and prime the entire surface of the wobbler with superglue. The distance between the wires is 1.5-2 mm. We take dichloroethane (sold in electrical goods stores) and pieces of plexiglass (or better yet, plastic: I use from a ruler), dissolve the plexiglass in a small volume of dichloroethane until a viscous, homogeneous solution is obtained (the consistency of thick sour cream).
Fill the entire wobbler with the resulting solution. I recommend laying a thick layer - it’s better to clean more later than to apply it again. Let it dry for several days. The drying time depends on the thickness of the solution - the thicker it is, the faster it dries. We process the resulting wobbler with sandpaper and needle files. The result is a plastic wobbler with cork insides. We make a cut for the blade and glue it in. I make the blade from plexiglass, 1 to 2 mm thick, depending on the size of the wobbler. We prime the resulting wobbler with PF primer, having previously covered the blade with masking tape. Then we paint.
There are a lot of painting methods, but I use the most common one: using a spray bottle (from the refill of a ballpoint pen and the body of a disposable pen) I apply paint. The paint is an ordinary white or metallic silver auto enamel, to which dye has been added. I take the dyes from permanent markers. After painting I cover it with several layers of varnish. I use two-component to paint cars. We also install the fittings on the pond, where we adjust the play of the resulting wobbler, adjusting the nose loop left and right.
By creating new baits with his own hands, the angler expands his capabilities on the pond.
CROATIAN CHAMPAGNE CORK EGG
The bait called “Croatian egg” is now on the lips of every spinner. Gaining popularity at the beginning of the 21st century, this invention of a fisherman from Croatia also captivated the fishermen of our country. The advantage of a non-clinging bait is the possibility of unhindered fishing in overgrown areas of the reservoir. In turn, the predator also appreciated it, including it in his list of preferences! Unfortunately, the price in fishing stores is steep, and every predatory fish hunter prefers to have a Croatian egg.
But there is always a way out!
You can make a catchy bait yourself. Modern craftsmen have learned to do this in several ways. Let's consider one of them.
First, we process the champagne cork with a sharp knife (a stationery knife will do) to give it a streamlined teardrop shape. We trim with a file or emery. To install the hook, use a hacksaw to make a cut along the central axis of the bait from edge to edge. An offset hook or any elongated hook with a wire at the end of which has a ring for fastening is suitable. The hook should protrude 2/3 of the length of the bait’s body from the narrower part, be strong and, most importantly, of a rather large size! We glue it into the groove made throughout the body of the future bait with waterproof glue. Fill the recess with a mixture of glue and remaining shavings. The next stage is shipment. Pour water into the container and immerse the bait. Using round lead weights, we achieve a position on the water when the hook looks up. We install weights in counterweight in a row from below and glue them into the body of the bait. After drying, sand it. We paint as desired and varnish.
The bait looks more interesting when it has eyes on the edges. The resistance to snagging from aquatic plants can be increased by attaching even plastic antennae, which should extend from the body of the bait and end on the hook sting. The hook can be supplemented with fish-irritating feathers made of various materials. A popper effect can be achieved by adding an additional cupped indentation to the nose during manufacture.
POPPER FROM WINE AND BEER CORKS
You will need: a cylindrical wine stopper and a shallow metal stopper from a glass bottle, wire, glue, tee, pliers, knife. First, we make a slot in the wine cork for the wire frame. It must be passed along the entire body to the central axis, taking into account that the working position of the plug will be horizontal. We make rings on the wire at both ends: one for fastening, the second for a tee. We place the frame in the prepared groove, glue it in and fill the remaining cavity to make it round. Choose which side
there will be a bait head. We punch a hole in the center of the metal cork so that the ring of the wire frame passes through it, and glue it with the outside to the end of the wine cork. We fix the tee through the winding ring on the other side. To ensure that the bait maintains the correct position on the water, insert a weight from below. If a second tee is needed, you first need to lay a branch in the frame in order to have an additional ring, and add a vertical hole in the center to the longitudinal slot in the body, into which this additional ring will fit. If desired, we paint it, creating attack points on the body of the bait, and cover it with varnish.
wobbler
Using the methods for making baits described above as a basis, you can make a small wobbler. The body of the future wobbler is cut out of cork. A wire frame with points for fastening hooks and balancing weights is mounted in it. In the head part, at an angle, we glue into the additional cut a treated blade made of hard plastic, cut with scissors. The design will be similar in appearance to the equipment of a factory wobbler. Using the tool, we adjust the operation of the bait by changing the blade. We paint and varnish. The wobbler can be made two- or three-part by providing flexible connections for ring-to-ring elements in the wire frame.
FLOAT
Having given the desired shape to the body of the cork, you can make a regular float for fishing! Having decided on the attachment point, we equip the future float with a keel and antenna. Perhaps it will be one element inserted through the body. A float to increase the load capacity can be made from several plugs fastened together. Since the float itself is not responsible for landing fish, the fastening of all its elements can be done separately. Additionally, they need to be sealed against water penetration with glue or varnish. We paint and varnish.
WEIGHTING FLOAT EQUIPMENT
The weighting agent can be the loaded part of the plug, which maintains buoyancy.
A cambric is glued into the center of the cork from edge to edge to allow the main line to pass through. On the rig, such a weight is fixed above the main float with stoppers. After this, the problem of unhindered casting of light equipment with a rod was solved.
NIPPLE FEEDER
The basic rule here is: the weight of the feeder should be at the bottom, and the plug filled with bait should look up. Plastic plugs of any size can be used as a feeder. The advantage of such feeders: dosed consumption of bait and clean hands. There are a huge variety of methods for making such feeders and methods for equipping them with hooks, and every angler considers his to be the simplest and most effective.
The simplest way: take a sliding lead sinker of a flat shape according to the size of the cork. .Such a sinker can be cast into a finished mold in the form of a metal plug. We attach the plastic plug to this sinker with a small screw or other method. The question remains: how to equip? The simplest way: if the main line passes through the sinker, put a rocker with leads. More effective: make the leashes closer to the bait. To do this, a hole for the fishing line is drilled obliquely through the cork and the weight. The feeder is limited along the way at the level of fastening short leashes. After casting in working condition, the hooks with the nozzle, slightly peeking out from the feeder's feed, will look more appetizing to the fish. Also, hooks can be hidden in the thickness of the food without attachment or be attached with a foam ball. To self-hook fish, it is enough to install a movement limiter of the feeder along the main line immediately or after a certain distance.
Alexey Bakhryukov
I present a homemade bait, a wobbler “Beetle” for fish - a chub from the carp family, the bait is made from a wine cork. Detailed process of creating a fishing bait "Chafer beetle" with your own hands. Insects such as grasshopper, chafer beetle and its larva are used as bait for chub. The chub is especially greedy in the spring, in mid-May. The favorite dish of the chub is definitely “Chafer bug” or “Khrushchev”. Homemade wobbler - "Chafer bug" is created as a floating bait on the surface with a slight dive. The bait also works well for perch, which is not averse to profiting from a beetle. For perch, complete compliance of the bait with the original is not very important, and here the active play of this bait, which is ensured by the flexible plastic blade of the wobbler, extending at a large angle to the body of the bait, comes to the fore. Here I sell such baits - https://vk.com/gabodav?w=wall-143764887_10%2Fall
The animation of the bait, which is set by the spinner, is such that concentric circles, characteristic of a real beetle that has fallen into the water, diverge from the beetle across the surface of the water. With such actions you can force a chub or perch to definitely grab the bait. It is important that the bait enters the water in a natural way from the fish's point of view, for example near overhanging tree branches. Ideally after a gust of wind. You need to start the animation with small twitches of the tip of the spinning rod to create diverging circles on the water. The use of such a wobbler is justified during a period when there is a mass emergence of beetles. The appearance of such a delicacy on the water cannot confuse the chub, but on the contrary will force it to catch the tasty treat at any cost. Please note that there should be no fasteners or leashes. This surface bait is a universal wobbler for catching: chub, asp or perch. By the way, ide likes to pamper itself with this delicacy, and you can also catch: large roach, bream, carp, rudd and other non-predatory fish. Recommended fishing time for artificial worm is during the day and evening. Fish bite on the beetle only in warm and clear weather. After heavy rains, the bite noticeably worsens, and sometimes disappears altogether. To make it at home, you need the following: 01. wine stopper; 02. stainless steel wire O 0.8 mm; 03. superglue - Cyanoacrylate; 04. nylon bottle, thickness 0.5 - 0.8 mm; 05. stationery knife; 06. round nose pliers; 07. side cutters; 08. lead for loading; 09. nail polishes; 10. masking tape; 11. a little imagination. --- The composition "The Life and Death of a Certain K. Zabriskie, Patriarch" belongs to the performer Chris Zabriskie. License: Creative Commons Attribution (
Among the variety of plastic wobbler fish, a bait such as a popper has recently become very popular. Invented by American fishermen back in the 30s of the last century, it is now part of the arsenal of any spinning angler. Such popularity of the popper is explained by the structure of its body, features of use, and fishing techniques with it.
Popper is a bladeless surface wobbler with an elongated or slightly rounded body. Its distinctive feature is a funnel-shaped depression in the head part (“spitter”), making it look like a small fish with a wide open mouth. When retrieving, this depression creates characteristic gurgling sounds - as if a fry on the surface is grabbing insects (mosquitoes, midges) that have fallen into the water or are flying low above it.
The length of this bait ranges from 3-4 to 12-15 cm, weight - from 2-3 to 18-20 grams.
The wobbler is equipped with two triple or double hooks with a soft edge. The hooks are located on wire loops-suspensions on the abdomen, in the tail part. The color of the wobbler can be either natural, like a fry of perch, rudd or roach, or bright unnatural colors (acid green, yellow). The wobbler is attached to the fishing line or the latch of the metal leash using a loop with a ring located inside its nose recess.
These fish are made from durable plastic, balsa. Most models have a sound chamber inside the body with small balls, which, when the wobbler plays, create sounds that attract predators.
When looking for the best popper, most anglers prefer hard plastic models. This material, unlike balsa wood, is stronger, more durable, and less scratched when grabbed by a predator.
A variety of such surface baits is classified depending on the location of the load - the shift of the center of gravity to the tail, head part of the wobbler, or its uniform distribution throughout the body of the bait.
Based on this feature, these wobblers are divided into:
Check the distribution of the load by lowering a popper attached to a fishing line into an aquarium or container with clear water. Based on which part of the wobbler is the most recessed, it is determined which of the types described above it belongs to.
The division of these plastic fish into floating or sinking poppers is incorrect, since these bladeless wobblers do not dive deeper than 10-15 cm.
For fishing with such a wobbler, use a rod with the following characteristics:
Jig blanks with a thin, sensitive tip are not suitable for fishing with poppers. The spinning rod for this bait is chosen from twitching models, with a hard, durable whip, a comfortable spaced handle made of EVA, and a reliable reel seat.
An inertia-free reel installed on a spinning rod must have the following characteristics:
Fishing tackle for popper fishing is equipped with a bright-colored braided cord with a cross-section of 0.08−0.12 mm. Monofilament fishing line with a thickness of 0.18−0.22 mm is used when fishing for perch in small ponds with a maximum casting distance of no more than 15 meters.
The bright color of the cord is necessary in order to see in low light conditions where the bait is located, to which place it goes at the end of the line.
Popper fishing techniques and tactics include the correct choice of place and time of fishing, retrieving, hooking, and retrieving.
The most successful fishing is with bladeless surface wobblers in the summer, from June to the end of August. In autumn, as it gets colder and aquatic vegetation dies off, their catchability decreases significantly, giving way to heavy sinking wobblers, oscillating spoons, twisters and vibrotails.
Such plastic fish are used in reservoirs where other baits will often cling. Such places include:
Popper fishing is inconvenient and ineffective in clear sections of rivers with medium or fast currents. In such conditions, the wobbler will be strongly carried away by the flow of water and will not animate well.
When fishing with a popper, use a classic twitching (jerk) retrieve, performed as follows:
The jerk force should be such that the bait does not jump out of the water, but only creates a splash and the necessary sound. Wiring consisting of jerks and pauses lasting 2-3 seconds is also possible. The wiring of the popper depends on the activity of the fish: for a sluggish and inactive predator, wiring with jerks and long pauses is used. When catching active fish, they use a retrieve in which each jerk alternates with a short pause or without it at all.
A bite on such a surface wobbler is felt not only “in the hand”, but is also visible visually by the splash next to the wobbler. In this case, they hook with a sharp and short jerk. They land the fish carefully, not giving it the opportunity to drag the wobbler into the bushes, grass, or snags.
You can make a popper with your own hands from such simple materials as a wine cork or wood.
A homemade popper is made from a wine cork using the following technology:
You can see the bait making process more clearly in the video below:
The process of making a popper from wood is as follows:
The entire manufacturing process is clearly shown in more detail in the following video:
More accurate dimensions and drawings for fishing and making such bait can be found on fishing forums.
A homemade popper is equipped with strong and large triple, less often double hooks No. 3−2.
The color does not affect the catchability of the bait in any way - the predator sees it from below and does not react even to the most realistic colors. The color of the wobbler is more important for the angler himself, who needs to see the bait from a long distance in twilight, ripples or waves. Therefore, the best popper should be painted in colors that are visible on the water - green, white, red, etc.
Catchable poppers are selected according to length, type of load, based on such criteria as the object being fished and casting distance.
The shape of the popper affects its casting distance. Lures with an elongated body can be cast further than those with a more rounded body.
Among the large number of models of poppers for fishing, the most commonly used are the following:
Popper-type wobblers are a universal group of surface plastic fish used by predatory fish species. Their catchability depends both on the correct choice of the bait itself, and the place, time of fishing, and the use of suitable spinning gear.
