Handmade Fishing Lures & Spearing Decoys

From the start of my projects when I find clear wood blocks to the end when I am putting on the marine varnish these fishing lures and spearing decoys are handmade by me. I surely can't tell you these will catch more fish than what you are using now but if the point was to only catch fish you wouldn't be using a line and tackle. As an old timer from Ely, Minnesota told me.. 'When we fished for food as a kid we only took dynamite to the lake'.

My fishing lures and spearing decoys are made to use but many who buy from me say these will only hang in their home or cabin for display. Well Holy Smokes! Buy one of my lures or spearing decoys and use it. If you lose it you can always order another one. It's not like they cost $100 each (well, maybe some do!).

If my lures and decoys don't make you smile,
Don't buy them!

I use a one piece through wire on all lures. No hooks are ever attached using only an eye screw. This makes my lures extremely strong. The wire is sealed using marine epoxy. The paint I use is a marine paint and every lure is given a minimum of three coats of marine varnish as a finish coat.

     

I like to make top water fishing lures but some are using weights to make these sink to the depth they want. I do make many with an angled head that dive when retrieved. A few friends have also had me make some weighted lures that sink. I will make lures that sink if you request them.

All of my decoys are tested in water and lead weight is added along the bottom of the decoy to give it the best 'swimming' action. The aluminum fins are fastened into place with marine epoxy or lead and sometimes both for the side fins. Each decoy is painted by hand by me with a brush. These are not mass produced and dunked into paint or spray painted in batches. All decoys are finished with a minimum of 3 coats of marine varnish.

Many and maybe most of these decoys are used for display and not to spear fish but all of these fishing decoys are 100% made to be used for spearing fish. Many spear Northern Pike up here in Minnesota in the winter and these will make those Northerns come in and take a peak. Remember to use a good leader and strong line when using these in your dark house. If a big Northern hits these you don't want him to break the line and drop it out of site. These swim pretty well when you are jigging them but they won't swim back to your hole if the line breaks!

Macrostie Art Center
405 1st Avenue NW
Grand Rapids, MN 55744
218-326-2697
info@macrostieartcenter.org
http://macrostieartcenter.org/

Hey.. I make other stuff besides fishing lures and spearing decoys. Were you thinking I was just some dumb Swede from Northern Minnesota who only makes fishing lures? I almost always have a big fish I am working on. The one in the picture is named 'Gus' and I'm letting a friend hang it in his barber shop. Gus is 7 feet long and weighs 107 pounds. I'm working on a bigger fish now that is also 7 feet long but weighs 210 pounds. I'm not sure what I will do with it but she will probably find a new home because you can only have so many fish this size hanging in your basement.

I like to make big hammers. I call them 'Muskie Persuaders'! They really shouldn't be handled by wives because they get funny thoughts in their heads. Mine just looked at me and smiled like she was thinking of some other use than a Muskie Persuader. Women are funny critters, aren't they? Small carvings are fun to make too! I use laminated beams for my big fish and with the left over pieces I sometimes carve fish and odd pieces of art. Well it is art to me but some might not think so.

       

Larry The Bear   -   PO Box 703   -   Grand Rapids, Minnesota 55744