Have you ever made a wooden crankbait, jerkbait, topwater lure or other wooden hard bait? How did you attach the eyelet for the towpoint? What about the eyelets to hang the hooks from?
It's a very basic part of wooden lure making, and there are four basic approaches that I'm aware of and each has it's own advantages and disadvantages. They are:
Screw eyes.
Glued wire eyelets
Through wire
Metal frame
Screw eyes are the simplest approach to lure making - in many cases all you need do is screw them directly into the wooden lure body at the point where you want your towpoint to be. You might drill a small pilot hole first to keep the wood from splitting. I know a lot of lure makers who use this approach and who also screw the eyes into their fishing lures, then unscrew them, smear the threads with a little epoxy and screw them back into the lures again permanently for added security.
Screw eyes are fine if you get good quality ones, and they are certainly fast and easy. For me, the main drawback is the possibility that one might pull out of the lure when I'm locked into a trophy fish. I suppose this is reasonably unlikely if you are using decent lure making wood (for example, I wouldn't recommend using screw eyes in balsa!). And I'll admit that I don't personally know of anyone who has lost fish this way - but I have seen wooden fishing lures bitten in half when fishing for the razor gang (mackerel) in the brine. Be sure to only use screw eyes made from marine grade stainless steel, as you'll soon regret using anything else, even for freshwater fishing.
For me, the main problem with screw eyes is that you have to buy them from lure making suppliers and stick to whatever sizes are available! I hate being restricted by having to buy any lure supplies from specialist mail order or online stores, so screw eyes will always be the last option as far as I'm concerned.
Glued eyelets aren't that much more difficult to fitting into custom fishing lures than screw eyes. These are essentially just bits of stainless steel wire that you cut and bend yourself, then glue with epoxy into pre drilled holes in the lure bodies. I use these for light duty lure making, but I don't trust them for heavier lure making applications in case they pull. Again, make sure you use good quality, marine grade stainless steel.
Metal frames are essentially just an aluminum or stainless steel plate that has holes drilled in it where the towpoint and hook hangers are to be located and are then cut or filed to shape to fit in a slot in the underside of the lure body with just those few loops of metal hanging out.
This isn't a bad way to go, because it puts a little weight along the belly of the lure and acts like a sort of keel, to help stop the lure 'blowing out' to one side or other. It also gives the lure a little more casting weight and the angler the confidence of knowing that there is absolutely no chance the eyelets will pull out.
On the down side, metals frames are much slower for the amateur lure maker to construct, and the extra weight reduces the action of the lure somewhat. I find them too laborious. I love lure making and I love fishing, but I'd rather be churning put new designs fast, or testing new lures on the water than working in the shed with a file, grinder or hacksaw making metal frames!
Through wires are, in my opinion, the only way to go. A through wire is essentially a single piece of wire that runs from front to back inside of the lure and creates loops for the towpoint and the hook hangers that are joined together. Once you know how to make them they are very quick and easy. If you are using the other methods described above this may be the first stepping to improving your lure making.
The main advantage to the lure maker of using a through wire is having the confidence of knowing that no matter how hard a fish l pulls the eyelets can't be pulled out, and even if the lure body is completely chewed away the fish will stay hooked.
You might make lures forever using screw or glued eyes and never lose a fish, but I guarantee the day one of these lures fails it will be on a PB bass and you'll never forgive yourself! And if you are selling lures and a customer loses a PB fish because of this you'll be very unpopular.
Think about what all the top anglers do - they always retie their knots after a good fish, always resharpen their hooks regularly, always change their leader, always service their drag, always renew their line each season. The list goes on and on, and it's all these little things that add up to make them more successful - they are systematically reducing the chances of losing a fish.
Custom fishing lure making is also like that - putting a through wire into a lure is just one of those little things that the better lure makers do to reduce the chances of disaster just that little bit further.
Dr Greg Vinall has been hand crafting custom fishing lures for decades from both wood and plastic. Why? Because he's proven time and time again that custom fishing lures allow you to catch more fish, bigger fish and have a HUGE edge over competitors and fishing buddies who use off the shelf commercial lures.
Greg now shares the substantial lure making skills and knowledge that he has amassed over this time through his web site and articles.
If you found the content of this article informative and would like to receive similar wooden lure making information via email, you can subscribe to Greg's weekly wooden lure making tips by completing the online form at
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You may also be interested in learning how to make hard plastic fishing lures. If so, check out http://www.makebetterfishinglures.com/plasticlures.html
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