This book is a great addition to any fishermens collection. It shows you how to make all kinds for lures for everthing from bucktails to balsa plugs. If you like saving some money and doing stuff yourself then this is deffinantly the book for you.

This is an excellent book. It covers a lot of ground for Do-It-Yourselfers but it has a lot of good information for any angler out there.
It includes information on everything from luremaking to fishing rod basics and ideas for tools and home made alternatives to other types of equipment.
It's a great book to keep around the house if you like fishing.

I ran a tackle making facility for three years, so I have a lot of insight into tackle production. I also have taught tackle making to kids at summer camp through the Fish Tech program.



The book is "complete" in the sense that it touches on nearly every area of tackle production,, however it tends to take an over view approach to each area. There are a few well-thought-out suggestions and creative solutions to problems in this book. It's failings are the lack of specifics.



One of the many areas I was disappointed with was the crankbait section. Here it encourages you to COPY an existing design, and doesn't give you the knowledge or tools to develop and create your own. There is no information about the hydrodynamics of lips and thier design or placement. Lure ballance isn't even talked about.



I would recomend you add it to your library for reference, but only to get added suggestions after using another guide.

I ran a tackle making facility for three years, so I have a lot of insight into tackle production. I also have taught tackle making to kids at summer camp through the Fish Tech program.

The book is "complete" in the sense that it touches on nearly every area of tackle production,, however it tends to take an over view approach to each area. There are a few well-thought-out suggestions and creative solutions to problems in this book. It's failings are the lack of specifics.

One of the many areas I was disappointed with was the crankbait section. Here it encourages you to COPY an existing design, and doesn't give you the knowledge or tools to develop and create your own. There is no information about the hydrodynamics of lips and thier design or placement. Lure ballance isn't even talked about.

I would recomend you add it to your library for reference, but only to get added suggestions after using another guide.

Much improved and expanded over 60% from his first edition (Tackle Craft-1974), which was the original "Bible" for do-it-yourself anglers. This edition has the latest info on new tackle designs and materials, including a short chapter on making tools. Also includes an almost overwelming 10 chapters (180 pages) related to rod making instead of just one (60 pages) in his original book. Brings you back to the time when gear and artificial baits were made by the fisherman to fit local conditions, long before there was a tackle shop on every corner.

This book is a definite find! Very informative and reasonably priced. Having read and rated other books in this genre as "poor", this book is the exception to the "be-all" and "end-all" generalist book. If you are looking for practical and useful information on the topic of making your own tackle, look no further. Clearly, it is a relief to find an author who doesn't get bogged down in anecdotal story telling about truly boring fish "war stories."

This book is a definite find! Very informative and reasonably priced. Having read and rated other books in this genre as "poor", this book is the exception to the "be-all" and "end-all" generalist book. If you are looking for practical and useful information on the topic of making your own tackle, look no further. Clearly, it is a relief to find an author who doesn't get bogged down in anecdotal story telling about truly boring fish "war stories."

On behalf of the editorial staff at TackleMaking.com, I would like to give C. Boyd Preiffer a big thumbs up on this book! It's packed with useful information on making soft plastics, rods, lures, wire baits and other miscellaneous fishing tackle. It's an excellent primer for beginners and a great desk reference for advanced tacklemakers. Excellent illustrations.

The only "con" to this book is that it doesn't include more information on fishing tackle design. It tells you how to make the different lures, but doesn't include much information on why certain designs work better than others.

Overall, we say, "Buy this book!"

- Erik Moore
President, CEO
TackleMaking.com

On behalf of the editorial staff at TackleMaking.com, I would like to give C. Boyd Preiffer a big thumbs up on this book! It's packed with useful information on making soft plastics, rods, lures, wire baits and other miscellaneous fishing tackle. It's an excellent primer for beginners and a great desk reference for advanced tacklemakers. Excellent illustrations.

The only "con" to this book is that it doesn't include more information on fishing tackle design. It tells you how to make the different lures, but doesn't include much information on why certain designs work better than others.

Overall, we say, "Buy this book!"

- Erik Moore
President, CEO
TackleMaking.com

I had no idea how much useful fishing equipment could be constructed until I read this book. If I taught a class on tackle making, this would be the course text. It would have been nice if there had been an illustration on how to use a wire-bender for making large pike spinners, but this is a very minor point. He covers everything from lure making to rod and net building. The book is very clearly written and illustrated. Almost everything related to each project is addressed. I recommend this book to fly fishers who feel disconnected when fishing with hardware. Making my own plugs, spoons, and spinners adds a greater degree of self-expression to spin fishing.

I had no idea how much useful fishing equipment could be constructed until I read this book. If I taught a class on tackle making, this would be the course text. It would have been nice if there had been an illustration on how to use a wire-bender for making large pike spinners, but this is a very minor point. He covers everything from lure making to rod and net building. The book is very clearly written and illustrated. Almost everything related to each project is addressed. I recommend this book to fly fishers who feel disconnected when fishing with hardware. Making my own plugs, spoons, and spinners adds a greater degree of self-expression to spin fishing.