Fisherman Carves His Own Bait

You might use worms, minnows, or crank baits to try and get a big ol' fish. A Dublin man is hooked on carving out his passion.

Frank Fields never has to stop at a store for bait. He's got boxes of special lures that will do the trick. He carved all the colorful critters by hand.

"I make the boxes so it slides out. This is an original lure. the shavings in the box come off the lures," Frank explained.

Fields says he's always loved fishing. When he retired a couple of years ago, he had some time on his hands. That's when he picked up the carving tools. After he cranked out a couple, he got attached to them, so much so that fishing came in second fiddle.

"I carried it out to see if it would work, and sure enough, I caught a fish and I was scared to death it would take my lure," he admitted.

The fish gave up the wood, and now Frank finds himself working more on the bait then casting a rod in a boat.

"It comes across the water at night, it will go 'bloop bloop bloop.' I think a bass will go crazy over that," Frank chuckled.


Over the past 24 months or so, Frank's refined his skills. He's added rattles and puts about five coats of paint on every piece.


He's sold a few, but mostly Frank just gives his work away.
And that's okay because the real lure in all of this is just whittling away on the wood.

"I guess the main thing is producing something that somebody wants and will keep and appreciate," he said.

Frank uses bass wood for his work. He says it's a soft material and pretty easy to work with.