Foam fish. “Foam fish” bait: making it yourself How to make a foam fish yourself

Making gear with your own hands is gaining rapid momentum, since buying them in a store is quite expensive. And even more so the production of catching gear. A foam fish made with your own hands can attract a predator no worse than live bait, and sometimes even better. Sergei Pavlov is the founder of the manufacture of such gear, and his inventions are incredibly popular among modern fishermen.

Making a foam fish yourself is very simple. Even a beginner can cope with this task without any problems. Not only is the process quite simple, but it also does not require the purchase of expensive materials and waste of time.

With uniform wiring, foam fish do not provide active play, but with stepped or any other wiring, they are not inferior in their play to any analogues from the store. In addition to the beautiful game, they also have a huge supply of advantages:

• Foam rubber is excellent for making non-snappy pads.
• You can simply soak a foam fish.
• The casting range of a foam rubber on a swivel joint can be envied by many baits.
• The cost of such bait is very low.
• Multi-colored foam sponges allow you to make a lot of good and varied baits.

You will get an excellent foam fish with your own hands if you use ordinary household sponges as a basis (as shown in photo 1). If you buy a set of colored sponges, it will be much better. Before starting work, you need to soak the foam rubber well in water and squeeze it out. All this is done to ensure that pieces of foam rubber do not stick to the scissors.

Armed with a blade, you need to cut a rectangular blank (photo 2). The resulting workpiece must be cut diagonally along (photo 3). Now you need to use scissors to form some kind of fish from the workpiece (photo 4).

As you can see, everything is quite simple. All you need is a little patience, a sponge, scissors and a blade.

True, to get a good fish you need a little practice, after which you can easily make a fish without a tail or with one. Among fishermen, a foam fish without a tail is called a “carrot”. Most often, fishermen use baits 8 centimeters long, but fish of any size can be cut.

When using colorless foam rubber, the fish can be painted with a regular marker (naturally waterproof), and if the fish is already colored, then you can simply draw eyes and a few stripes on the belly. A little later we will talk about how and with what to paint a foam fish.

Installation of foam rubber can be done on different hooks, these can be doubles, tees or single offset hooks. But as for jig heads, it is better to use a swivel joint to ensure maximum mobility of the bait.

Mounting foam fish on doubles is considered the most universal and is used by the vast majority of fishermen. To ensure a good and reliable installation, you just need to follow a few simple steps:

1. Cut the bait of the desired size and shape from the blank (use scissors for this).
2. It is necessary to make a cut lengthwise in the belly of the resulting bait. The shank of the hook will then be located in this cut.
3. Now you need to add a little wire to the eye of the hook (if your bait is longer than the hook itself) and twist a loop at the other end (the sinker will then be attached to it).
4. Place the shank of the hook into the cut and seal with waterproof glue.
5. Now just connect the sinker to it.

If necessary, a do-it-yourself foam rubber fish mounted on a double can easily become unhooked. Simply press the tips together using your hands or pliers to reduce the distance between them. This can be easily done right on the pond and there is no fear of losing the bait.

Mounting a foam fish on a tee is more reliable, but is only suitable for use in places with a clean bottom and a minimum amount of debris. Naturally, such bait will hook fish better. In general, the installation method is somewhat similar to the previous one, but there are several differences:

1. First you need to cut out a fish of the required size and shape from the blank.
2. Now you need to make a longitudinal cut on the belly of the fish.
3. Then you need to place the shank of the hook into the cut so that one hook of the hook comes out exactly in the center of the back of the fish.
   

   Advice! Most often you have to attach a piece of wire to the eye of the tee. But, if you are fishing for pike perch at great depths, then it will attack the fish in the head, which means it is best to set a hook without a wire.

4. Now all that’s left to do is attach the Cheburashka to the hinge joint.
5. Ready. A do-it-yourself foam rubber fish is mounted on a tee.

Foam rubber fish on an offset hook is often used in places where it is very difficult or not at all realistic to place bait on another rig. And the cost of such a bait is scanty, so the advantages are obvious - low cost and increased cross-country ability. In addition, the work efficiency is not inferior to other baits.

To make a foam fish on an offset hook you need to follow a few simple steps:

1. First you need to cut a fish from the workpiece that has the necessary parameters. For knotted places, it is preferable to cut out a fish without a tail - a carrot.
2. Then fishermen make a small cut in order to place a step on an offset hook, and some simply pierce the fish in the right place.
3. Now you just need to pierce the body of the bait with the point of the hook so that the point of the hook comes out in the middle of the back.
   

   Advice! To ensure a minimum number of hooks, recess the tip of the hook into the body of the foam rubber.

4. Almost ready - all that remains is to mount the cargo. Bullet-shaped sinkers are best suited for these fish. Cheburashka often clings to branches, which cannot be said about the bullet, a visible weight that passes through any obstacles without problems.

Softness. The predator takes such a bait for its usual prey and rarely spits out the bait, unlike a spinner or silicone, so that almost every bite is realized. Good catchability of fish is also ensured by the softness of the foam rubber.

Buoyancy. The predator is attracted to the vertical position occupied by the bait in the water, which is obtained as a result of the positive buoyancy of the foam rubber. This effect is not provided by other baits, and a foam fish with your own hands will additionally attract a predator by its placement in the water.

Elasticity. By itself, when dry, foam rubber is quite elastic, but when soaked in water it becomes more flexible. With certain skills, this indicator of material can provide excellent and active play of the bait.

Porosity. Thanks to the porosity of foam rubber, the bait is able to perfectly absorb bite activators, various attractants and flavors, and they last a long time, so you can wipe your nose with any edible silicones.

Minimum price. The main element of the bait is foam rubber, which costs a tiny amount of money, you will also need a sinker and hooks, they also cost very little. Making foam rubber at home is much cheaper than buying it in a store.

Well, there were some drawbacks. True, they are quite insignificant, the main one being the frequent biting off of part of the bait during a bite. Sometimes the fish manages to break the bait into two parts already from the first bite. So, when going to a pond, take plenty of bait.

Many fishermen may think that painting a foam fish is very simple. But it is not so. Proper painting is far from an easy task, which requires certain skills and tools from the fisherman.

Everything would be fine, but active paints containing a solvent will simply ruin your bait, since foam rubber is a very delicate material. If you are not vigilant, you can easily ruin the workpiece, but there is always a way out.

• Permanent markers. This type of markers does not wash off with water and is perfect for coloring fish. True, such a marker is very expensive, but it is convenient to work with and you can apply a clear drawing.
• Cans of aerosol acrylic paints. You need to paint dry foam rubber from a spray can very carefully and carefully, otherwise you can simply ruin the workpiece if you apply a lot of paint. There is a drawback to this method of coloring - you cannot color the fish indoors, you will have to go outside.
• Acrylic paints in liquid form. The main thing is to wet the fish well, otherwise you will simply burn the dry foam with such paints. Painting with a brush is more convenient and can be done even in an apartment.

Advice: Paint looks best on white foam.

And in general, the variety of colors is simply stunning, but I have not had the opportunity to test other types from personal experience. So, of course, I won’t advise you about something I don’t know about. If you have opinions on this matter, then you are welcome to comment.

Like most predators, pike usually stays near the bottom. Here she waits for her prey, so she fishing brings excellent results. For this kind of fishing they are most often used , and other tires.

But there is another bait option that is definitely worth adding to your arsenal - foam rubber. It has significant advantages over silicone.

Foam rubber- this bait is for catching pike and other predators, resembling a small fish in shape. It is usually made on one's own. A simple, hand-made foam fish resembles in shape small carrot.

You can also find on sale ready-made foam rubber. Most of them are made in the shape of a fry and painted to resemble a small fish; they look much better than homemade ones, but this does not affect catchability.

The main advantages of foam fish for pike:

• this type of bait attracts large pike well, so it is excellent for hunting trophy specimens;
• foam rubber does not have an active game of its own, and it can be used to catch pike on days when it hardly feeds and refuses to attack other baits offered to it;
• the foam rubber, which has not yet had time to take in water, after lowering the equipment to the bottom, stands vertically in the water, while it attracts more attention from the pike and represents a more convenient target for attack, as a result, the number of bites and the percentage of hooks are increased;
• foam rubbers are well suited for creating non-snacking installations with both double hooks and offset hooks, so you can also fish with them;
• These baits are quite inexpensive, foam rubber is affordable, and making an artificial fish from it for catching pike does not take much time.

Features of foam rubber for pike

The most important point- choose the correct foam rubber size for pike fishing. Lures with a length of 7 to 10 cm are suitable; you can also use artificial fish up to 15 cm long if you plan to hunt for trophy specimens.

Foam rubber shape does not play a big role on pike. Lures that closely resemble a fry in external outline also attract this predator. But simple foam carrots work no worse, and they are much easier to make.

DIY foam rubber for pike

For the production of foam rubber can be used sponges for washing dishes. They are inexpensive, and in one package they sell sponges of different colors, which can be used to make baits of various colors.

To do foam rubber from a sponge, you will also need sharp scissors, a blade and waterproof glue. You can use regular universal Moment glue.

To make a bait equipped with a double, you need:

• carefully separate the hard part of the sponge from the foam rubber;
• cut the workpiece in the shape of a bar with scissors;
• give it a cylindrical shape;
• make a tail for the bait by removing excess foam with scissors so that it smoothly tapers towards the rear end;
• heat the double's ear over the fire;
• using two pliers, bring the double hooks together to an angle of 60-70 degrees;
• make a longitudinal cut in the foam rubber;
• insert a double into the bait;
• Apply glue to the edges of the cut, squeeze them and wait until the glue dries.

At this point the foam rubber for pike fishing is ready, all that remains is to attach the sinker to the double. If, after equipping the hook with bait, its stings are tightly pressed to the body of a fish made of foam rubber, you will get a non-snacking installation. For catching pike in areas with clean bottom will fit better foam rubber on larger doubles, the stings of which are not pressed to the body of the bait - they provide the best interest implementation of bites.

If the bait needs to be placed on offset worker, its head part must be thinned using scissors so that it the diameter coincided with the height of the step, located in front of the offset hook ring.

Technique for catching pike with foam rubber

Basic technique for catching pike with foam rubber- this is a classic step wiring. To complete it, you must:

• wait until the equipment sinks to the bottom after casting;
• make 2-3 turns of the handle;
• pause, allowing the bait to fall to the bottom again;
• rewind the line again.

At first such wiring foam rubber after lowering to the bottom stands upright. But it takes on water pretty quickly. After this happens, the bait falls to the ground during a pause, like a regular vibrotail or twister. Can wring out the foam rubber after each cast, in this case the fishing will be more successful.

Another animation technique option- stepwise guiding of the rod. To complete it, you need to perform a dash the tip of the spinning rod and immediately take up the slack line, pause and take another swing. Thus, spinning jerks and pauses alternate until the bait reaches the shore or the boat.

Thus, there is nothing difficult about fishing with foam rubber. In this kind of fishing they use classic jig wiring. But foam fish differs from standard silicone jig baits in its working qualities.

Therefore, it is worth trying it in practice to evaluate its benefits. A foam rubber can work great in a situation where a pike reluctant to attack the twisters and vibrotails offered to her.

Useful video

How to make foam fish with your own hands in the video below:

Oddly enough, the “foam fever” has bypassed many jig lovers. If anyone uses foam rubber baits more or less regularly, then these are those fishermen who are not alien to experiments and the spirit of a certain adventurism in fishing. Most fans of jig-spinning agree that foam rubber really works on the river, but not for everyone and not on all bodies of water.

I think many people have tried to catch pike with a foam fish, but failed. And this is with the availability of sufficient information on this topic. Why can’t everyone catch fish with foam rubber, why does this happen? The answer to these questions, oddly enough, is quite simple. We look at fishing with foam rubber through the prism of our jig-spinning traditions, but you just need to follow what is written, that is, the experience of those who can fish with this bait. It is the difference in fishing style that determines the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of a foam fish. Let's look at this difference in more detail.

If we talk about the traditions of jig fishing, many anglers usually associate fishing with a boat. Having anchored, the angler casts the bait downstream of the river or at a slight angle to it. In other words, our main traditional wiring is upstream wiring. If you follow all these traditions, I can say for sure that a vibrating tail on a jig head in this case is beyond competition. The foam rubber will obviously be a loser with this technique.

In fact, most fishermen experiment with fishing with foam fish using this technique. The fisherman expects results from this bait, using it as a variation or substitute for the same vibrotail. This is precisely the reason for the failures and, accordingly, the ranks of skeptics.

In order to successfully catch pike with a foam fish, you must first of all understand the concept of a foam jig and, accordingly, follow it.

Fishing for pike with a foam rubber is, as a rule, fishing from the shore, and the main fishing here will be “drying” fishing, when the bait is thrown across the current. Even when fishing from a boat, experienced fishermen prefer to use this particular wiring. Following this tradition, it is much easier to achieve success when fishing with foam fish.

A foam jig is characterized by fairly fast retrieval. This is partly due to the rather fast flow on the rivers, and partly because foam rubber is still a structurally passive bait, and there is nothing for it to attract the attention of the pike except by “jumping” along the bottom. But this is only at first glance a foam rubber - a passive bait. It remains passive while it is in the box, and even during casting. All the power of a foam fish is in the wiring.

In shallow water, observe how the fish moves in the current, especially watch how it “retreats” if it has been disturbed. First, the fish throws to the side and slightly downstream, then slows down and remains in place or moves against the stream. In this case, the fish always tries to take a position with its head against the flow of the river. A faceless, unremarkable foam rubber, thanks to a movable connection with a weight, when wired “for demolition”, so realistically copies the behavior of living prototypes that it’s simply impossible to talk about its “unremarkableness”.

Another interesting bait is a polyurethane foam fish. Its positive buoyancy sometimes works wonders. I have repeatedly encountered a situation where pike refused to bite on foam rubber and silicone, but took bait made from polyurethane foam. But a fish made from insulation is also a passive bait and, in fact, a variation on the theme of foam rubber.

Foam rubber is a material that seems to be specially created for the manufacture of non-snappy pads. And non-hooking ones, in turn, allow you not so much to count lost baits as to concentrate on the fishing process. I’m not advocating throwing out all the silicone from the box and catching pikes only with foam rubber. It often happens that silicone baits are more effective. In this case, an inexpensive foam fish can be used as a test bait.

Despite the fact that the fashion for foam rubber baits has already ended, for many fishermen such gear has not lost its authority in our time. Firstly, these baits are much cheaper than silicone ones, but their effectiveness is not much lower than rubber. And secondly, they have the lowest probability of breakages, since the hooks in such gear are hidden in the bait itself.

This article will look at options on how you can make foam baits yourself. As an example, we will consider the option of making a foam fish.

A few words and foam rubber
There are three types of foam rubber: coarse-grained, fine-grained and medium-pore foam. The larger the bubbles in the foam, the softer it will be. In principle, you can make a foam fish from any type of foam rubber, but there are some nuances here.

A bait made from the softest foam will have the most realistic game. When submerged to the bottom, such foam will immediately absorb water and become the most flexible. The action of such a bait is most reminiscent of the moment when a fish swims above the bottom, looking for food in the mud. Of course, such bait will tempt a predator in any case.

However, the disadvantage of such foam rubber is that at the first bite or hook, it quickly breaks because it is too soft.

A bait made of fine-grained foam rubber is the most durable, but playing with such gear is not particularly attractive to a predator. The fact is that such foam rubber does not fill well with water and is hard. This means that the bait game will be very boring for the predator.

The best option is to use medium-density foam rubber. Such baits will have quite an interesting game to tempt a predator, and the service life of these baits is quite long.

Materials and tools:
- foam rubber;
- sharp scissors (if the blades of the scissors are dull, the foam rubber will tear and the bait will not be of good quality);
- wire cutters or pliers, round nose pliers;
- blade;
- a piece of steel wire with a diameter of 0.5 to 1 mm;
- hooks of a suitable size (doubles or tees);
- glue that does not dissolve in water, threads;
- a set of markers and other stationery for coloring the bait.

Step one. Making a blank
First you need to create a preparation of the future fish. To do this, you need to select a piece of rectangular-shaped foam rubber and cut it diagonally. The result should be two triangles. Next, these two pieces of foam rubber in the shape of a triangle will be the blanks for making two fish.

Once the head is cut out, the back can be created.

If the fishing takes place on reservoirs or rivers with weak currents, then the rear fin will not hurt, as it will give the bait additional animation.
Finally, the bait needs to be given rounded shapes by cutting off the sharp edges with scissors.

At the same stage, we make a loop through which we will hook our bait. Round nose pliers are used for these purposes. Here the author decided to kill “two birds with one stone” at once, while simultaneously fixing the foam rubber when creating the loop. If this is not done, the foam will slide off the wire. You can also use thread and glue for fixation.

Every avid fisherman should have at his disposal a wide arsenal of all kinds of baits. Over the several decades of its existence, foam fish have become an indispensable element of gear. And although some spinning anglers try not to use this type of bait, nevertheless, they have managed to prove themselves excellent in fishing and in some cases outperform the usual silicone baits.

The value of foam fish

Foam rubber is quite soft in its properties, which gives baits made from this material special mobility, ensuring maximum resemblance to natural bait. Plus, air is retained in the pores of this material, due to which the fish in the water takes on a vertical position.

The most important thing is that foam fish are non-snagging baits and do not slip off the hook, so in some cases they are more effective than silicone ones. They can be fixed either on offset or double hook, which is another advantage.

Impregnation with attractants - an important point or a trifle?

The material in question absorbs odors remarkably well, which certainly plays into the hands of fishermen, since it is possible to impregnate foam rubber fish with natural attractants. For example, you can use blood, fish oil, or substances specially developed for these purposes. The smell of the bait should not be underestimated, since the impregnated foam fish creates an odor zone at the bottom of the reservoir, which causes a predator passing nearby to become more active.

Fishing technology

Foam fish is a passive type of bait, and there is little point in changing the degree of its activity, since at times such bait gives better results.

Most often, fishing with foam fish is carried out using the long-distance casting method or stepwise retrieval. Uniform wiring should be used in shallow water. At the same time, it is more effective to work by pulling the oud, rather than using a reel. Using a rod, you need to suddenly jerk the bait from the bottom at the very beginning of the retrieve.

Such baits are good because pike perch, perch, and ruffe swallow them equally well, regardless of the water level. When fishing for foam fish, it is better to give preference to a rigid rod equipped with a monofilament line with a diameter of 0.3 mm to 0.4 mm. A thinner line should be used when there is a current - this will significantly enliven the game of the bait.

The materials and tools needed to create an effective bait can be easily found commercially. You will need the following:

Foam rubber;

Super glue;

Scissors (the sharper the better);

Razor blade;

Brush (ordinary school brush);

Pliers or wire cutters;

Alcohol stain.

Creating a blank for future bait

It should be noted that foam fish, the manufacture of which is described below, are in no way inferior to factory ones and are equally well suited for catching pike, perch, and pike perch.

The piece of foam rubber from which the fish is cut should be 7-10 mm thick. Using an ordinary thin marker or pen, we draw the outline of the future bait on the material; it should be from 8 to 10 cm in length. After this, the workpiece is cut out with very sharp scissors. To make cutting the foam easier, press it with your fingers along the contour of the pattern. Then, using a razor blade, you need to cut off all the sharp corners from the fish to give it a rounded shape. In this case, it is very important to maintain the proportions of the bait: the body should be 3-5 mm thicker than the tail part.

If you often create foam fish at home, you can prepare cardboard or metal templates - with their help it will be easier and faster to draw the outline. You can also cut the bait from a common piece of foam rubber using a regular stationery knife.

Equipping workpieces with hooks

After the blank is cut out, homemade foam fish are equipped with hooks. There are two ways to handle this task. The simplest is to take an ordinary jig head, choosing the appropriate weight. Using a blade, we cut the model, starting from the mouth of the fish along the back. A jig head is inserted into the resulting cut, after which the cut parts must be secured with superglue. You need to work very carefully; under no circumstances should you squeeze the foam too hard, otherwise the bait will be hopelessly damaged.

How to make a foam fish in a second, more complex way? To do this you need to heat the awl. Make a through hole in the workpiece. You need to insert a piano wire into the resulting slot and twist its ends using pliers so that you get rings. Hooks, double or triple, will subsequently be attached to them. In both cases, they need to be fixed so that the sting is located approximately in the middle of the fish’s body.

The weight of the weight used depends on the hook that is located in the bait, so it is important to choose its size correctly. It should be slightly larger than the diameter of the attached weight. The advantage of foam fish is the fact that they can be equipped with quite large fish without paying much attention to the load.

When fishing with foam bait, you can use various types of weights, including “eared” ones, but the best result is achieved when using a “lentil” type weight. It fits perfectly into the mouth of a predator due to its compactness, so hooking becomes much more effective.

When equipping baits, you can use two hooks: one attached to the front of the fish, and the second, small in size, fixed on a long steel leash at the back of the bait. Foam rubber fish equipped with tee hooks are used only in clean, deep reservoirs where there are no snags on which such bait can get caught. The tee must be placed clearly in the center of the fish, especially when fishing for pike, since it grabs the bait across.

Painting

After the workpiece is completely ready, it must be painted. Here you have the opportunity to show your limitless imagination and artistic skills. Foam blanks can be painted in absolutely any color. The fish are made luminous or pearlescent. You don’t have to paint them at all - a good result is still guaranteed.

The correctly selected color of the bait cannot be underestimated, so it is better to think in advance about the place where the fish will be fished. For example, in reservoirs with yellow sandstone it is better to use dark bait. If fishing is carried out in a reservoir with a muddy bottom, then foam rubber fish of bright colors will work better.

How to paint the product?

Foam fish last longer when using waterproof paints, but if these are not available, alcohol stain will do. It is better to apply the paint with a regular brush, drawing the eyes, fins, gill covers, tail - this will be quite enough to attract a predator. The eyes of the fish can be made from colored shiny beads, attaching them to the body with needles. The easiest way to decorate a foam product is to use different colors.

Sinker jig

To prevent the bait from being carried away by the current, you need to use special weights. The most effective are sinker jigs, which have proven themselves better than sprat and similar baits.

Equipped with a jig, foam fish for pike perch show excellent results both in winter and summer. A weighted jig does an excellent job as a bottom sinker. As a rule, it is made by casting, but if you have time and some skills, you can make it yourself.

The jig weight, unlike the ball, rolls slightly from side to side during its slow fall, due to which it makes additional oscillations that lure predators. Various movements are also performed due to the articulated method of connecting the bait to the hook of the jig. This makes the bait even more similar to a real fish.

While retrieving, the sinker jig can be dragged along the sandy bottom, thereby creating a cloudy cloud that will attract the attention of predatory fish. In this case, the hook of the sinker will not catch on the bottom.

Medium loaded float for foam fish for pike perch

A regular foam fish with a weight-head is not very good for catching pike perch in the upper layers of water, since such bait loads quite quickly to the bottom with a slow retrieve. Due to its heaviness, it is also unsuitable for guiding in the shallows.

Therefore, when catching a predator in areas with an average current speed or in still water, it is more advisable to use soft baits with a moderately loaded float. Thanks to this, the fish becomes especially light and mobile, attracting not only pike perch, but also any other predatory fish.

Making a medium-loaded float with your own hands

You can make this bait at home. To do this, you need to take a cylindrical foam float with a diameter of 17 mm and a length of 125 mm, pointed at the ends. Cut it lengthwise. Then you need to insert a tube into a specially made recess (you can take a winding from an electrical wire). In the inner lower part of the float, in both halves, a small recess should be cut into which a cylindrical weight weighing about 25 g will be placed. The latter should have a hole for a tube.

The weight of the sinker is determined based on the fact that it is necessary to submerge almost the entire float in water, leaving only a small tip of 3 cm above the surface. The weight must be put on a tube and placed inside the float (at a distance of 3 cm from the bottom).

Then both halves of the float are fastened with superglue and dried thoroughly. The part of the float that will be in the water is painted with oil paints in a greenish-brown color. The remaining part will be above the surface of the water, and it is treated with white oil paint.

Next, the fishing line of the rod is passed through a tube in the float, and a very ordinary foam rubber fish equipped with a double hook is tied to the end of the fishing line. Since pike perch likes to attack such bait from below, there is no particular need to additionally paint it. The predator will only see a dark silhouette against the background of the sun.

A foam rubber fish made with your own hands will fully justify the efforts you expend.

Advantages and disadvantages

Like any other bait, foam fish have their pros and cons. The advantages of this type of bait include the following:

Easy to make with your own hands;

Cheapness;

Good game if the rod is stiff;

Ability to absorb odors;

Mobility.

The following disadvantages should be noted:

Rapid wear;

The hook must be very sharp and strong so that the predator gets caught on the hooks and cannot escape;

It is necessary to use a stiff rod, otherwise the bait will not attract predators.

Modern manufacturers offer a wide variety of fishing gear. It is an undeniable fact that foam rubber lures have found their place in the arsenal of every spinning player.