From Curiosity to Catching Fish: The Story Behind DG Lures

Like many anglers, I’ve always been fascinated by fishing lures. There’s something about trying different shapes, colours and actions to work out what will tempt a fish to bite.

But my journey into making soft plastic lures started simply out of curiosity and eventually led me down this path. I started wondering how soft plastic lures were actually made. What materials were used? How were the colours created? How did you get the right action?

So, around two years ago, I decided to have a go at making some myself.

My first attempts were, to put it politely, a work in progress!

They were just about fishable, at least, but the colours were nowhere near what I had imagined. They certainly weren't the lures that I produce today.

But those first few lures gave me the bug.

From there, the experimenting really began.

I started trying different plastisols, colours, moulds and techniques. Some experiments worked surprisingly well, while others were complete disasters. There were plenty of mistakes along the way, and sometimes the results were definitely not what I had intended.

But every mistake taught me something.

Making soft plastics isn't simply a case of pouring some plastic into a mould and hoping for the best. There is a lot to learn about temperatures, materials, colour combinations, consistency, moulds and getting the right action from the finished lure.

And that's what made it so enjoyable.

Every batch gave me something new to learn.

As my knowledge and experience improved, so did the lures.

I spent countless hours experimenting with different designs and colours, gradually working out what I liked and, more importantly, what the fish liked.

I also wanted to make sure that the lures weren't just something that looked good sitting on a table. They had to catch fish.

Being an angler myself gave me the perfect opportunity to put them through their paces.

I could take the lures out fishing, experiment with different colours and designs, see how they behaved in the water and, most importantly, see whether the fish actually wanted to eat them.

There is no better test for a lure than putting it in front of a predatory fish.

After a long journey of experimenting, practising and continually improving my materials and equipment, I started to realise that perhaps I could turn this hobby into something more.

That was the beginning of DG Lures.

The name itself is quite simple.

DG Lures comes from the letters of my first and last name.

I wanted something personal, because DG Lures isn't a huge production line or a mass-produced product. Every lure is handmade by me, with the same passion for fishing that started this whole journey in the first place.

Each lure represents the time I've spent experimenting, learning and trying to make something that I would genuinely be happy to fish myself.

I'm primarily a perch angler, and perch are probably my favourite fish to target.

But I don't make lures exclusively for perch.

The range is designed to be suitable for a wide variety of predatory fish, with different designs and colours giving anglers options depending on the conditions and species they're targeting.

And it's not just predators either. I've had the occasional chub and rudd show an interest in my lures too!

For me, that's one of the most enjoyable parts of lure fishing. You never quite know what might decide to attack.

Without a doubt, one of my proudest moments since starting this journey came when I caught a 4lb 4oz river perch on one of my own Ned Craws.

There's something very special about catching a fish on a lure you've made yourself.

And when that fish is a 4lb perch, it makes all those failed experiments and questionable batches suddenly seem worthwhile!

That fish is still one of the catches I'm most proud of, not just because of its size, but because it proved to me that the lures I was making could genuinely perform.

The journey is far from over.

If anything, I feel like I'm only getting started.

My aim is to continue growing DG Lures, developing new lure designs and adding more colours and options to the range. I'm constantly thinking about what I could try next and how I can improve what I'm already making.

There will undoubtedly be more experiments, more mistakes and probably the occasional disastrous batch along the way!

But that's part of the fun.

What started around two years ago as curiosity has developed into something I'm genuinely passionate about.

Every lure I make is handmade by me, tested through my own fishing and produced with one simple goal:

Make something I would be proud to tie onto my own line.

And as DG Lures continues to grow, I'm looking forward to seeing where the journey takes me.

From those first slightly questionable soft plastics to catching a 4lb 4oz river perch on one of my own creations, it's already been one hell of a journey.