To attract fish, wooden lures are usually painted, and they almost always have eyes. Wooden lures are designed to imitate the erratic action of injured fish.

A great hobby is making working replicas of the lures of yesteryear. Pick a strong but lightweight piece of wood for the lure. Softwoods such as balsa, cedar, and pine are easy to shape into lures that float. Us softwoods or basswood for topwater plugs and diving lures that wiggle a lot. Hardwoods such as ash, maple, oak, and walnut are tougher to shape.