THE LURE OF BUGS

It might look like a tangled mess to you, but to a fish, John Moore's fly looks like a tasty insect 32 LAKE DECEMBER 2022

STORY BY BREANNA MANLEY & PHOTOS BY KENNETH BOONE

Moore starts a new fly by securing thread to a hook

And then, the feathers

Then, he adds foam for the body of the bug

Legs are added next Alexander City’s John Moore took up hand making fishing lures a little over four years ago after stopping in at a bait shop on U.S. Route 280. Mike Tucker, who owned a local bait shop at the time, taught the art to Moore in less than a day.

“I walked into Mike’s store one day, and he was making fly fishing bait. I thought that was interesting. Next thing I know, he was teaching me how to make flies. I picked it up right away. I mean, he had me making flies the first day,” Moore explained.

Since diving into making fishing lures, Moore has accumulated a wide selection of accessories for his lures, from eyes for the bigger baits to colorful feathers, small pieces of foam cut from larger sheets and even multicolored pipe cleaners. Though the bigger feathers in his collection come from online stores, he gets most of his gear from the Dollar Tree or other local variety stores.

To make fly fishing bait, Moore begins by wrapping the thread around a hook. He secures it with clear nail polish; then, he adds a small cut of foam, securing it to the thread and the hook and tying it down with more thread. At this point, the lure resembles the body of a colorful bug. With a dab more of the binding agent, he attaches brightly colored legs to the hook, tying those down with more thread.

“You can get this stuff anywhere, even the Dollar Tree. I’ve gotten a lot of my stuff from there. I mean, you can use these feathers that are about $40 to $50 a piece online, but for most, you can use the smaller pieces,” Moore said.

Moore said he makes baits three or four times a year. It only takes a few minutes to make each one. Most recently, he took his kit out to make about 80 pieces of bait for the annual holiday bazaar at St. James Episcopal Church. He spent four days tying the flies, most of which sold for about $3.

But most of the time, he gives the lures away, rather than selling them.

“Whenever I see kids that are fly fishing, starting out fly fishing, I give them some flies to go with their stuff to let them try them out. They do pretty good on those things,” he explained.

“Usually, we take grandkids out to fish. We like to go to Wind Creek and fish off the pier,” said Moore’s wife, Carol.

Though he enjoys making bait as a hobby, Moore doesn’t fish often. He and his wife, Carol, only fish occasionally. If he doesn’t use live bait when he fishes, he loves to use the baits he makes himself.

Moore makes a variety of bait pieces. The little fly bait pieces he makes are wonderful at catching bream. He also makes hair fly bait made out of artificial hair. These are larger and look like fish

moving under water.

“You take the hair – it’s like a fiber hair – and you add it to a hook. It makes a fish. It moves in the water, and I make those to catch bass. I color them blue, yellow and white to make them look like bream. The hair, it just moves like a fish. On those, I put fisheyes,” Moore explained.

When Moore is not creating flies for himself and others with his array of materials, he can be found enjoying his other hobbies and collections. One of his most prized collections is a military collection. After serving in both in the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army, he collected quite an amount of memorabilia, which he used to take to local schools to show the children.

He also carves wood and makes pointillism art, a technique of painting with tiny dots that create the illusion of a solid figure. He’s a published artist through Auburn University and has worked extensively with the school’s archaeological department.

“I worked with them whenever they were doing the digs at Wind Creek, at the casino. I would do their pottery sherds and skulls,” Moore explained.

As a jack of all trades and a man of many talents, Moore loves to share his hobbies with others and wouldn’t mind teaching someone how to make homemade fishing lures. With many hobbies and collections to keep himself active, Moore’s interests reflect a rich, full life.

Moore learned to make flies in one day and has spent four years creating them