Forming the Body

• 1). Lay the trolling sinker on an anvil.
  
  
• 2). Strike repeatedly with a ball-peen hammer, flattening the sinker to the approximate shape and thickness you desire. Wider and thinner spoons relative to their length will flutter more when they are jigged, which is an advantage in warm water for actively feeding fish. Long, narrow lures have less action when jigged, but may better simulate natural minnows and be more effective when ice fishing or targeting fish in a neutral mood just after cold fronts have passed.
  
  
• 3). Turn the sinker over repeatedly while you are peening it to ensure both sides are flattened uniformly. Take care to not peen the sinker to a longer length and obstruct the wire line tie-loops at the ends of the sinker. Also avoid striking the line tie-loops since doing so could weaken the wire.
  
  
• 4). Use a small file to shape the blade of the spoon and to remove any rough spots or sharp edges.
  
  

Finishing the Lure

• 1). Attach a rubber band to one of the line attachment loops on the end of the sinker.
  
  
• 2). Hold the lure by the rubber band, then dip the blade of the spoon into the white paint primer. The primer paint will allow the finish paint to better adhere to the lure, and the white color will brighten the finish colors used to paint the lure.
  
  
• 3). Suspend the lure via the rubber band until the primer paint is completely dry.
  
  
• 4). Paint the lure using enamel paint as simply or elaborately as you choose, then suspend the lure via the rubber band until the paint is completely dry. Fluorescent hues such as bright red, chartreuse and green make lures highly visible in deep water. Glow-in-the-dark paint really "shines" in low-light situations, and you can add mylar prism tape to the lures to give them a minnow-like flash. Many anglers prefer spoons with distinct eyes painted on for realism.
  
  

Add the Hardware

• 1). Attach a split ring to the tie ring on a treble hook using a pair of split ring pliers.
  
  
• 2). Connect the hook to the lure by threading the hook's split ring onto the line tie on the tail end of the lure.
  
  
• 3). Connect another split ring to the line tie at the head end of the lure using a pair of split ring pliers.