Wouldn’t you rather be fishing right now? Since you aren’t, it’s a good time to do the next best thing and get ready for fishing season.
A fishing lure is an essential piece of equipment to avoid going home empty-handed. There’s no better preparation than finding the perfect lure, but that’s no easy task with so many options. Choosing the right type, size, shape, and color of fishing lure can make all the difference when you’re waiting for the fish to take the bait.
Why waste your time roaming the aisles of a hardware store looking for a lure when you can make one yourself at home? 3D printed fishing lures are fully customizable, giving you an opportunity to have the perfect bait on your rod to catch that big bass.
Fishing preparation can make for the best day of work, and the top fishing lures prevent you from having your worst day of fishing. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of the best fishing lures you can 3D print.
If you’re looking for lures but would rather skip the printing part, try Craftcloud by All3DP. You can upload your lure of choice, and the printed parts will be shipped to your door. So, all you have to do is toss them in your tackle box!
Crankbait
Crankbait is one of the most versatile and popular types of fishing lures. The hardbody style lends itself well to 3D printing, leaving us with quite a few options to choose from. Read on before you head out to catch some fish.
Standard
This popular lure has proven successful, with many caught fish posted online. The designer recommends using an airbrush for the best look and results. He links to a couple of videos on painting fishing lures beneath the design.
This lure prints in two halves, and you’ll need some wire and superglue needed to the design.
- Who designed it? sthone
- How printable/popular is it? 37 makes have been shared across all of the sites, and the STLs have been downloaded over 58,000 times from Thingiverse alone!
- Where to find it? Thingverse, MyMiniFactory, Cults
Squarebill
This squarebill crankbait lure is a simple fishing lure to print and assemble. The design includes an air pocket to assist with floating and leaves space for the addition of BBs to create a rattling noise.
While the designer printed it without supports, some of the makes have been printed with supports activated, according to the information available.
- Who designed it? reidrobinson
- How printable/popular is it? Eight people have printed and shared their makes of this lure, and a remix has also been posted.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Jointed & Topwater Popper
This design’s a two-for-one special, with downloadable files available to print this lure as a jointed crankbait or a topwater popper.
Whether you print it in two halves with the joint or opt for the solid topwater popper, this lure requires some assembly with hardware from your local bait shop. Supports and a raft are a must for these designs, as they need to be printed simultaneously, then assembled.
- Who designed it? sirmakesalot
- How printable/popular is it? 21 Thingiverse users have posted makes of these models in various materials and with different paint jobs. One remix has also been posted.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Ultralight
This ultralight crankbait lure is notably tiny, but its creator mentions significant success catching yellow perch and bluegills with it.
Unlike most crankbait lures, this one only has one hook because it’s too small to include hooks at both the rear and bottom. It has one of the easiest assembly processes of any of the items on this list, printing in two halves that only need to be glued together – no screws or wire required.
Note that both the original design, as well as a few of the makes, used 90% infill.
- Who designed it? sthone
- How printable/popular is it? There are 10 posted makes on all of the sites, plus a remix of this ultralight fishing lure on Thingiverse.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse, Cults, MyMiniFactory
Swimbait
These lures are better at imitating natural fish movements without you needing to jerk your rod around. Relax, let your fishing pole do the work, and save your strength for when you feel a nibble.
Snake
This next model has provided makers with some nice results, with one commenting that they caught a pike within the first five minutes!
Two different sizes are available: 300 mm and 170 mm. There’s also a video detailing the assembly process and a successful fishing trip.
To print, 20% infill and 0.1-mm layer height are recommended. No supports are necessary.
- Who designed it? StrangeBait (remixed from bdbush)
- How popular/printable is it? This fun lure has four makes so far. One maker painted their snake with an airbrush.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Craw Fish Mold
This is not a lure in and of itself, but a mold for creating flexible bait. Simply melt some plastic, pour it into the mold, let it cool, and voilà! You’ll have crayfish bait at the ready.
Since it’s malleable, it has a more natural look and can therefore attract fish easily. The pattern file comes in the OBJ format.
- Who designed it? matthewgiancola
- How popular/printable is it? There’s one posted make and three remixes on Thingiverse. One maker notes that it’s a fun project for a snow day.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Headbanger Style Fishing Lure
Sometimes, all you need is a lure that isn’t too chaotic but at the same time capable of grabbing attention down below. Enter this headbanger lure.
For best results, print this model with 100% infill for strength. It’s designed for M2 screws and 1.2-mm stainless wire. There’s also a video showing the smooth behavior of this lure in action.
- Who designed it? Domi1988
- How popular/printable is it? This lure has three makes and counting. The realistic design and great performance has been praised by multiple makers in the comments.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Print-in-Place
This design easily prints in one piece from one file and does an excellent job of mimicking a real fish to catch bigger prey.
This lure prints with support for the joints, and minor assembly is required for the hooks. For the most realistic movements, be sure to bend it back and forth a few times before boarding the boat to loosen the joints up.
- Who designed it? jakejake
- How printable/popular is it? 38 makes and 8 remixes have been posted with a variety of filaments, and over 69,000 downloads of the file show its popularity.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse, Cults
Customizable
This design is customizable depending on which fish you’re trying to lure in, with files for four different heads and two midsections available to print.
Rather than using BBs to cause a rattling sound like most lures, the creator recommends one drop of silica gel during the print. Note that the original design and most of the makes have been printed with 100% infill.
- Who designed it? Domi1988
- How printable/popular is it? 18 successful makes have been shared on all sites.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse, Cults, MyMiniFactory
Best of the Rest
There are many different types of fishing lures, but not all are 3D printable. For the ones that are, we’ve condensed our favorites to the designs below.
Wasp
The manufacturer of this bee-autiful wasp lure was originally inspired by a post he saw on Instagram from korol_handmade_lures. He created it for the bluegill, but it’s also possible to use it for other species.
To print, the maker used 10% infill, two shells, and a 0.1-mm layer height. In addition to this lure, you’ll find others on his website and a video demonstrating the testing process.
- Who designed it? sthone
- How popular/printable is it? With more then 1,700 downloads and 6 makes in total across the different sites, this eye-catching model has plenty of fans.
- Where to find it? Printables, Cults, Thingiverse
Whopper Plopper
This imitation of the popular Whopper Plopper fishing lure does an excellent job of replicating the distinctive sound.
The design comes with simple instructions for upscaling, depending on your target fish. The print assembles easily with a wire.
- Who designed It? Domi1988
- How printable/popular is it? 10 makes and 2 remixes are out catching topwater fish.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse, Cults, MyMiniFactory
Submarine
There are many reasons to spend a day fishing. You can fish for sport, a delicious meal, or simply for fun! With this submarine-style lure, you can add a unique twist to your next trip.
To print, it’s suggested to use a 10% infill and 0.10-mm layer height. If you want to explore the creator’s other designs, you can check out his website.
- Who designed it? sthone
- How popular/printable is it? This powerful lure has over 8,000 downloads and 2 makes across all websites.
- Where to find it? Printables, Cults, Thingiverse
Fire Shot
This design is inspired by Hot Shot lures, with adjustments made to the geometry of the popular original to improve its 3D printability.
The creator recommends a larger hookend on the bottom to make up for the lack of a protruding “belly”.
- Who designed it? edZed
- How printable/popular is it? Only one make has been posted to Thingiverse, but comments on Printables suggest at least one other user has had success with this lure.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse, Printables
Texas
This lure prints in one piece and floats on its own. It doesn’t get much easier than that! Even better, the many photos of fish indicate the success of the simple model.
The designer does recommend tying an exceptionally strong knot to prevent losing this lure from your tackle box. While the original model was printed in ABS, some successful makers have shared that they printed their own versions in PLA.
- Who designed it? icathcart
- How printable/popular is it? There have been 14 makes and 4 remixes of this clearly effective design.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Topwater
Add a couple of BBs inside, and this lure will provide you with all the excitement of topwater fishing. With easy printing and assembly, there’s no excuse for not hitting the lake with this fishing lure sometime soon.
Similar to the crankbait fishing lures included above, this lure requires some twitch to create realistic movement.
- Who designed it? sthone
- How printable/popular is it? One of this model’s designs has over 42,000 downloads, while 21 makes have been posted.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse, Cults, MyMiniFactory
License: The text of "3D Printed Fishing Lures: 15 Great Lures to 3D Print" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.