GEORGE CLARK | Hattiesburg American STEPHEN POPE heats a lure head before applying a powder coat of a paint at his Petal shop.

Lying in bed, too sick to get up, left Stephen Pope with plenty of time to think.

And he thought of how to catch fish.

Well, to put it a little more succintly, Pope thought about making artificial baits that would catch fish.

Now he does more than think about it. Now he does it. And he does it good enough that a couple of professional bass fishermen sometimes use the handiwork of his hobby.

"I was laid up in bed with a case of kidney stones," Pope, 41, of Petal said. "Man, I want to get into this. I bought me a pot, rounded up a few molds, got some skirt material and started making jigs.

"That led into spinnerbaits and buzz baits, and I even do saltwater jigs."

Pro bass fisherman Cliff Pace, also of Petal, also builds lures. They share ideas, swap molds, make their baits and catch fish with them.

"I met him 2 1/2 years ago and we hit it off," Pope said. "He was into baitmaking, and we've been friends ever since. I try not to hassle him too much."

Pace has introduced some of Pope's baits to other pro bass fishermen, including Gary Klein.

And Pope has made lures for more recreational fishermen, too.

"We've had some guys catch some 6-,7-pound bass on them," Pope said. "I've caught some 7, 8, 9 pounders on my stuff.

"You really know something's good when they come back for more. The sky is the limit when you do it yourself. You can do it whatever color. I do my own airbrushing. You can put any kind of blades, or skirt colors, on it. It opens up a whole new realm of fishing."

There are thousands of lures on the open market for fishermen, and that's fine with Pope. He says a small-timer like himself can't really make any money off it, not unless he went into mass production.

"I do it mostly as a hobby," he said. "I make jigs and spinner baits and buzz baits. I don't make crank baits but I do re-paint them."

Making the lures is not too difficult, Pope said, but it can get time-consuming.

He said there are many steps involved in making each one.

"I've got a lead pot," he said. "You heat it up. Lead melts at 620 degrees, so get it to where it will flow. Most of my molds are aluminum. For spinner baits, jig heads, buzz baits, put your hook in your cavity and pour your lead. When it cools it conforms to the configuration of the cavity inside the mold.

"Take it out, clean it off and begin the painting process. I use a powder paint for jigs, and airbrush paint for spinner and buzz baits.

"You make skirts, put those together, slip the skirt on the jig or spinner bait, trim it up and she's ready to fish."

Throw in some blades for spinner baits and, of course, the hooks.

"There are about 16 different steps you have to go through to get to a finished product," Pope said. "You just can't sit down and throw one together."

Drew Turner, of Turner Brothers Taxidermy in Hattiesburg, occasionally hears of fishermen who make their own lures.

"Every now and then somebody will bring in a fish and tell us they caught it on a homemade lure," he said. "There was one guy who made a kind of crude looking, wooden lure. He put doll eyes in them. We've mounted him two or three fish."

Pope, who also has made plastic lures for many years, said the satisfaction he gets from making a good bait is especially pleasing to him.

"Some of these guys around here win a lot of tournaments on some of my stuff," he said. "They've won them on spinnerbaits and jigs. I make a bald head jig, it looks like crappie jig but I've got a bass hook on it. It helped them win a tournament. Some guys have won exclusively with my stuff.

"I'm proud for them and it makes me have some pride as well. That's the ultimate euphoric state, when you take a piece of raw lead, melt it, change it into a bait and catch a fish on it. I get great satisfaction from that."

Originally published Friday, June 1, 2007