Gardnerville resident Liam Pierce holds up the first lure he ever made. He’s been making lures since he was about 9 years old.
Out of all the videos available on YouTube, 13-year-old Liam Pierce watches to learn how to make fishing lures.
“I saw a video one time of someone making them and I thought ‘I can do that,’” said Pierce.
He said that was about four years ago and he has been making lures ever since.
“It’s really just a hobby for me, I just like making them,” he said.
In fact, he is the kind of person that can take almost any object or pieces and craft it into something different.
For instance, he built a realistic AR 15 and a working clock out of toothpicks.
“I really just like making and building things and being creative with my hands,” he said.
The lures he makes are made from wood blocks that he measures and cuts into the shape of whatever type of lure he wants to make.
“Different fish are attracted to different things, so they have to be specific to that fish with attractive colors and shapes and they have to mimic what they like too so other fish, flies and bugs,” he said.
He crafts together joints that mimic the fish movements with cotter pins and fly lures which have feathers and other materials to help them resemble wings.
“They do work too, I have tried,” he said.
Pierce and his family are avid fishers and have tried saltwater fishing, fresh water and fly fishing.
“It’s neat to learn what kind of fish are attracted to what and to test the lures,” he said.
Pierce said he may watch a lot of YouTube videos, but he uses it productively and encourages other kids his age to find something they like to do and pursue it by utilizing the resources available to learn all about it.
“I like creating and seeing what I can do and if I can push myself to improve it next time,” he said. “I think that’s the most important thing is just trying to improve yourself and doing something because you want to.”
