Capt. Karl Anderson

I’ve never been a fan of top ten lists. Letterman did them best but magazine editors just can’t help themselves churning them out.  When it comes to “the best” lures, or lures vs. bait, it’s a totally subjective thing. To list the “top ten” tube, or plunger or whatever lure, is pointless, except it does help get the lure makers name out there, which I support completely. I’ve been collecting information for several years now and wanted to look at what makes the lure maker tick and what does he fish? Who’s lures would he fish if he couldn’t fish his lures? Who or what inspired him to get into lure making? What makes his product unique?  

It’s a neat time in sportfishing with a crop of big game lure makers that have taken the genre to perhaps the highest level of precision, customization and quality that we’ve ever seen. These makers are so passionate and dedicated to the craft that they continue to raise the bar and serve fish catching products to their customers with a level of commitment that is a model for any cottage industry. As a fisherman, I know their effectiveness in helping us complete our pursuit, as a collector I liken them to folk art, similar to the hand-carved duck decoy. Like the carver, the lure maker has his signature lure, shape, insert or combination that signifies his work. In many cases a lure has its own signature that makes it unique and if it hits the water and gets bit, it has done the job and is guaranteed a return spot in the spread!

We often read and hear about a captain and mate relating their favorite shape, insert, colors, rig and the like, based on where they are fishing, the sea conditions and the fish they are targeting. If you poll 5 guys from different oceans chances are you’ll get five very different lists with a couple lure makers crossing over with their shapes. Social media has played a huge hand in helping these makers get the word out about their lures, while the nomadic nature of our sport helps carry the hot producers from one spot to other areas. 

Back in the late 70’s and eighties there were a few lure makers that mass produced lures like Yo-Zuri, Bob Schneider, Zuker, Sevenstrand, Bart Miller, Area Rule’s Doorknobs and of course Frank Johnson with his always productive Soft Heads. These makers created quite a following growing their business and an industry of sorts within an industry. There were also guys like Henry Chee, Joe Yee, Chester and his son David Kaita, Johnny Abreu, Bart Miller, Sadu Frehm, Rick Rose that produced custom shapes and one-off lures for their respective clientele.

There has always been a cottage industry of home-based lure makers in Hawaii who developed shapes and produced them in their garages and on back porches for the local charter and commercial captains. Many of these shapes have spread far and wide and caught everywhere they are fished. From the early days this has been the fertile breeding ground for information through the development of techniques and materials that are today widely accepted as the best use and practice for creating competitive lures. Not all of the makers came from the well known Kona area, Honolulu was and is a hotbed of lure production with guys like Eric Rusnak of Aloha Lures and Dale Odagiri who perfected the fish insert in his shapes. 

One of the interesting things in talking with many of these makers aside from the competitive nature of the business, there is a good deal of sharing of information and technique after much trial and error. I have also seen an incredible amount of respect from them towards each other. Of course they compete vigorously for a spot in your spread because it is the bread and butter their families rely on to live – it’s their life. However, they all pay great attention to what the other is doing and often offer up support and congratulations to each other. Without question, the price you pay for a lure is a bargain when you measure the effort, blood, sweat and elbow grease that goes into making these pieces. 

I marvel how each maker has their signature creative thing. Rick Whitley who makes Oh Snap Lures does an incredible job with real fish skin inserts. Imagine the effort he makes to catch, then go through the time consuming process of preparing the skins so they can be attached to the insert then poured and polished to perfection. Ryan Doxey of Doxey Lures from Texas does a similar process when he makes his signature rattlesnake skin insert that is as fine as any pair of expensive snake skin boots. Garrett Lee of Tsutomo Lures has learned the fishhead insert craft and works hard to perfect it while paying homage to the early guys who made this style lure. Brett Crane of Crane Lures is continually pushing his talents creating new and artful inserts for his proven shapes. These are just a few of the guys who do this type of thing. Let’s get into what they say about lure making and what they fish.

Bonze Fleet

I visited Bay of Islands New Zealand maker Graham “Bonze” Fleet who gave up charter fishing 7 years ago to make lures full time under the Bonze Lures name. He is as possessed as anyone can be about lure making. His passion and commitment exudes from him as he talks about his craft. His shop is neat as a pin and he has created his own fixtures to make his lures with repeatable precision. He is a blue marlin aficionado who has fished many of the worlds best grounds for that prized fish. He started at 15 years old, making a lure for a school project and caught a 112 pound striped marlin on it. He was inspired by the Hawaiian lure makers of Kona including Gary Eoff of Marlin Magic, Eric Rusnak of Aloha Lures, Bart Miller, Scott Crampton, The late Mike Rand and Eric Koyanagi of Koya Lures. 

For his top three peers he looks to Andy Moyes, Joe Yee and Eric Koyanagi. His notable catches as of the interview were 3 granders in a three month period in 2018 on his Violator lure which is his favorite shape with its angle cut and scoop. His favorite lure to fish is his Ballistic and his top seller is the D-Shackle chugger head. His blue marlin spread includes Extreme Breakfast by Bart as teaser, Tado or Extreme Breakfast on the short corner, Aloha Lures Smash Bait on the long corner or short rigger a Mold Craft Wide Range and on the long rigger a Marlin Magic Baby Blue Bullet, a Bart RPP or a Koya Super Ninja. 

His blue marlin spread of his lures would like this; short corner a Violator, long corner Ballistic, short rigger a BTK, on the long rigger an Angel or DLB bullet and on the shotgun a lure called the Heat. He prefers rubber skirts over vinyl as he feels they fit better behind the head and doesn’t like cutting the vinyl. 

Rick Whitley

North Florida maker Rick Whitley got his start when mating on a boat the owner had a Bud Light logo lure and they caught some fish on it so he wanted one, and he started to see more custom lures that peaked his interest, but with little internet and resource material the thought languished. Several years later he got the bug and found the Lure Builders section on bloodydecks.com and the flicker turned to flame after reading Jim Rizzuto’s book “Lure Making 101”. He has now been turning by hand and selling custom lures for 13 years. He is 100% custom creating exactly what a client wants.

Whitely is matter-of-fact about his journey in lure making, “I think any Lure Maker that has been producing for a decent amount of time is my peer. We all have been through the processes. It’s not easy, it takes time, and what we charge probably isn’t enough for most. But we all love to create a beautiful piece, that hopefully, one day will be hanging out of a Marlins mouth”.

His lures have produced some great catches including a 700 pounder the Gulf on his smallest lure the 9” Engage and several over 500. His favorite shape to make is a plunger and his top seller is the 10” Skirmish. His spread without his lures includes a jetted Waterdog and C&H Plunger on the long riggers, Bianca 50 and Big Reidee or ASP on the short riggers scooped and slant Murayamas on the flats and Rick’s Fancy on the shotgun to start. 

His spread with his lures would include a jetted Mechanix slant and Skirmish slant on the long riggers, Engage Cup and Strutter slant on the short riggers, Mechanic cupped and Big Chino on the flats with a skirmish cupped on the shotgun. he prefers plastic rubber shirts but with a big lure on the flat he will fish vinyl. 

Brett Crane

The Dana Point, California lure maker has made great strides in the time he has been making lures. Getting his start fishing with noted Maui lure maker Steve Elkins, Brett got hooked on making his own lures. Doing allot of homework and making allot of mistakes leads you down the path to success and when guys started catching fish on his lures he enjoyed the rewards of their reports. Now with a family, he can’t fish as much but through his lure making he stays well connecting to the fishing. 

Studying other lure makers, Crane looks at Marlin Magic by Gary Eoff and Marlin Parker as well as Eric Koyanagi and his Koya lures as the benchmark for his inspiration. At times he felt he crossed the line with his own lures making them too similar to other lures, learning the hard way, he looked to proven shapes and head angles to create his own shapes. A student of the history of hand pouring, shaping and skirting lures, he admires the art of lure making. 

Notable catches include the largest blue marlin caught off San Diego waters since 1931 and many catches from the Costa Rica fads. His favorite lure to make and fish is the Trooper, which is also his best seller. 

When picking a spread he considers weather conditions the deciding factor in what he will fish. Using other makers in his spread, on the short baits he would fish an Elkins Bonzoid and Koya 861 while on his riggers a Marlin Magic Ruckus and Koya bullet.

Fishing his own lures he fishes a BIG on the short corner and long corner a Murdock. His riggers have a Trooper a Dirty Bird and one of his 9” bullets on the shotgun. The biggest factor in skirting is where in the world you fish. Rubber skirts make lures more stable in rough weather but vinyl may offer a cleaner bite. He likes skirts by Wild Creations and Cousins Tackle. 

A talented Honolulu lure maker, I go to visit with Lon and chat about lures and fishing while admiring his latest order he was delivering. An easy going, enthusiastic maker, Tanigawa started making his lures as a hobby with help from Randy Takushi who makes Polu Kai lures. Once he got going he had an order and placed 50 lures in the local West Marine and they sold out in two days. As he was getting started he looked at makers like Ronald Shiroma and his noted bullets as well as Takushi’s Polo Kai. Today he looks to Tsutomo Lures by Garret Lee, Matsu Lures by Wayne Matsumoto, Uta Lures by Dave Futa and Leroy Lo and his Leroy Lures. 

Lon Tanigawa

He takes great pride in knowing his customers have caught big blue marlin and yellowfin tuna on his bullets and 9” tubes, a grander in Kona and several fish over 500 on his 14” Plunger have established him as a solid maker. HIs favorite shape to make is the two hole bullet disco ball in rainbow cracked glass. He likes to fish his bullets at 6-8 knots for tuna and faster for marlin. Lon’s top seller is his two hole bullet. 

Fishing other makers lures, he would fish a Joe Yee Super Plunger on the short corner, Dale Odagiri fish head on the long corner, Shiroma four-hole reverse taper and a Futa 9+ fish head bullet on the riggers with a chrome jet fluorescent on the center rigger. 

Using his own pours, his short corner is 14” Plunger blue shell with teal vinyl, four-hole slant on the long corner, a yellow shell reverse taper two-hole scoop on the short rigger, a rainbow cracked glass bullet on the long rigger and a disco ball four-hole jet on the center rigger. He uses vinyl for his big lures but grew up using rubber. Lon focuses on super top quality and prefers to stay a small, custom maker to keep the quality of his artistry high. 

Greg Thummel

Making lures in southern New Jersey for Thummel has become a full time thing. His GT Lures are fished the world over and his canyon fishing background has helped him create some very popular yellowfin and big eye tuna lures. Greg started fishing in fresh water with flies, then transitioned into salt water. Seeing a Joe Yee lure, he was bit and began the quest to pour his own lures. He has been a pro maker and selling his wares for some 7 years now. 

He looks to Joe Yee, Scott Crampton and Eric Koyanagi as being at the top of their game with the hand made lures they pour and hand shape turn on a lathe. His lures have produced great catches of yellowfin and bigeye with one weighing in at 220-pounds on his bigeye bullet, a Cape Verde grander in 2016 and many other blue marlin catches. His favorite shape is the Hawaiian Plunger while his favorite to make is his little Warthog and his favorite to fish is the bigeye bullet for tuna and the 15” Warthog for marlin.

Fishing a spread of other makers lures Greg would chose a Joe Yee Super Plunger on the the left flat, Crampton Tube on the right flat, Joe Yee 501 on left short, Joe Yee Apollo on the right short his left rigger would have a small plunger by Kaita, a Ronald Shiroma 9” tuna bullet on the right rigger and Joe Yee 9” bullet on the center rigger. 

With his own lures he would fish his GT Bigeye Bullet on the left flat, Double XL Flathead on the right flat, small Warthog on the left short, Secret Weapon on the right short, Santiago on the left rigger, Large Tube on the right rigger and a four-barrel jetted Big Eye Bullet on the center rigger.  He loves the classics and prefers vinyl skirts as he feels it flows better but uses rubber skirts equally on his lures. Thummel feels that making custom lures is an art and when fishing lures properly the results can be amazing. As he says, “You can’t just set ‘em and forget ‘em!” 

Garrett Lee

A visit to Garrett Lee’s Tsutomu Lure shop proved he and his crew are as dedicated and focused on lure making as anyone. A soft spoken, keen-eyed maker, Lee is detail oriented and used his fishing experience to hone his lures. A dyed-in-the-wool ahi fisherman, he originally focused on lures for tuna. He established Tsutomu in 2010. He looks to his uncle Mike and Dennis Odagiri who make fish head insert lures as his inspirations in getting started making lures. He marvels at the quality of Odagiri’s work and considers him a master. He looks to Odagiri, Koya, Steve Coggins, Gary Yamamoto and Lon Tanigawa as high-quality lure making peers. 

His small bullets have caught many Ahi from 255-300-pounds and his lures have produced a couple grander marlin. His favorite shape is the 12-inch scoop, his favorite to make is the 7 or 9-inch bullet which is also his favorite to fish. 

In a spread of other makers lures he would fish a Bomboy Lures Magilla Gorilla by Bomboy Llanes on the short corner, Koya 861 long corner, Joe Yee Super Plunger on the short rigger, Odagiri 12-inch scoop on the long rigger and a Coggin Frosty on the shotgun. 

Fishing his own lures he has two spreads, one for tuna and one for marlin. He always uses weather conditions as his deciding factor. His tuna spread consists of H1 Bullet and a 9-inch invert on the flat lines, a 9-inch invert and bullet on the short riggers with an invert and bullet on the riggers all set equal lengths, not staggered. Garrett’s marlin spread would be 14-inch Moke on the short corner, 12-inch scoop on the long corner, 12-inch invert on short rigger, 9-inch invert on long rigger and bullet in milky skirts on the shotgun. 

Garrett is constantly experimenting with skirts of all kinds for different conditions and lures. Look to Tsutomu to keep the fish head insert movement in lure making alive and growing.