I made my first lure about 30 years ago, when I was eight years old. It looked, well, like a lure made by an eight year old. I'd love to tell you it caught fish, but alas, they weren't biting any time I ever tied it on to the end of my braided line!
By the time I was 12, I was tying flies that would actually catch fish, even if they were "less than beautiful". More than one Pennsylvania trout thought I did a pretty good job of "matching the hatch", even if the area fly fisherman weren't beating a path to my door.
My first "real" attempt at making a solid bodied lure was about 15 years ago. I wanted a black Zara Spook, and couldn't find one anywhere, so I made one myself, out of a piece of pine. I hadn't really concidered the role of balance in creating a lure, I simply carved it out, sanded and painted it, then screwed in the hardware I'd pirated from whatever it was I grabbed out of my tackle box.
It worked okay, and I actually caught a few fish with it, including a five pound largemouth that thought I'd done a pretty good job too! I was "hooked" on making lures from then on. I made a few to give to my buddies. Then they wanted some to give to their buddies. Then strangers started calling me for'em. That's how I got into business. "Ronlure company" was born.
I started actively marketing one type of bait, my "Pole-terguest", in Tackle shops all over Central Fla. All my baits were natural finish, as I felt, (and still do) that color of a bait is far less important than knowing when, where, and how to use a bait. But I wanted to sell lures, so I had to "make'em pretty". I started offering painted baits.
Problem was that every bait shop owner had their own ideas as to what "the perfect bait color" was. And they all had a different opinion! I tried to make'em all happy. Big mistake! Coupled with the fact that I had to distribute them myself, make them myself, package them myself, etc. I wasn't making much money for a LOT of hard work.
Most bait shop owners had no appreciation for the fact these were handmade lures, and just "stuck'em on the shelves" with the other lures, usually somewhere near the bottom of the rack.
The only real exception was Miss Kitties Bait and Tackle, on Hoffner Ave. in Orlando, Fla. I had my Ronlures in 25-35 shops, yet this one tiny shop alone accounted for around 10% of my total sales. Interestingly, they were also the only shop that appreciated the hand crafted quality, action, and balance of my lures.
I made "Miss Kittie" a custom 8 jointed glass-eyed frog in appreciation, since she had a MAJOR frog lure collection. She almost cried, she was so happy with it. It attracted a lot of interest from Miss Kitties customers, but as it took me about 14 hours to make it, I passed on duplicating it. It never dawned on me that some people would have been happy to pay me what it was worth. I guess I should have asked!
Anyway, I, for the most part, quit the business, making a few lures here and there. Recently, I happened across Joe Yates Web page about antique lures. Until then, I had no idea that lure collecting was so organized and developed, let alone being this widespread and popular. I posted a message about the lures I'd made in the past, and nice folks like Joe Yates, Henry Chaffin, Brady Mitchell, and others responded with kind words about my past work. So here I am, making lures again!
This time though, I'm not doing "the company thing". I'm making what I feel like making, when I feel like making it. My only rule is that it damn well better be able to catch fish if called into service! I'm not making Christmas decorations! . In essence, I'm just having fun out in my shop, making whatever pops into my head. Heck, sometimes I start making a lure before I even know what it'll be when I'm finished! I love wood, so I like to use exotic, rare, and expensive woods in my lures and finish them naturally. Some woods don't instantly lend themselve to lure carving. they need to be "coaxed" into service as a lure. I've surprised a few people by showing them a floating lure made of Ebony, a wood so dense and heavy (and insanely expensive!) it sinks like a stone! I have my own way of doing things, and they work. I've never even opened a luremaking book. I do like working with other mediums too, like metalflake, paint, real insects, even stone. You never know what's gonna come out of my shop, but you can always bet that it will have the proper action, and will catch fish!
Feel free to E-MAIL MEWith questions and orders.