From plugs to poppers, swimbaits to spinnerbaits, fishing lures come in a huge variety of sizes and shapes designed to target game fish the world over. That’s not where the subject stops, however. No matter how encyclopedic your knowledge may be, we bet anglers can pick up a few more pointers from the unusual fishing lure facts below.
The Secret Life of Fishing Lures
- The world’s most expensive lure costs over a million dollars. It is made from three pounds of gold and platinum and encrusted with 4,753 stones, including 100 carats of diamonds. The offshore, chugger-style lure is 12 inches long and called MacDaddy.
- In 1894, James Heddon invented the first topwater fishing lure when he carved a wooden broom handle into a frog. In 1932, the Heddon Tackle Company introduced the first lure made out of plastic; the transparent surface-walker was called the Spook.
- The prize for weirdest lure goes to the Lily Pad Lure, a fake lily pad that dangles a frog over the water. The lure can’t be cast, so the angler must place it in the water and move away to wait for a bite.
- According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world’s largest fishing lure weighs 335 pounds and stands over 10 feet tall. The giant twitch bait was designed by lure-maker David Partridge of Flat-Liner Lures and hangs on the dock at S.S. Spitfire Mercantile in Destin, Florida.
- Does your sweetheart love fishing, too? Down By The River Crafts of Clayton, New York, turns old lures into necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Next time you’re in the doghouse, before heading to the jewelry store, dig through your old tackle box for an alluring gift.
- To win the 2013 Hobie Fishing World Championship in Victoria, Australia, Richard Somerton used a Cranka Crab to score 6.15 pounds of yellowfin bream. “I targeted heavy timber laydowns,” he says, “filling my bag by bouncing the lure off timber and along a rock wall.”
It may not be the MacDaddy, but this lure can still land you a trophy. | Feature photo: Trophy Technology/Unsplash
