Starting with James Heddon's plugs of the 1890's and spoons developed by Buel, lures have long held a fascination for fishermen and the economic base for tackle dealers.  Ironically, some of the oldest ideas in lures are new again.  Some lures are being re-introduced to a new public a decade or two after that  particular shape or design was discontinued.  The banana-shaped lures of the 1930's, such as the Flatfish and lazy Ikes, continue to the present and can trace their ancestry to the Rush Tango of 1914.

Light and phosphorescence have always been a fascination.  Today we find battery powered lures or others that take chemical light sticks.  Phosphorescent finishes are an option on some crankbait, jigs, flys and even soft plastic bodies.  Yet the first phosphorescent lures were patented by Pflueger in 1883 and some other early spoons and plugs then called crankbaits also glowed.  Light of some kind or another has been available in lures - although not widely - for over a century.

Some fifteen years ago getting to 20-foot depth with a crankbait became an obsession with many manufacturers.  At the sporting goods shows manufacturers were claiming to have reached the mystical depth and every tackle dealer in the county thought the depth idea was a gold mine.  Today suspension is hot.  Despite the fact that controlled depth lures have been around a long while, many manufactures have jumped it like it was a fresh new idea.

"Natural finishes" that simulate scales, lateral lines, gillplates and other features of baitfish are in demand.  About 15 or 20 years ago a process called pad printing was developed allowing these impressions to be applied to both hard and soft baits.  Long before all this "new stuff" came along, real skins from snakes, frogs and even bird feathers were applied to lure bodies for a "natural finish." Today we mimic natural baits with advanced technology such as microglitter and other materials that simulate scales, eyes and gills.

Even soft baits have returned to their roots, with "hand poured" (now the buzzword) for custom soft plastic worms, crayfish, bugs, etc., etc., etc.  Nick Creme started all this in 1949 by melting plastic on his kitchen stove an pouring it into lure molds.  Creme is still in business;  the ancestor of dozens of companies in what is virtually an industry within an industry.  Soft plastics are no longer just bass lures, but are used in all waters for a variety of species.

Many lures offer several different attractors - noise, flash, color, motion, scent, texture or a combination of these.  A spin bait is a good example of the notion that anything will sell to fisherman; forget what it looks like to a self-respecting fish.  Mix flash, color, noise, vibration and movement add a skirt, and it all amounts to a fish hit.  After all, fish have atrocious table manners simply blowing out anything they don't like or can't eat after inhaling it.

Scent, once largely the province of natural or prepared baits, is now a major attractor (at least for the fisherman).  Adding scent to baits has been popular for years not only in bass fishing but in salt water and for trout, catfish, walleye and other gamefish.  It was Nick Creme who started modern day scented lures by grinding up dried worms and cheese, and mixing the mess with his molten vinyl to make scented soft plastic lures.

Questions remain about what fish see and what triggers them to strike one lure and not another.  Researchers continue conducting exhaustive test on lures and baits to develop new stimuli based on fish genetics and behavioral responses.  This research has become laborious/costly and is far from complete.  Anglers and lure makers/fly tiers have long speculated that eyes are a factor in triggering the strike of a gamefish.  In talking to behavioral scientists from east to west, we discover that no research has been undertaken on the subject.  A lot of guesses and assumptions, but no responsible data.  Without a doubt even this varies by predator and by prey and with predator/prey relationships.

Variation, which may be nearly infinite, is fortunate since the varieties of gamefish species, bait species, habitat, water (chemistry, temperature, clarity, depth), geography and season, lure designs (and sizes and colors) and individual fishermen's preferences fuel the thirst for new lures.

Wittmann Lures has been producing quality, world class fishing tackle that works for many decades.  Knowing about lures enhances our ability to manufacture winners.  Looking through our products you will discover our lures "have it all".
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