Company Information
About UsYou maybe asking yourself "So what separates Willy Lures from all the rest that I see in stores or on the Internet?". Well that's a good question and it's hard for me to give you a genuine answer without coming across as too sales-like. So I will do my best to tell you a bit about our lures and how they became to be. In the end you will decide.
In 1994 I produced the first prototype which was the 200 Series. After extensive testing with different curves and angles to obtain the most desired action in the water, this was the model size that had the best to offer in terms of "not too big, and not too small".
I took that lure to every fishing location I could think of to further test it on different fish species. All the way from fly-in fish trips in northern Ontario for pike and walleye to the far south of the Dominican Republic where I latched on to a fish from a rocky pier that peeled my line right off my reel....I'll never know what that was but it sure was big.
In 1995, we produced our first progressive die to start production of the Willy lure. You see we don't just buy these lures and re-sell them afterwards like many others do. We manufacture them right from the raw material all the way up to the paint finishes and packaging. This is all done I might add, right here in the United States. So if you own one or see one it could have only come from us. We currently hold both U.S. and Canadian patents for the Willy Lure.
That's why we patented it. The action had become so desirable to so many different species of fish, I decided to protect the design.
After the lure had become known we received a pile of letters from fishermen and even editors from fishing magazines complimenting us on our design and how well they had done with it. We even had a video sent to us showing a lake trout attacking our lures underwater. You can watch this video yourself online here.
In 1998, by demand we brought out the 300 Series magnum. It turned out to be a great addition to the product line. If you own more than one size of our lures you will see that each model has a different angled curve at the front of the lure. There is a reason for this. Different sizes meant different weights in material. So a different angled lip was needed to obtain the most desired action in the water.
Through further testing, we introduced the 100 Series for casting and jigging. This is our smallest model but heavy for its size. It's actually heavier than the 200 Series. I found that it produced an ideal crank bait style action on a vertical plane. There's been a lot of lake trout taken through the ice with the 100 Series, and we have recently started producing it in our Diamond Cut hammered finish. For further info about all our models you may want to read our FAQ's page.
We get a lot of compliments about our paint finishes and all I can say is "yes they are great quality". Each lure is clear coated 3 times which provides both beauty and durability. Here's what one customer had to say:
Just received the spoons today. They look awesome. Can't wait to give them a shot. Once again thank you very much. There is no doubt in my mind these will do a fantastic job on boxing fish. You have a fantastic product.Thank you.
Andy-Chicago
It's always good to get letters like this from our customers, and it's letters like these that have inspired us to broaden our horizon. In 2006, Willy Lures has taken on a new life by offering more high quality tackle components than ever before. From casting spoons, to soft baits, Willy Lures is paving new ground for the modern fisherman...
I hope that all the above helps give you some insight about our lures and if you decide to use them. I would be happy to hear your stories.
Great Fishing,
Bill (inventor of the original Willy Lure)
Tel: 800-541-4586
Fax: 605-996-8946
email: sales@willylures.com