September Freshwater Lure of the Month: ACME KO Wobbler
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September Freshwater Lure of the Month: ACME KO Wobbler
The Kastmaster
is a popular and deadly spoon-type lure for both fresh and salt water.
Many anglers use this lure or know about it. But very few anglers know
the story of Art Lavallee, the man who discovered and perfected the
Kastmaster and put it on the market.
Art Lavallee
was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1918, and as a young boy liked
freshwater fishing. After returning from W.W. II where he served on
submarines in the Pacific, he resumed freshwater fishing and in 1947 he
caught an 8 3/4 lb. largemouth bass that held the Rhode Island state
record for many years. But when he caught his first striped bass in the
ocean, striper fishing became his primary fishing interest.
In 1949, Art
Lavallee and his brother Al formed the Spencer Plating Company, which
polished and electroplated jewelry. Art took some of the jewelry and
bent and changed their shapes to create metal fishing lures. He and his
friends enjoyed successful angling results with these inventions, so Art
decided to enter the fishing tackle business and founded the Acme
Tackle Company in 1952. Then Art learned about a lure called the EDA
Splune developed by the Engineering Design Associates of Severna Park,
Maryland. This metal lure was the forerunner of the Kastmaster. The Acme
Tackle Company entered into a royalty agreement with EDA and acquired
the rights to market the lure. Art field tested the lure and then
modified it, making it longer and giving it the jewelry like finish for
which Acme lures are famous.
The Kastmaster
was quickly accepted by both fresh and saltwater anglers and is now
used to catch all kinds of fish. An amazingly versatile lure, the
Kastmaster is equally deadly whether cast, trolled, or vertically
jigged. It casts like a bullet, and its unique side-to-side darting
action is something which pursued baitfish do, but which ordinary spoons
do not.
In 1980 Acme
purchased the former Seneca Tackle Co., and now makes the popular Little
Cleo and Sidewinder spoons, as well as many other types of metal spoons
for fresh and saltwater fishing.
Today, Acme
continues to manufacture, assemble, and package all of its lures at its
Providence, Rhode Island plant, under the daily management and
supervision of Lavallee family. Acme's company goal is the same as it
was in 1952 -- to produce the world's finest metal fishing lures.
The Fishing Enthusiast Freshwater Lure of the Month is the ACME Tackle Company's Wobbler Spoon. This lure excites by sight and sound! Gamefish are sensitive to the vibrations created by baitfish on the move K.O. wobblers MIMIC this sound with their precision-Engineered 'Sonic Flipper Tail'. |