A word from our builders

We asked our builders to write down a few sentences about who they are, what their passion is, why and how they build the lures they do.

When you buy or fish any of their lures, this little introduction will give you some insight and add value to the lure you own!

Make them proud fishing with their creations, cause they deserve it!

Armatus baits (netherlands)

“My name is Marcel. Since I was a young boy i liked fishing for predator species, in particular casting for pike. Since 2005 I started building jerkbaits on a small scale under the name ‘Armatus Baits’. The passion grew out of the wish for baits that were unavailable in the commercial market. I get so much satisfaction out of designing, building, testing and airbrushing jerkbaits until the model is perfected. Next to that I strive to achieve the best possible action and finish in every bait I make. The very best reward of this hobby comes from receiving the pictures of catches from fishermen, or catching a new PB on a lure by my own hand.”

FULL MOON BAITS (belgium)

“Handcrafted, hand-tested, one-of-a-kind wooden lures.

As a builder I strive to build unique baits through finding the perfect balance between various wood types, weighting, action and their presence in the water. I design every lure with a specific action in mind, which leads to some surprisingly versatile and easy to fish creations. Extensive knowledge of a vast array of wood types and their characteristics allow me to create lures based on the wood’s density, buoyancy, its resonance under water. The careful selection of specific natural patterns ensures each and every one of my lures is unique when it leaves my shop. 
 
I specialize in a wide variety of lures such as gliders, pullbaits, hybrids, swimbaits, … It is my firm belief, judging by the numerous returning happy customers, that adding colors to my creations is absolutely not a necessity. This is my concept, what I stand for, and while I have a standard line of lures, custom lures can be made on request. I truly enjoy a personal approach when building customs baits based on your fishing style, types of waters and depths you fish at, specific species.
 
Greetings from Belgium, Steven

tukker eric de lange (netherlands)

“Since my childhood I have been fishing. Starting as a competition angler, transforming into a passionate pike angler. It was after fishing from a boat for pike for the first time where a friend had a Cobbs lure from the USA (which no one liked or could get the action out of) I started building with the idea of making a jerkbait myself. Note, this is 1996. After a long time and many adjustments the TUKKER jerkbait was born and on the 3rd cast a pike was caught! This Tukker was one of the very first jerkbaits built in the Netherlands and from there the word got around and I started making the Tukker more and more…The passion for lurebuilding grew from there and other/more models followed over the years, including one of my most successful lures yet to day, the Bössel. I still get demand for the original Tukker and I still make these too but I’ve always been keen on evolving and creating new lures, which I still do today. 

I am proud that I have been there from the beginning and have helped and inspired so many lurebuilders in the scene.

Today I still fully enjoy making lures and absolutely love doing custom work. It is important to stay creative and in this passion I can be just that.

I hope all anglers can fish my creations with the same passion I build with…and catch fish because that is what they are all made for!

aad dam (netherlands)

“Wooden Jerkbaits!

Summer 1999, holidays in Ireland with friends Henk and Margriet at Lough Derg, near Terryglass. Henk is a contactor and looked at the jerkbaits I had with me. When he heard the price of all these USA lures he mourned and said…’This you can make yourself’. He pointed at a little lathe machine, took a little block of wood, started and all of a sudden a little model appeared. After some practice by myself and still having all my fingers, some sort of a jerkbait was created.

I got really into it and when I arrived back in the Netherlands I bought myself a little lathe and a milling machine for the flat models. It took a  while but after some time I achieved making good shapes.

In my pond I had fish swimming and tried to include as much as possible their shapes and behaviors in my baits. Out of this the series Toppie, Topper Jr, Mini and Topper followed. After that many more models were created and the counter now stands at 28 different jerkbaits. Next to that I also adjusted some USA models in shape and weight.

Now after 21 years making jerkbaits I hope I can keep continuing this for a couple more years. It is still and remains a beautiful hobby!

Greetings, Aad.”

rabu baits (netherlands)

“My name is Michel Bijma, married and father of 2. All my life I have been fishing and the true passion is the pike.

About 15 years ago I started building lures with replicating grandmas which later evolved into jerkbaitmaking. They didn’t look as nice as the lures I make now but they did catch fish. 10 years ago I developed the RABU.  The waters I fish are mainly shallow, therefor I wanted to create a lure that doesn’t run too deep. The tail on the Rabu is very important for the action of the lure, it gives it that bit more glide and vibration.

The cool thing is that RABU actually means also ‘tail’. In the first years I made the Rabu strictly for friends. In 2012 I was involved in a serious car accident which put me at home for a couple years. I bought an airbrush and made building and airbrushing my passion. The collection grew 🙂 
In 2014 I was invited by the Dutch ‘Snoekstudiegroep’ (Dutch club for pike anglers and pike fishing) to join their annual fair to airbrush for the visitors and sell my lures at the same time. This way the Rabu Baits became more known/popular and in the time being made a name in the pikeworld. Many known and unknown pike anglers are very happy with the Rabu, even abroad.

I often get the question if there are other models I make but for now I keep with my Rabu Jerkbait. There is an XL version now too, slightly bigger but still fishes with ease on light material. Whenever I fish myself, I only fish 1 jerkbait and that is my own Rabu 😉

RABU, it’s all in the tail !

Tight lines to all and I sincerely hope you have fun with the Rabu!”

dekker custom baits (netherlands)

“My name is Anton Dekker a.k.a. “Dekker Custom Baits”. Born in Leiden (NL) 1972. My entire life I have been mad on fishing and everything with fins in fresh and saltwater. Pike and pike fishing has always been extra-special for me and been more to me then all the rest. Out of this the passion for building and creating lures was born. 

Back when I started building there was not much available and ordering in the USA wasn’t particularly cheap. I do admit that I just fully enjoy the building and developing, but also to see other fisherman fish my creations and have successful days!”

madcowfishing tackle (netherlands)

“I started fishing at a young age. As I grew older i got more into the pikefishing. Starting off with spinners and later with rapala J11, fishing the creeks in North Holland.

In 1997 I went to Ireland for the first time and there the true virus for fishing lures got to me. We met Alan Broderick who showed us lures we have never seen before. which he called Jerkbaits. Mainly big bulky USA lures with 3 trebles for musky. But it caught fish like crazy. Once retuned home, I went into my shed full of ideas to make lures, but just a little more subtle. 

From 1999 on to now a huge diversity of creations have come out of that shed. Many fishermen enjoy fishing these and catching with them. That’s what it is all about at MCFT!

Enjoy fishing!

André & Marco”

BRUSHED BAITS (Germany)

Passion meets Art and Technic
Since 42 years I go fishing with passion. From the beginning I had a lot of fun and was fascinated in spin fishing. But once there was a time i had a big wish…
I want to have my own baits!

I did it more and more professional and now the first work is done with a milling machine. The rest is all done with my hands in a one man show. I like using wood because for me it has a lot of advantages, working mainly with disc glued waterproof multiplex. The eyes on my baits are made with glass cabochons and have a great 3D effect. For my painting with airbrush I only use the best colors and a lot of passion. Ending with a TOP finish with a few layers of epoxy to give my baits that brilliant and extreme hard top layer.”

cn-lures (belgium)

Lotus baits (sweden)

“I Started fishing with my dad for perch in Lake Mälaren and zander and herring in the Stockholm Archipelago at an early age. That grew into the deep love of pikefishing with my cousin way up north later in my teens. I actually built my first through wire balsa wobblers and brass spoons around ’90-’91, because I couldn’t afford or find the baits I wanted. But the baits I build these days I started to make around 2016 though.

I strive to make baits that kinda fish themselves. The reason for that came out of an injury that changed my whole perspective on how to build baits and how to fish them. They got to be light and easy to fish, and I try to make baits where the action shows with less effort and more finesse fishing rather than musclepower to get the action right.

Luremaking is to me where I can get the creative outlet I need and decompress all things in life. I think I always had that need to create things and I just appreciate the moments being able to do so. Then I get to fish with the lures so it’s double the love of fishing in the end.”

STONER (sweden)

Since I was a boy of thirteen I have been keen on pike angling and it seems I have been making my own lures for as long as I remember. When CWC introduced their Buster Jerk something happened with me. My first attempt to make an actual jerkbait was 2005 and it was a replica of this Buster jerk.
When I started making jerkbaits there were a few skillful lurebuilders who helped me overcome all difficulties that appear. These were people like Claes Claesson aka Swartzonker, Magnus Lindgren aka Mangeboy and Kjell Lundberg (may he rest in peace). These fantastic lurebuilders made my journey shorter than it could have been and I now take honor in doing the same for many new builders.

My replica, called ’Appeticer’, has of course changed over the years but you can still see the shape resemblance. I am proud to see my Appeticer and many other lures I make, have now been sold all over the world. Recently I find more satisfaction in using foil on my lures and keeping my eyes open for new foils all the time. Even the use of glitter of all kind is fun and the combination gives a nice depth to the lure. I am not a virtuoso with the airbrush and it is not my aim to be either.
I work as a math- and science teacher, which leaves me not much time to produce lures, but in a couple of years I will be retired and I hope to fill my time with building much more!  

Mike

NK Baits (netherlands)

“It must have been around 1998 that I started making my very own baits. I was walking around with many ideas for a while on how to make jerkbaits, but in the region I live, there wasn’t much available and the internet had only just started. There was just no information available.

I just started with lots of trial and error, and after many testing my first jerkbait named “Druppel 9” (drop 9) was born and sold. Just a little dropshaped jerkbait of 9 cm that caught just brilliantly for those days and still today this little jerkbait is catching pike s for many fishermen.

Now I have been creating and building lures for 23 years and much has changed. Lots of different models have come from my hand, including crankbaits, ploppers, creepers etc…up to big musky baits of 70cm!

I’m very grateful to all the fishermen that have believed in my baits, bought my baits and caught with my baits since day one. Without them, it would have stayed with just building for myself on small scale. I feel lucky it turned out the other way.

Every time I enter my workshop and go back to building, I take a look at the wall. And there it is, my first little “Druppel 9” (Drop 9)

Greetings Nick (aka NK Baits aka SnoekFisker)”

Billow (sweden)

As long as I remember I have had the urge to build and create my own stuff. I still to this day get yelled at for making a fishing pole from my moms new fruit tree when I was 4 years old. The fishing genes I had from birth with both my father and grandfather being fishing maniacs. My first fishingtrip with my dad was when I was only 8 months old. I didn´t do much fishing but somehow that trip affected me. Maybe because my father dropped an 8 kilo pike on me when I was sleeping on the boat floor or maybe was it the smell of water. I don’t know but pike has ever since been a passion.

During my early teenage years around 2005 my father started to build some baits. I gently asked to join. We made some baits together. He showed me the basics and helped me get started. In 2007 my father lost the interest in lurebuilding but my passion had just begun. Now I started to build the baits by myself and ever since it has been almost like a drug to me.
To build and create something of my own, catch fish and have other people catch fish on my baits is one of the best feelings I have ever experienced.
 
With an extra passion for the oldschool I constantly try to perfect my craft with easy to fish, heavy duty baits with a touch of that punk rock oldschool feeling.
Greetings from Sweden, Daniel”

Fishion Lures (Netherlands)

“Been building baits since the late 90’s, started with big bucktailspinners and moved on to wooden jerkbaits pretty quick, my father was a fine woodworker and a real craftsmen, so the apple didn’t fell far from the tree. He had a workshop in the backyard with all the tools you need for woodcraft. He also had the contacts to get the right wood, I did the drawing and he did the sawing, good times we had in that shed!

Many has changed since then, a long time I didn’t build baits but about a year and a half ago I went back to it. Working with resins and airbrush was new to me so it came with a lot of trial and error, but learning by doing fits me great!
Besides that I’m very thankful for some guys that put me on the right track, you know who you are!

My goal is to build a range of baits that are easy to fish, often I heard: Jerkbaits are to difficult to get some action in so I stick to steady retrieve baits”
That’s a pity because jerkbaits can be very effective to seduce those big lady’s, and the best and most addictive part is that most of the action happens in your sight!

Try one of my baits and be surprised about the easy action!

Mick

Jims Baits (sweden)

I started building lures in 2019 to get an advantage when fishing in my waters. The places where I fish have high fishing pressure, where the big pikes have been caught and released a lot of times. My theory is that fish learn, and that they are smarter than we think! If they had a close encounter with an artificial lure before they will not make the same mistake again. That’s why I set out on a mission to create unique and innovative lures that give fishermen the edge. 

All my lures are created for a specific situation. For example, I created the “Super Granny” (and mini) for fishing spots with a lot of stones and vegetation. I was tired of getting stuck between stones, so I built in magnets and applied the hooks on the back instead. It did wonders for me!

Building lures is my passion and hobby. All my lures are hand-made in my garage, and each is unique. I paint them with acrylic paint by using brush and sponge (no airbrush!). They also have hand-cast and hand-painted eyes.

Make sure to give my lures a try. You will not be disappointed! 😉

Skitfiske!

Jim

gnarly baits (NOrway)

My name is Magne Bjerke, born in 1978 and i have always loved fishing, especially pike fishing.
Lurebuilding for me started in 2016 as in Norway it was very hard to get/buy handmade baits or bigger softbaits at the time.. Since we had to buy everything in Sweden and only few shops shipped to Norway, I started to build my own baits and it developed from that point on. 
I try to make lures that stand out from the rest, so they don’t look like the ‘typical’ lure but most important of all is that they handle well, fish easy and are 100% quality. In my portfolio I have crankbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits, jointed lures, softbaits and hybrids. From 8cm/12gr to 40cm/820gr there are bait for all fishermen, starters to ‘Pro’fishermen.

My own favorite Gnarly bait? Hard to say but it think it is the Twitch. You can fish this crankbait in so many ways. On the reel, slow and fast twitch/jerk, bulldawg-style, you can even troll it. I like the possibility to have different fishing methods with only 1 lure. My Psych an rex-jerk also jerkbaits that I absolutely love. Its honestly hard to pick only 1 favorite…
Favorite lure size? BIG…I love big baits… Softbaits i prefer 25-35cm with a wide profile, for jerkbaits 18-25cm. Nothing beats the feeling when a pike strikes a really BIG bait (but that’s my personal meaning)
One last Gnarly tip? When you buy a handmade lure, especially made from wood, give it time and learn how to fish it. It can open a whole ‘new world’ with just that one bait.

Magne Bjerke
Hold your lines tight!”
 

JVS RODS (NETHERLANDS)

Hi ! Jeroen here from JvS Rods. Father of 2 and fisherman in heart and soul. A passion for float fishing for carp and pike fishing in Ireland.
How I started the rodbuilding? I was looking for an easily divisible net and heavy float rod… for canal fishing. A fellow rod builder urged me to build it myself because he already saw what I had to offer. That’s how the adventure began.. the float rod and net were built and soon I was building rods for fellow anglers who really liked these float rods.
I always wanted to fish in Ireland from an early age. Once on Lough Derg I was disappointed with the factory rod that I had with me at the time. So I started building, resulting in the Luck of the Irish. In my opinion a wonderful trolling rod for large lures. And after some adjustments came the ultimate reward, 118 cm Irish pike power! We are now 6 years and many rods further. It continues to inspire me to combine the feelings and ideas of fellow anglers into a unique fishing rod. Tight lines !!
 

PERRA LURES (SWEDEN)

“My name is Per but everyone calls me Perra. I started making lures in 2017, when i was mostly for trolling for sander. Now I also do a lot of trolling for pike so I build baits for both. My main focus has been building crankbaits but I do also make a good few jerkbaits.
To build my own baits and catch nice big fish on them is just amazing. Trolling is my specialty and I have perfected my building and baits mainly for that. My ‘Rasken XL’ and ‘Rasken Jr’ have proven to work brilliantly so i think you also need to give them a try! You will not be disappointed 😉 
Tight lines!
Perra”
 

Gforce Lures (Ireland)

“My name is Gareth Hoare from Gforce Lures. An avid pike fisherman and lure builder from Limerick city on the emerald isle.
Building lures is my passion and I take great pleasure in seeing people catch pike on my creations! My Looney Shad and Paddle Jack are some of my most successful baits and I am very happy to make these now available for everyone.
Go and catch em!
Gareth”

Sanno Baits (Sweden)

MT-Baits (Belgium)

HandKarvedBaits (Belgium)

“My name is Glenn Goovaerts and I live in Belgium with my wife and two kids.
From the age of 6 I was into fly fishing and I always wanted to create stuff. (That’s probably why I became an engineer) It started out with boomerangs, wooden planes, miniature boats, …
Then I discovered the art of fly tying but one day (somewhere in 2008) I saw some YouTube videos in which a guy was carving baits.
I wanted to try that for myself and it actually became one of my passions. This is now what I’ve been doing since:  fishing, carving, fly tying and building baits. 
I have mostly been making lures for myself and friends but in 2023 I started thinking about selling some to deal with the rising cost of the manufacturing process. After talks with some of my American friends, I decided to start making baits under the name HandKarvedBaits. And yes, that is carved with a K!

I always strive to make my carvings as detailed and lifelike as possible. Not only during my carvings but also during my airbrush sessions.

Tight Lines. I hope you enjoy my baits and I hope to see a lot of pictures of fish caught on them.”

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